Open Audition for Shadowland Project
May 16th - 10:00am - 1:00pm
Hennepin Center for the Arts - Studio 5B
528 Hennepin Ave. Minneapolis, MN | Fifth Floor
Joanna Lees is holding an audition seeking dynamic and expressive movers. Contracts will cover an initial research phase for a new independent creative project called Shadowland, rehearsing Summer 2026.
Joanna seeks mature, athletic, authentic, talented, and curious movers who want to work collaboratively in a community-centered environment. Ideal candidates will be inquisitive problem solvers who have a strong sense of their individuality and unique movement point of view. The work will be contemporary in nature, but movers of all dance backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Selected movers will be independent contractors. Stipends will be contracted based on the amount of time rehearsed (up to 50 hours) and a minimum rate of $18/hour. The majority of rehearsals will be held on weekday evenings (Time/Day TBD) with an occasional weekend rehearsal possible. A public studio work-in-process will be presented at the completion of this rehearsal period (TBD August/September). This is a long-term creative research process.. Continued potential paid contracts for future rehearsal and performance related to this research could be possible upon this project's completion.
AUDITION DETAILS
Saturday, May 16th 2026 | 10:00am - 1:00pm
Check in will be 10-10:15am. The morning will include a short warm-up, learned choreography, partnering, and movement generation activity with intermittent short breaks.
BRING WITH YOU: your schedule/availability. Knee pads are also recommended.
RSVP/REGISTRATION HIGHLY ENCOURAGED AND APPRECIATED BY THURSDAY, MAY 14th.
Send any questions to joannajacksonlees@gmail.com.
VIDEO SUBMISSIONS - DUE BY MAY 14th
Video submissions will be accepted if you cannot attend the audition date. Video clips should include both performance and improvisational movement (or both simultaneously, if performing an improvisation). Please submit a Vimeo link (no longer than 5 minutes) by 11:59pm on Thursday, May 14th. Submissions received after this deadline may not be considered. Those who submit video auditions please be checking your email for a schedule availability survey.
ABOUT THE WORK
Shadowland will investigate ideas of vulnerability, paradox, shame, and healing through the lens and physicalization of invisible experiences. How can complex and contradictory internal experiences be authentically & externally expressed through movement and sound? We will also experiment and consider differences between private and performed spaces. How are movement choices shaped with the knowledge of being seen or heard? We will use these ideas to create an artistic landscape of ‘both/and’ while traversing the spectrum of contrasting movement concepts such as organization & chaos, lightness & darkness, heroism & villainy. Original sound will be composed by Dameun Strange.
Joanna Lees is a fiscal year 2026 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Selected Past Events
AMPLIFED
A Summer Workshop by Alternative Motion Project
August 9th - 12th | Minneapolis, MN
Taught a daily Contemporary Movement Practice 9:30-11am.
On The Verge
Alternative Motion Project Live Performance Event
June 2021 | The Shed @ The Lab Brewery | St. Paul, MN
A cast of 9 movers enter a turbulent world to experience the multiverse of limits, possibilities, and connections of the body, space, and identity. Choreographed by Kristin Howe + Joanna Lees in collaboration with the performers. Original composition by award-winning sound artist Dameun Strange.
Teaching Open Virtual Movement Practice
Alternative Motion Project via Zoom
June 2020 - May 2021
Move & sweat in a weekly online contemporary movement practice. Explore mobility, length, momentum, 3-D expansion, while pushing the boundaries and physicality of a smaller space in a curious and enlivening environment.
Come as you are in the space that you have!
Alternative Motion Project Film Premiere
September 25th | Online Premiere Party
Film Premiere: What Never Was (2020)
American College Dance Association
Northwest Regional Conference
March 11th - 15th | Gonzaga University | Spokane, WA
Performance Excerpt: B E C O M I N G
Number Nine - canceled due to COVID-19
Alternative Motion Project’s 9th Season Performance
March 27th - 29th | The Lab Theater | Minneapolis, MN
World Premiere: Transference