CHILL – Program

12/1/23 @7pm  |  12/2/23 @ 2pm  |  12/2/23 @ 7pm | 12/3/23 @ 2pm

As the weather chills, we chill into playful original choreography and movement improvisations set to the groovy jazz tunes of Vince Guaraldi’s playful and nostalgic “Charlie Brown Christmas” soundtrack, played live by local jazz musicians! After rave reviews and two years of big, enthusiastic crowds in 2018 and 2019, local jazz and American social-inspired dance company Rhythmically Speaking is teaming up with Amsterdam Bar & Hall once again to revisit CHILL, the unique dance and live music show that serves the Twin Cities public up some Charlie Brown holiday joy. CHILL pairs a cast of seven dynamic local dancers and a live jazz quartet to bring the entire soundtrack of 1965 animated TV special “Charlie Brown Christmas” to life. Enjoy a pint and a meal while experiencing festive live music and dance this holiday season at St. Paul fixture the Amsterdam Bar & Hall!

REMINDERS:

• Prior to the show, please silence your devices, and be advised that taking photos and/ or videos of the show is not permitted.
• Excellent food and drink will be on sale in the Amsterdam Bar area – please feel free to hop up at any time during the show, and especially at intermission, to order!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

We acknowledge that our work occurs on the traditional lands of the Dakhóta Oyáte (Dakota People), and honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations. We also acknowledge that as a company built around jazz and American social dances, forms with African diasporic roots and branches, anti-racism and intersectional justice efforts must also be central in our work. We view bettering these efforts as an ongoing journey, and welcome you to read more about this at our Anti-Racism page.

NOTE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR:

Welcome, Friends!

We’re so glad you’re here. When we previewed this show in 2017 (our first at Amsterdam, which has become our Winter home!), I’d been dreaming about it for eight years. 2018 brought the full production to the stage, and we did it again in 2019: four years, a pandemic, a childbirth and so many other happenings ago for me, it’s felt really sweet to revisit this show. I’ve come to describe it as ‘a warm hug,’ for how it captures nostalgia, excitement, playfulness, anticipation, joy – so many of the feelings that come to the fore during the holidays. That said, part of what I think resonates so deeply about the Charlie Brown Christmas Special and its engine – its beloved music – is that it does not shy away from the melancholic feelings that can also swirl around this time of year. From remembering lost loved ones to the diminished daylight to difficulty connecting with others during a highly social time, the melancholy can be a very real and regular part of the holidays for so many, and deserves to be recognized for the poignancy it can offer too.  

The chill grooves of this classic score so magically capture this complexity of multilayered holiday emotions: I hope you’ll appreciate The Jazz Outlaws’ quirky yet lush interpretations of it. You’ll hear the tunes in the order they appear in the film, with imagery and lines from the TV special sprinkled in along the way. Composed by Vince Guaraldi, a West-Coast jazz musician little-known past his region before the release of the celebrated TV special he scored, this soundtrack has carved an aural niche in American jazz music and popular culture. Yet, until CHILL, it had never been the feature of a production of original concert jazz dance choreography. While other stage offerings of this material have been made, this production – which centers and celebrates the jazz aesthetic of the original music compositions that make the special so resonant – is truly the first and only of its kind.

In keeping with jazz tradition, much of the music and dancing in this show is improvised. We love how jazz centers improvisation, groove and interaction: sharing embodied rhythm through improvising – or creating art in the moment – and interaction with ourselves, one another and the music provides space to honor our differences while appreciating our similarities. While we humans can sometimes feel distant from one another – even and sometimes especially during the holidays – these unique ways of feeling individuality within community bring us back together to celebrate our shared humanity while appreciating the moment. So sit back in the warmth of this great space in Peanuts creator Charles Schultz’s hometown of St. Paul: we invite you to enjoy a drink and snack, the good company, and these chill grooves. 

I hope this show speaks to you, rhythmically, and ignites your own brand of holiday spirit 🙂

Jazz Love,

Erinn

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SPECIAL THANKS: 

To the Amsterdam Bar & Hall – we’re thrilled to be back in our Winter home; Joy Liebhard for costume assistance; to the RS Advisory Panel for their enthusiastic and ongoing support; to the dancers, musicians and technical artists – without your dedication to this work, it wouldn’t exist! And: to our friends, family and supporters – thank you for believing in what we do!

PROGRAM:

Linus & Lucy

Greensleeves

Skating

Christmas Time is Here

Christmas is Coming

—Pause— (grab a drink, visit the loo, fill out our audience survey!)

Charlie Brown Theme

My Little Drum

O Tannenbaum

The Christmas Song

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!

Linus & Lucy (reprise)

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PEOPLE:

Advisory Panel: Hannah Elias, Brian J. Evans, Doug Hooker (Dancer Rep), Erinn Liebhard, Kristoffer Olson and Shannon Nemer

Bill Cameron (Photographer)

Bill Cameron is a Minneapolis photographer who loves photographing people. He specializes in working with local dance companies and their wonderful dancers. | @Bill.Cameron

Bob DeBoer (Trumpet)

Bob has been playing trumpet for more than two decades in and around St. Paul MN, beginning with the groove improv group GST in 2001, whose “punk rock for grown-ups” approach to jazz gained them a following in the mid-2000’s and regular play on The Current (89.3) in its early days. Bob joined the first iteration of the local band Eleganza in 2005, which morphed into a six-year journey on the Chooglin’ train – a high-octane blend of bluesy rock, soul, and metal that recorded on Fat Possum Records and toured in the U.S. and Europe. Currently, Bob performs and records most often with BrassZilla, Jazz Outlaws, Eleganza and the Mortiholics.

Shane Donahue (Technical Director | Lighting Designer)

Brad Erickson (Caricatures)

Brad Erickson is a local actor/performer, director, writer, and artist who enjoys working with the Stillwater Area High School theater department, Saint Paul Saints, The Mystery Cafe, History Comes To Life, and currently performing in the perennial holiday show, A Very Die Hard Christmas at the Bryant-Lake Bowl. Brad draws creative inspiration from Charles Schulz, Jim Henson, and Steve Martin. 

Mike Haselman (Guitar)

Mike Haselman is a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, pedal steel guitar, fiddle), working in many styles for over 50 years in many regional bands. He was inducted to the Iowa Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. This is Mike’s second time around the block on CHILL!

Doug Hooker (Administrative Associate | Dancer)

Doug graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Dance. He has had a variety of professional performing opportunities, including with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps, the Broadway show Blast! and the Dancing People Company, and locally with ARENA DANCES, Collide Theatrical Dance Company, Concerto Dance, Shapiro and Smith Dance and Threads Dance Project. He has been in Rhythmically Speaking productions since 2017, and has been a company member since 2019. | @MisterHookerSir

Amy Jones (Dancer)

Amy performs, teaches and generates concert, commercial, interdisciplinary and experimental work. She graduated from Luther College with a double-major in Theatre/Dance and Management and studied on scholarship with Jennifer Muller/The Works, Susan Marshall & Company, Eva Dean Dance and Broadway Dance Center. In NYC, she performed for Noemie LaFrance; a mindfulness, arts and activism group; and freelance. Locally, she has worked for The Mystic Dancers, Emily Johnson, St. Paul City Ballet, Stuart Pimsler, Morgan Thorsen, Alternative Motion Project, Laurie Van Wieren, Zhauna Franks and Enticing Entertainment. She loves sharing her joy of movement and community as a pilates instructor and bungee dance and Cirque-It Fitness teacher-trainer. She has been in Rhythmically Speaking productions since 2016, and has been a company member since 2020. | @dancerunspirit

Sara Karimi (Dancer)

Sara is a native of Wisconsin and a graduate of University of Iowa (BFA in Dance Performance, BA in English). She performed and toured with 10,000 Feet Dance Company, The Architects and Kayle + Co. before relocating to Minneapolis. She is currently a company member with Threads Dance Project, Concerto Dance, RJDT and Rhythmically Speaking. Additional performance credits include Borealis Dance Theatre, Dance & Other Behaviors, MN Opera and local choreographers Alexandra Bodnarchuk and Jesse Schmitz-Boyd. Sara is a mat pilates instructor and a certified 500 E-RYT yoga instructor, leading classes and workshops locally and nationally. She has been in Rhythmically Speaking productions since 2016, and has been a company member since 2019. | @Karimi__Sara__

Erinn Liebhard (RS Artistic and Executive Director | Producer | Choreographer | Dancer)

Erinn is a dance artist (MFA University of Colorado Boulder, BFA University of Minnesota) making opportunities for people to experience the reflective and connective power of groove through performance and education. In performance (besides RS!), she freelances and performs as self-created character entertainer “Nerdette” for Saint Paul Saints Baseball. In education, she is an active residency artist, a Teaching Artist for the Cowles Center, and is on faculty at Carleton College, St. Olaf College and Winona State University. Photo by Galen Higgins. Website | @ErinnLiebhard.DanceArtist

Ben McGinley (Videographer)

Jake Nehrbass (Dancer)

Born and raised in Minneapolis, Jake has been studying and performing dance since the age of three and teaching since age 12. He received his BFA in Dance and Kinesiology from St. Olaf College, has an interest in physical therapy and yoga, and works as a performing artist, choreographer, and dance teacher (Prairie School of Dance and Ballare Teatro) in the Twin Cities area. Currently, Jake is a company member of Black Label Movement, RDJT, and Rhythmically Speaking and has guested with Contempo Physical Dance, Concerto Dance, Arena Dances, Mixtape, Threads Dance Project, Flying Foot Forum, Katha Dance Theatre, Eau Claire Dance, STRONGmovement and Hatch Dance/ Honey Works, and performed in Stephan Koplowitz’s Northfield Experience. He has been a Rhythmically Speaking company member since 2022. | @Jake_Nehrbass

Kathleen Pender (Dancer)

Kathleen Pender is a performer, dance educator, arts administrator, and massage therapist with a B.A. in Dance from St. Olaf College and an A.A.S. in Therapeutic Massage from Northwestern Health Sciences University. She has performed in works by choreographers Erinn Liebhard, Suzanne Costello, Kathleen Doherty, Cara Hagan, Laura Osterhaus Rosenstone, Gretchen Pick, Julie Warder, Taja Will, Laura Ann Smyth, and Pat Taylor/JazzAntiqua, among others. She teaches with Young Dance, where she also works as Program Manager, and practices massage with TC Fit at Motion St. Paul, a physical therapy clinic. Kathleen is passionate about community and relationships cultivated through movement exploration, education, and performance. She has performed in Rhythmically Speaking productions since 2013, and has been a company member since 2019. Photo by Bill Cameron. | @KatDewPen

Betsy Schaefer Roob (Dancer)

Betsy was born and raised in Elm Grove, WI. Now based in Minneapolis for over a decade, she has worked with ARENA DANCES, Rhythmically Speaking, Threads Dance Project, Dance & Other Behaviors, as well as nationally and internationally based choreographers Sasha Kleinplatz, A.T. Moffett, Salia Sanou, and Pat Taylor among others. Her own work with faux pas, a duo with Julie Marie Muskat, has been presented as part of CANDY BOX Dance Festival at the Southern Theater. Prior to landing in Minnesota, Betsy lived and studied in Michigan, Oregon, and El Salvador. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a self-designed Bachelor of Individualized Studies in English, Dance, and Sustainability Studies. Alongside her dance career, she is a certified practitioner of The Roll Model® Method and manages the Children’s Literacy Program for Hennepin Healthcare System. She also enjoys many moments dancing around her living room with her toddler daughter. She has been a Rhythmically Speaking company member since 2019. | @BetsySRoob

Tony Watercott (Bass Guitar)

Tony is a multi-bassist (electric, stand-up and tub) and illustrator (Spout Press). A self-taught musician, Tony began his musical career in St. Cloud playing bass as a member of the band Vibes followed by the band Chic Pea and the Garbanzos. Later he and Greg Schaefer formed Minneapolis-based GST, an experimental rock/jazz band. GST collaborated with many poets and musicians as well as Rhythmically Speaking. He continues his dance collaboration with his new group Jazz Outlaws. 

Ram Zimmerman (Drums)

Ram Zimmerman came up in the 90s Twin Cities music scene playing drums with the Buck-Fifty Boys, Minor Planets, John Casey and the Old Possums, 2i, Blacki, and GST. After a 20 year stint in Austin, TX, playing honky-tonks and rock clubs with Tawnya Lorae, The Mystery Achievement, Texas Sapphires, Kim Deschamps, Nathan Hamilton, and many more, he is back home playing with old friends. Ram is new to the CHILL crew, and we are so happy to have him here!

SPONSORS AND FUNDERS:

This show is made possible in-part by funds from the St. Paul Cultural STAR program.

We also couldn’t spread JOY through JAZZ without the generous support of our FY24 individual donors listed below (up to date as of 11/22/23):

And a big thank you to all our anonymous donors!

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Thank you for attending CHILL!