Northrop and Walker Art Center Present
Third Coast Percussion with Movement Art Is
Past event
Apr 30, 2022
Metamorphosis
Third Coast Percussion
Featuring choreography by Movement Art Is (Lil Buck and Jon Boogz)
Interpreted and performed by Cameron Murphy and Quentin Robinson
Grammy Award-winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion and the groundbreaking choreography team Movement Art Is have joined forces to create an irresistible dance-music mashup that melds the captivating urgency of street dance with a fiery score of percussive invention and other-worldly electronic soundscapes.
Two disparate styles of street dance blend seamlessly with new music by Jlin and Tyondai Braxton, as well as Third Coast Percussion’s critically-acclaimed arrangements of Philip Glass’s Aguas da Amazonia.
This event will be captioned, with other accessibility services available upon request.
"breaks new ground in several respects … delightful … The entire album is absorbing and often fun” —AllMusic
“Virtuosity and deft, precisely timed wit” —The Washington Post
“Impressively combining creative fearlessness with reverent precision” —BBC Music Magazine
Related Event
Supporters
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
Program Notes
Greetings! On behalf of Northrop and Walker Art Center, we want to extend a warm welcome to you. We are thrilled you can join us for this very special performance by Third Coast Percussion with Movement Art Is (MAI), making their debut on the Carlson Family Stage at Northrop. It feels like a blessing and a gift to be sitting here with you in person, a simple thing that has taken on new significance these last two years.
Northrop and Walker Art Center are both Minneapolis cultural institutions that have been part of the rich artistic landscape of the city since the late 1920s. The partnership between the two organizations dates back to at least the 1980s. For over 40 years, we have worked together to bring unique and important performances to our community that inspire, delight, challenge, and stretch audiences and artists alike. Third Coast Percussion and MAI are both comprised of innovative and groundbreaking artists who have redefined the boundaries of their music and movement art forms and blurred the lines between the two to create Metamorphosis. We believe the arts are transformative, and it is our hope that tonight you experience a metamorphosis that is uniquely yours.
This collaboration amongst Northrop, Walker Art Center, Third Coast Percussion, and MAI is synergistic in another way too. All four organizations have embedded arts education into the center of our work. In addition to tonight’s performance, Third Coast Percussion and MAI will be performing Metamorphosis for thousands of 5th – 12th graders across the state of Minnesota, both in-person and via livestream. Through this experience, students will examine the concepts of dualities in life and will be talking about where those dualities show up in their own lives and in the lives of others.
As both Northrop and Walker Art Center approach the end of our ’21-’22 seasons and look ahead to announcing our ’22-’23 performances, we want to give a special thanks to our subscribers and donors. Your support is more important than ever before. Through your attendance and contributions, you ensure that Northrop and Walker Art Center can continue to bring world-class artists like Third Coast Percussion with Movement Art Is to the Twin Cities community. Thank you.
Gratefully,
Kari Schloner
Director of Northrop
Philip Bither
McGuire Director and Senior Curator, Performing Arts
Walker Art Center
Metamorphosis
Third Coast Percussion
Sean Connors | Robert Dillon | Peter Martin | David Skidmore
featuring
Choreography by Movement Art Is
Lil Buck | Jon Boogz
Interpreted and Performed by
Cameron Murphy | Quentin Robinson
PROGRAM ORDER
Aguas da Amazonia | Philip Glass (b. 1937)
Metamorphosis 1 (1988/1999/2020) | arr. Third Coast Percussion
Perspective (2020) | Jlin (b. 1987)
Obscure
Dissonance
Aguas da Amazonia | Philip Glass/arr. TCP
Amazon River (1993/1999/2016)
Perspective | Jlin
Paradigm
Sunny X (2019) | Tyondai Braxton (b. 1978)
Perspective | Jlin
Embryo
Fourth Perspective
Duality
Derivative
--
Stage Direction by Leslie Buxbaum Danzig
Lighting and Video Design by Joe Burke
PROGRAM NOTES
Collaboration and Transformation
This performance is a meeting of fearless and generous collaborators from unique artistic backgrounds, creators deeply rooted in their own tradition but whose branches reach curiously into the broad expressive world surrounding them. Lil Buck and Jon Boogz founded Movement Art Is (MAI) to explore how their virtuosic street dancing abilities, rooted in popping and Memphis jookin’, could tell the important stories of modern life. Third Coast Percussion has carved its own special place in the cultural landscape by showing the incredible flexibility of percussion chamber music to give voice to expressions from a diverse range of artists.
At the heart of this collaboration is a celebration of each individual’s expressive language and the experiences that shaped it, as well as a curiosity to see each artist’s energy translated into the vocabulary of another. Just as the choreography created by Buck and Boogz is set onto different bodies — their proteges Cameron Murphy and Quentin Robinson — for performance, tonight’s program highlights how music is also transformed as it is passed from one artist to another. The innovative producer Jlin (whose roots are in Chicago’s “Footwork” style of dance music) composed her Perspective as a series of electronic tracks, with the intent that Third Coast Percussion (TCP) would reimagine this music on acoustic instruments for live performance. The music of minimalist icon Philip Glass that appears on this program is an arrangement of an arrangement, music finding its third incarnation in TCP’s distinctive sound world.
In 2020, a year of isolation, the opportunity to make art together took on a new value. The full creative team — MAI, TCP, stage director Leslie Danzig and lighting designer Joe Burke — had planned to come together in Seattle for a residency in the summer of 2020 to build this project on the stage of the Meany Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Washington. When the residency could not take place, this determined team found ways—connecting via rehearsal videos shared on the cloud, simulated mock-ups of stage set-ups and light renderings, and of course, many Zoom meetings—to build this project together across long distances, and continue transforming the project into versions for audiences to experience through a screen, and finally, in person.
However you are experiencing this program, we hope this performance speaks to you, and we hope that you will have the joy of creating something together with others again soon.
National Endowment for the Arts
This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and by Meany Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Washington and the Pablo Center at the Confluence, with additional support from the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation and the Julian Family Foundation.
Walker Art Center Acknowledgments
The Walker’s Performing Arts programs are made possible by generous support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through the Doris Duke Performing Arts Fund, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Producers’ Council
Performing Arts programs and commissions at the Walker are generously supported by members of the Producers’ Council: Nor Hall and Roger Hale; King’s Fountain/Barbara Watson Pillsbury; Sarah Lutman and Rob Rudolph; Emily Maltz; Leni and David Moore, Jr./The David and Leni Moore Family Foundation; Annie and Peter Remes; Therese Sexe and David Hage; and Mike and Elizabeth Sweeney.
Philip Glass
Through his operas, his symphonies, his compositions for his own ensemble, and his wide-ranging collaborations with artists ranging from Twyla Tharp to Allen Ginsberg, Woody Allen to David Bowie, Philip Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact upon the musical and intellectual life of his times.
His Amazon River and Metamorphosis 1 were works originally composed for piano (Amazon River was Etude no. 2), then arranged for Brazilian musical group Uakti as part of their project Aguas da Amazonia for their own gamut of instruments, many of which were custom-made and built by the performers. Drawing on both the Uakti arrangement and the original piano music, the members of Third Coast Percussion arranged and re-orchestrated these pieces utilizing mallet percussion instruments and other unique instrumental colors such as melodica, desk bells, and almglocken (tuned Swiss cowbells).
Photo by Raymond Meier
Jlin
Jlin (Jerrilynn Patton) is a producer based in Gary, Indiana. Her unique and evolving electronic sound is rooted in Chicago’s iconic footwork style, with additional influences ranging from Nina Simone to Igor Stravinsky. Jlin’s work assembles evocative and vivid sounds into a musical style that she describes as “clean, precise, and unpredictable.” Her debut album Dark Energy was released to critical acclaim in 2015, and her second album Black Origami in 2017 to rave reviews from NPR Music and Pitchfork. She has written music for Kronos Quartet and choreographer Wayne McGregor, and has recently performed at the Big Ears Festival, Whitney Museum of Art, and Toledo Museum of Art, among others.
Her seven-movement work Perspective was written for Third Coast Percussion through a highly collaborative process. After exploring and sampling instruments from TCP’s vast collection of percussion sounds at their studio in Chicago, she created an electronic version of each of the work’s seven movements using these samples and other sounds from her own library.
The members of Third Coast Percussion then set about determining how to realize these pieces in live performance. Diving into each of the audio tracks, the percussionists found dozens of sonic layers, patterns that never seem to repeat when one would expect them to, and outrageous sounds that are hard to imagine recreating acoustically. Even typical percussion sounds like snare drum, hi-hat, or kick drum exist in multiple variations, subtle timbral shades in counterpoint or composite sounds.
In pursuit of the broad expressive range of Jlin’s original tracks, TCP’s live version of this piece incorporates mixing bowls filled with water, bird calls, a variety of gongs and tambourines, and a metal spring coil, as well as many variations of drum set-like sounds: instruments that are like a hi-hat but not a hi-hat, or serve the function of a snare drum but are not a snare drum.
Jlin named her piece Perspective as a reference to this unique collaborative process, that this work would exist in two forms, the same music as interpreted through different artists and their modes of expression.
Perspective by Jlin was commissioned for Third Coast Percussion by the Boulanger Initiative, the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation, Carnegie Hall, the Lester & Hope Abelson Fund for the Performing Arts at the Chicago Community Foundation, the DEW Foundation, and Third Coast Percussion’s New Works Fund.
Jlin’s Perspective and Philip Glass’s Metamorphosis 1 will be featured on Third Coast Percussion’s album Perspectives on Cedille Records, to be released in May 2022.
Photo by Ebru Yildiz
Tyondai Braxton
Brooklyn-based composer and performer Tyondai Braxton has been writing and performing music under his own name and collaboratively under various group titles and collectives since the mid-1990s, including in the art-rock group Battles from its formation until 2010. Braxton has been commissioned by Kronos Quartet, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Alarm Will Sound, and Brooklyn Rider, has had his orchestral work performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, and the Wordless Music Orchestra, and has worked with pioneering bands Mouse on Mars and Dirty Projectors.
In collaboration with artist Uffe Surland Van Tams, Braxton premiered HIVE, a multimedia sculptural and electronic project for two electronic artists and three percussionists at The Guggenheim Museum in New York City in 2013, later transforming this music into the solo album HIVE1.
Braxton’s new work for Third Coast Percussion, Sunny X, further develops his experiments with electronic sounds and live percussionists, utilizing more idiosyncratic instruments such as wooden and metal slats, steel pipes, Thai gongs, and crotales, with electronic playback generated with modular synthesizer.
“Predominantly set up as meditations on small phrases of non-pitched (or *partially* pitched) percussion and mercurial electronics, the piece explores different permutations of these meditations where the relationship between the acoustic and electronic realms seems to work together, slip around and contrast.” —Tyondai Braxton
Sunny X evolved through multiple workshops together in TCP’s studio, experimenting with combinations of these unique sounds and discovering musical content that emerges naturally from the idiomatics of the instruments and their physical layout. In particular, a musical and physical gesture that plays prominently in the piece revealed itself when the wooden planks were stacked on top of each other, rather than set side-by-side on a table.
Sunny X was commissioned for Third Coast Percussion by the Sewanee Music Festival, George Mason University, and Carnegie Hall, with additional support from Third Coast Percussion’s New Works Fund.
Photo by Grace Villamil
Third Coast Percussion
Third Coast Percussion is a GRAMMY® Award-winning Chicago-based percussion quartet. For over fifteen years, the ensemble has created exciting and unexpected performances that constantly redefine the classical music experience. The ensemble has been praised for “commandingly elegant” (New York Times) performances, the “rare power” (Washington Post) of their recordings, and “an inspirational sense of fun and curiosity” (Star Tribune). Third Coast Percussion maintains a busy tour schedule, with past performances in 38 of the 50 states and Washington, DC, plus international tour dates across 4 continents.
A direct connection with the audience is at the core of all of Third Coast Percussion’s work, whether the musicians are speaking from the stage about a new piece of music, inviting the audience to play along in a concert or educational performance, or inviting their fans around the world to create new music using one of their free mobile apps. The four members of Third Coast are also accomplished teachers, and make active participation by all students the cornerstone of all their educational offerings.
The quartet’s curiosity and eclectic taste have led to a series of unlikely collaborations that have produced exciting new art. The ensemble has worked with engineers at the University of Notre Dame, architects at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, dancers at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and musicians from traditions ranging from the mbira music of Zimbabwe’s Shona people, to indie rockers and footwork producers, to some of the world’s leading concert musicians. Third Coast Percussion served as ensemble-in-residence at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center from 2013 - 2018 and currently serves as ensemble-in-residence at Denison University.
A commission for a new work from composer Augusta Read Thomas in 2012 led to the realization that commissioning new musical works can be—and should be—as collaborative as any other artistic partnership. Through extensive workshopping and close contact with composers, Third Coast Percussion has commissioned and premiered new works by Philip Glass, Missy Mazzoli, Gemma Peacocke, Flutronix, Jlin, Tyondai Braxton, Augusta Read Thomas, Devonté Hynes, Georg Friedrich Haas, Donnacha Dennehy, Glenn Kotche, Christopher Cerrone, David T. Little and today’s leading up-and-coming composers through their Currents Creative Partnership program. TCP’s commissioned works have become part of the ensemble’s core repertoire and seen hundreds of performances across four continents.
Third Coast Percussion’s recordings include thirteen feature albums and appearances on eleven additional releases. The quartet has put its stamp on iconic percussion works by John Cage and Steve Reich, and Third Coast has also created first recordings of commissioned works by Philip Glass, Augusta Read Thomas, Devonté Hynes, Gavin Bryars, Donnacha Dennehy, David T. Little, Ted Hearne, and more, in addition to recordings of the ensemble’s own compositions. In 2017 the ensemble won the GRAMMY® Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for their recording of Steve Reich’s works for percussion. Third Coast has since received 3 additional GRAMMY® nominations as performers, and in 2021 they received their first GRAMMY® nomination as composers.
Third Coast Percussion has always maintained strong ties to the vibrant artistic community in their hometown of Chicago. They have collaborated with Chicago institutions such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Chicago Children’s Choir, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Chicago Humanities Festival, and the Adler Planetarium. TCP performed at the grand opening of Maggie Daley Children’s Park, conducted residencies at the University of Chicago and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, created multi-year collaborative projects with Chicago-based composers Augusta Read Thomas, Glenn Kotche, and chamber ensemble Eighth Blackbird, and taught tens of thousands of students through partnerships with The People’s Music School, the Chicago Park District, Rush Hour Concerts, Urban Gateways, and others.
The four members of Third Coast Percussion (Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore) met while studying percussion music at Northwestern University with Michael Burritt and James Ross. Members of Third Coast also hold degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Rutgers University, the New England Conservatory, and the Yale School of Music. Stay up-to-date and go behind-the-scenes by following Third Coast on Twitter (@ThirdCoastPerc), Facebook (@Third Coast Percussion), Instagram (@ThirdCoastPercussion), and YouTube (@thirdcoastpercussion).
*Third Coast Percussion is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
Photo by Saverio Truglia.
Movement Art Is
Movement Art Is, co-founded by Jon Boogz and Lil Buck, is an organization that uses movement artistry to inspire and change the world while elevating the artistic, educational, and social impact of dance. Through movement art films, workshops, performances and exhibitions, MAI is resetting the spectrum of what dance is.
MAI’s award-winning short film Color of Reality directed by Jon Boogz, featuring the art of Alexa Meade and the movement artistry of MAI, went viral in fall of 2016. The film has gone on to receive coverage internationally, won Great Big Story’s Art as Impact Award; Best Experimental at Toronto International Short Film Festival; and Concept Video of the Year from World of Dance, among others. MAI’s recent/upcoming projects include: a short film created in collaboration with DAIS entitled AM i A MAN (April 2017), a performance entitled Honor Thy Mother at TED Conference in Vancouver, a live rendition of Color of Reality at Aspen Ideas Festival (June 2017) and a VR collaboration with director Terrence Malick and Facebook launched at SxSW and Tribeca Film Festival in spring 2018.
The duo recently choreographed for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago with music composed by Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange) performed by Third Coast Percussion, and is currently touring a new full length show Love Heals All Wounds.
Jon Boogz is a movement artist, choreographer, and director who seeks to push the evolution of what dance can be–sharing with audiences of all backgrounds an appreciation of the melding of art forms while inspiring and bringing awareness to social issues.
Originally motivated to dance by the work of Michael Jackson, Boogz has choreographed for notable icons including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Naomi Campbell, Gloria Estefan; for Pharrell’s Adidas Originals campaign; he also creative directed, choreographed, and performed in Movement Art Is: Standing Rock at ComplexCon; and served as creative consultant for ads launching campaigns for Apple and Lexus. Boogz’s collaborators include TriBeCa Film Festival, Benjamin Millepied, Lil Buck, and Flying Lotus. His choreography is used in FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance; Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE; and he was featured at the Geffen Playhouse’s Backstage at the Geffen with his dance company Control Freakz, Lil Buck, and spoken word artist Robin Sanders to honor Morgan Freeman and Jeff Skoll.
Boogz wrote, choreographed, directed and danced in Color of Reality, a short film in collaboration with visual artist Alexa Meade. The work continues to receive coverage internationally and won Great Big Story’s Art as Impact Award; Best Experimental at Toronto International Short Film Festival; and Concept Video of the Year from World of Dance, among others. His forthcoming projects seek to merge movement with fine art, film, technology, and the stage.
International phenomenon Lil Buck (Charles Riley) began jookin’ – a street dance that originated in Memphis – at age 13 alongside mentors Marico Flake and Daniel Price. After receiving early hip-hop training from Teran Garry and ballet training on scholarship at the New Ballet Ensemble, he performed and choreographed until relocating to Los Angeles in 2009.
Named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” his collaboration with Spike Jonze and Yo-Yo Ma performing The Swan went viral in 2011. Since then he has collaborated with a broad spectrum of artists including JR, Damian Woetzel, the New York City Ballet, Madonna, Benjamin Millepied, and Spike Lee. Buck is an avid arts education advocate, recipient of the WSJ Wall Street Journal Innovator Award, collaborates frequently with global brands including Apple, Lexus, Glenfiddich and Louis Vuitton, and launched a capsule collection with Versace. He co-starred in the viral short film Color of Reality, which continues to screen at film festivals worldwide and has won numerous awards.
Movement Art Is, co-founded by Jon Boogz and Lil Buck, is an organization that uses movement artistry to inspire and change the world while elevating the artistic, educational, and social impact of dance. Through movement art films, workshops, performances and exhibitions, MAI is resetting the spectrum of what dance is.
MAI’s award-winning short film Color of Reality directed by Jon Boogz, featuring the art of Alexa Meade and the movement artistry of MAI, went viral in fall of 2016. The film has gone on to receive coverage internationally, won Great Big Story’s Art as Impact Award; Best Experimental at Toronto International Short Film Festival; and Concept Video of the Year from World of Dance, among others. MAI’s recent/upcoming projects include: a short film created in collaboration with DAIS entitled AM i A MAN (April 2017), a performance entitled Honor Thy Mother at TED Conference in Vancouver, a live rendition of Color of Reality at Aspen Ideas Festival (June 2017) and a VR collaboration with director Terrence Malick and Facebook launched at SxSW and Tribeca Film Festival in spring 2018.
The duo recently choreographed for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago with music composed by Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange) performed by Third Coast Percussion, and is currently touring a new full length show Love Heals All Wounds.
Jon Boogz is a movement artist, choreographer, and director who seeks to push the evolution of what dance can be–sharing with audiences of all backgrounds an appreciation of the melding of art forms while inspiring and bringing awareness to social issues.
Originally motivated to dance by the work of Michael Jackson, Boogz has choreographed for notable icons including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Naomi Campbell, Gloria Estefan; for Pharrell’s Adidas Originals campaign; he also creative directed, choreographed, and performed in Movement Art Is: Standing Rock at ComplexCon; and served as creative consultant for ads launching campaigns for Apple and Lexus. Boogz’s collaborators include TriBeCa Film Festival, Benjamin Millepied, Lil Buck, and Flying Lotus. His choreography is used in FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance; Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE; and he was featured at the Geffen Playhouse’s Backstage at the Geffen with his dance company Control Freakz, Lil Buck, and spoken word artist Robin Sanders to honor Morgan Freeman and Jeff Skoll.
Boogz wrote, choreographed, directed and danced in Color of Reality, a short film in collaboration with visual artist Alexa Meade. The work continues to receive coverage internationally and won Great Big Story’s Art as Impact Award; Best Experimental at Toronto International Short Film Festival; and Concept Video of the Year from World of Dance, among others. His forthcoming projects seek to merge movement with fine art, film, technology, and the stage.
International phenomenon Lil Buck (Charles Riley) began jookin’ – a street dance that originated in Memphis – at age 13 alongside mentors Marico Flake and Daniel Price. After receiving early hip-hop training from Teran Garry and ballet training on scholarship at the New Ballet Ensemble, he performed and choreographed until relocating to Los Angeles in 2009.
Named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” his collaboration with Spike Jonze and Yo-Yo Ma performing The Swan went viral in 2011. Since then he has collaborated with a broad spectrum of artists including JR, Damian Woetzel, the New York City Ballet, Madonna, Benjamin Millepied, and Spike Lee. Buck is an avid arts education advocate, recipient of the WSJ Wall Street Journal Innovator Award, collaborates frequently with global brands including Apple, Lexus, Glenfiddich and Louis Vuitton, and launched a capsule collection with Versace. He co-starred in the viral short film Color of Reality, which continues to screen at film festivals worldwide and has won numerous awards.
Photo by Michael Cobarrubia.
Cameron Murphy
Cameron Murphy is a movement artist, actor and a former bronze medalist Junior Olympian. Throughout his 8 years of experience, he has infused various styles of street dance, body contortion and acting techniques into his performances. Taking advantage of his surroundings, he spent his first few years training as a self-taught dancer performing in the heart of Las Vegas. Street performing helped prepare him to eventually take on larger roles such as the lead character of Cirque Du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE and a featured dancer for Aerosmith’s DEUCES ARE WILD residency.
Photo courtesy of artist.
Quentin Robinson
Born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Quentin Robinson is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and various other locations on combat tours. Robinson has been dancing for 20 years, teaching and performing both domestically and internationally. Above all, Robinson strives to be a wonderful dad in the midst of his work.
Robinson is the Founder and CEO of Movement 4 Movements, a nonprofit organization centered on using movement to help individuals navigate their way through mental and physical trauma and dissociation.
Robinson's dancing and expertise have been featured on many platforms, including Athena Pack women's leadership conference 2019, Business Innovation Factory conference 2018-2019, TEDx Bozeman, I Am Interchange, HATCH, VIDCON 2015-17, Last Best Conference 2016-17, and BET. He was also featured on the Netflix series Move, and he directed, produced and wrote the short films Breaking Barriers, Tis Of Thee and Black Magic, in which he starred.
In addition, Robinson has appeared in music videos and stage performances with Rising Appalachia, bass legend Victor Wooten, Butterscotch, Blind Pilot, Portland Cello Project, and Movement Art Is – Jon Boogz and Lil Buck – in their culture-shifting production Love Heals All Wounds.
Robinson has held numerous workshops for youth in Missoula schools, at Roots Acro Sports, and with Camp Make A Dream. Robinson hopes to ignite the spark of dance and movement in every person he has the opportunity to work with.
Photo by Laurie Z Divine Photography.
Leslie Buxbaum Danzig
Leslie Buxbaum Danzig is delighted to work with Third Coast Percussion again, after stage directing. TCP’s previous projects Wild Sound, composed by Glenn Kotche, and Paddle to the Sea. As collaborating director with the dance-theater company Lucky Plush Productions, Danzighas worked on Rink Life (NEFA National Theater Project Award), Rooming House, The Queue (NEFA National Dance Project Award), and The Better Half. Presenting venues include Steppenwolf 1700, MCA Chicago, Spoleto Festival USA (SC), CRASHarts at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Dance Cleveland, Flynn Center for the Performing Arts (VT), ODC (CA), and Maui Arts and Cultural Center among others. For over a decade, Danzig was co-founder and resident director of the Chicago-based physical theater company 500 Clown, which toured throughout the US. She has directed at The Actors Gymnasium, House Theatre, Redmoon, Chicago Children's Theater, About Face Theater, and New Victory Theater (NYC), and has toured nationally and internationally as an actor with NYC’s Elevator Repair Service. She is Assistant Professor of Practice in Theater and Performance Studies, University of Chicago.
Photo courtesy of artist.
Joe Burke
Joe Burke is a visual designer for live performance specializing in projection and lighting design. His designs have been seen across the United States, ranging from theatre, corporate events, exhibits, and music performance. In his last collaboration with Third Coast Percussion, Burke designed the stage lighting and composed additional video artwork for the premier and touring production of Paddle to The Sea.
Theatre highlights include the pre-Broadway run and world premiere of August Rush (Paramount Theatre); Midwest premiere of Hope, Part II of a Mexican Trilogy (Teatro Vista); Midwest premiere of The Total Bent (Haven Theatre); Midwest premiere of Women Laughing Alone With Salad (Theater Wit!); world premiere of Earthquakes in London (Steep Theatre); The Christians (Steppenwolf Theatre); and The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-time (Steppenwolf Theatre).
Visual art presentations include Seven Soliloquies (Art on the Mart); Folxtales (University of Illinois Urbana Champaign); and Poetry Found (The Poetry Foundation).
Exhibit highlights include the world premiere of The Hunger Games Exhibition (Imagine Exhibitions); Spy: The Secret World Of Espionage (Base Entertainment); and Sea Monsters (Base Entertainment).
Burke holds a Master of Fine Arts from Illinois Theatre at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kent State University. He was the recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Award for his projection design of Elf The Musical. In 2014 he was the recipient of The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 3, Theatre Design Excellence in Lighting Design Award. He has been a guest speaker at many institutions including Kent State University, the University of Illinois, and Northern Illinois University.
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- Gordon Rouse and Sylvia Beach
- Catharine Ruther and David Vanney
- Phyllis Saltzman
- Kathleen Schou
- Dr. Darlene Sholtis and Dr. Heino Beckmann
- John and Kelly Wheaton
- Mark Wright and Elizabeth Walton
friend's circle
100+
- Anonymous
- Paul Aslanian
- Thomas and Jill Barland
- Sharon Bigot
- Jeanne Blaskowski
- David Braslau
- Kristen Brogdon
- Mark and Karena Casey
- JaNan Cavanaugh
- Kate Christianson
- Russell Cowles
- Virginia Dale
- Sandra Dale
- Timothy and Judith Dove
- William Durfee and Devorah Goldstein
- Marcia and Berkan Endres
- Kathy Gremillion
- Richard Gwynne
- David and Julie Hartung
- Joyce and Eugene Haselmann
- Annemarie Herrlich
- Patricia Herrmann
- Christina Herzog
- Gayle Hjellming
- Richard Hruby and Kimberly Broderick
- Kimberly Hutchens
- Janet Johnson
- Tovio Kallas and Beatrice Holton
- Micki and Neil Kay
- Warren and Patricia Kelly
- Randy Kish
- Leslie Koepke
- Christina Kraft and Nelson Capes
- Alan and Peggy Lathrop
- James and Sharon Lewis
- Barbara Lind and Craig Poeschl
- Kimberley MacLennan
- Holly Manning
- Candice and Gerald Matykowski
- Kenneth and Judith Matysik
- George and Orla McClure
- Margaret Moutvic-Wasz
- Michael and Lisa Nekich
- Jenine Nordquist
- Jennifer and William Neujahr
- Donald Ofstedal
- Field and Cynthia Olson
- David Pace
- David and Mary Parker
- Jacob Rabinowitz
- Holly Radis-McCluskey and Glen McCluskey
- John Reay and Karen Hanson
- Bridget and David Reddan
- Debra Reischl
- Julia Sand
- Kari Schloner
- Dan Sheehan
- John Shreves
- Jan and Alan Sickbert
- Wendy Steele
- Jon Thomas
- Cindy Tong and Robert Denison
- Ertugrul and Karen Owens Tuzcu
- John Van Bogar
- Cheryl Wall
- Michael Weinbeck
- Cathy Westrum and Annelynn Westrum
- Monica Winker-Bergstrom
- Millie Woodbury
- Roger Worm
Up to $99
- Atashi Acharya
- Kent Akervik
- Gerald and Georgianna Allan
- Arthur and Charlet Allen
- Jean Anderson
- Marcia Anderson
- Michael and Jessica Austin
- Kevin and Shirley Arms
- Peter Bartholome
- Todd Barton
- Austin Beatty
- Michael Blomberg
- Tierra Boose
- Jason Borah
- Mary Boyer
- Patti Brase
- Kathryn Bredemus
- Philip Briggs
- Clifford Brody
- Nancy Brown
- Justin Burke
- Thomas Cabaniss
- Patricia Cagle
- Mary Campbell
- Philippe Catalan
- Fay Chang
- Karen Charles
- Mary Ann and Stephen Chicoine
- David and Nancy Claussen
- Deborah Clendenning
- Beverly Connolly
- Jeanne and David Cornish
- Scott Cragle
- Charlotte Curry
- Neal Cuthbert and Louise Robinson
- Cynthia Daggett
- Emily Dail
- Andre Delattre
- Soleil Des Lauriers
- Cindy Devoy
- Vicki Donatell
- Byron Douglass
- Robert Dufault and Ann Wilcox
- Nancy Duffy
- Lee Dunn
- Jill and Ralph Dupslaff
- Jean Durades
- Frances Durkin
- Alisa Eland
- Kristin Elizondo
- Susan Elsner
- Barbara and Gerald Erickson
- Tamara Eristavi
- Valerie Fazedin
- Elizabeth Fleck
- Debra and Phillip Ford
- Judith Franklin
- Kirk Froggart
- Candance Gossen
- Michael Green and Jane Powers
- Jane Greenberg
- Amanda Grimm and Steven Pope
- Birgit Grund
- Julie Hagemann
- Nils and Heather Halker
- Urbae Hall
- Amy Handelsman
- Jim Hartmann and Michelle Miles
- Jean Haskell
- Richard Haskin
- Cari Hatcher
- Deborah Hennrikus
- Patrick and Kimberley Higgins
- John Hofstede
- Janet Horvath
- Ramona Jacobs and Charles Christianson
- Karin Jacobson and Adam Chapweske
- Ann Jaede
- Jay Jaffee and Wendy Friede
- Bill Jones
- Michael Kanner
- Anna Kerben
- Cassandra Kiehn
- Milo Kim
- Nancy Klausner
- Amy Kosari
- Connie Kuhn
- Arnold Kvam
- Mike and Sharon Lane
- Roberta Lamps
- Carol Larson
- Linda Leamer
- Kathryn LeFevere
- Jane Leonard and Lori Lippert
- Elizabeth Ler
- Debra Lex
- Michelle and Kevin Lian-Anderson
- Kathryn Lien
- Kristine Loh
- Ann Loushine-Thomsen
- Marcelienne and Roger Lundquist
- Dianne and Don MacLennan
Up to $99 (continued)
- Kyle Maltz
- Kathryn Manger
- Judy Marcouiller
- Nancy Marcy
- Cynthia Marsh and C.W. Vandersluis
- Susan McNamara
- Margaret Michaelson
- Sanjay Mishra
- Jill Mitchell
- M Valeriana Moeller
- Eric Molho
- Karen Moon
- Daniel Moore
- James Moore
- Ayaka Moriyama
- Summer Morrison
- Ann Mosey
- Chuck Munro
- Bridget Murphy
- Amy Nelson Sander
- Lloyd Nestrud
- Shelley and James Nichols
- Libby Nickel
- Linda and Larry Nielsen
- Nina Norum
- James and Sarah Novotny
- Kristine Olson
- Sandra Olson
- Lynn O’Neal
- Barbara Owens
- Nicolas Paredes Sepulveda
- Ann and Bill Parker
- Judith Parr
- Helen Paul
- Mike Payer
- Matthew Peak
- Marjorie Pearson
- Christina Peterson
- Edward Peterson
- Greg and Rebecca Phelan
- Charisse Pickron
- Holly Pike and Joseph Klein
- Cathy Poff
- Claudia Poser and Ronald Ofstead
- James Potter
- Nancy Price
- Rebecca Quaid
- Mark Rekow and Lynn Mader
- Melanie Richards
- Piper Ritter
- Mary Roberts and Edward Kraft
- Susan Roberts
- Robyne Robinson
- Yvonne Rode
- Susan Rohde
- Susan Rose
- Irina Rukina
- Makie Sanchez
- Edward Sarnoski
- Rebecca Scherpelz
- Robin Schow
- Thomas Scott
- Cynthia Sharon
- Elizabeth Sharpe
- Michele and Chris Shepherd
- Rebecca and John Shockley
- Kevin Silverstein and Karen Tang
- Carol Skinner
- Emily Soltis
- Patricia Stankovich
- Kathleen Stanley
- Nanette Stearns
- Kate Stolpman
- Vicki Strahan
- George Swan
- Toni Taylor
- Marie-Luise and Anita Teigen
- Ivette Tejeda
- Connor Theisen
- Kay Troan
- Nancy Tykwinski
- Brandon Ure
- Alla Valdberg
- Tatiana Valdberg
- Ann Van de Winckel
- Frank Van Tongeren
- Bill Venne and Douglas Kline
- Carolyn Wahl
- Brian and Katherine Weitz
- Andrew Welken
- Helen and Paul Wells
- Curtis West
- Susan Wiste
- Allie Wolf
- Rachel Wolff
- Winifred Wu and Robert Lund
- Yuhsuan Yeh
- Mary Zilge
- Margaret Zoerhoff
- Roberta Zohara
This season’s listing is current as of 4/20/22
Please contact Trisha Taylor at taylort@umn.edu if you have any corrections or questions.
The Heritage Society honors and celebrates donors who have made estate and other planned gifts for Northrop at the University of Minnesota.
- Nancy M Allen*
- Jerry L Artz
- John W Follows*
- Stephen Gordon and Pat Gavan-Gordon
- Peter S Lund
- Darlene M Sholtis
*deceased
Northrop's Aeolian-Skinner Organ
Thank you to the generous donors who continue to support programming for Northrop’s beloved Aeolian-Skinner Organ. It is because of you that this magnificent instrument’s voice will be enjoyed by many for years to come.
organ supporters
Anonymous
Reade Adams
Katherine Anderson
Terry and Vicki Anderson
Pat Andrle
J. Michael Barone
Karen and Alan Beck
Mark Bergaas and Mark Ceilley
Carol Bessler
Fred and Cynthia Betz, In Honor of Esther Stocke
Dean Billmeyer
Joyce Brown
Drs. Robert Bruininks and Susan Hagstrum
Francis Carter
James Commander
Scott Cragle
William and Virginia Craig
Dee Ann and Kent Crossley
Thomas Dillon
Sheena Dufresne
Laura and Tim Edman
David Fiebiger
Peter Fiore
Catherine Fischer
Deborah Ford
Susan Foster
Salvatore Franco
Judith Franklin
Reid Froiland
Maiken Givot
Karen Grasmon
Marilyn Haight
Nils and Heather Halker
Thomas Hanna
Jeffrey Helgerson
Helen Hillstrom
Janet Hively
Anna Iltis
Charlie Johnson
Susan Keljik
Mark Kieffer
Joseph Kuznik
Arnold Kvam
Carol Leach
Kristin Lefferts
James Lehmann
Kathryn Lien
Ronald Low
Peter Lund
Stephanie McDonald
Alfred and Ann Moore
Daniel Moore
Darcia Narvaez
Paul Nasvik
Pamela Neuenfeldt and Don Williams
Don Notvik
Steve Oakley
Paul Olsen
Steve Panizza
Robert Paschke
Daniel Peterson
David and Margaret Peterson
Chia-Hsing Pi
Holly Radis-McCluskey and Glen McCluskey
Jane Rosemarin and Val Lardwehr
Bruce Schelske
Connie Schuelka
Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation
John Sebolt
Nancy Shallcross
Rebecca and John Shockley
Foster Solem
Chris Solheid
Laurine Speltz and Denis Ryono
Richard Steege
Paul Stever
William Tajibnapis
Nicole Thomas
Curtis Trout
John Vilandre
Michael Volna
Nancy Wellington
David and Rachelle Willey
board members
J. Michael Barone
Cynthia Betz
Dean Billmeyer
Kristen Brogdon
Dr. Robert Bruininks
Dee Ann Crossley
Laura Edman
Cathie Fischer
Nils Halker
Cari Hatcher
David Jensen
Helen Jensen
Pamela Neuenfeldt
Kari Schloner
This season’s listing is current as of 4/20/22
Please contact Trisha Taylor at taylort@umn.edu if you have any corrections or questions.
Welcome to Northrop! I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate spring than by joining us for the Grammy-winning Third Coast Percussion with choreography by Movement Art Is—bringing the best of music and dance together on the same stage. Like many of our performances, we are proud to partner with our community for this event—co-presenting tonight with Walker Art Center; offering a student matinee that is in-person, on-demand, and livestream; hosting a free dance class led by one of the artists of Movement Art Is, and sparking imaginations with a virtual pop-up library created by University of Minnesota Libraries. We are so grateful for your support and commitment to the work that we do, to our outreach and collaborations, and to the artists that we present.
I also hope you can join us for the final events of Northrop’s 2021-2022 season including our ENCORE 2022 Gala on Jun 2 which features a performance by Limón Dance Company, plus delicious food and drinks, live music, dancing, and special guests. The Northrop Advisory Board and I know you’ll be inspired by this extraordinary gala, and we invite you to bring family and friends to share this memorable event with you.
As we enjoy this performance and look to future events, I invite you to support Northrop’s programs, helping to shine bright lights on our stage. Please consider supporting the important work that Northrop is doing now and in the future to inspire positive change in our world. The Northrop Advisory Board is growing along with new opportunities to engage. If you are interested in learning more, please contact us at northrop@umn.edu.
Thank you for attending this performance—and if you see me at the event, please don’t hesitate to introduce yourself! I would love to meet you.
Jeff Bieganek, Northrop Advisory Board Chair
About the Northrop Advisory Board
The Northrop Advisory Board is committed to the growth and awareness of Northrop’s mission, vision, and the continued future of presenting world-class dance and music in our community. If you would like more information about the advisory board and its work, please contact Cynthia Betz, Director of Development, at 612-626-7554 or betzx011@umn.edu.
board members
Cynthia Betz
Jeff Bieganek, Chair
Kristen Brogdon
Dr. Robert Bruininks
John Conlin
Deb Cran
Susan DeNuccio
Karen Hanson
Cari Hatcher
Jill Hauwiller
Bob McMaster
Katheryn Menaged
Cory Padesky
Toni Pierce-Sands
Holly Radis-McCluskey
Gary Reetz
Robyne Robinson
Kari Schloner
Donald Williams
This season’s listing is current as of 4/20/22
Please contact Trisha Taylor at taylort@umn.edu if you have any corrections or questions.
Learn More
The content below derives from the Northrop Across Campus Program that supports Northrop's mission towards intersections between performing arts and education for the benefit of all participants now and for generations to come.
Explore These Themes
Find ways to make thematic connections to these suggested courses.
Music: Percussion, Composition
Early Childhood Education
Dance: Urban Street Styles, Multi-Genre
Kinesiology
American Studies/American Cultural Studies
African American Studies
Audiology
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Political Science
Social Justice/Human Rights
Sociology
Theatre Production
Urban Studies
Take a deeper dive into these resources that provide more information about the company of performers, the history of the artform, and where you can learn more about the artistic process!
Start a conversation about the performance, or reflect on the performance, using these questions as inspiration.
Movement Art Is states that its organization focuses on “using movement artistry to inspire change in the world.” Co-founders Jon Boogz and Lil Buck often create work inspired by socio-political issues facing the nation and global society - racism, immigration, mass incarceration, and more - both onstage and through film.
- How have you seen art utilized to express a social justice narrative in order to bring awareness to important topics?
- If you were to create a work of art that was based on a social justice issue, what topic would you hope to explore and what medium(s) of art would you use?
Both Movement Art Is (dance) and Third Coast Percussion (music) are arts organizations focused on education, enriching artistic curiosity, and community engagement.
- Why is it important to utilize multiple forms of art to educate, enrich, and engage with a community?
- How can multidisciplinary art collaborations multiply the impact or message of a performance, in contrast to single-discipline performances?
- What are the benefits of dance education? What are the benefits of music education? How are both artistic mediums important in shaping young minds?
Think about the various artistic elements (movement, sound, theatrical production, and narrative) that worked together to bring this single creative entity to life.
- What is the value of pairing live instrumental music performance with live dance? Does the choreography change your experience of the music and vice versa?
- How did the staging and lighting throughout the show amplify the music and choreography?
- How do the street dance styles of jookin’ and poppin’ compare to other dance styles that are typically seen on a performing arts stage? How do they interact and contrast with one another over the course of the performance?
- How does the theme of “metamorphosis” present itself throughout the program?
