Mathew Janczewski's ARENA DANCES

ARENA DANCES mission is to make dance accessible to all through the presentation of contemporary dance, educational outreach, and community gatherings to inspire, promote dialogue and diversity.

How we do this:

Local performances are just one of the highlights of our year as Artistic Director Mathew Janczewski continues to create new works on the talented cohort of ARENA's professional dancers. Bringing timely themes into conversation on the stage, Janczewski's work merges artistry & social engagement.  

"Janczewski employs an expressiveness and engaging use of tension and release. His dances, even when exploring difficult topics, 

highlight an element of beauty and compassion. "
— Sheila Regan, Star Tribune

photo by Bill CameronMonument - Fall 2024
We kicked off our 29th season with Monument, an evening of repertory works at the Luminary Arts Center in the North Loop, Mpls. this September. The show featured audience favorites like Huddle and, for the first time, the remount of Navigations, a work Mathew set on Zenon Dance Company in 2003. 

"Arena Dances’ ‘Monument’ captures a striking range of styles" - Star Tribune, Sheila Regan      

9th Annual CANDY BOX Dance Festival  @ The Southern Theater- April 21-26, 2025  Information
Promoting other Twin Cities Artists, ARENA curates the annual CBDF with a week-long array of performances, workshops, and public sharings featuring a range of local dance-makers. This years festival features an incredible lineup of artists showcasing the shared evening of Nieya Amezquita & Kaitlyn Hawkins, Nervous Theatre, and Yukina Sato. 

2025 Featured Artists: Doma Dance Theater, Flying Foot Forum, and Cheng Xiong

Photo by Galen HigginsOnly the perverse fantasy can still save us May 16+17   A major new work commissioned by the Walker Art Center that interrogates the binary and asks how creative repression changes us. After receiving a diagnosis of leukemia in 2019, Janczewski learned his condition was caused by the mutation of a single chromosome; the experience brought new resonance to artist Matthew Barney’s epic five-film Cremaster cycle (1994–2002), which considers the embryonic stages of sexual differentiation—another biologically determined process that shapes our lives. Only the perverse fantasy can still save us takes inspiration from Barney and features a score by Minnesota-based composer, Joshua Clausen.  Tickets & Info

Education is critical to ARENA's mission of supporting arts education and accessible movement opportunities for all. 

DanceON - "getting kids moving + teaching"
DanceON, the continuation and expansion of ARENA’s educational outreach program, focused on incorporating dance into K-12 Twin Cities Public Schools, along with the development of workshops for professional performing artists to acquire skills of dance pedagogy to teach in these K-12 academic settings. 

MOVING PRACTICE: Making Space for a New Cast of Teachers, Performers, and Choreographers
Formed in response to the dance community's desire for a more diverse offering of techniques taught in the Twin Cities, Moving Practice gives each of its professional dancers the chance to teach, regardless of their age or experience. Aiming to give rise to new teachers & choreographers, this cohort-led class series prioritizes rigor, diversity of aesthetics & commitment. 

Studio Stories Podcast: Reminiscing Twin Cities Dance History ARENA DANCES’ podcast series has filled an educational void in this community hearing oral histories of influential dance artists.  Now in season 16 with 160+ interviews and over 16,000 listeners.

Community Gatherings foster conversations, resource-sharing, and connections that enrich the lives of individuals & strengthens the collaboration of the community as a whole. 

Floorwork is a monthly series of discussions on all things dance. Open to all as a space for conversation & sharing of ideas, knowledge and resources, each Floor Work focuses on a different topic relevant to life as an artist - from taxes as an freelancer to creative tools for choreographic processes. This series often invites experts on the topic to assist in facilitating conversation and offer their wealth of knowledge on the topic. 

How YOU can Engage today!

- Donate today to ensure that these programs continue to thrive & serve the Twin Cities' community

- Sponsor ARENA DANCES as an individual or company. 

- Become a recurring Monthly Donor

- Attend our upcoming events, more info on what's next here

- Join our Board of Directors! 

Email arenadances@gmail to get started