Ordway

Home Blog Contact Us

Blog

Ordway Blog: Stay connected here with what is happening at Ordway and take a look at what is going on behind the scenes.

Sing-A-Long Sound of Music: Blogger Night at the Ordway

Mon, May 20, 2013 11:41 AM by Alan Post

On Saturday, May 18, simply one of your favorite things returned to the Ordway for 2 performances only— Sing-A-Long Sound of Music! This was a timeless screening of the classic film starring Julie Andrews in a full-screen Technicolor® that had our audiences joining in on interactive fun. Read about the experiences that our guest bloggers had.

 

“The magic that is The Sound of Music” by Abby Nixt

http://athespiansplaybill.wordpress.com

 

“Julie Andrews, Sing-a-longs, and The Ordway: These are a few of my favorite things” by Molly Daun

http://activistactor.blogspot.com/

 

“Theater Review: Sound of Music Sing-a-Long” by Michelle Wermerskirchen

http://www.redheadedbookchild.com/2013/05/theater-review-sound-of-music-sing-long.html

 

“Sound of Music Sing-A-Long – The Ordway” by mplsgossipgirl’s Mom

http://mplsgossipgirl.com/2013/05/20/sound-of-music-sing-a-long-the-ordway/

 

Think you’re a great writer? Do you have a blog? Want to be a guest blogger? Send your blog URL to apost@ordway.org! We are always accepting new bloggers so spread the word!

Posted in Sound of Music, Sing-A-Long, Blogger Night, Guest Blog, Reviews

Comments (0)

Anything Goes: Blogger Night at the Ordway

Fri, May 10, 2013 10:47 AM by Alan Post

Anything Goes performed opening night on May 7^th at the Ordway. It won a Tony Award in 2011 for the best musical revival. Visit and read the pages of our guest bloggers who attended the performance.

 

“Anything Goes” by Katherine Emmons

http://www.kaemmonsblog.com/2013/05/anything-goes/

 

“I’m on a boat – Anything Goes at the Ordway” by mplsgossipgirl

http://mplsgossipgirl.com/2013/05/09/im-on-a-boat-anything-goes-at-the-ordway/

 

“Theater Review: Anything Goes at the Ordway” by Michelle Wermerskirchen

http://www.redheadedbookchild.com/2013/05/theater-review-anything-goes-at-ordway.html

 

“’Anything Goes’ at the Ordway” by Bartley Stratton

http://theplaybillcollector.com/musicals/anything-goes-at-the-ordway

 

“It's a Delightfully, Deliciously, De-lovely Filled Night at the Ordway: Anything Goes!” by Brett Burger

http://coffeetalkwithbrett.blogspot.com/2013/05/its-delightfully-deliciously-de-lovely.html

 

“’Anything Goes’ at the Ordway Center” by Jill Schafer

http://www.cherryandspoon.com/2013/05/anything-goes-at-ordway-center.html

 

“Anything Goes: delightful, delicious & de-lovely” by Hannah Arkelin

http://treasuresofthetwincities.blogspot.com/2013/05/anything-goes-delightful-delicious-de.html

 

“A step back in time on the “Fun Ship” the SS AMERICAN in the Ordway’s production of Anything Goes!” by Mark Baillie

http://kimarky.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-step-back-in-time-on-fun-ship-ss.html

 

Think you’re a great writer? Do you have a blog? Want to be a guest blogger? Send your blog URL to apost@ordway.org! We are always accepting new bloggers so spread the word!

Posted in Anything Goes, Blogger Night, Guest Blog, Reviews

Comments (0)

Project Pilobolus Ordway Extra

Wed, May 8, 2013 2:39 PM by Alan Post

The Ordway Extra, which took place prior to the Pilobolus public performance on May 4, featured members of the Campus Connections Pilobolus Project, a collaboration between the Ordway, Pilobolus, Macalester College Dance Department and students in three courses at University of St. Thomas (Social Dynamics and the Environment, Urban Ecosystem Ecology and Videography). Speaking together about the project’s goals, artistic process and interdisciplinary focus were key members of the project from Pilobolus, Macalester, University of St. Thomas and the Ordway.

*All photos by Kristie Gaalswyk

 

 

Posted in Pilobolus, Ordway Extra

Comments (0)

Pilobolus: Blogger Night at the Ordway

Wed, May 8, 2013 12:39 PM by Alan Post

Pilobolus, a modern dance company, performed Saturday, May 5th, at the Ordway. Below are a few of the reviews from our guest bloggers who attended the performance.

 

"Rave Review: Pilobolus" by Stephanie Kwong

http://www.phenomnaltwincities.com/?p=17083

 

"Pilobolus Dance Theatre - Making Connections" by Carol Oyanagi

http://slicesfromtheminneapple.blogspot.com/2013/05/pilobolus-dance-theatre-making.html

 

"Pilobolus at the Ordway" by Bartley Stratton

http://theplaybillcollector.com/uncategorized/pilobolus-at-the-ordway

 

Think you’re a great writer? Do you have a blog? Want to be a guest blogger?

Send your blog URL to apost@ordway.org! We are always accepting new bloggers so spread the word!

Posted in Pilobolus, Blogger Night, Guest Blog, Reviews

Comments (0)

Project Pilobolus - Biology and Dance: Maybe Not As Crazy As It Sounds

Tue, Apr 30, 2013 10:22 AM by Alan Post

Why is my biology class involved in a dance project?  I confess, I’ve been a little reluctant to mention this project to my colleagues for fear of having to answer this question.  Talk about a crazy collaboration!  This semester my Urban Ecosystem Ecology students, Maria Dahmus’ Social Dynamics and the Environment students, Tim Scully’s Videography students (all at UST), are partnering with Wynn Fricke’s Dance Class at Macalester, Amy Miller at the Ordway Theater, and members of the Pilobolus Dance Company to create a dance piece that will be performed at Macalester College’s Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center on Friday, May 3 (7:30 PM) and Saturday, May 4 (2:00 PM).

Pilobolus has a long history of interacting with scientists.  In fact, the name “Pilobolus” refers to a type of fungus that grows in barnyards.  The group was formed by several biology students at Dartmouth College in the 1970s; today they are one of the most widely acclaimed modern dance companies in the world, performing on the Oscars, on Oprah, and on stages all over the world. 

Originally when I agreed to participate in this project, I was intrigued by the possibility of using dance as a medium to communicate ideas about the interaction between humans and the environment to new audiences.  Also, as someone who has spent a lot of time representing ecosystems through conceptual diagrams and mathematical models, I was fascinated by the idea of having dancers depict these intangible concepts of how energy flows through ecosystems, and nutrients cycle within ecosystems.  Ecosystems are really about movement and transformation, and that’s what dance does as well.      

Through participating in this process, I’ve come to realize that the analogy runs even deeper.  I’ve been struck by how much the entire collaborative, creative process mirrors processes in nature.  A Pilobolus dance begins with the choreographers engaging in a series of discussions with their collaborators–in this case, our Biology and Environmental Studies students.  As our students learned about how ideas from nature can be communicated through movement, the directors (and some visiting dance students) grasped onto the themes of our courses.  When the Pilobolus choreographers began working with the Macalester dancers, they didn’t create the dance ahead of time and teach it to the dancers.  Rather, it emerged organically as the directors picked up on natural motions of the dancers (“There!  Do that again!  Make that motion bigger!  Everyone on this side of the room do this motion!”).  Through this process of the directors seeing interesting movements, and choosing some to amplify, before long, the room full of dancers is moving in complex patterns that–amazingly–seems to simulate ideas that we have discussed during our courses about interactions between humans and nature.  As Pilobolus choreographer Renee Jaworski said, “We’re sneaky directors.”

Listening to Renee and fellow Pilobulus choreographer and master teacher Emily Kent talk about the creative process during their final meeting with my students, they emphasized that every piece is a document that reflects the people who participated, and the context.  The fact that this process happened during a long, late winter has colored the performance.  A comment that one of my students made about how a video shot by one of the videography students reminded her of the Red Queen Hypothesis from evolutionary biology (an allusion to Alice in Wonderland, in which you have to run faster and faster just to stay in the same place) has become a dominant theme in the production, applied to the relationship between humans and our constructed environment.  The themes that Renee and Emily brought up describing our creative process echo ideas from systems theory: interaction, feedback, sensitivity to initial conditions.  The flow of information, over time, through a network, as it gets modified at each step.  I had spent the previous weekend at a systems ecology symposium where scientists were using these words to describe how ecosystems develop, and now I’m hearing my students use this same language to describe the collaborative process between scientists and artists.

So, why is my biology class involved in a dance project?  Join us Friday evening at Macalester to find out.  I think you’ll be impressed.

-Chip Small, Biology professor at University of St. Thomas 

Posted in Pilobolus, Education, Dance

Comments (0)

You're the Top!

Tue, Apr 23, 2013 10:33 AM by Alan Post

Think you’ve got what it takes to win a pair of tickets to Cole Porter’s Anything Goes? Record and submit a 30-second video of your best dance routine to the title song, “Anything Goes.” For inspiration, watch the video below. Remember, Anything Goes!

 

*All submissions must be YouTube links and posted in the comments section or emailed directly to apost@ordway.org. Contest ends Friday, April 26 and a winner will be selected and contacted by Monday.

 

Watch on YouTube.com >>

 

Posted in Anything Goes, Cole Porter

Comments (0)

Project Pilobolus

Fri, Mar 22, 2013 10:37 AM by Alan Post

The Pilobolus Project has begun! Ordway is hosting an artist residency throughout the spring semester with Pilobolus, a world-renowned modern dance company, Macalester College’s Dance Department, and three University of St. Thomas courses – Social Dynamics and the Environment, Urban Ecosystem Ecology, and Videography. Pilobolus company members are visiting Saint Paul four times and together, with the student groups, are learning about ways in which societies and individuals interact with their natural and built environments. The environmental studies, biology, and film students have been busy the past month, collecting and presenting observations of how humans interact with the environment to Pilobolus and the Macalester dance students. Then through guidance during intensive rehearsals with Pilobolus, Macalester dance students have begun creating a dance piece inspired by Pilobolus’ aesthetic and the observations and analyses of the UST students.

Stay tuned for updates on the project and mark your calendars for May 3^rd and 4^th! The Pilobolus Project dance piece will premiere as a part of Macalester College’s Spring Dance Concert on Friday evening, May 3^rd at 7:30pm in Macalester’s Janet Wallet Fine Arts Center. Then the following night, on May 4^th, Pilobolus will premiere a new work during their public performance at the Ordway at 7:30pm.

Macalester and St. Thomas students involved in the Pilobolus Project take part in movement workshops and dance rehearsals with Pilobolus company members, during the first visit of the residency!

Posted in Pilobolus, Education, Dance

Comments (0)

Black Grace: Blogger Night at the Ordway

Fri, Mar 22, 2013 10:09 AM by Alan Post

Black Grace, New Zealands’s finest contemporary dance company, performed Tuesday, March 19^th, at the Ordway. Below are a few of the reviews from our guest bloggers who attended the performance.

"Black Grace" at the Ordway by Jill Schafer

http://www.cherryandspoon.com/

 

“Review: Black Grace” by Stephanie Kwong

http://www.phenomnaltwincities.com/?p=16600

 

“Black Grace” by Mark Baillie

http://kimarky.blogspot.com/

 

“Black Grace: a Journey Through Dance” by Carol Oyanagi

www.slicesfromtheminneapple.blogspot.com

 

Think you’re a great writer? Do you have a blog? Want to be a guest blogger?

Send your blog URL to apost@ordway.org! We are always accepting new bloggers so spread the word!

Posted in Black Grace, Blogger Night, Guest Blog, Reviews

Comments (0)

Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul: Blogger Night at the Ordway

Wed, Mar 20, 2013 11:37 AM by Alan Post

Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul performed on St. Patrick’s Day at the Ordway. Eileen is a 9-time all-Ireland fiddle champion and has been crowned, “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin.” Below are a few reviews from our guest bloggers that attended and joined the audience in a standing ovation.

 

“Eileen Ivers and the Immigrant soul on St Pattys day” by Mark Baillie

http://kimarky.blogspot.com/

 

“Shamrock Shake” by Katherine Emmons

http://www.katherineemmons.com/2013/03/shamrock-shake/

 

Think you’re a great writer? Do you have a blog? Want to be a guest blogger?

Send your blog URL to apost@ordway.org! We are always accepting new bloggers so spread the word!

 

 

Posted in Blogger Night, Guest Blogs, Reviews, Eileen Ivers, St. Patrick's Day

Comments (0)

Black Grace Ordway Extra

Mon, Mar 18, 2013 1:44 PM by Alan Post

Delve into the unique artistic process of a dance company that navigates between traditional and contemporary forms and is guided by a mission of social justice. Twin Cities-based Artistic Director Ananya Chatterjea and dancers from her company, Ananya Dance Theatre, will speak to the topics that inform their artistic work and draw comparisons to that of Black Grace.

Tuesday, March 19
6:30 – 7 pm, Black Grace performance follows at 7:30 pm
Ordway’s Marzitelli Foyer

Free for Black Grace ticketholders

Posted in Black Grace, Ordway Extra

Comments (0)

 

This blog is a group effort by Ordway staff, actors, artists, musicians, dancers and all those involved in the creative process of performances, programs and events at the Ordway to provide a behind the scenes look at what happens onstage, backstage and in support of the work presented at the Ordway. We also hope to  discuss pertinent topics in our industry.

The purpose of this blog is to engage with you in the blogosphere. We wish to let you know that our posts do not go through any official editorial process for spelling, grammar or fact checking, therefore errors may occur – please be kind! Every blog post is open for public comment, questions or suggestions and the Ordway chooses not to pre-screen these responses. That being said, we do reserve the right to remove any offensive, illegal, or inappropriate content at the Ordway's sole discretion.

As part of our new branding initiative surrounding the joy provided by performing arts, by posting a comment, question or suggestion you provide the Ordway with the right to use your submission for marketing and promotional purposes. (I know, I know, I promise to not make future posts as boring as this one!)

Phew! I'm done talking "legal jargon." Thanks for stopping by and reading our blog!