Dances at the Lake Festival

KASM Dance Collective is an intergenerational group of like-minded dance artists, all with various ties to Gustavus Adolphus College. We collaboratively react, explore, and express themes connected to social commentary and aspects of the human condition.

RTDG has been producing, teaching, and performing in and around the Twin Cities since relocating from the Pacific Northwest. He has extensive experience as a producer, program arts administrator and choreographer. Ray is the sole producer and funder of the annual Dances at the Lake Festival.

For 35 years the Christopher Watson Dance Company has created dances that celebrate the vast diversity of expression through movement. Their dances explore themes such as the meanings we hold about "home" or the emotions and feelings evoked by re-emerging into a world changed by Covid 19. At their core, the dances question and confirm the richness of our relationships with music, our environments, and each other.

Kinetic Evolutions dance company was formed in 2006 under the direction of Sarah LaRose-Holland. We are a modern dance company that performs virtuosic and emotionally engaging work. Sarah moved from Florida to Minnesota in the mid 90s. She has performed with CWDCompany since 1996. Sarah presented the Kinetic Kitchen and Kinetic Playground dance series for 10 years. She has worked with several independent choreographers and dance companies throughout her career.

For over 30 years, Jawaahir Dance Company has been dedicated to presenting Middle Eastern dance as a living art form at its highest artistic level, to bringing the rich folkloric heritage of the Middle East to the theater stage, and to providing education about the dance in its authentic form for dance students and the general public. Jawaahir presents artistically exceptional performances in both traditional and contemporary forms of Middle Eastern dance and music.

Flinsch’s choreographic work is characterized by abstract frameworks that invite spontaneous decision-making and impulse to guide the movement. This approach fosters a sense of bodily presence and intention, relieving performers of the burden of mental recall and allowing the work to unfold organically in real time. Through improvised movement and music, this work unearths the tensions between nature and industry, freedom and confinement, evoking a world in flux.

Sivanuja Balaji is the artistic director of Nritya Kalakshetra - Academy for Performing Arts in South Indian Classical Dance. She has been teaching, performing and choreographing for more than twelve years. Sivanuja is starting classes in Woodbury and Minneapolis, Eagan and Maple Grove Temple. Specializing in Bharathanatyam, depth of natyashastras, Facial expression (Abhinaya), basic exercise and yoga for dance, theory of dance, theatre performance, Indian folk dance.

A Minnesota-based contemporary company founded by Lily Conforti in 2019. The company fuses daring movement with bold storytelling through multi-media art—with just the right amount of satire and absurdity to keep things delightfully unhinged. Corpus has performed original evening-length works for the MN Fringe Festival, and independently produced at the Mixed Blood Theater. They also host an annual emerging choreographers performance titled REJECTS—look for the application on the Corpus website!

The mission of Youth Dance Ensemble is to enrich the residents of the south metro area by providing an environment of dance training & performance with emphasis on artistic, technical, & creative content. Programming for all learners will stimulate & nurture creative thinking & positive self-image. We will inspire to understand & appreciate dance in its many forms, to preserve & promote the art of ballet & related cultural traditions.

Flamenco X is a Minneapolis-based dance company dedicated to exploring and expanding the boundaries of traditional flamenco. Rooted in the rich cultural heritage of the art form, the company blends contemporary influences with classical technique to create innovative, emotionally resonant performances. Founded by a diverse collective of artists, Flamenco X emphasizes collaboration, experimentation, and community engagement. The work often addresses themes of identity, migration, and resilience

Alys Ayumi Ogura (she/her) has been a Twin Cities-based performing artist and performance-maker since 2010. Her creative universe, known as the Yumi-verse, primarily showcases her unique vision and perspective. In her new work, however, Ogura has invited talented movement-artists to join her inner circle for inspiration. Ogura is a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow for 2025-2028 and a recipient of the Rosy Simas Danse (RSD) Artist Residency for 2025-2026.

We are Minnesota's premier volunteer Japanese Dance group. Our dancers perform at the Festival of Nations, the Lantern Lighting Festival at Como Park, and the Cherry Blossom Festival.