The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts

The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts is at the heart of the Twin Cities’ thriving dance community.

Home to the James Sewell Ballet Co. and featuring performances by the Saint Paul Ballet, this lovingly renovated theater moved—literally—over the course of 12 memorable days in 1999 from its former home to its current home on Hennepin Avenue. At 5.8 million pounds, it was the heaviest building ever moved on rubber tires—a feat duly recognized by the Guinness Book of Records. More than a decade in the making, the Cowles Center fills a major void in the Twin Cities’ art scene by providing office, rehearsal and performance space for small and midsize arts organizations, including many of the area’s major dance companies. The Center includes the newly refurbished 500-seat Goodale Theater; the History of the Hennepin Center for the Arts, home to 20 leading dance and performing arts organizations; the state-of-the-art Target Education Studio, housing The Cowles Center’s innovative distance learning program; and the new U.S. Bank Atrium. The Cowles Center is a catalyst for the creation, presentation, education, enjoyment and celebration of dance and the performing arts in the Twin Cities.