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contact name: Megan Mayer
email: pitchred@hotmail.com

Related Organizations:
Charles Campbell

Laurie Van Wieren
Karen Sherman
Kevin Obsatz
Skewed Visions
Elliott Durko-Lynch
Joanna Furnans
Body Cartography
The Flamettes
Cotillion

When Megan Mayer moved to Minneapolis in 1986, she knew she'd stumbledacross a unique situation when she saw "rodeo clown" listed among possible careers one could pursue after obtaining a Dance degree in her college office. Unfazed, she stuck it out, earned her B.A. in Dance at the University of Minnesota and has been a performer, choreographer and rabid audience member in the Twin Cities for over twenty years. She credits/blames her parents for her irreverent humor and affection for diverse musical styles. She directs Bathroom Dancing Project, a series of self-portrait video snippets. She is also a photographer and loves documenting her fellow artists in action both onstage and off (flickr.com/photos/meganmayer/).
She has a wealth of partnering experience in salsa, East Coast swing, and extensive training in traditional and folk dance forms. She studied salsa dance in Cuba while attending the Havana International Jazz Festival. As part of the University of Minnesota Dance ProgramCowles Land Grant Chair'sinauguralclass, she studied with Douglas Dunn, Bill T. Jones, Carolyn Brown, Bebe Miller and Stephanie Skura.
She has enjoyed recent performances with Skewed Visions, Laurie Van Wieren and Karen Sherman, and has been fortunate enough to work with many amazing artists over the years including Elliott Durko-Lynch, Joanna Furnans, Body Cartography,Hijack, Jaime Carrera and Shawn McConneloug. She performed in two European festivals during her seven-year stint with The Ethnic Dance Theatre. She enjoys a rich and growing body of collaborative work with video artist Kevin Obsatz.
As a choreographer/director, her work has been shown at Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater, Walker Art Center, The Southern Theater, The Soap Factory, The Minnesota History Center, HCA's Studio 6A and in New York's CATCH series.

Her next piece, We tried to throw the light, premieres at The Southern Theater June 2010. 2009 featured the prestigious Momentum commission of I Could Not Stand Close Enough To You at The Southern Theater. 2008's highlights included socktesting, a co-creation with Mark Abel Garcia, as well as Exactly where I'm supposed to be: This is how I dance at The Soap Factory, an hour-long solo for Artery 24, both premiering at The Soap Factory. 2007's roster featured Pulp Dances, commissioned by the Minnesota History Center for RetroRama, and the NYC premiere of Unfit (you cannot be serious) at CATCH series' Starr Street Projects in Brooklyn.
 

We tried to throw the light, Southern Theater commission, June 2010
I Could Not Stand Close Enough To You, Walker Art Center & Southern Theater co-commission, July 2009
Pulp Dances, Minnesota History Center commission, November 2007
I won a killer tool set in a hula-hoop contest once.

June 17-19, 2010
premiere of Megan Mayer's We tried to throw the light
The Southern Theater
shared evening with Penelope Freeh
http://www.southerntheater.org/2010_06-17_freeh_mayer.htm

July 9-August 23, 2009
video performance for Kevin Obsatz's video installation The Gate to the Enclosure
Weisman Art Museum
part of the Artists on the Verge show presented by Northern Lights and the Jerome Foundation.
http://weisman.umn.edu/exhibits/AOV/home.html
http://northern.lights.mn/programs/aov/obsatz/

July 23-25, 2009
7:30 (Thu), 8pm (Fri-Sat)
Premiere of
I Could Not Stand Close Enough to You
Momentum: New Dance Works
co-sponsored by Walker Art Center and Southern Theater
shared evening with Sally Rousse
Southern Theater
Minneapolis
http://www.southerntheater.org/2009_07_momentum.htm http://calendar.walkerart.org/event.wac?id=4866

May 8-31, 2009
Performing in Charles Campbell's He Woke Up In A Strange Place Called Home And Although Looking For Bed He Kept Finding Death Instead
8:30pm, 142 Cambridge, St Paul, MN http://www.skewedvisions.org/present.php
April 25, 2009
9pm
cameo in The Neal Medlyn Experience Live!
Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater

March 27-29, 2009
7pm
performing in Laurie Van Wieren's
like a movie i saw once remake
Bryant-Lake Bowl theater
http://blb.ciceron.com/calendar.asp?date=3/27/2009

February 13, 2009
8:00 pm (doors at 7:00pm)
performing in Laurie Van Wieren's duet
Brass Messengers' CD release party
Cedar Cultural Center
416 Cedar Ave S, Mpls, MN

December 12-13, 2008
7 PM
Premiere of Coarse Confluence
a dance film by Megan Mayer and Kevin Obsatz
also performing in
4-Frame Dance Project
a dance film by Justin Jones and Kevin Obsatz
part of Cinema Revolution's
"The Dance Film Project"
An evening of choreography for the camera
Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
http://www.cinemarevolution.com/

July 5-6, 2008
performing in Artery 24/ twenty-four hours of performance and new media
6:00-7:00am: performing Exactly where I'm supposed to be: This is how I dance at The Soap Factory
a new site-specific solo work
1:00am: performing in Elliott Durko-Lynch's work
The Soap Factory
518 2nd St. SE
Minneapolis MN
http://soapfactory.org/exhibit.php?content_id=135

June 26-28, 2008
performing in Karen Sherman's Tiny Town
on behalf of SCUBA touring network
part of The Big Picture: ODC Hosts Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Philadelphia series
Theater Artaud
San Francisco, CA
http://www.artaud.org/theater/
www.karenshermanperformance.org

June 5-8, 12, 13 and 15, 2008
all shows 8pm
socktesting premiere
created by Megan Mayer and Mark Abel Garcia
The Soap Factory
518 2nd St. SE
Minneapolis MN
http://www.myspace.com/socktesting
http://soapfactory.org/

April 22, 2008
9:00 pm
performing excerpt from Laurie Van Wieren's
like a movie i saw once
Out Rage Us!
Patrick's Cabaret
3010 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis

April 18-19, 2008
performing in Joanna Furnans'
I'm so glad I finally beat you
Queereographer's Evening
Barbara Barker Center
U of M campus, Minneapolis
7:30 Fri, 5:00/8:30 Sat

April 9-12, 2008
8pm
performing in Laurie Van Wieren's
like a movie i saw once
UNBRANDED
The Ritz Theater
Minneapolis

February 29, 2008 8pm
performing in Body Cartography's Half Life
part of Spark Festival
Barbara Barker Center
University of Minnesota

January 31-February 1, 2008 8pm
performing in the halftime mayhem interruption
David Neumann/advanced beginner group's Feed Forward
part of Out There 20
Walker Art Center
http://calendar.walkerart.org/canopy.wac?id=3944

January 20, 2008 7pm
performing in Body Cartography's Made In Japan
Bryant-Lake Bowl
http://blb.ciceron.com/calendar.asp?date=1/20/2008

November 8, 2007
premiere of commissioned work Pulp Dances
part of RetroRama!
Minnesota History Center in St. Paul
7-11pm
http://www.mnhs.org/historycenter/programs/retrorama/
October 18, 2007 6:30pm
performing in Laurie Van Wieren's duet Too!
Minneapolis Public Library
Pohlad Hall, 2nd floor
part of "I Couldn't Live at Home" performance series

August 18, 2007 8pm
NYC premiere of Unfit (you cannot be serious)
Catch! Performance Series, Catch 25
Starr Street Project
108 Starr Street
Brooklyn NY
http://www.catchseries.org/

August 11-September 2, 2007
photograph Thorp Building Sink, Northeast Mpls.
Exhibition
Salon 300
Hopkins Center for the Arts
opening reception August 11, 6-8pm

July 15, 2007 7:30pm
site-specific performance
Unfit (you cannot be serious)
PALAVER artist benefit for jaime
Olive Salon (and adjacent sidewalk)
1506 Nicollet Ave

June 8 & 9, 2007 10pm
performing a solo and a duet
in SOLTERO by Jaime Carrera
Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater

March 28, 2007 8pm
Premiere of Unfit (you cannot be serious)
choreographed by Megan Mayer
9'x22' A Dance Lab
Bryant Lake Bowl

February 8-25, 2007
The Sad and Lonesome Story of What's His Name
Assistant Director/Stage Manager
Co-Directed by Jon Ferguson and Steve Barberio
A Civic Stage production
SABES JCC theater, St Louis Park

October 19-21, 2006 8pm
October 22 7pm
Performing in Ten
ARENA Dances by Mathew Janczewski
The Southern Theater

September 8-10, 2006, 8pm
Performing in Hijack's Border Town
part of Hijack's Half
The Southern Theater
http://hijackdance.org/

July 21-23, 2006
8pm Friday/Saturday, 7pm Sunday
performing in Karen Sherman's Tiny Town
Walker Art Center's Momentum: New Dance Works
Southern Theater
Minneapolis
http://www.karenshermanperformance.org/
June 14-19 and 22-25, 2006
8pm
performing in Shawn McConneloug and her Orchestra's
SHE Captains
Thorp Building Complex
1620 Central Av NE, Dock 11
Minneapolis
www.smccorchestra.org

February 25, 2006
Perro (otra vez) performance
choreographed by Jaime Carrera and Megan Mayer
Free Radicals show, part of Saturday is the new Monday series
Bryant-Lake Bowl
5pm, 7pm

December 16, 2005
Premiere of a new solo set to a Serge Gainsbourg recording featured in
LIT 6 & Creative Electric Studio's
THE BEAUTY PAGEANT!!
Creative Electric Studios
2201 NE 2nd Street
Minneapolis, MN 55418
7pm
http://lit6project.com

November 26, 2005
PERRO premiere
A new work by Jaime Carrera and Megan Mayer
Choreographer's Evening
Walker Art Center
June 11th, 2005, midnight
SCOUT performance
choreographed by Megan Mayer
Balls Cabaret
Southern Theater

May 21st, 2005
SCOUT performance
choreographed by Megan Mayer
Bedlam Romp
Bedlam Theater
11pm

March 23, 2005
Premiere of SCOUT
choreographed by Megan Mayer
9'x22' A Dance Lab
Bryant Lake Bowl
8pm

PHOTOGRAPHY:
Hopkins Center for the Arts, Salon 300, 2007 & 2009
http://www.lit6project.com/photos.html

http://skewedvisions.org/apps/blog/

http://sparkling-robots.vox.com/library/post/upcoming-
mad-king-thomas-show-ridiculous-pictures.html
VIDEO/FILM:
http://youtube.com/boyscoutgirl
Bathroom Dancing Project:
Director and Performer
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=27DCD3B41F2D2EAE

Kevin Obsatz's video installationThe Gate to the Enclosure
Performer/choreographer
July 9-August 23, 2009
Weisman Art Museum
part of the Artists on the Verge show presented by Northern Lights and the Jerome Foundation.
http://weisman.umn.edu/exhibits/AOV/home.html
http://northern.lights.mn/programs/aov/obsatz/

Coarse Confluence, October 2008.
A collaborative dance/film project with Kevin Obsatz.
Performer/Collaborator
Screened as part of Cinema Revolution's Dance Film Project, Intermedia Arts, December 12/13, 2008.

Four Frame Dance Project, July 2008
by Kevin Obsatz and Justin Jones
Performer
http://blog.videohaiku.com/2008/09/four-frame-dance-project-megan-mayer.html

The Birthday Party, 2007
by Sarah Kruchowski.
Performer (Monster)
WRITING:
http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2008/10/10/eiko-komas-hunger-overnight-observation-by-megan-mayer/
http://www.catalystdance.com/postreview2.html

mnartists.org
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Dance Magazine
Minneapolis City Pages
Lavender Magazine
The Rake
Minnesota Monthly
Minneapolis-St Paul Magazine
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=27DCD3B41F2D2EAE
Brady Bergeson of The Lit 6 Project and Electric Arc Radio, has this to say: "The public bathroom is a place where I attempt to touch nothing and leave quickly. Megan Mayer enters a bathroom and touches everything, She climbs toilets, caresses walls and then twirls. At first, her bathroom dances are unsettling, especially to a germaphobe like me. But then you are forced to consider the spaces she discovers. To watch her press her body into the corner of a bathroom stall, squirming to find a position (to find comfort?), as if she is yearning for a hug or embrace, is to witness something uniquely sensual."

Country of Citizenship:
United States

Birth Date:
July 14, 1968

Gender:
Female

Active Place:
Minneapolis

Minnesota County:
Hennepin

Performing Artist

http://www.flickr.com/photos/meganmayer/