Eclectic Edge Ensemble

How many of us have declared, whole-heartedly and with unwavering conviction, that "this year will be the year to...." (fill in the blank)?  And how many times have we filled in the blank with "eat healthy" and "excercise"?  Many, I'm sure of it.  We, as dancers, certainly understand the importance of keeping in shape.  Lucky for us, keeping in shape doesn't feel like "work" because we have been fortunate enough to find an activity that, not only keeps our bodies healthy, but keeps our souls smiling too.  If you are one of the many, MANY folks who have committed to a more active lifestyle for the new year, some food for thought: exercise doesn't have to be a chore.  It can be fun; it can be informal; it can be something you're HORRIBLE at, but love to do: so long as it makes you smile, you'll be well on your way to healthier mind and body.  We love what we do: you should too!

What an incredible year it has been for EEE! We are filled with so much gratitude, and excitement for all of the joys and gifts that lay ahead of us for 2013! Running a dance company has been a dream of mine since I was 5 years old and I would put on shows for my stuffed animals. I have to pinch myself every day that I get to do what I have always wanted, and with a team of dancers that are so dedicated, hard-working, talented and simply a joy to work with in EEE.

Here is a list of some of the events EEE is so grateful for:

1. February 16^th-19^th, 2012: The chance to bring back one of EEE’s favorites “Reeling over Love,” now revamped to a full length production, with the additional, touching new compositions by and performed live by Brian Erickson
2.  The year of welcoming new EEE dancers and guest performers: Brian Evans, Jordan Klitzke, Joe Crook and Jarod Boltjes
3. Honored to receive the MRAC Arts Learning grant for our 2012 EEE Outreach Season where we taught workshops at East Side Services, Luxton Community Center, Priarie School of Dance, 4^th Street Dance Center in White Bear Lake, Saint Paul City Ballet, Tonka Dance Works, 3^rd Annual EEE Jazz Intensive at Zenon and a 2 week Workshop and Main Street School of Performing Arts.
4. March 13^th, 2012: the incredible opportunity to perform new works with two of Saint Thomas’ choirs for their Sacred Arts Performance. How moving it was to watch the pieces as hundreds of beautiful voices filled the room.
5. April 21^st, 2012: A Very Grimm Promm; EEE’s Annual Fundraiser. Much success was brought with food, games, dancing, live music, photos and all of those fun costumes. Thank you to everyone who was able to come out and support EEE.
6. Early summer Heidi Draskoci Johnson approached me stating that she would love to get involved with EEE and assist me on the admin end. She started out writing grants for us, and over a couple of months has now become our Managing Director. She has been such a pivotal new member to the EEE family, and I could not be more grateful to have her on board!
7. June 17^th-20^th, 2012: Jazz Symposium at SMU in Dallas. Danny Buraczeski, one of my biggest mentors and who started my love of jazz dance, hosted a 3 day Jazz Symposium at SMU. A few members of EEE (Heather, Erinn, Megan and Jordan) were able to come with me to participate in the workshop. We had a blast dancing together! I was honored when Danny asked me if I would teach one of the jazz technique classes. That was a full circle, moving moment for me!
8. July 19^th-22^nd, 2012: A Grimm Tale at the Ritz. EEE once again teamed up with Mad Munchkin Productions in creating an eerie, striking new piece that tied a bunch of Grimm Tales together. I was astonished at what we were able to create, and awe struck at the talents of MMP! My good friend, Kristin Grohs Blatzheim also created a breath taking new piece on EEE dancers.
9. August 6^th-12^th, 2012: EEE’s 3^rd Annual Jazz Intensive at Zenon. We had an incredible turnout of dancers for both our professional and dance educators track. It was a fantastic week of jazz dancing, and I am honored to produce this workshop with Karla Grotting every year! This has always been a staple I have wanted for EEE.
10. October 2012: EEE’s 10^th Anniversary Concert (July 18th-22nd, 2013) enters rehearsals. This production is all about honoring some of the incredible collaborations we have been fortunate to have with 4 amazing composers. We will be working again with Warren Park, Brian Erickson, Michael Rossetto and Richard Sloss. We will be bringing back older pieces and creating new ones.
11. November 2012: an inspiring 2 week workshop working with the students of Main Street School of Performing Arts. EEE Teaching Artists Crystal, Mackenzie and Heather taught different jazz classes to their morning classes, and then we set “Big Noise” on their Intermediate and Advanced Dancers.
12. Give to the Max. EEE set a goal of raising $3,000 ($1,000 more than last year), and we not only made it, we past it! Thank you to all of EEE’s supporters! We can not do it without you!
13. Completely blown away and honored to receive 2 grants from MRAC! A Community Arts Grant to support or 10^th Anniversary Show and a Development Grant to hire a financial consultant/director that will help us create our 3 and 5 year business plan and apply for our 501c3! This is a huge step for EEE, and we are ready!
14. And lastly the 15 members of EEE that are all so busy with everything else going on in their lives, but still make EEE such a priority. Show up to every rehearsal with huge smiles on their faces, ready to work and sweat together. There is no one else I would prefer to be in the studio with, and can not tell you enough how much each and everyone of you means to me. Whether you have been with the company for 1-7 years, your loyalty, talent and incredible energy fills my heart!

So the list is long, but some things need to stated! Thank you 2012, and cheers to a fabulous 2013!

Karis Sloss

Artistic Director of Eclectic Edge Ensemble

Recently, Eclectic Edge Ensemble was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council for Organizational Development!  This funding will allow EEE to spend the next 9 months working with an independent consultant to develop a strong three, five and ten year plan to help insure longevity for EEE.  We will also (finally) have the resources we need to apply for non-profit and tax excempt status through the state and federal governments.  We couldn't be more thrilled!  What a great start to the Holiday Season!

Dear EEE Fans, Friends and Followers,

 “Give to the Max” day is just around the corner, set to take place this coming Thursday, November 15!  This annual day of giving provides donors like you the opportunity to show your financial support for your top non-profits in the State of Minnesota.  Eclectic Edge Ensemble is participating again this year (through our fiscal sponsorship with Springboard for the Arts) and we HOPE you will consider giving to our company.  A few basics:

1)     “Give to the Max” is an ALL DAY event (midnight to midnight)! 

2)     Giving is EASY!  Just visit our GiveMN.org webpage and click on the green “DONATE” button: http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Eclecticedgeensemble

3)     You will automatically be sent tax receipts from GiveMN.org to document your donation

And now for the juicy details:

Springboard for the Arts, our fiscal sponsor, has presented us with a matching donation challenge.  During the 10 am -11 am hour of giving (our “power hour”) Springboard has agreed to set aside $8,000 for matching donations! What does this mean?  This means that all Incubator organizations (groups that are currently fiscal sponsors of Springboard) will have the opportunity to compete for matching funds from Springboard based on the amount of money they raise during the power hour.  All donations made to Incubator clients (this includes us!) will be tallied during that hour and Springboard will divide the $8,000 proportionally amongst projects based on dollars raised. 

Truth be told, we will be THRILLED to receive any amount of donation from you, your family, your friends, your neighbors… but if you are able to give to EEE during the power hour, your donation will go that much further!

Another incentive:

Springboard with put aside an additional $2,000 to use as reward money for the top 5 Incubator projects.  This money will be distributed not based on the amount of money raised, but by the number of donors contributing to the cause.  So it doesn’t really matter if $10.00 is all you have to give: this small donation will put EEE in the running for a $750 first place prize; $500 second place prize; $350 third place; $250 fourth; and $150 fifth.  Any small gift can/will make a difference for EEE!

If you’re receiving this email, it’s because you’ve already shown an incredible amount of support for our company by attending performances, volunteering, donating: we simply cannot thank you enough for everything you’ve done thus far.  As EEE celebrates our 10-year Anniversary, we hope that you will continue to show your generous support and consider making EEE a part of your year-end giving plan.

Please visit our GiveMN.org page (http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Eclecticedgeensemble) and remember to Give to the Max!

Many thanks.

EEE Staff and Company

EEE just recently submitted two seperate proposals to the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) in hopes of receiving grant support for some major projects coming up.  For one, as you all know, EEE is celebrating its 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY in 2013 and will be presenting both new and old works at the Ritz Theatre in July.  Artistic Director, Karis Sloss, will be working with four local composers in the restaging and creation of these pieces.  Leave it Karis to take on a challenge of this proportion!  We're hoping MRAC will be as excited about this concert as we are!

Two, EEE is really planning for the long term future and is hoping to receive funding from MRAC to support our next big step: incorporating as a non-profit, 501c3 organization by the end of our fiscal year, in addition to doing some long term strategic planning for the company and taking on more adminstrative staff.

Keep your fingers crossed, EEE fans!  This year will be a HUGE year for Eclectic Edge!

Learn more about MRAC: http://www.mrac.org/index.asp