The Cowles Center For Dance & The Performing Arts

As the Midwest’s largest nonprofit dance complex, The Cowles Center offers the local arts community the dance-centric facility it needs to flourish. The Cowles Center is owned by Artspace, the leading non-profit developer of live/work artist housing, artist studios, arts centers and arts-friendly businesses in the U.S. By providing nine rehearsal studios, three theaters, and administrative office space for small-to-midsize arts organizations, including two of Minnesota's premier dance schools, The Cowles Center ensures that local artists can thrive and still call Minnesota home. The Cowles Center makes it possible to: Offer free arts-infused education programs to Minnesota schools. By integrating movement into traditional curriculum, tomorrow’s leaders cultivate creative problem-solving skills, build confidence, learn to work as a member of a team, and develop the scientific imagination. Make dance a viable profession in our state. The Cowles Center subsidizes major expenses for more than 36 local dance companies each year. These subsidies allow dance companies to place their focus on creating rather than funding—filling the Twin Cities' dance community with work that is dynamic, challenging, and surprising. Raise the curtain on students’ first live dance performance. The Cowles Center’s Student Matinee program hosts thousands of K-12 students each year for their first professional dance experience. Dance companies further engage with the students after the performance with a Q&A session. Administer world-class training for dancers, dance educators, and choreographers. From beginner to professional, students ages 3–85 come to The Cowles Center to create, learn, perform, and celebrate the art of dance.