MDF: Cheryl & Andrew Rist

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: ANDREW RIST
Minnesota Dance Festival

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.Minnesota's Foremost Gathering of Dance Artists
1988-2005

MISSION: to bring together dance companies, choreographers, teachers, dancers, dance schools, students
and artists in other fields (such as music, design, painting) in order to celebrate, collaborate, perform and
pass on the tradition and creative process of dance from performer to audience, teacher to student,
as well as from one generation to the next.

Cheryl Rist
Director: Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota.
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" 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.

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 Houlton encouraged 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 the 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 in collaboration with the National Park Service. 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", "The Egg" and in 2003 "Italian Symphony". Andrew teaches in the school and was nominated for and placed in the Who's Who of American Teachers.

Photo Gallery of works choreographed by Andrew Rist and costumed by Cheryl Rist

"Classic" NUTCRACKER

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December 1989-2002
composer: Peter Tchaikovsky
Nutcracker Photo Page

"This radiant production brought the spirit of Christmas thundering back"
-Borcht Arts Magazine

       "Choreographer Andrew Rist's classic interpretation focuses on telling the story through dramatic flow
of the dancing. Notable for its stunning visuaL design and energetic performance."
-St Paul Pioneer Press

ITALIAN SYMPHONY

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Premiere: April 4, 2003 - Fitzgerald Theater
composer: Felix Mendelsohnn

15th Minnesota Dance Festival
' Italian Symphony ' Photo Page

Movement 1: Melanie Hughes, Gairy Ataly
Taylor Dreyling, Erin Warn, Julia Heggernes, Caitlin Mussmann
Movement 2: Taylor Dreyling, Erin Warn, Julia Heggernes, Caitlin Mussmann,
Carolyn Quisenberry, Tayden Kuhn, Marianna Wong, Emily Baierl,
Sarah Bulger, Elena Ahmann, Maggie Heath,
Bard Jacula, Royal Anderson, Colin Jarret

The EGG

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Premiere: March 2000
composer: David Greenberg, Charlie Mickelson
music: rock group 'Mock Duck'

14th Minnesota Dance Festival

Dancers: Brianna VandeVelde, Kirill Bak
Laura Paisley, Mara Forbes, Taylor Dreyling, Adam Stein
Cheryl Posthumus, Laura Teale. Jo Jacobson, Chelsea Horst

OLEON
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premiere: May 17, 2000, Fitzgerald Theater
St Paul, Minnesota
composer: Johann S Bach

14th Minnesota Dance Festival
Oleon Photo Page

original cast: Molly Bohnert, Julia Heggerness, Amanda Haag, Caitlin Mussmann,
Carolyn Quisenberry, Geoff Leung, Brian LeClair, Sigmund Hegstad

LIGHT THE RIVER *
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Premiere: August 16, 2002 Minnehaha Falls
Minneapolis, MN
Song & Music: Charlie Maguire

Mississippi River Songs Tour
sponsored by the National Park Service
River Songs PhotoPage

Dancers: Melanie Hughes, Julia Heggernes, Caitlin Mussmann, Chelsey Hauk

* This is one of over 50 songs which Andrew Rist and Charlie Maguire have
collaborated on over the years from 1989 - 2004

WALTZ OF THE HOURS (from Coppelia)

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Ballet Minnesota premiere: April 5-7, 2002, Fitzgerald Theater
St Paul, Minnesota
composer: Leo Deliebes

Last performance: April 2003, Fitzgerald Theater, St Paul
15th Minnesota Dance Festival

Coppelia Photo Page

NIGHTMARE
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Premiere: 1994:
composer: Robert E Hindel
6th Minnesota Dance Festival
St Paul Student Center, St Paul

Last performance: April 2001, Fitzgerald Theater, St Paul
13th Minnesota Dance Festival

Nightmare Photo Page

EMPRESS NEW CLOTHES

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Premiere: 1996
composer: Robert E Hindel
8th Minnesota Dance Festival
O'Shaughnessy, St Paul

Last performance: April 2004, Fitzgerald Theater, St Paul

Nightmare Photo Page

PACHELBEL CANON IN D

premiere: 1981
Hennepin Center for the Arts
Minneapolis, Minnesota
composer: Johann Pachelbel