Meet our Dance Director – Jennie

Meet Our Dance Director: Jennie Becker

Jennie trained for many years in ballet, jazz, modern, tap, musical theater and pointe in the Twin Cities. There she learned to have a love for all dance and furthered her training in ballroom, latin and swing dancing. After graduating from Luther College Jennie moved to Chicago to continue her training and begin her professional dance career. In Chicago she has been fortunate to work with Kyle Vincent Terry’s dance/theater company TheMassive, Kathryn Burrow’s Narrative Dance Company The Monocle Eclectic and Chloe Jensen’s company Aerial Dance Chicago and is currently dancing for the Twin Cities dance Company Alternative Motion Project (AMP).

At the studio Jennie teaches several different classes and age groups as well as works with all dance instructors to ensure continuity between all teachers and classes. Jennie also teaches workshops as well as choreographs studio dance numbers for the DTMN recitals helps with cleaning baton dances for the national team. Jennie is always available for any questions or concerns regarding the dance program at DTMN and looks forward to seeing everyone in class!

Next week, Jennie will be sharing some of her tips for dancing professionally for all of our young ballerinas that aspire to dance on the big stage!

Minnesota Twirlers Perform in Florida

A group of three performers from Dance-Twirl Minnesota escaped our cold, Minnesota winter to compete at the Twirl Mania International Championships.

This competition held annually at Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida attracts over 4000 twirlers and 10,000 spectators and family members. The competition is in its 19th year and continues to grow every year. Twirl Mania attracts the very best twirling athletes from around the world.

Dance-Twirl Minnesota performers, Emma Moore, Molly Rosenfield and Brooke Bowe were excited and proud to be a part of this elite group of athletes. Each girls competed in both individual and team events with Brooke Bowe placing Top Ten in several individual events and the team performing one of their best routines ever.

The girls were also invited to perform in the afternoon parade at the Magic Kingdom. Emma, Brooke and Molly were required to learn a routine prior to arriving in Florida and then completed a try-out to earn a spot in the parade. The girls beamed as they marched throughout Magic Kingdom, performing for thousands of spectators.

The girls loved their experience at Twirl Mania and Dance-Twirl Minnesota looks forward to sending an even larger contingent of twirlers next year.

Performing for a Cause

The students at Dance-Twirl Minnesota held their annual holiday show on December 8th at the Eagan Community Center.  This show is free of charge to all students, families and friends however all spectators are asked to donate a food item or toy.  Despite snow and slippery roads, Dance-Twirl Minnesota families came out to support their performer and give back to their community.  We were able to donate over 100 pounds of food and 40 toys to Toys for Tots.  Owner, Jacinda Miller, states, “I’m so proud of our families and their willingness to give back to our community. A huge thank you to everyone that helped us to reach our goals.”  

Dance-Twirl Minnesota performers will put one last show on in 2013 and that is at the Commons on Marice on Sunday, December 15 at 6:00.  The public is welcome to come watch their holiday themed show!  

Eagan Twirlers Headed to International Competition

Eagan’s only baton twirling studio, Dance-Twirl Minnesota, will be sending 3 representatives to the international baton twirling competition, Twirl Mania. Twirl Mania (twirlmania.com) is an annual baton twirling competition held in Disney World on President’s Day Weekend. Twirl Mania attracts competitors from across the United States as well as England and Japan.

Dance-Twirl Minnesota students and Eagan residents, Emma Moore, Molly Rosenfield and Brooke Bowe are competing as a group as well as in individual events. Their team routine features combinations of tossing and exchanging the batons along with dance moves to the song, “How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston. They will also perform in both of the parades down Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom. Coach, Jacinda Miller, stated, “Twirl Mania is a once in a lifetime experience and the girls will love meeting twirlers from all over the world and performing in front of the Disney World audiences.”

This team will be performing at a free performance at the Eagan Community Center on December 8th from 1:30 – 2:30 and at Commons on Marice on December 15th at 6:00 pm. The community is welcome to come to both performances.