ARENA Dances Presents - DELUXE
ARENA Dances Presents - DELUXE
ARENA Dances Presents - DELUXE
SEPTEMBER 25th and 26th | 7:30 | LUMINARY ARTS CENTER PAY-AS-ABLE MATINEE: SEPTEMBER 26th, 2026 | 2:00 PM
SEPTEMBER 25th and 26th | 7:30 | LUMINARY ARTS CENTER PAY-AS-ABLE MATINEE: SEPTEMBER 26th, 2026 | 2:00 PM
Welcome to DELUXE, ARENA Dances’ 31st fall season and our second as a repertory company. I am incredibly proud of the path we are creating—uplifting what it means to be a dancer through sustained opportunities to work, grow, take risks, and push beyond what we know. We are equally proud to offer choreographers a dedicated ensemble of artists who bring rigor, curiosity, and generosity to the creative process. Thank you for being part of ARENA’s journey forward.
Sincerely,
Mathew Janczewski
ARENA DANCES, Executive Director
Welcome to DELUXE, ARENA Dances’ 31st fall season and our second as a repertory company. I am incredibly proud of the path we are creating—uplifting what it means to be a dancer through sustained opportunities to work, grow, take risks, and push beyond what we know. We are equally proud to offer choreographers a dedicated ensemble of artists who bring rigor, curiosity, and generosity to the creative process. Thank you for being part of ARENA’s journey forward.
Sincerely,
Mathew Janczewski
ARENA DANCES, Executive Director
Featured Choreographers
Featured Choreographers
Mathew Janczewski
Elinor Kleber-Diggs
Shane Larson
Morgan Thorson
Mathew Janczewski
Elinor Kleber-Diggs
Shane Larson
Morgan Thorson
Performance Notes
Performance Notes
Duration: 100 minutes
Intermission: One 10-minute intermission
Duration: 100 minutes
Intermission: One 10-minute intermission
Please note: The use of photography or any form of audio/video recording is prohibited. Today’s performance may be documented by ARENA DANCES with photography and/or video. By being here, you consent to having your image and/or voice documented.
Please note: The use of photography or any form of audio/video recording is prohibited. Today’s performance may be documented by ARENA DANCES with photography and/or video. By being here, you consent to having your image and/or voice documented.
The Makers
The Makers
Mathew Janczewski
Mathew Janczewski
Originally from Round Lake, Illinois, Mathew Janczewski (he/him) is a Minneapolis-based choreographer, director, educator, and arts leader who has been a driving force in Minnesota’s contemporary dance community since 1989. Shortly after earning his BFA in Dance and minor in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota, he founded ARENA DANCES in 1995. Over the past 30 years, Janczewski has guided the organization into an internationally recognized contemporary dance company known for emotionally immersive performances, artistic innovation, and deep community engagement.
Originally from Round Lake, Illinois, Mathew Janczewski (he/him) is a Minneapolis-based choreographer, director, educator, and arts leader who has been a driving force in Minnesota’s contemporary dance community since 1989. Shortly after earning his BFA in Dance and minor in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota, he founded ARENA DANCES in 1995. Over the past 30 years, Janczewski has guided the organization into an internationally recognized contemporary dance company known for emotionally immersive performances, artistic innovation, and deep community engagement.
Elinor Kleber Diggs
Elinor Kleber Diggs
Elinor Kleber Diggs, currently based in Harlem, New York, is an interdisciplinary artist and choreographer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. They grew up training in dance at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists and at TU Dance Center. Elinor has been fortunate to show their work at Triskelion Arts, Bronx Music Hall, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Gibney: Agnes Varis Theater, The QUEER NOISE New York City Festival, Pepátian’s APAP showcase in The Bronx, among others. Recently, Elinor was selected as the 2026/2027 Martha Hill Dance Fund MESH Fellowship Emerging Choreographer. Past opportunities include the 2025 Baryshnikov Arts Fellowship at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, the CUNY Dance Initiative AiR Program at CUNY York, and the Jerome Early Career Residency at Anderson Center at Tower View in Minnesota. Elinor holds a BFA in Dance Performance with a concentration in composition from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College.
Elinor Kleber Diggs, currently based in Harlem, New York, is an interdisciplinary artist and choreographer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. They grew up training in dance at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists and at TU Dance Center. Elinor has been fortunate to show their work at Triskelion Arts, Bronx Music Hall, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Gibney: Agnes Varis Theater, The QUEER NOISE New York City Festival, Pepátian’s APAP showcase in The Bronx, among others. Recently, Elinor was selected as the 2026/2027 Martha Hill Dance Fund MESH Fellowship Emerging Choreographer. Past opportunities include the 2025 Baryshnikov Arts Fellowship at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, the CUNY Dance Initiative AiR Program at CUNY York, and the Jerome Early Career Residency at Anderson Center at Tower View in Minnesota. Elinor holds a BFA in Dance Performance with a concentration in composition from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College.
Shane Larson
Shane Larson
SHANE LARSON is a movement, video, and sound designer from Minneapolis who resides in NYC. Trained at NYU Tisch and SEAD, he’s collaborated widely across music and visual art. He was a part the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company from 2015-2026. His work collages memory and embodiment. IG: @shanelarson
Morgan Thorson
Morgan Thorson
Since 2000, Dancemaker Morgan Thorson has generated a body of work that explores strategies in choreography through interdisciplinary collaboration. Inspired by a subject, process or point of view, her work honors the body as a complex means of expression as it relates to the site and community in which it is situated. For Morgan, dancing provides connection to people, silence, rage, space, beauty and itinerant imagination. Her dance works include Slow Grind (2024), Untitled Night (2024), How To Pretend To Die On Stage (2022), Still Life for Base (2019), Public Love (2018), YOU (2014), Spaceholder Festival (2012), Heaven (2010), Faker (2008). She has held residencies at La Corvette (2025), The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (2016, 2011, 2009), SIM in Reykjavik, Iceland (2021), the Centre Choreographique National De Franche-Comte in Belfort, France (2012) and MacDowell (2012, 2018, 2022).
The installation, Still Life, was featured in Local Time, a three-month exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum (2015). Group Choreography (2021), a pencil schematic on paper, was part of Tehom, a group exhibition in Reykjavik. As a 2016 Creative Campus Fellow at Wesleyan University, she developed interdisciplinary pedagogy in Dance, Archaeology, and Religious Studies. In April, Morgan was certified in Skinner Releasing Technique’s ONGOING practice in Glasgow. Recognized with Sage Awards for Outstanding Choreography (2007, 2008), Morgan’s honors also include National Dance Project Production Grant (2009, 2017, 2023), Jacob’s Pillow’s Inside Out (2008) & Laboratory (2017), the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award (2016), as well as The United States Artist (2011), Guggenheim (2010), and McKnight (2009, 2002) Fellowships
Since 2000, Dancemaker Morgan Thorson has generated a body of work that explores strategies in choreography through interdisciplinary collaboration. Inspired by a subject, process or point of view, her work honors the body as a complex means of expression as it relates to the site and community in which it is situated. For Morgan, dancing provides connection to people, silence, rage, space, beauty and itinerant imagination. Her dance works include Slow Grind (2024), Untitled Night (2024), How To Pretend To Die On Stage (2022), Still Life for Base (2019), Public Love (2018), YOU (2014), Spaceholder Festival (2012), Heaven (2010), Faker (2008). She has held residencies at La Corvette (2025), The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (2016, 2011, 2009), SIM in Reykjavik, Iceland (2021), the Centre Choreographique National De Franche-Comte in Belfort, France (2012) and MacDowell (2012, 2018, 2022).
The installation, Still Life, was featured in Local Time, a three-month exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum (2015). Group Choreography (2021), a pencil schematic on paper, was part of Tehom, a group exhibition in Reykjavik. As a 2016 Creative Campus Fellow at Wesleyan University, she developed interdisciplinary pedagogy in Dance, Archaeology, and Religious Studies. In April, Morgan was certified in Skinner Releasing Technique’s ONGOING practice in Glasgow. Recognized with Sage Awards for Outstanding Choreography (2007, 2008), Morgan’s honors also include National Dance Project Production Grant (2009, 2017, 2023), Jacob’s Pillow’s Inside Out (2008) & Laboratory (2017), the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award (2016), as well as The United States Artist (2011), Guggenheim (2010), and McKnight (2009, 2002) Fellowships
The Movers
The Movers
Alex Arce
Alex Arce
Alex Arce is an Ecuadorian American artist born and raised in Minnesota has been dancing since the age of 5 culturally and socially as well as technically. He focuses his practice within the street dance and Latin diaspora dance forms as well as contemporary/Modern Dance. He is a graduate of Larkin Dance Studio and Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. Upon his high school training he has also been a part of a pre professional dance program known as the Cli Conservatory in Massachusetts where he got to learn from different choreographers all around the world and further pursue his career as a movement artist, choreographer, and educator. After graduating from this program, Alex was accepted as a member of the Cli Company, working as both a choreographer and instructor with Cli Studios. Most recently he has focused his career in collaboration with other companies such as Meridians movement company and Black Label Movement where he has got the opportunity to further develop his craft and continue his love for creation and performance. Currently, Alex works as a Freelance Artist, Teacher, and Company Member.
Alex Arce is an Ecuadorian American artist born and raised in Minnesota has been dancing since the age of 5 culturally and socially as well as technically. He focuses his practice within the street dance and Latin diaspora dance forms as well as contemporary/Modern Dance. He is a graduate of Larkin Dance Studio and Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. Upon his high school training he has also been a part of a pre professional dance program known as the Cli Conservatory in Massachusetts where he got to learn from different choreographers all around the world and further pursue his career as a movement artist, choreographer, and educator. After graduating from this program, Alex was accepted as a member of the Cli Company, working as both a choreographer and instructor with Cli Studios. Most recently he has focused his career in collaboration with other companies such as Meridians movement company and Black Label Movement where he has got the opportunity to further develop his craft and continue his love for creation and performance. Currently, Alex works as a Freelance Artist, Teacher, and Company Member.
Sarah McCullough
Sarah McCullough
Sarah McCullough (she/her) is a Minneapolis-based dance artist and educator in contemporary forms. She is a highly collaborative artist who is passionate about aliveness in performance, and seeks to perform emotionally resonant works that center humanity, vulnerability, and play.
Originally from Virginia, Sarah attended James Madison University as a Madison Achievement Scholar, and earned her BA in Dance and Mathematics. Since moving to Minneapolis in 2018, she has enjoyed a vibrant and dynamic dance career, having performed with companies ARENA DANCES and Black Label Movement, and in projects by choreographers Elayna Waxse, Taja Will, Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Berit Ahlgren, Helen Hatch, Zoë Koenig, and more. With roots established in Minnesota, Sarah began working with VA/NYC-based company Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance as a collaborating dance artist in 2024. She is currently a member of ARENA DANCES, a repertory company led by Mathew Janczewski.
Sarah has recently led contemporary classes at The Arena, Hothouse Studios, Zenon Dance School, and Minnesota Dance Theater. Sarah has offered workshops at the Limón/Black Label Twin Cities Intensive, ARENA DANCES’ Instinct Intensive, The University of Winchester (UK), North Carolina State University, and several high school dance programs throughout the Twin Cities. She is also a 200-hour accredited yoga teacher and offers a holistic approach to mindful movement as a personal and artistic practice.
Sarah McCullough (she/her) is a Minneapolis-based dance artist and educator in contemporary forms. She is a highly collaborative artist who is passionate about aliveness in performance, and seeks to perform emotionally resonant works that center humanity, vulnerability, and play.
Originally from Virginia, Sarah attended James Madison University as a Madison Achievement Scholar, and earned her BA in Dance and Mathematics. Since moving to Minneapolis in 2018, she has enjoyed a vibrant and dynamic dance career, having performed with companies ARENA DANCES and Black Label Movement, and in projects by choreographers Elayna Waxse, Taja Will, Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Berit Ahlgren, Helen Hatch, Zoë Koenig, and more. With roots established in Minnesota, Sarah began working with VA/NYC-based company Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance as a collaborating dance artist in 2024. She is currently a member of ARENA DANCES, a repertory company led by Mathew Janczewski.
Sarah has recently led contemporary classes at The Arena, Hothouse Studios, Zenon Dance School, and Minnesota Dance Theater. Sarah has offered workshops at the Limón/Black Label Twin Cities Intensive, ARENA DANCES’ Instinct Intensive, The University of Winchester (UK), North Carolina State University, and several high school dance programs throughout the Twin Cities. She is also a 200-hour accredited yoga teacher and offers a holistic approach to mindful movement as a personal and artistic practice.
Nieya Amezquita
Nieya Amezquita
Choreographer, performer, and founder of Amez Dance, exploring the connection between movement and psychology. Nieya Amezquita is a Minnesota-based artist currently working as a company member with Arena Dances, Black Label Movement and Corpus Dance Works. She has also performed with Threads Dance Project, Rhythmically Speaking, Elayna Waxse Movement Projects, Concerto Dance, Off-Leash Area, and Doma Dance Theater. In 2019, Nieya earned a Bachelors in Dance and Psychology from the University of Georgia. During undergrad she had the opportunity to perform nationally and internationally with founding company CADE:NCE before studying in Portugal with the Addo Platform where her passion for choreography was ignited. She discovered the perfect merge of her two fields of interest: using dance as an artistic medium to explore, understand and discuss human psychological concepts. Now Nieya’s work has been presented in the Blackness Is Arts festival produced by the Guthrie Theater, the CandyBox festival produced by Arena Dances, commissioned by Threads Dance Project, Rhythmically Speaking, Alternative Motion Project and Ballet Co’Laboratory. In 2023, Nieya furthered her professional development by founding and leading Amez Dance, a project-based dance company committed to cultivating reflective and reparative experiences through movement. Nieya strives to participate in works that not only create a space where authenticity is celebrated but deeply understood.
Choreographer, performer, and founder of Amez Dance, exploring the connection between movement and psychology. Nieya Amezquita is a Minnesota-based artist currently working as a company member with Arena Dances, Black Label Movement and Corpus Dance Works. She has also performed with Threads Dance Project, Rhythmically Speaking, Elayna Waxse Movement Projects, Concerto Dance, Off-Leash Area, and Doma Dance Theater. In 2019, Nieya earned a Bachelors in Dance and Psychology from the University of Georgia. During undergrad she had the opportunity to perform nationally and internationally with founding company CADE:NCE before studying in Portugal with the Addo Platform where her passion for choreography was ignited. She discovered the perfect merge of her two fields of interest: using dance as an artistic medium to explore, understand and discuss human psychological concepts. Now Nieya’s work has been presented in the Blackness Is Arts festival produced by the Guthrie Theater, the CandyBox festival produced by Arena Dances, commissioned by Threads Dance Project, Rhythmically Speaking, Alternative Motion Project and Ballet Co’Laboratory. In 2023, Nieya furthered her professional development by founding and leading Amez Dance, a project-based dance company committed to cultivating reflective and reparative experiences through movement. Nieya strives to participate in works that not only create a space where authenticity is celebrated but deeply understood.
Non Edwards
Non Edwards
Sage Award nominee and McKnight Dancer Fellow performing nationally in modern, postmodern, and performance art spaces. Non Edwards is a dancer, choreographer, and GYROKINESIS® Method trainer, located in the Twin Cities since 2009. Working across a range of style and genre, Non performs modern, postmodern, improvisation and performance art in galleries, theaters, videos, and DIY and public spaces including the Seattle Art Fair, Walker Art Center, Nelson-Atkins Museum, Jacob’s Pillow, and Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Non is an Outstanding Performer Sage Award nominee, and a McKnight Dancer Fellow. Additional credits include Katie Brennan, Doma Dance Theater, Jess Forest, Jennifer Glaws, Hatch Dance and Honeyworks, HIJACK, Ellen Mueller, Valerie Oliveiro, Kerry Parker, April Sellers, Anna Marie Shogren, D Jinza Thayer, Morgan Thorson, and Laurie Van Wieren. Sarah McCullough is a Minneapolis-based dance artist, educator in contemporary forms, and Company Manager of Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance. She is a highly collaborative artist who is passionate about aliveness in performance, and seeks to perform works that center humanity, vulnerability, and play.
Sage Award nominee and McKnight Dancer Fellow performing nationally in modern, postmodern, and performance art spaces. Non Edwards is a dancer, choreographer, and GYROKINESIS® Method trainer, located in the Twin Cities since 2009. Working across a range of style and genre, Non performs modern, postmodern, improvisation and performance art in galleries, theaters, videos, and DIY and public spaces including the Seattle Art Fair, Walker Art Center, Nelson-Atkins Museum, Jacob’s Pillow, and Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Non is an Outstanding Performer Sage Award nominee, and a McKnight Dancer Fellow. Additional credits include Katie Brennan, Doma Dance Theater, Jess Forest, Jennifer Glaws, Hatch Dance and Honeyworks, HIJACK, Ellen Mueller, Valerie Oliveiro, Kerry Parker, April Sellers, Anna Marie Shogren, D Jinza Thayer, Morgan Thorson, and Laurie Van Wieren. Sarah McCullough is a Minneapolis-based dance artist, educator in contemporary forms, and Company Manager of Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance. She is a highly collaborative artist who is passionate about aliveness in performance, and seeks to perform works that center humanity, vulnerability, and play.
Benny Olk
Benny Olk
Benny Olk, a Minneapolis-based dance artist, graduated with a BFA in Dance from New York University, and an MA in New Performative Practices from Stockholm University of the Arts. He has performed in works by Lucinda Childs, Merce Cunningham, Moriah Evans, Anthea Hamilton, Emily Gastineau, and is currently a guest artist with ARENA Dance in Fall 2026. His collaborations with Tristan Koepke have been presented in Minneapolis, Portland, and Atlanta, and currently collaborates with Carlo Antonio Villanueva. His work has been shown at B100, Stockholm University of the Arts, and Red Eye Theater, and curated Choreographers' Evening 2025 at the Walker Art Center.
Benny Olk, a Minneapolis-based dance artist, graduated with a BFA in Dance from New York University, and an MA in New Performative Practices from Stockholm University of the Arts. He has performed in works by Lucinda Childs, Merce Cunningham, Moriah Evans, Anthea Hamilton, Emily Gastineau, and is currently a guest artist with ARENA Dance in Fall 2026. His collaborations with Tristan Koepke have been presented in Minneapolis, Portland, and Atlanta, and currently collaborates with Carlo Antonio Villanueva. His work has been shown at B100, Stockholm University of the Arts, and Red Eye Theater, and curated Choreographers' Evening 2025 at the Walker Art Center.
Timo Wagner
Timo Wagner
After years of work with the company followed by years of hiatus, Timo Wagner is honored to return to ARENA Dances as a guest over the past couple seasons. In addition to seven years with ARENA, Timo has worked with Scott Stafford, Val Oliviero, Blake Nellis, BodyCartography Project, Rosy Simas, Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theatre, Tamera Ober and others. Timo is grateful to revisit these forms, reconnect with this community, and to share in the continued evolution of ARENA’s artistic voice.
After years of work with the company followed by years of hiatus, Timo Wagner is honored to return to ARENA Dances as a guest over the past couple seasons. In addition to seven years with ARENA, Timo has worked with Scott Stafford, Val Oliviero, Blake Nellis, BodyCartography Project, Rosy Simas, Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theatre, Tamera Ober and others. Timo is grateful to revisit these forms, reconnect with this community, and to share in the continued evolution of ARENA’s artistic voice.
Other Collaborators
Other Collaborators
Rehearsal Director:
Rehearsal Director:
Laura Selle Virtucio
Laura Selle Virtucio
Costume Design
Costume Design
Jon Montgomery
Jon Montgomery
Lighting Design
Lighting Design
Heidi Eckwall
Heidi Eckwall
Creative Design Manager
Creative Design Manager
Jake Nehrbass
Jake Nehrbass
The Board of Directors
The Board of Directors
Steve Norlin-Weaver, Chair
Steve Norlin-Weaver, Chair
Brandon Plombon, Chief Financial Officer | Northeast Bank
Brandon Plombon, Chief Financial Officer | Northeast Bank
Caroline Glawe, Administrative Director
Caroline Glawe, Administrative Director
Marisa Baker, Board Member | Daily Harvest
Marisa Baker, Board Member | Daily Harvest
Betsy Maloney Leaf, Board Member | University of Minnesota
Betsy Maloney Leaf, Board Member | University of Minnesota
Ricardo Torres Rivera, Board Member
Ricardo Torres Rivera, Board Member
Elliana Vesely, Board Member | Freelance Artist
Elliana Vesely, Board Member | Freelance Artist
Kelli Miles , Board Member
Kelli Miles , Board Member
Jerry Burg (Emeritus) | The Law Office of Jerry A. Burg of Counsel to Capistrant Law, PA
Jerry Burg (Emeritus) | The Law Office of Jerry A. Burg of Counsel to Capistrant Law, PA
Thanks to Supporters
Thanks to Supporters
Visit the main website to view the full list of giving partners.
Visit the main website to view the full list of giving partners.
VISIT MAIN WEBSITE
Photography Credits:
Bill Cameron, Galen Higgins, Laura Selle Virtucio, Jake Nehrbass, Armour Photography
©2026 ARENA DANCES |All rights reserved.
Photography Credits:
Bill Cameron, Galen Higgins, Laura Selle Virtucio, Jake Nehrbass, Armour Photography
©2026 ARENA DANCES |All rights reserved.
Photography Credits:
Bill Cameron, Galen Higgins, Laura Selle Virtucio, Jake Nehrbass, Armour Photography
©2026 ARENA DANCES |All rights reserved.