choreography: Doris Ressl

composer: Edward Elgar

music: "Chanson de Martin"
"Nursery Suites" The sad doll

costumes: Laura Piotrowski

bench: Gordon Manary

dancers:
Lyndsey Glesener, Matthew Harriosn, Lisa McKhann, Christina Mohn

Doris Ressl, artistic director of Ressl Dance! and choreographer, began her dance career in Chicago where she received a BA in Dance from Columbia College, was a member of 627 Performance Space, the Chicago Dance Medium, and an independent choreographer. After receiving an MFA from Smith College, she joined the University of Minnesota, Duluth Department of Theatre. Ressl teaches during the summer at the School of the Minnesota Ballet in Duluth. She just completed a one year teaching contract at Radford University in Radford, Virginia as Assistant Professor of Dance. A recipient of state and local grants, including a McKnight Choreographer's Fellowship and Arrowhead Regional Arts Council Artist's Fellowship, Ressl presents her work throughout Minnesota. In 1996 Ressl choreographed for the Minnesota Ballet's "Choreographer's Conference" and in 1999 for their "Seven Choreographers Plunge." In 1999, Doris was selected as a finalist for Artists & Communities: America Creates for the Millennium, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. (updated: May 2001),

        

     Ressl Dance! was formed in 1989 as a vehicle for the creation and performance of dance in Northern Minnesota. Directed by Doris Ressl, the company is composed of dancers hired from throughout Minnesota including: Matthew Harrison, Jessica Kuderka, Lisa McKhann, Renee Moe, Christina Mohn, and Ramona Treuer. These dancers, living throughout Minnesota (Duluth, Twin Cities, Grand Marais), come together for rehearsals and performances throughout the state. Ressl Dance! performs in Duluth, Minneapolis, St.Paul, Grand Rapids, Grand Marais, and Ely. A recent tour to Radford, Virginia expanded the company's geographic visibility.
     For the past twelve years, Ressl Dance! has collaborated with choreographers, directors, dancers, and actors from Duluth, the Twin Cities, and Chicago, presenting modern dance, ballet, dance theatre, and site-specific works. "Dances on the Lakewalk" presented by Ressl Dance! is the most popular and only site-specific summer dance event in Duluth. In its 5th season, dances are performed outdoors along the lakewalk of Lake Superior and in the Leif Erikson Park Rose Garden. The dances are performed to original percussion scores and performed live. This years event will be held July 13 and 14 at 7pm in the Rose Garden.
     Throughout Minnesota Ressl Dance! has been presented at these noteworthy events: Christopher Watson Dance Company (Mpls), Red Eye Theatre (Mpls), Minnesota Dance Festival at the O'Shaunessy Theatre (St. Paul), Vermilion College (Ely), and Grand Marais Art Colony (Grand Marais). Over the past 12 years the Ensemble presented 15 concerts in Duluth, receiving support from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, the Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation, and the Duluth Public Arts Commission. Ms. Ressl has choreographed over 40 works some of which have been presented by the Minnesota Dance Alliance, The Walker Art Center, Chequamegon Fine Arts Festival, College of St. Scholastica, and The Minnesota Ballet.         (updated: May 2001)