KRISTIN NOVEMBER FREYA

Honors & Residencies                 
Choreographer, Director, and Teacher: Freya has received many critical awards, commissions and requested for guest artist residencies for dance instruction and presenting her work such as:

• 1999: Funding from University of St. Catherine, in their “MN Women of Substance 1999-2000 Series”, where she presented the Cleopatra: Ambitious Child at the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium, St. Paul, MN
• 2000: Named “Dance Company of the Year” by Fox 9 News
• 2001: Guest Artist at The MN College of Visual Art and Design on Collaboration of art Mediums held        at the Landmark Center, St. Paul, MN
• 2003: Funding from Metropolitan Regional Arts Council for her production of Transcendance at The   Basilica of St. Mary and The Pantages Theater, Minneapolis, MN
• 2004: Guest Artist on modern dance held in January Havana, Cuba
• 2004: Guest Artist of modern dance and composition at The American University in Cairo, Egypt
• 2004: Funding for the dance Installation titled “Isis and Osiris: Feminine and Masculine Forces” currently on exhibit in the prestigious Falaki Art Gallery in Cairo, Egypt from April 6th to April 30th

Founding            
Along with her Vox Medusa Dance Company, Freya has a successful history of creating founding projects and organizations for her work and to benefit the art community of Minnesota:

• 1997: Freya co-founded and is Artistic Director of Heartbeat Studios, A Center for Performing Arts, where she teaches weekly classes in modern, ballet, jazz and composition within an art based curriculum, readying young dancers for a careers in dance and preparing students for entrance to college dance programs.  She has created a four-year pedagogy program where students of high caliber may learn the art of teaching dance while receiving high school credit.  Over the six years Freya has brought nationally recognized teachers to instruct master classes such as: the late Gregory Hinds, Savion Glover, Dianne Walker, Maureen Mansfield, Deborah Leamy and Robert Atwood. Heartbeat Studios is also the home base rehearsal studio for VMDC.
• 1998: Freya founded Ricochet Kitchen: OmniArt Events, a multi-art spectacles showcasing local and national artists of diverse dance traditions and other art mediums.  She has produced eighteen events in the Twin Cities that not only present her work, but also brought the dance community together by presenting work by many other choreographers, such as: Susanna Di Palma (Flamenco), Rosy Simas Dance Projects, Mathew Jensen’s New and Used Dance company, Margo Abdo O’Dell (Middle Eastern), Groove Nutz Crew (Break Dance), Ten Foot Five (Tap and Percussion), Florida based Hip Hop master Darryl Blackman and London based jazz company Jazzcotech, as well as site specific movement installations created by David Wick, Carlos Abler, Collin Rausch, and many more.  Through the five year history of these omniart events Freya has served over 432 artists total and were attended by over 5,000+ audience members, at unique venues such as: The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, First Avenue Main Room, Theatre De la Jeune Lune, The Loring Bar & Café, Space Art Gallery, Loring Play House, Nikki’s Café, Bryant Lake Bowl, The Lounge and a variety of under-utilized large warehouses spaces.
• 2000: Freya founded Vox Medusa Records, a production label of CD’s and DVD’s for music composition created through her numerous collaborations with musicians, vocalists and spoken word artists. 
  

Productions           
Over the past ten years Kristin Freya, has produced twenty-three dance productions and over sixty multi-medium dance installations inspired by female archetypes drawn from a myriad of ethnically diverse mythological and historical sources. 1994 to present: Freya’s Vox Medusa Dance Company (VMDC) debuted her first performance Take Back The Night.  Since then Freya has presented her work within: The Walker Art Center, Theatre De La Jeune Lune, The Weisman Art Museum, The O’Shaunghnessy Auditorium, The Guthrie Theater, The Fitzgerald Theater, Loring Playhouse, Harmony Box Theater, Minneapolis Science Museum, The Red Eye Theater, Hennepin Center for the Arts, The Landmark Center Theater, International Market Square, The Basilica of St. Mary and The Pantages Theater as well as Nightclubs such as: First Avenue, The Quest, Escape, The Fine Line, Sursumcorde, Martini Blue Grand Hotel, Le Meridian Hotel Ballroom and many more.  From 2001-2003, Freya collaborated with world renown and history making DJ’s and musician such as Sandra Collins, David Ralph, Timo Moss, Mix Master Mike, KRS1, Christopher Lawrence, and Falco. 

Some of Freya’s major dance concerts are:

• 1995: Unconscious Diary was presented at The Hennepin Center for the Arts and was based on Freya’s relationship to her roots through women found in Norse and Saimi mythology.
• 1997: Pillars, Freya presented, at The Hennepin Center for the Arts: Jane Doe, based on Jezebel, Eve and Echo’s Orbit, based on Ovid’s story Echo and Narcissus.
• 1998: Freya produced Oral Fixation, a celebration of spoken word for National Poetry Month, held in Calhoun Square.  Artists chosen to perform were directed by Freya to create a performance that integrated spoken word and dance into their presentation. 
• 1999: Sirens, presented at The Loring Playhouse was based on Freya’s ‘young women series’ were she presented: Lucretia’s Awakening, Blood Tribe (based on Artimes), Guzzel (based on 17th century witch trials), and Seven & Counting (based on Salome)
• 1999: Cleopatra: Ambitious Child, O’Shaughnessy Auditorium, funded in part by St. Catherine College’s “Women of Substance Series”, based on the life of Cleopatra VII
• 2000: Paint, Ivy Wearhouse, an interactive performance where the audience participation included painting seventy feet of canvas inspired by VMDC’s performance Earth of based on the Norse goddess Freya.
• 2001: Elements of Alchemy, based on four diverse goddesses of primary elements, The Red Eye Theater
• 2002: 360º: a Revolutionary Dance Party, Theater de La Jeune Lune
• 2003: Transcendance, Basilica of St. Mary and The Pantages Theater, funded in part by MRAC
• 2004:Isis and Osiris: the Prana of Feminine and Masculine Forces month long, great-room dance installation exhibit at the prestigious Falaki Art Museum, Cairo, Egypt

Community    
Since 1996, Freya has been closely involved with our Twin Cities awareness programs and projects specifically for the arts.

In 2001, Freya and Paul WonSavage her husband/manager worked with Minneapolis City Fire Marshall Tom Deegan to guide the creation of licensing for performing companies to easily obtain affordable warehouse spaces for artistic productions.  Many theaters are cost prohibitive for most local dance companies, many including Freya were producing work for audiences in vacant warehouses and theaters.  The Ballet of The Dolls became the first company to use this new license created by Freya and WonSavage for their Ritz Theater productions.

In 2001-2002: Freya’s VMDC has been presented performances for numerous community art organization events and benefits such as: MN Spoken Word Association, MN Dance Festival, MN International Film Festival, Voce Lupus Benefit, MN Zoo Endangered Species Benefit and Red Cross, Domestic Violence Awareness, and private benefit for Breast Cancer research.

In 2003: VMDC performed with Ballet of The Dolls for NEMA’s Art Zone with for the opening and performed at the opening of the Minneapolis Mosaic at the IDS Crystal Court, DIFFA aids benefit, private benefit for Parkinson’s Disease research, and Transcendance benefited over 300 current residence members from women’s shelters within Minneapolis, St. Paul and our surrounding communities through a free performance at St. Mary’s Basilica and by donating 50% of ticket sales to the Jeremiah Project. 

Education           
Freya began her technical training at age three.  1983-1989: she became a protégé and youngest company member of Phillip Aleso, Director/Choreographer of locally touring Jazz company, movement rooted in his mentor Bob Fosse; 1989-1993: University of MN Dance Program, as a freshmen she was invited to become a company member of UREPCO, where over the years was instructed and performed pieces by:  Bill T. Jones, Dan Wagner, Mark Morris’s company members, and Douglas Dunn and was also honored her senior year with the title of “Choreographer of the Year”.  1996-2002 Freya has continued to study dance composition and choreographic processes with personal tutorials with: the late Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Jimmy Slide, Tony Manendez, Brill Barrett, Robert Atwood, Deborah Leamy, Dianne Walker and in 2003 with the great Stanley Donen.