Minnesota Dance Theatre ends a historic chapter with ‘Spring’

Minnesota Dance Theatre, a cornerstone of the Twin Cities dance community, takes the stage for the last time this week and the next before going on an indefinite pause.

“Spring” features three world premieres: one by Elayna Waxse, who assumed the role of interim artistic director in January, one by Minneapolis choreographer Javan Mngrezzo and a third one by longtime company dancer Zachary Tuazon. The program also features a Minnesota premiere by Nia-Amina Minor, originally created for the Pacific Northwest Ballet.

MDT’s board and staff see its upcoming halt in performances as a temporary measure, rather than a permanent one. Co-chair Suzi Kim Scott, who joined the board in October 2023, said they are now focused on finding a new leader for the school, with the hopes of bringing the company back in the future.

“One of things that we were very intentional and clear about is that this is a pause with the company,” Kim Scott said. “And certainly that hope is there for it to continue into both a school and company.”

Right now, “the school is alive, active and healthy,” Kim Scott said, noting that enrollment is strong and that many of the faculty trained under the tenure of both founder Loyce Houlton and her successor and daughter, Lise Houlton.

In February, MDT announced it would be halting its performance company after its “Spring” performance, which will be held Friday-Sunday and May 10-12. This turn of events followed the retirement of Lise Houlton in September 2023. Houlton had run the company, started more than 60 years ago, for nearly 30 years.

Now, MDT is focused on finding a school leader who will continue its “legacy of excellence,” Kim Scott said. “We’re also looking for a leader who’s going to broaden the scope and scale of that vision.”

Waxse, a former MDT dancer who has choreographed for the company in intervening years, stepped in to lead the organization in January.

“It was quite the transition, but I feel like it’s been going well,” she said. “We really seem to be hitting our stride in these last couple of weeks here.”

Her contract is up at the end of June.

MDT isn’t taking a retrospective approach to its upcoming performances, Waxse said. The lineup for the show had already been scheduled when MDT announced it would be ending performances.

“So there was some back and forth if we [wanted to] keep the programming as planned or do something more reflective of the company’s history,” she said. “I really decided to keep the programming as planned as a nod for what this company is capable of and where this company can go to in the future.”

Besides leading the organization in this transition period, Waxse is also presenting a new work for the spring concert called “Don’t Forget You Are Precious.” It veers from ballet vocabulary as it looks at the concepts of self-love and self-worth.

“It’s a piece I’ve been working on collaboratively with the dancers, and it’s also essentially my love letters to the dancers,” she said.

Waxse’s work will be shown with “And Yet Here We Are” by Seattle-based choreographer Minor. “She’s just an incredibly well rounded choreographer, and it is beautiful what she’s bringing here,” Kim Scott said.

Also on the program, is “Premonition of This Present Moment” by Mngrezzo, who dances with a number of local companies, including a recent impressive showing with James Sewell Ballet.

Tuazon’s “Animi de Gaia,” will premiere at the show, too. He said he found inspiration from Michel Fokine’s “Chopiniana,” a non-narrative work set to the music of Frédéric Chopin for his new piece. In Tuazon’s vision, four soloists will portray spirits representing the natural world.

“They explore their turbulent relationship with humanity — whether they’ve harmed or helped it — because we all need fire and water and air and earth to survive. But they’re also some of the greatest challenges for humanity to overcome and sometimes the cause of the biggest cataclysmic events,” he said.

The Chicago native is in his ninth season with MDT. “If I had to look at myself from year one to now, it’d be a pretty substantial leap in growth in terms of technique, artistry, willingness to try things,” he said. “It’s been a really great environment for me to flourish.”

Tuazon began teaching on Zoom for MDT in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and to this day, he continues his Zoom ballet class every Tuesday. He plans to continue, even when his contract as a dancer with MDT ends after the spring concerts. Meanwhile, he’s got a freelance project this summer.

“I unfortunately do not have a full-on company gig set-up,” he said. “That’s due to a bit of timing of the news.”

Tuazon said he plans to continue freelancing and look for new opportunities.

Kim Scott, whose executive board roles with nonprofits include Children’s Theatre Company and the Coalition of Asian American Leaders, said this moment — both for MDT and for the dance community in the Twin Cities, is one of transformation.

In her view, the way people see and value dance has shifted.

“We have to grow with that change, just like any other industry,” she said. “We may be a nonprofit, but like any entity that is alive and thriving, we have to listen and hear what the needs are of various stakeholders — and that includes people who are outside of our social sphere, outside of the dancers, parents and patrons. It also includes donors, corporations and being able to prove the impact of what dance does.”

When: 8 p.m. Fri., Sat. May 10 & 11; 2 p.m. Sun. & May 12. Southern Theater,1420 Washington Av. S., Mpls.

Tickets: $32, pay as able, southerntheater.org