CO-foundERS |
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JOANNA LEES
Joanna Lees (Executive + Artistic Director) is a choreographer based in Minneapolis, MN. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Joanna graduated cum laude with distinction in 2007 with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Business from The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH). At OSU, she was an Arts Scholar and the recipient of the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum Scholarship. Joanna studied with various artists including Bebe Miller, Susan Hadley, Karen Eliot Abigail Yager and Ming-Lung Yang. She performed Doug Varone’s Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) in collaboration with BalletMet Columbus.Since moving to the Twin Cities in 2008, Joanna has performed in works with and by several local dance artists including Penelope Freeh, Blake Nellis, Taja Will, Darrius Strong, Heather Klopchin, Jennifer Glaws, Erin Drummond, Laura Holway, Jennifer Mack, Erinn Liebhard, Kelly Radermacher, and Kristin Howe. Joanna also showcased her own choreography independently before co-founding the Minneapolis dance company, Alternative Motion Project alongside Kristin Howe in 2011. She has served as Co-Artistic Director and Executive Director since AMP’s inception, creating performing opportunities for Minneapolis artists, educational outreach programs for public school students and audience engagement initiatives.
Joanna’s work has been presented by the College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL), The Moving Collective (Louisville, KY) and at the Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival (Kalamazoo, MI). Joanna enjoys the collaborative process including with COD professor/composer Lee Kesselman and Chicago visual artist René Romero Schuler. She also premiered her first multi-media dance work entitled #binge (2016) in Minneapolis.
In 2020, Joanna earned her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Dance at The University of Utah (Salt Lake City). Whilst there, she served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Dance and received the L. Scott Marsh Mentorship Award & a University Teaching Assistantship. She performed works by Charles O. Anderson, Stephen Koester, Sara Pickett, Christine McMillan. She performed in work by Doug Varone in collaboration with Doug Varone and Dancers and was selected as a choreographer for Varone’s DEVICES mentorship program, showcasing her work, Spiral Into Control, in New York City in 2018. An excerpt of her MFA thesis, B E C O M I N G, was selected to represent University of Utah in performance for the American College Dance Association Northwest Regional Conference at Gonzaga University. Joanna is currently a faculty member at Winona State University.
Joanna’s work has been presented by the College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL), The Moving Collective (Louisville, KY) and at the Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival (Kalamazoo, MI). Joanna enjoys the collaborative process including with COD professor/composer Lee Kesselman and Chicago visual artist René Romero Schuler. She also premiered her first multi-media dance work entitled #binge (2016) in Minneapolis.
In 2020, Joanna earned her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Dance at The University of Utah (Salt Lake City). Whilst there, she served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Dance and received the L. Scott Marsh Mentorship Award & a University Teaching Assistantship. She performed works by Charles O. Anderson, Stephen Koester, Sara Pickett, Christine McMillan. She performed in work by Doug Varone in collaboration with Doug Varone and Dancers and was selected as a choreographer for Varone’s DEVICES mentorship program, showcasing her work, Spiral Into Control, in New York City in 2018. An excerpt of her MFA thesis, B E C O M I N G, was selected to represent University of Utah in performance for the American College Dance Association Northwest Regional Conference at Gonzaga University. Joanna is currently a faculty member at Winona State University.
KRISTIN HOWE
Kristin Howe (Co-Founder, Co-Artistic Director 2011-2022) received her Bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts, with an emphasis in Dance, from Colorado State University in 2005. During her time with CSU, she studied with Toronto Dance Theatre and at the American Dance Festival (Durham, NC). She has performed with Korzatkowski Contemporary Dance, Rebound Dance, The Sonic Inertia Performance Group, Labor Force Dances, Wicked Sister Dance Theatre, We Dance (Erin Drummond), Joanna Lees, Jennifer Mack, Kelly Radermacher, Strange and Liebhard New Music and Dance Ensemble, and Jesse Schmitz-Boyd. Kristin’s choreography has been shown at the American College Dance Festival (Long Beach, CA), New Visions Dance Festival (Fort Collins, CO) Rebound Dance Festival (Chicago, IL), The Dance Lab (Minneapolis, MN), Alaska Center for the Performing Arts (Anchorage, AK), Kinetic Kitchen (Minneapolis, MN), and with Moving Collective (Louisville, KY).
In 2011, she co-founded Alternative Motion Project (AMP) alongside Joanna Lees in her home of Minneapolis, MN. Since AMP’s beginning, Kristin has choreographed 14 world premieres and co-produced 11 evening-length dance performances. As a choreographer, she enjoys collaborating with live musicians and visual artists that have included Steve Howe (beat boxer), Alyssa Anderson (vocalist), Dameun Strange (sound artist), Richard Haglund (composer/musician/percussionist), Ellen Gustafson (photographer), Jane Cords-O’Hara (cellist), and this season with the Grand Symphonic Winds Ensemble.
In 2011, she co-founded Alternative Motion Project (AMP) alongside Joanna Lees in her home of Minneapolis, MN. Since AMP’s beginning, Kristin has choreographed 14 world premieres and co-produced 11 evening-length dance performances. As a choreographer, she enjoys collaborating with live musicians and visual artists that have included Steve Howe (beat boxer), Alyssa Anderson (vocalist), Dameun Strange (sound artist), Richard Haglund (composer/musician/percussionist), Ellen Gustafson (photographer), Jane Cords-O’Hara (cellist), and this season with the Grand Symphonic Winds Ensemble.
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Header Photo by Lauren Baker Photography
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