2012 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Dancers and Choreographers Announced

Northrop Concerts and Lectures at the University of Minnesota today announced the recipients of the 2012 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Choreographers and the McKnight Artist Fellowships for Dancers.  Each Fellow will receive a $25,000 fellowship award.

McKnight Artist Fellowships deliver significant financial assistance to mid-career individuals whose work demonstrates artistic excellence. A fellowship can help an artist set aside periods of time for study, reflection, experimentation, and exploration; take advantage of an opportunity; or work on a new project.

McKnight Artist Fellowships for Choreographers: 2012 Recipients
Ananya Chatterjea
Carl Flink
Aparna Ramaswamy & Ranee Ramaswamy

Choreographers Selection Panel:
Dayna Hanson, Choreographer, Seattle, WA

Jodee Nimerichter, Director, American Dance Festival, Durham, NC

Roell Schmidt, Director, Links Hall, Chicago, IL

Sydney Skybetter, Artistic Director, skybetter and associates, Brooklyn, NY

In addition to the $25,000 fellowship stipend, each Choreography Fellow is eligible to apply for additional support for a national choreographic residency.  

McKnight Artist Fellowships for Dancers: 2012 Recipients
Taryn Griggs
Ashwini Ramaswamy
Stephen Schroeder

Dancers Selection Panel:
Justin Leaf, Dancer/Teacher/Choreographer, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Junkyard Theater; 
Minneapolis, MN

Ellen Keane, Artistic Director, Keane Sense of Rhythm; Adjunct Faculty University of MN; Instructor Ballare Teatro Dance Center; St. Paul, MN

Wade Madsen, Professor of Dance Cornish College of the Arts; Seattle, WA

Lisa Rinehart, former dancer, American Ballet Theatre; and freelance dance writer; 
Palisades, NY 

Linda Shapiro, co-founder of the New Dance Ensemble and Laboratory; and freelance writer; Minneapolis, MN

In addition to the $25,000 dancer fellowship stipend, the Fellowship Program will also provide funds for each Dancer Fellow to commission a choreographer of his/her choice to create a new solo dance work specifically for each Fellow.  These new works, performed by the Dancer Fellows, will be premiered on SOLO, a showcase performance presented by Northrop Concerts and Lectures in fall 2014.

This year's SOLO performance features recipients of the 2010 and 2011 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Dancers with world premieres from six of the Twin Cities' finest dancers on Fri, Sep 21, 8:00 pm & Sat, Sep 22, 8:00 pm at TEd Mann Concert Hall. 

The Fellowship Program is designed to enrich and strengthen our community by acknowledging the accomplishments of individual choreographers and dancers and providing for their artistic growth.

This program is made possible by the generous support of The McKnight Foundation.  The McKnight Foundation funds individual artist fellowships in 12 program areas.

Guidelines for next year's choreographer and dancer fellowships will be available later in the summer on Northrops’s website.  For information about the McKnight Artist Fellowships for Choreographers and Dancers call Mary Ellen Childs at 612-626-4049.
The McKnight International Fellowship is a new residency, funding one international choreographer each year to collaborate with Twin Cities dance artists and showcase works-in-progress. Northrop Concerts and Lectures also announces the 2012 McKnight International Choreographer, Paris-based Johan Amselem and his company Cie la Halte-Garderie (The Nursery). Johan’s Work in Progress Showing of his residency Bon appétit!, will be Friday, June 29, 8:00 pm, at Tek Box Theater, Hennepin Center for the Arts, in Minneapolis. Reservations are required to Kevin Curran at curr0181@umn.edu. The local dancers selected for this residency are Erika Hensin, Melanie Verne, Rachel Freeburg, Ryan Dean, Dustin Hawg, and Zachary Teska. Other local artists selected are Kevin Obsatz, video; Shannon Blowtorch, music; and Morgan Thorson and Karen Sherman, dramaturgy.

The $10,000 2013 McKnight International Fellowship will be shared by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro from Cambodia and George Stamos from Montréal.

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