UMD and the School of Fine Arts host a performance by Zenon Dance Company on Tues., November 20 at 7:30 pm in Marshall Performing Arts Center. Admission is free and no tickets are required.
Pieces to be performed include:
- Eternal Reveal by New York choreographer Gregory Dolbashian
- Just Her Time by Minnesota choreographer Wynn Fricke
- Procession by New York choreographer Sam Kim & set to music by Sarah Register.
- Pink Martini by Minnesota choreographer Mariusz Olszewski
Zenon's History
Since its first performance in 1983, Zenon Dance Company has grown to be one of the nation’s premier contemporary dance companies. Celebrating the innovative works of American choreographers, Zenon commissions and performs both modern and jazz works created by emerging New York and Twin Cities choreographers as well as internationally renowned masters. Zenon commissions four-six new works yearly – adding richness and diversity to America’s modern and jazz dance genres. Zenon’s choreographers and performers have earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Village Voice, Dance Magazine, Minneapolis Star Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, and City Pages.
Zenon’s diverse repertory has allowed it to reach a broad range of audiences – from dedicated Twin Cities’ dance enthusiasts to at-risk youth in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and to students and adults in Greater Minnesota. Zenon has also toured internationally. The company has built a loyal audience base and received accolades for its kinetic, high-energy performances, technical acuity, and generous personality. Zenon challenges its audience, while remaining accessible.
Zenon is not only unique in its artistic excellence as both a modern and jazz dance company, but also in its unparalleled distinction as a company of trained “teaching artists”. The company is a pioneer in the field of dance education and has developed a unique dance residency emphasizing student creativity and self-esteem enhancement while incorporating the host schools’ curriculum into the technique and artistry of dance. Zenon is strongly committed to working with diverse populations including the Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing and Blind communities, and students with severe behavioral and emotional issues. In the past five years, the company has conducted over 70 residencies in a variety of settings, including public and private schools, open and magnet schools, and neighborhood and community centers.
About the Choreographers
Gregory Dolbashian, born and raised in New York City, made his professional stage debut at the age of eight with the Glimmerglass Opera Company. Soon after, he was cast in the Philip Glass/Robert Wilson world tour of Einstein on the Beach. Gregory received his dance training at the Alvin Ailey School on a fellowship scholarship and then graduated cum laude from SUNY Purchase dance conservatory. He has gone on to dance and choreograph with a variety of artists, performing with Patrick Corbin, Nelly van Bommel, and Sylvain Emard. Dolbashian is a recipient of The Bessie Schoenberg Residency at The Yard, winner of The Pretty Creatives Competition for Northwest Dance Project, and of The Hubbard Street 2 International Choreographic Competition. He has created school commissions at SUNY Purchase, University of Minnesota, The Hartt School and the Juilliard School. He debuted his own company, The DASH Ensemble, in December 2009 at JOYCE SoHo. The DASH received the audience award at NYC’s DanceNOW challenge at Joe’s Pub. In addition to his choreography, Gregory, alongside Loni Landon, is the co-founder of The Playground, a choreographic initiative that was voted 25 to Watch in 2013 by Dance Magazine.
Wynn Fricke, recipient of seven McKnight Fellowships in Choreography and Performance, produces, according to City Pages, precise and virtuosic work “guided by extremes of physicality. Part of the pleasure of watching it is that the difficult appears effortless; the tiny and delicate, Herculean”. Wynn danced with Zenon Dance Company from 1992–2001 and since 1998 has created eight original works for the company. She has had choreographic residences in Yarlslavl, Russia, at the Blacklock Nature Sanctuary in Moose Lake, Minn., and at the Company Development Residency at The Yard in Chilmark, Mass. She has been honored with two Minnesota SAGE Awards for Dance in the category of Outstanding Performance. Wynn has created work for additional dance and theatre companies including James Sewell Ballet, Ballet Arts Minnesota, Ragamala Dance, Frank Theatre, Minnesota Ballet, and Borrowed Bones Dance Theatre.
Sam Kim has been making and performing in dances since the mid ‘90s. Her body of work includes Sister to a Fiend (Gibney Dance), Some Kind of Derelict Telekinesis (Barnard/Columbia Dances at NYLA), Darling (PS122), dumb dumb bunny (The Kitchen), Cult (Dance Theater Workshop) AVATAR (Mulberry St Theater), Nobody Understands Me (Dance Theater Workshop), Placid Baby (PS122) and Valentine (Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church). Sam’s work has also been presented by experimental venues such as Highways Performance Space (Los Angeles), Studio 303 (Montreal), the Unknown Theater (Los Angeles), Bryant Lake Bowl Theater (Minneapolis), the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Galapagos Art and Performance Space, JACK and Movement Research, among many others. Sam grew up in New Brighton, Minn. She’s been based in New York City since 1991 and currently lives and works in Brooklyn.
Mariusz Olszewski, a native of Poland, has coached and choreographed for top ranking ballroom dance couples including professional World American Smooth Champions, US and Polish amateur and professional Latin and Rhythm Champions. Mariusz has performed and choreographed for theater, television and ballroom dance world. He is a founding member of the Beyond Ballroom Dance Company and served as its Artistic Co-director. Mariusz moved to Minneapolis in 1996 to join JAZZDANCE! by Danny Buraczeski. For the past five seasons, Mariusz has been featured choreographer on the Polish version of "So You Think You Can Dance." He was also invited to guest choreograph for "Dancing with the Stars" in Poland. His choreography is driven by his experience in jazz, modern, ballroom, and the theater world. Mariusz graduated from the Institute of Culture Theater Department in Opole, Poland. He was Assistant to the Artistic Director and a lead dancer with the first modern dance company in Poland Silesian Dance Theater and for his roles created in that company he received the President of Silesia's Award for Outstanding Artist in 1995. He is also a recipient of the 2005 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Dancers.
For more information on Zenon Dance Company and School, Inc. visit: www.zenondance.org.
Learn more about the School of Fine Arts.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.