Photo by Jonathan van Arneman
“I have wonderful memories of performing at The Cowles Center when it first opened in 2011,” Aparna Ramaswamy recounts. “Since that time, the Cowles’ mission of supporting dance artists from various backgrounds and at every stage in their careers has been steadfast.” Ramaswamy is co-artistic director of Ragamala Dance Company, but come this October, she is set to take the stage in a solo performance during The Cowles Center’s inaugural Fall Forward Festival. “The Festival is emblematic of that forward-thinking mission.”
The new, annual festival features a whole month of shared evening performances over the four weekends of October 29-30, November 5-6, November 12-13, and November 19-20, 2022, on the Goodale Theater Stage. It is described as a celebration of the incredibly talented and robust Minnesota dance community, and new dance audiences can expect a sampler of genres in one sitting, while avid dance patrons will experience their favorite artists alongside equally stellar new-to-them artists.
“At the core of the festival is the intent of sharing the stage with as many artists as possible, cross-pollinating audiences with a variety of dance groups and genres, and of course to uplift our amazing dance and movement community,” says Joseph Bingham, co-director of The Cowles Center.
Photo by Galen Higgins
The first weekend of the festival will feature the traditional rhythms and dances of Guinea West Africa from Duniya Drum and Dance Ensemble, accessible and anti-elitist ballet from Twin Cities Ballet, and improv-driven jazz dance from Rhythmically Speaking.
Then, the second weekend will share Threads Dance Project’s goal to radically imagine dance as essential to a new abolition movement and Atlantis13’s exploration of colonialism and the essence of Blackness. When asked about the significance of sharing a stage, Peace Madimutsa of Atlantis13 says, “It’s not only thrilling to be given the opportunity to share our own dance narratives in an accessible manner but to forge collaborative and affirming connections with artists who happen to move in different ways. Dance knows no bounds and manifests itself beyond just one genre. We must honor that.”
Week three will showcase the power and passion of Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre, the interdisciplinary aesthetics of Black Label Movement, and the story-driven, contemporary work of Crash Dance Productions.
Photo by Dariel Sneed
Finally, the fourth weekend concludes the festival with HIJACK’s Cowles stage debut and Aparna Ramaswamy’s solo highlighting cultural wisdom and imagination. “I’m excited to share an evening with my longtime colleagues, HIJACK, whose work I deeply admire, and to see the breadth of forms featured over the course of the Festival,” says Ramaswamy. “Sharing the stage and introducing our audiences to new experiences in a comfortable and engaging way underscore the joy and humanity that dance can inspire in all of us.
In-person tickets for each weekend of the festival are $25, while livestream tickets are Pay As You Are. Tickets are on sale now through the Box Office at (612) 206-3600 or online at thecowlescenter.org. To learn more about each dance group and the pieces they plan to perform, visit thecowlescenter.org/2223/fall-festival.
