Performance Transcript: Opening Remarks

Hello everyone, and welcome to Northrop. My name is Kristen Brogdon. I’m Northrop’s director of artistic and community programs, and I’m delighted to welcome you. 

I’d like to begin this welcome with gratitude that this performance 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. Thank you, Minnesota voters. Northrop is part of a public university, rooted in Minnesota, and we are very proud of and thankful for our place here. We also acknowledge that this place that many of us call home has a complex and layered history, and not everyone has been served and treated equally throughout that history. Northrop is located on the contemporary, traditional, and ancestral homelands of the Dakota people. We seek to show up in support of Native and Indigenous Artists, and land acknowledgment is one of the ways we educate our campus and community about our relationships with the land and each other. We are also responding to our history by welcoming EVERYONE to Northrop. You belong here, whether you’re here for the first time or have been attending for decades.

Let’s have a show of hands - how many of you are here at Northrop for the first time? Regulars, thank you for your ongoing support, and please help us welcome our newcomers tonight. Let’s also have a round of applause for our lobby musician Kae Layne.

We’re thrilled to welcome Dance Theatre of Harlem back after a few years, and they’ve put together a stellar program of classical and new ballets for you. DTH would like to encourage you to express your appreciation this evening in a way that feels genuine to you.

We have two intermissions for this program, and we encourage you to visit with each other. You can get some refreshments or check in at our Northrop table in the lobby. We also have a sensory lounge off the lobby if you or anyone with you needs a break at any time.

Our next dance program here at Northrop will be the world premiere of a new work titled Children of Dharma by Ragamala Dance Company, artists who are a Minnesota treasure and also internationally renowned. That performance is November 2 and we hope to see you again.

Tonight you are in for a real treat, and we are so happy you’ve chosen to spend your evening with us. Please join me in a warm Northrop welcome for Dance Theatre of Harlem!