McKnight Artist Fellowships
for
Dancers & Choreographers
SOLO
Three performances of seven singular solo performances will take place at The O’Shaughnessy
(College of St. Catherine, 2004 Randolph Ave, St. Paul).
Tickets for September 18-19, 2026 are $15 to $25 (plus fees).
Show times: Sept 18 at 7:30 pm, Sept 19 at 2:00 pm and Sept 19 at 7:30 pm.
Tickets are on sale now through the Box Office at 651-690-6700 or online
Each year three exceptional Minnesota dance artists receive the coveted honor of a McKnight Dancer Fellowship. To celebrate them, we commission a solo dance for each of them from a choreographer/collaborator of their choice. The 2024 & 2025 Dancer Fellows have selected an outstanding group of national, international and Minnesota-based artists to bring their choreographic imaginations to new works expressly tailored for these exceptional performers. The result is an evening of Minnesota premieres, ranging from Afrobeats to Krump to Contemporary Ballet and more.
Supporting events include: A performance preview with SOLO choreographers in the O’Shaughnessy Recital Hall on September 18, 6:30 PM and a Meet-the-McKnight-Dancer-Fellows: Post-show discussion immediately following the performance on September 19.
McKnight Fellowships for Choreographers and the McKnight Fellowships for Dancers provide awards to individual choreographers and dancers who are beyond early practice and who reside in Minnesota. The McKnight Fellowships are designed to enrich and strengthen our community by acknowledging the accomplishments of individual choreographers and dancers and providing for their artistic growth.
The McKnight Foundation funds individual artist and culture bearer fellowships in 15 artistic disciplines. Support for individual artists has been a cornerstone of the McKnight Foundation’s Arts and Culture program since it began in 1982. The foundation recognizes that the arts cannot flourish or enhance community life without the ideas, energy, and drive of individual artists and that artists cannot make these contributions without unfettered creative time.
The McKnight Fellowships for Choreographers and Dancers annually awards three $25,000 fellowships to Minnesota choreographers and three $25,000 fellowships to Minnesota dancers. The awards are unrestricted and can help an artist set aside periods of time for study, reflection, experimentation, and exploration; take advantage of an opportunity; or work on a new project.
THE FELLOWSHIPS
See the links below for program information as translated written and audio files:
English Audio Recording | Hmong / Hmoob Dawb | Somali / Af Soomaaliga | Spanish / Español
translations
SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS IS THE TEMPORARY HOME FOR THE MCKNIGHT FELLOWSHIPS FOR DANCERS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS.
Following the closure of The Cowles Center and with no new host organization yet identified for the McKnight Fellowship for Dancers and Choreographers, Springboard for the Arts has the capacity and infrastructure to temporarily house the Fellowship, ensuring its continuation without interruption. Springboard has already provided this transition home one other time for this Fellowship in the past.
Springboard for the Arts' mission is to support artists with the tools to make a living and a life, and to build just and equitable communities full of meaning, joy, and connection. Our vision is of a world where artists are essential; local economies are vibrant and just; and the systems that surround us are human-centered. We see these three parts of our vision as interdependent.