CBA & Ballet MN History

Company: 651-222-7919

School: 651-290-0513

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C B A & B A L L E T M I N N E S O T A H I S T O R Y

249 East 4th Street, St Paul 55101
7650 Currell Blvd, Woodbury

THANK YOU

It takes great effort on the part of many people to maintain an organization capable of presenting art which enrichs the human spirit. To this end we wish to thank all involved with making Ballet Minnesota a success.

Brief History of Ballet Minnesota

     Andrew & Cheryl Rist established the Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota in 1987 in St Paul's artistic hub, Lowertown. The first year included a Nutcracker lecture/demonstration performed to about 150 people at St Paul's Galtier Plaza. Today, the Nutcracker is presented to an annual audience of over 10,000. The Nutcracker production was presented under the name Ballet Minnesota even though the name was not officially incorporated until 1990. In May 1988 the first Minnesota Dance Festival was produced at the St Paul Student Center Theater on the University of Minnesota St Paul Campus. Ballet Minnesota assumed full responsibility for the Festival in 1990. The first official performance by Ballet Minnesota was performed in the lobby area of the St Paul City Hall as a tribute to then mayor George Latimer.
     Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota is the official school of Ballet Minnesota.
     1992 brought a significant event. Cynthia Betz began her association with Ballet Minnesota. She has been a board member, president of the board and is now the executive director. Cynthia has been a driving force in the estabishment of Ballet Minnesota as a major arts organization in Minnesota. She created the fundraiser Taste the Arts,
     Cheryl Rist has been the driving force behind Ballet Minnesota's excellent reputation for presenting the classical ballets in Minnesota. She has restaged many of the major classics at the O'Shuahnessy and Fitzgerald Theaters. A few of the classics she has staged include Swan Lake (acts 1-4), La Bayadere (acts 1-3), Sleeping Beauty (acts 1-3), Don Quixote (acts 1-3), Coppelia, Giselle (acts 1-2), and Les Sylphides

     In the Fall of 2006 another significant event occured. Ballet Minnesota presented its first annual FALL CINCERT. This concert was created in order to allow for the creation of original ballets. During the first six years the ballets of Andrew Rist have been presented including: Black Dog Cafe, Beethoven's 6th & 9th Symphonies, Mozart's 40th Symphony, Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, excerpt from Messiah, Song of Silence & Greig's Piano Concerto in A Minor.

     Ballet Minnesota has developed four major pillars to their annual season. The season consists of the FALL Concert, the Classic Nutcracker, the Minnesota Dance Festival, the Spring classic and the summer River Songs.

Ballet Minnesota & Classical Ballet Academy Milestones:

     * Note: All classics except the Nutcracker are restaged by Cheryl Rist

1987     First production of the Nutcracker choreographed by Andrew Rist.

1987     Andrew & Cheryl Rist bring together a group of professional dancers
                  and perfrom under the name Ballet Minnesota.

1988     First Minnesota Dance Festival presented at the St Paul Student Center                   Theater, St Paul.

1990     Ballet Minnesota formally established as a non-profit company and
                  Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota declared the official school.

1992     Youth Concert Series established (performances in Schools)

1993     CBA presents the first Summer DANCECAMP at Camp Ojiketa in Chisago
                    City, Minnesoa

1994     At The Museum choreographed by Andrew Rist to an original score by Robert E Hindel.
                    marked the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration between Rist & Hindel.

1994     Summer River Songs tour with Folksinger Charlie Maguire established

1996     2nd Act of Swan Lake presented at the O'Shaughnessy.

2002     'La Bayadere' presented at the Fitzgerald Theater

2003    Jim Arnold begins to build sets for Ballet Minnesota & CBA

2003     Full length 'Copellia' presented at the Fitzgerald Theater.

2003     'Italian Symphony' choreographed by Andrew Rist and presented at the                      Fitzgerald

2005     Full length 'Giselle' presented at the Fitzgerald Theater

2006     Ballet Minnesota begins participating2006 in the annual Grand Old Days                      Parade.

2006     First FALL Concert presented at the St Paul Student Center Theater. St Paul

2006     'Black Dog Cafe' choreogarphed by Andrew Rist for the FALL Concert.

2007     2nd 'Taste the Arts' presented at the Fitzgerald Theater

2007     Full length 'Swan Lake" presented at the Fitzgerald Theater.

2008     'Italian Symphony' & "Black Dog Cafe' presented at the 2nd Fall Concert,
                   Fitzgerald Theater

2008     Sketches from 'Rite of Spring' performed at Bryant Lake Bowl & 20th MDF.

2008     A very successful 20th Anniversary Ball celebrated by Ballet Minnesota.

2008     'River Songs' presented at the Republican National Convention held in
                    St Paul, MN

2008     'Beethoven's 9th Symphony' presented on the 3rd Fall concert to standing                    ovations and standing room only performances (3000+ attended).                    Choreography Andrew Rist

2008     Fitzgerald Theater becomes the official home theater of Ballet Minnesota.

2009     Mozart's '40th Symphony' & Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' presented on the                     4th Fall Concert at the Fitzgerald. Choreography: Andrew Rist

2010     The full length 'Sleeping Beauty' presented at the Fitzgerald Thaeter.

2010     Beethoven's '6th Symphony' presented on the 5th Fall Concert at SPSC                      Theater

2011    The full length Don Quixote restaged for the 2nd time by Cheryl Rist. This was
                     the farewell performance of ballerina Oksana Konobeyeva. Matthew Prescott
                     danced the lead role of Basilio.

2012    Cheryl Rist restaged Les Slyphides with Erin Warn & Alexander Smirnov in the
                     lead roles. Ballet School (the third ballet in the Ballerina Girls series) was
                     choreographed by Andrew Rist. Ten Songs from the Messiah were
                     choreographed by Andrew Rist

Classical Ballet Academy of MN & Ballet Minnesota Founders Andrew & Cheryl Rist

ANDREW RIST
Artistic Director: BALLET MINNESOTA

Andrew's interests have always been in the areas of teaching, directing & choreography. After dancing professionally for 14 years, Loyce Houltonencouraged Andrew to become Avocational Director of the Minnesota Dance Theater school (1986-87). In 1987 Andrew and his wife Cheryl co-founded the Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota and in 1990 they co-founded Ballet Minnesota, of which Andrew became artistic director. Under his direction, Ballet Minnesota has developed a strong season which includes Fall Concert, annual Nutcracker, The Youth Concert Series, The Minnesota Dance Festival (which features the restaging of a classical ballet each year) and the River Songs Summer Series. As a choreographer, Anderw prefers working with original scores. He has created works in collaboration with Robert E Hindel, Charlie Maguire (National Park Service "Singing Ranger") and the rock group Mock Duck. His choreographic works include "Pachelbel", "At the Museum", "Nutcracker", "Italian Symphony" and in 2006 "Black Dog Cafe". "Beethoven's 9th Symphony", choreographed in 2008, recieved standing ovations to a sold out opening run. Andrew teaches in the school. He has been nominated and included in three editions of 'Who's Who Among American Teachers.' Only 5% of the nation's teachers are honored in each edition and less than 2% are included in more than one edition.

Cheryl Rist, Andrew's wife, has designed all the costumes for every work he has choreographed. "Most of my works are deeply dependent upon the costume design, which will be quite obvious when you scroll down and veiw the photo gallery below"

In the Fall 2006, Ballet Minnesota launched its Fall Concert Series dedicated to the creation of new choreography. Andrew has created 4 new works for the fall Concert. 'Black Dog Cafe' (2006, 2007), 'Beethoven's 9th Symphony' (2008) and most recently Gershwin's 'Rhaposdy in Blue' and Mozart's '40th Symphony' (2009).

Andrew & Cheryl have 2 children - Heather and Richard. The newest addition to the Rist family is their granddaughter, Chloe, daughter of Richard and Becky.

In January 2010, Andrew's first book was published "At The Museum: Adventures of the Ballerina Girls"

CHERYL RIST
School Director: CLASSICAL BALLET ACADEMY

Cheryl, a graduate of the Cornish School of Arts in Seattle, was the recipient of (7) Arts Scholarships. Her teachers include Robert Joffrey, Loyce Houlton, Hanya Holm, Flemming Halby and Frank Bourman. She began dancing with Sacramento Ballet under the direction of Jean-Paul Comelin (formerly Paris Opera Ballet). She danced as a principal with the Banff Festival, the Minnesota Dance Theater (under the direction of Loyce Houlton) and Ballet Minnesota. n 1987 Cheryl and her husband Andrew co-founded the Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota and in 1990 they co-founded Ballet Minnesota. Cheryl has a special gift understanding the art of Classical Ballet. She has restaged many of the classic ballets for Ballet Minnesota which include "Swan Lake", "Giselle", "Sleeping Beauty", "Les Sylphides", "Flower Festival pas de deux", "Coppelia" and "La Bayadere". Cheryl is known for restaging the complete ballets such as 4 acts of Swan Lake. In addition to all of this she designs and costumes all the works presented by Ballet MInnesota. Although she is a sought after designer, she concentrates her engeries on CBA and Ballet Minnesota. Cheryl is the mother of Heather and Richard and is pleased to announce that she has a precious granddaughter, Chloe, daughter of Richard and Becky.