In the words of Caroline Palmer, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Choreographer Denise Armstead uses her affection for horses as foundation for a set of dances built around the highs and lows of relationships. The result is a personal glimpse into love - the unconditional equine kind and the more complex human version - set to Bonnie Raitt and the Dirty Three. Cade Holmseth and Kelly Radermacher deliver a powerful if disquieting duet about an on-again, off-again romance, while the entire cast - dressed in jeans and boots - shows natural ease blending cowboy sensibility with contemporary dance moves.
The Three Bonnies is an exhilarating, funny, frightening, sexy, moving multimedia piece using video, dancers, horses, spoken word and blues to explore the challenges of male-female relationships. Why can't men and women learn to get along? Is sex just an itch we have to scratch from time to time or do we have to give up part of ourselves to join with another? Is it really worth all the pain or would you rather just have a good nap?
In The Three Bonnies, six dancers and a lot of horses grapple with these questions. Why horses? A founding member of Zenon Dance, choreographer Denise Armstead is also a skilled equestrienne who trains horses and riders. She has spent a lot of time on the road, traveling from stable to stable, listening to the blues. Those kinds of experiences have an effect after a while. Strange thoughts intrude. Denise found herself musing on the similarities between dance and the horse world. Both dancers and horses depend on movement and instinct to guide them. Why not combine these two worlds to create a dance piece celebrating all the frustrations and rewards of relationships?
Why not indeed? Of course, bringing horses onto the stage is always difficult at best. (Their union fees alone can kill you.) Enter Bob Hammel and the wonderful world of video projection. Video lets horses get in on the action without ever leaving the farm. No mess, no oats in the green room and far less chance of stampeding the audience. It's a win-win proposition!
The intrepid dancers willing to take on this challenge include Denise Armstead, Devin Carey, Kelly Radermacher, Cade Holmseth, Sharon Picasso and Gerry Girouard. (The horses have asked to remain anonymous.)
We promise we'll have you tapping your toes and thinking about that girl or guy you left behind. (We take no responsibility for any uncontrollable longings to get a pony.)
St. Paul choreographer Denise Armstead blends her two great loves, dance and horses, in this work set to music by Bonnie Raitt. Dancers Devin Carey, Kelly Radermacher, Cade Holmseth, Sharon Picasso and Gerry Girouard (along with Armstead, a former Zenon Dance Company member) gallop through the emotional ups and downs of relationships in a work by turns moving and humorous. Camille le Fevre, MinnPost.com
The cast
Denise Armstead Role: Choreographer, Dancer A founding member of the Zenon Dance Company, Armstead studied and performed with Zenon for 20 years where was showcased in a number of dance premieres, including works choreographed by Danny Buraczeski, Doug Varone, David Dorfman, Bebe Miller, Joe Goode, Susanna Tambutti and Bill Young. In February of 2007, Denise founded her own dance company, DAdance, in which she is a principal dancer. DAdance has performed multiple times in the Kinetic Kitchen at Patrick's Cabaret, at the choreographer's evening, Renovate, at the Ritz Theater, at Dreamland Arts and at Bryant Lake Bowl. Denise is also a talented equestrienne who currently teaches at Shadow Creek Farm and Pegasus Farms.
Devin Carey Role: Dancer Devin began his dance career at Zenon Dance Company after completing a BA in Vocal Music Performance at the University of South Dakota in 1991. He has designed soundscapes for several local and nationally known choreographers as well as providing creative support. Devin has been a guest performer for an extensive list of choreographers including Borrowed Bones Dance Theatre, Ballet of the Dolls Nutcracker, Kalevala, and Flying foot Forum. Devin currently resides in South Dakota, helping his 80-year-old father raise and train Registered Paint horses. He continues his theater/dance career volunteering for the Mitchell, South Dakota Community Theater.
Gerry Girouard Role: Dancer Gerry Girouard is a long time local choreographer and has been dancing and choreographing for more than 20 years. He began his modern dance career under the tutelage of Nancy Hauser and is currently studying Argentine Tango from Florencia Taccetti who has inspired him with her passionate teaching and dancing. He is also grateful to have his partner Bob, in his life these 18 years. Gerry is the 2006 recipient of the Ivey Award for Best Choreography and has received fellowships from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Mcknight Foundation, among others throughout his career.
Cade Holmseth Role: Dancer Cade graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2004 with a BFA in Dance. He has performed in Matt Jensen's New and Slightly Used Dance and in David D. Blieck's piece, Stalls. He is a company member of Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater. He dabbles in circus arts in aerial work and has performed with Risa Cohen
Sharon Picasso Role: Dancer Sharon Picasso received her degree in dance performance and choreography from The Boston Conservatory. In addition to presenting her own work in Boston, she collaborated with a gorilla performance group offering impromptu improvisations along the subway lines. Relocating to Minnesota from San Francisco where she worked with Yee Dance and Abby Crane, Sharon has been enjoying movement and all that it brings with Denise Arnstead's DAdance, Deborah Jinza Thayer, Cathy Wright, Hauser Dance Company, Matthew Smith, Ben Seims, Jen Mack, Dawn Strom and developing her own work with Melissa Brown Guenther in their company, Spandrel Moving Arts
Kelly Radermacher Role: Dancer A native Minnesotan, Kelly returned from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in Dance and Anthropology and has been teaching, performing, and creating dances and video dances in the Twin Cities for the past 4 years. Her local dancing credits include Chris Schlicting, Megan Flood, Morgan Thorson, Jim Lieberthal, Gerry Girouard, Off-Leash Area and currently April Seller's Dance Collective and Denise Armstead's DA Dance. She is a second year Graduate Licensure student at Augsburg College studying Special Education.
Perimeter Productions Role: Video design A creative services collective that designs and produces authentic, engaging films for all media platforms, Perimeter specializes in projection design, video installations, and documentary films that reveal the human condition
Bob Hammel Role: Video Director
Caitlin Hammel Role: Editor/Stage Manager
Kesa Collins Role: Stage Manager
Michele Hammel Role: Producer
DA dance
The Three Bonnies
Sat., Aug. 1 @ 1:00 p.m. Sun., Aug. 2 @ 10:00 p.m. Tue., Aug. 4 @ 10:00 p.m. Fri., Aug. 7 @ 8:30 p.m. Sat., Aug. 8 @ 8:30 p.m.
VenueRitz Theater For ages 2+ Choreographed by Denise Armstead genres Dance subjects Relationships features Multimedia, World premiere, Original script/choreography
Overall rating
User reviews
Every possible emotion in 50 minutes by Florence BrammerFollow this reviewer Rating 5 kitties A fabulous show with riveting choreography, gorgeous dancing and great tech work. (Plus, the added bonus of all that Bonnie Raitt music.) The pieces ranged from laugh-out-loud funny to poignant to lump-in-your-throat moving. Very, very special. A special shout out to Kelly Rademacher and Cade Holmseth for their unforgettable duet.
The beauty of prairie by Nick n Rosie HeilleFollow this reviewer Rating 4 kitties The dry sweet smell of cut hay and open fields are what I found my mind turn to as I watched this fantastic series of dances. The artistic director has taken the reality of the prairie, which in the Twin Cities is within a couple miles of anyone's door, that we try to ignore, or discount, because it lacks the sophistication of urbanization. But, the choreographer reminds us of the prairies beauty, the reason many just like to drive out into the vastness of its openness. The Three Bonnies' video graphic portion of the production sometimes dominated too much. Dancers were at times dwarfed in the over exposure. If the video graphics were perhaps half their size, focused on either the left or right, it would give dancers space to move and be giants themselves. Easy 4 possible 5.
Wears Its Own Face by John MungerFollow this reviewer Rating 5 kitties Guys in cowboy hats and boots lounging against a split rail fence. And doing other things there as well. Sexy chicks with a Western temperament. Physical encounters. Nearly constant video of horses, interviews and The American Highway projected hugely behind the live dancers. Rugged individuals of both genders struggling through this hard world. An hour-long exploration of the complex adult interplay between relationships and individuality. Denise has richly evoked a very specific tone, a particular culture, a grown-up world-view, and a gritty meditation on passion, restraint, discord, and playfulness, all through the filter of classic American horse culture and the ethos of the contemporary West. The six dancers are all excellent. There are some pacing problems about two thirds of the way through, and to my surprise there are numerous situations where intended unison is off. But this is a show with integrity. It wears its own face. For more discussion and detail see my Fringe dance blog at tcdailyplanet.net.
Men, Women and Relationships by Guy BockFollow this reviewer Rating 3 kitties This show is full of dances that express the feelings of being male, being female and the interactions of relationships.
I'm not so sure of the creator's comparison that 'a relationship is like a horse', it sound more like the opening line in a dirty joke rather than the inspiration for a moving dance piece, but they make it work anyway.
I think that anyone who is interested in the subject of how men and women interact in relationships will enjoy this show. Even if you don't "get" dance. If you have even the most marginal ability to read body language, ohboy, will you get the message of these dances, loud and clear. Some of these dances are the body language equivalent of a large print book.
I don't mean to imply that this is any kind of 'dirty' dancing. But the dancers are all very male or very female and the choreography is designed to make those aspects shine.
