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.