Minneapolis, Minn, Dec. 16, 2011 - It has been a busy and rewarding year for The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts in Minneapolis. After 13 years of renovations and fundraising campaigns the center opened to rave reviews and full houses for its Grand Opening weekend, September 9-11. Rocco Landesman, chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts commented that "Only in Minnesota would you have something this grand being dedicated at a time when the economy is the worst it's been since the Great Depression." Once open, The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts has presented the best of the Twin Cities' dance community and will continue to do so through the end of its inaugural season in June 2012. Companies like Ragamala, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Mathew Janczewski's ARENA DANCES and Minnesota PerformDance have exceeded expectations for paid attendance culminating in eight sold-out houses for Minnesota Dance Theatre's Nutcracker Fantasy.

Critical acclaim for The Cowles Center and the companies was glowing.

- ".The Cowles has much to offer audiences and artists alike." - Star Tribune

- ".Ragamala Dance's Sacred Earth.taps into the infinite pulse of life.a fine example of what magic can happen when movement, visual artistry and music exist in close harmony on one stage." - Star Tribune

- "What Janczewski (of Mathew Janczewski's ARENA DANCES) captured particularly well was the movement elements that define the battle (of a bullfight). The central feature of his choreography was the dynamic interplay between an upright, watchful stance and the chaos surrounding it -- the matador's controlled pose in contrast to the bull's building anger and terror." - Star Tribune

- "The Cowles Center in Minneapolis was designed as a home for dance. But Thursday's season opening concert by the male vocal ensemble Cantus.demonstrated that the space is also ideal for chamber music. Individual voices were separate and clear, but blended into a strong, unified sound." - Star Tribune

- ".Zenon presented an ideal showcase for their versatility, energy and sense of adventure... the troupe showed why it's thrived through years of change on the local dance scene" - Pioneer Press

- " these guys (Buckets and Tap Shoes) are hoofers extraordinaire" - Star Tribune

- ".Friday evening's opening performance (of Minnesota Dance Theatre's Nutcracker Fantasy) demonstrated that it's a production well worth catching, suffused with the kind of wonder and magic to which other "Nutcrackers" aspire. - Pioneer Press

Most recently, Mpls St Paul Magazine honored The Cowles Center with Best New Venue and number two in the top 10 Arts and Cultural Events of 2011 and Lavender Magazine named the grand opening one of the Best Performing Arts Events of the year.

About The Cowles Center

The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts is the Twin Cities' newest arts center and the flagship for dance in Minnesota. Centrally located in downtown Minneapolis, The Cowles Center includes the newly refurbished 500-seat Goodale Theater; the Hennepin Center for the Arts, home to 20 leading dance and performing arts organizations; the state-of-the-art Target Education Studio, housing The Cowles Center's distance learning program; and the new U.S. Bank Atrium. The Cowles Center fills the need for a place that is a catalyst for the creation, presentation, education, enjoyment and celebration of dance and the performing arts in the Twin Cities. www.thecowlescenter.org.

Contact: Andrea Tonsfeldt

612.206.3631

atonsfeldt@thecowlescenter.org

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