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Twin Cities Life
The Twin Cities are at the heart of a fast growing and vital cultural center featuring two internationally famous orchestras, three world-class art museums, an international opera company and three Broadway road-houses. Nationally known for its natural beauty and quality of life, Minneapolis and St. Paul are also leading centers for theatre and dance.
In fact, the Twin Cities have more theatre companies per capita than any city outside of New York, with over 50 performing arts theatres, including 15 Equity companies. There is great range to the work represented in these theatres: from Penumbra, one of the country's outstanding African-American professional theatres, to Theatre de le Jeune Lune, which has gained a national reputation for its innovative physically-based work; from the nationally recognized Children's Theatre Company to Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, the country's largest dinner theatre complex. There is also the internationally-renowned Guthrie Theater, as well as several experimental companies devoted to new plays and innovation and a growing film and commercial market.
Both cities also foster a diverse dance environment, considered by many to be one of the most thriving dance communities in the country. A wide range of aesthetics are represented in the companies with which our faculty are involved, including Shapiro and Smith Dance, TU Dance, Zenon Dance Company, Ethnic Dance Theater, Ananya Dance Theatre, Black Label Movement, Paula Mann’s Time Track Productions, ARENA Dances, Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theatre, and Joe Chvala’s Flying Foot Forum. A variety of venues host these and other companies in dance series’ featuring emerging and established artists, and presenters such as the Walker Art Center and Northrop Dance Series bring in nationally and internationally recognized companies on a regular basis.
Fortunate to have a myriad of talented, involved faculty and a campus situated between the two downtown districts, the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance maintains a strong connection to the Twin Cities arts community. At the University of Minnesota, students are at the cutting-edge of a community rich with opportunities to experience and become involved in the performing arts.