Blog
Saying “Goodbye” is difficult but…
In early January Kairos Dance Theatre will be leaving some of our residential facilities and bringing the Dancing Heart program to several new groups including adult day services and assisted living facilities. We’re excited about new possibilities and the opportunity...
Winter Wonderland
As the elders' learned the lyrics and choreography to the song, "You Can't Stop the Beat" from the musical, "Hairspray", they also pondered the question, "What else can't you stop?" Muriel cried out, "Time!", Gerald said, "The universe!" and Lucille cried, "WINTER!"...
Two Beautiful Shows
Freezing rain turning to eight inches of snow...no problem. Piano breakdown with replacement making it two minutes before show time on Sunday...no problem. Kairos played before two very heartful audiences this weekend. The challenges of production gave way to a...
WADE IN THE WATER…BUT DON’T MISS THE SHOW!
I just returned from dress rehearsal for this weekend’s Kairos Dance Theatre Take Me Back to Hip Harlem show at Intermedia Arts, featuring Ida Arbeit and Irv Williams. Maria Genné, Kairos’ Artistic Director, has done it again with a fabulous show that will delight...
Dance to the Music
When we were rehearsing for our show "Take Me Back to Hip Harlem" (this Saturday, 12/4 at 7 PM and Sunday, 12/5 at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis) this morning I had several moments of ecstasy that many performers hope for while dancing. As we began "Wade in the...
Tech Rehearsal
Last night was the Technical Rehearsal at InterMedia Arts for the Take Me Back To Hip Harlem show. Work work work, albeit beautiful, somebody's gotta do it~~! Wu Chen, our artist-in-light, set the lighting interplay cues for the dances and the program. Peter Schimke,...
Take Me Back to Hip Harlem! THIS WEEK!
Join us this week for our two performances: Saturday December 4th at 7:00pm OR Sunday December 5th at 3:00pm You can purchase tickets HERE.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
This week I had the special pleasure of bringing two of my granddaughters and my eldest son to one of our Dancing Heart sessions. I wanted them to see first-hand the joy that the Dancing Heart program brings to our participants. We planned to do some tap dancing with...
Grateful
Today I felt showered with the radiance that comes from a grateful heart. At Wilder and Ridges, we created gratitude poetry, taking snippets of heartfelt thankful phrases coming from our elders, weaving them together into a grand tapestry of verbal artistry. I was...
Beautiful Rehearsal
Yesterday, just two weeks before opening night of the 'Take Me Back to Hip Harlem' show, Kairos Dance Theatre had a beautiful 4 hour long rehearsal which included generous and patient coaching and critiquing from Candace Barrett, lead teaching artist from the Guthrie....
UNDER THE BIG TENT
Six weeks ago Carla and Peter traveled with folks from The Dancing Heart group at Ebenezer Ridges Care Center to the Shrine circus at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis. One of the highlights of that adventure was being greeted at the front door by real live...
Ida’s 101st Birthday Party & Give to the MAX!
As you know, last week we had our weekly rehearsal with Ida! We danced, discussed life in NY, and talked about our upcoming performances of "Take Me Back to Hip Harlem"! We talked with Ida about her 101st birthday party we will be celebrating on December 4th after the...
Who Knew What We Could Do
One of the big joys of working in Kairos Dancing Heart sessions is the sense of exploration and discovery that plays out on a daily basis with folks who might have thought they'd left that kind of thing behind them. Here Nancy and Rose find some safe stable shared...
Take Me Back to Hip Harlem rehearsal
We are just three weeks away from our concert series at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis on December 4 and 5 featuring centenarian, Ida Arbeit and Mr. Smooth, Irv Williams on sax with his Quartet. Rehearsals are in full swing. On Friday we were at Ida's Assisted Living...
O Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou, Romeo?
This week we had a special guest at one of our adult day care centers. Maria brought her wonderful dog, Romeo, to a Dancing Heart session. It was perfect timing because we had two new participants that day and Romeo’s presence made a tremendous difference in their...
Elder Clock Dance
Warming up our bodies, swinging our torso side to side, I asked the group of elders at Martin Luther Care Center, "What does this movement remind you of?" Florence answered immediately, "A pendulum." We then proceeded to discover all the various parts of our body that...
Tickets are on sale! Take Me Back to Hip Harlem!
Come one, come all as we take you back to Harlem. . . December 4 & 5 we will revisit the Harlem Renaissance - Take Me Back to Hip Harlem – with Ida Arbeit, Irv Williams, Peter Schimke, Fred Steele, Kevin Washington, Nancy Nair, Elinor Anderson-Genné, Jesse...
Life Time Skills
I have been part of the National Guild for Community Arts Education Conference in San Francisco this past week. On Wednesday I helped present a National Center for Creative Aging Institute with colleagues Susan Perlstein, Stu Kandell, Jeff Champline and Michael...
