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About Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota
Twin Cities Ballet ("TCB") (formerly Lakeville City Ballet)
is an independent, 501(c)(3)
non-profit semi-professional dance company that draws its dancers from
area and national professional dance companies, area dance schools, and community
residents.
Vision and Goals Statement:
Twin Cities Ballet strives to introduce, promote and support the artistry, discipline and athleticism of ballet and other dance forms through performances, community outreach and educational initiatives, scholarship awards, and collaborative artistic events.
Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota Activities and Events:
Outreach:
TCB educates and interacts with children with Outreach "Mobile Shows" in the elementary school system. These shows incorporate Art, Dance, Music and History into appropriate presentations for the public schools in this area, using both students and professional dancers.
Nutcracker Ballet:
Since its inagural performances in 2003, TCB performs its flagship traditional, full-length production of Denise Vogt's The Nutcracker ballet to full houses each year. Consisting of a cast of approximately 120, the Nutcracker is seen by thousands each year, and has become one of the most attended and cherished annual holiday event in the Twin Cities.
TCB's production of The Nutcracker had its origins in the mid-1990's as a school show directed by Denise Vogt, which was developed and presented over several years. After the 2002 performances Lakeville City Ballet (TCB's former name) was created as a separate and independent non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation to enable Ms. Vogt, its Board of Directors, and hundreds of volunteers, students, parents and the community to move to the next level and continue performing and expanding the scope and quality of The Nutcracker. Lakeville City Ballet (as TCB was then known) independently produced and performed its Nutcracker ballet annually since 2003, and starting in 2010 continues to do so under its current name, Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota. Every year TCB also performs a special matinee performance of The Nutcracker for the 4th Graders and Special Education students in our area.
Summer Dance Festival: In furtherance of TCB's community outreach and artistic collaboration goals, it annually sponsors and produces a summer program in collaboration with Ballet Royale Minnesota, Burnsville’s “Art and All That Jazz” Festival and St. Paul's Alesso's Dance
Spectrum company. This annual collaboration, features two approximately 20 minute family-friendly shows that
highlight the talent and versatility of well trained dancers, with a sampling of traditional, contemporary and Broadway style Jazz dance
numbers. This program provides area students, schools and professionals with the opportunity to perform and share the art of dance in a non-competitive environment. Free and Open to the public.
Student Dancer Recognition Scholarships: TCB awards scholarships/grants to eligible student dancers each year. The purpose of these scholarships is to recognize excellence in the art of dance by persons in our community, to provide financial support and tangible encouragement to young dancers so that their development might continue, and to identify area dancers who are dedicated to making dance training, education, and performance a central part of their lives.
Where to find Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota:
TCB relies on the availability and generous donation of studio and office space by its sponsors. Currently TCB's official residence is at Ballet Royale Minnesota 's premier facility located on the border of Lakeville and Burnsville, in the heart of the Minneapolis/St. Paul south metro area. Performances are held at the state-of-the-art professional theater at Burnsville Performing Arts Center.
Click on the "Ballet Royale Minnesota" tab above for more details and directions to its studios.
About Our Directors:
Denise Vogt, Artistic Director
Denise Vogt, Twin Cities Ballet's Artistic Director, trained in her native England under principal dancers from the English Royal Ballet and Ballet Rambert. She also studied theater, drama, and dance for three years at The London Studio Center, and was a finalist for the Tom Merryfield Award in London . Denise holds Associate Teaching Certificates from the Royal Academy of Dance in Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced Ballet.
Denise began her professional dance career at the age of 19, when she left England and joined the Kiel Capitol City Theater Ballet in Germany . She spent the next seven years in Germany , where she also danced with the Osnabrück Contemporary Dance Theater and the State Theater Kassel Ballet. Denise danced in a wide range of ballets and contemporary pieces, including solo roles in such varied works as Peer Gynt, Swan Lake, Fancy Free, Nutcracker, Giselle, and as the young Isadora Duncan in Life of Isadora. She also performed in the stage musicals West Side Story, The Man from La Mancha, and Chicago.
Denise has taught master classes in England, Germany and Los Angeles. Since moving to the USA in 1989, Denise has taught at many Twin Cities schools, including the University of Minnesota, the Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota in St. Paul, and the St. Paul Public School System. She was on the faculty at Ballet Arts Minnesota (now the Dance Institute) for twelve years, taught company class for Minnesota Dance Theater in Minneapolis, and developed and directed a ballet program at DanceWorks in Lakeville for 14 years. Denise is currently the Co-Director with her husband Rick of Ballet Royale Minnesota, the first and only dedicated classical ballet school in the Twin Cities south of the Minnesota River, and the official residence of Twin Cities Ballet.
In addition to dancing and teaching, Denise has over three decades or choreographic experience; she has choreographed over 60 pieces for both professional companies and schools, in England, Germany, and the USA. Denise has been the Artistic Director and primary choreographer of Twin Cities Ballet since its inception in 2003.
Denise
is also a winner of the Dakota County Tribune's "2011 Exceptional
Businesswomen Award."
Rick Vogt, Associate Artistic Director
Born
in St. Paul, Rick Vogt first trained and danced with Jo Savino's original
Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota / St. Paul City Ballet. He
studied on scholarship with San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and
David Howard's in New York, and the University of Utah Ballet Majors
Program.
Professionally, Rick was a Soloist and Principal dancer in
Germany with the Kiel Capitol Theater Ballet and the State Theater
Kassel, in the U.S. with Nevada Dance Theater and Utah Ballet, and locally as a
guest artist with Ballet Minnesota in St. Paul and Twin Cities Ballet
of Minnesota (formerly Lakeville City Ballet). He has danced principal
and solo roles in classics such as Coppelia, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet,
Swan Lake, and a myriad of roles in the Nutcracker, and other jazz, rock
and contemporary works. He has also danced with Ballet West, The
Washington Ballet in D.C., Arizona Dance Theater, and Jazzin' Dance Co.,
performing works by Choo San Goh, George Balanchine, Jean-Paul Comelin,
and Arthur Mitchell. Rick has danced in the stage musicals West Side
Story and Chicago, and in the movie Footloose.
For over 20 years Rick
has choreographed and taught Ballet, Pas de Deux, Boys Dance &
Ballet, and Jazz classes throughout the Twin Cities, including at the
Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota in St. Paul, DanceWorks in
Lakeville, DeLange Dancers Studios and Ballet Arts Minnesota (now The
Dance Institute) in Minneapolis. Rick is the Associate Artistic
Director of Twin Cities Ballet, and and Co-Directer of Ballet Royale Minnesota. Rick also has a B.A. in
Philosophy and a Law degree from the University of Minnesota.
Corporate Information
Twin Cities Ballet of MInnesota is the registered business name of Lakeville City Ballet, an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable arts organization consisting of local and national professional dancers, students from area schools, and membersof the community. TCB was incorporated in the state of Minnesota on July 29, 2003, and is a tax-exempt organization as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Supporters may deduct contributions to TCB as provided in section 170 of the Code. Bequests, legacies, devises, transfers, or gifts to TCB are deductible for Federal estate and gift tax purposes if they meet the applicable provisions of sections 2055, 2106, and 2522 of the Code.
TCB’s Officers and Board of Directors:
Denise Vogt, President, Artistic Director, and Board Member
Rick Vogt, Associate Artistic Director and Board Member
Andrea Sjogren, Secretary and Board Member
Jackie Fritz, Treasurer and Board Member
Jeanne Mork, Board Chair and Member
Cheryl Morton, Board Member
Kathy Maguire, Board Member
Michael Gilliland, Board Member
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