Studio Stories: Reminiscing Twin Cities Dance with Sally Rousse Season 3 Episode 38

Sally Rousse, a native of Vermont, is a dance artist who performs, teaches, choreographs, writes, and advocates. Branded “Renegade Ballerina” Sally has received two McKnight Fellowships for Dancers (2001/14), a Sage Award for Outstanding Performer (2013) and was named Artist of the Year by CityPages (2010). She co-founded James Sewell Ballet (JSB) in New York City in 1990, serving as its managing director and artistic associate throughout its move to Minneapolis in 1993. Since leaving JSB in 2014, Rousse’s site-specific works have taken dance off the tradition stage, into venues such as the Kwon Tung Pier in Hong Kong and up in the tree of a vacant lot. Her work features artists who identify as LGBTTQ+, mature/aged, Disabled+, female, and BIPOC. Recently, as the Cowles Center’s first Artist in Residence, she engaged the local community through free workshops, art installations, tours, discussions, and the acclaimed promenade performance ICON SAM: Temple Dances (“Best Performance of 2018,” CityPages). Her choreography has been seen in both theatrical and commercial venues such as the Guthrie, Southern, and State Theaters; the Walker Art Center, MASS MoCA, the Cartoon Channel, and Harvard’s American Repertory Theatre. Rousse performed as a leading dancer with the Royal Ballet of Flanders and Ballet Chicago, dancing works by Maurice Béjart, Jiri Kylian, and over 75 new works created on her by contemporary and post-modern choreographers. Sally is certified in Floor-Barre©, Reiki, and Brain Gym® and currently contributes labor to two national organizations, Creating New Futures and BreakBank, which are focused, respectively, on ethics and equity in dance and performance, and promoting balanced screen usage while de-centering whiteness.