Bedlam Theatre

Jazz Perspectives from Seven Established & Emerging Choreographers

While often-formed images of musty records and smoky lounges evoked by the word ‘jazz’ are sometimes accurate, jazz music and dance have a versatility that opens up worlds of artistic possibility. Producers Erinn Liebhard and Heather P. Westerlund, along with choreographers Cynthia Guttierez-Garner, Karla Grotting, Jolene Konkel, Kaleena Miller and Karis Sloss will come together at the Bedlam Theater August 20-22 to prove it through a showcase of the rich and diverse art form known as jazz dance.With seven choreographers boasting different backgrounds and experiences, Rhythmically Speaking offers a wide range of perspectives on the jazz dance genre. Each artist brings their own experiences through movement that expressed a spectrum of compelling human emotion. Erinn Liebhard recently returned from Calgary, Canada after a year of training with the renowned company of Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. Heather P. Westerlund, an active alumnus of the U of M Dance Program, has performed with Time Track Productions, and Jolene Konkel is a recent MFA graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Dance Program. Artistic Director of the Eclectic Edge Ensemble, Karis Sloss, also brings her talents to the table, as well as Kaleena Miller, the tap queen of the Twin Cities. Additionally, Cynthia Guttierez-Garner, recent guest choreographer for Zenon Dance Company, and Karla Grotting of the Flying Foot Forum and formerly of JAZZDANCE, offer work within a show that promises to offer a variety of artistic perspectives on jazz.

These seven choreographers have come together out of a shared passion for jazz dance. The Twin Cities has a wonderful dance community constantly offering its citizens high-quality, thought-provoking work, yet these artists agree that support for and presentation of jazz dance needs to increase, and this show is an additional step in that direction. A versatile, diverse, collaborative, musical and humanistic audio, visual and corporeal way to denote history, jazz has the ability to grow with us as time moves on.