Toni Pierce Sands, co founder of TU Dance and one of Minnesota’s most influential dance leaders, has died at 63. Dancers remember her not only for her artistry and Ailey lineage, but for her gift of making people feel seen. Former students describe how she unlocked their confidence and taught them that dance is about truth rather than perfection. Her legacy continues in the community she built and the philosophy she carried: nothing to prove, only to share.
TU Dance
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TU Dance at age 20: a legacy in motion
TU Dance is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a program featuring an ensemble of influential choreographers, highlighting its core mission of fusing classical technique with African diasporic traditions and urgent, socially relevant narratives.
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St. Paul City Council awards $1 million for upcoming arts and culture programs
The St. Paul City Council recently approved more than $1 million in grants for 34 organizations to fund arts and culture projects as part of the 2018 Cultural STAR Program — an initiative created in 1993 to promote economic growth in St. Paul by strengthening the arts and culture sector.
Posted inArts + Culture
TU Dance rings in new season with a nod to the past
With Love was inspired by the paintings of the late African American artist Ernie Barnes and choreographed by Uri Sands, with music by the late, legendary Donny Hathaway.
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Two local, Black-led dance companies awarded 10K
Threads Dance Project in Golden Valley, and TU Dance of St. Paul, were among 25 companies to receive an unrestricted INFLUENCERS grant by the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD), an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting dance by people of African ancestry or origin.