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At Flourish Summer Camp, art and nature intertwine to create a unique performing arts experience for young individuals. Nestled on DreamAcres Farm, an off-the-grid organic farm in Wykoff, Minnesota, this residential camp offers youth ages 11-15 a week-long immersion in creative expression and environmental connection.

The heart of Flourish is its distinctive approach to performing arts education. Young campers spend their days developing original performance pieces while being mentored in techniques like puppetry and movement. The program intentionally integrates these programs with the natural surroundings of the farm—participants harvest from the vegetable garden to connect with food sources, explore the woodlands to discover natural performance spaces, and play in the creek to understand how water can inspire performance. These environmental interactions are essential components of the camp’s creative process, informing performances that respond directly to place, and allowing campers to develop work that couldn’t exist in conventional theater spaces.

The 2024 season culminated in a public performance on August 4th titled “Ruffled Feathers and Flying Soles.” As audiences gathered at the farm, they were led through various natural “stages” across the property. The performance began with spectators seated on hay bales and blankets spread across a sloping field, as performers emerged from the woods in colorful, handcrafted costumes.

A highlight of the performance featured a young performer who climbed into a tree where aerial silks were set up. Camp director Eva Barr described it as “a comedic silks piece that took place up in a tree.” The performer demonstrated both technical skill and humor as they performed against the backdrop of sky and trees, drawing both laughter and amazed reactions from the audience.

The performance journey continued as viewers were guided to another location where “another sketch took place down in a hole”—a depression in the earth cleverly transformed into a stage, with performers appearing and disappearing from view, playing with perspective and visibility in ways conventional theater spaces don’t allow.

In another part of the performance, dancers used the meadow as their stage. Tall grasses swayed alongside the performers as they moved through the space. The show progressed to what Barr described as “an Olympic event that culminated in the creek and was cut short by a big chicken.” During this segment, the audience watched from the creek banks as performers showcased expressive movements inspired by the water. The scene ended unexpectedly when a large, handmade chicken puppet appeared, surprising the audience and causing much laughter.

Barr mentions that one challenge was when “visions perhaps being bigger than the week allows.” This reflects how ambitious the campers’ creative ideas often are, despite the limited time available. These time constraints actually help the young artists learn to work within boundaries—a familiar creative challenge that many in our SEMAC arts community can attest.

Another unexpected challenge in the 2024 season came when two staff members—including the morning cook and puppeteer—were unable to participate due to COVID. “This left us with a ‘skeleton crew,'” Barr explains, “one that proved the strength of flexibility.” Despite these setbacks, the staff demonstrated adaptability. As Barr humorously recalls, “While there was a bit of scrambling in the morning, and not just the eggs, we managed to get everyone fed and speeding to their first class of the day. And there were puppets in the final show.”

The show’s title had layers of meaning beyond what audiences might have initially perceived. Barr reflects, “‘Ruffled Feathers and Flying Soles'” referred to the giant chicken puppet and the shoes thrown during two of the pieces, but it could just as well have referred to the mood set each morning in a very creative kitchen.”

For nearly two decades, Flourish has maintained its commitment to accessibility, never turning away a prospective camper due to inability to pay. As Barr proudly states, “Flourish, after almost 20 years, has never turned anyone away for lack of ability to pay.” The program intentionally remains small in scale, creating an intimate community where each young artist receives individualized attention and support.

Flourish Summer Camp will return in 2025, running from July 27 to August 3, with a public performance scheduled for August 3rd at 2pm at DreamAcres Farm. This program continues to provide a space where young artists can develop their creative voices while forming meaningful connections with each other and the natural world. 

Flourish Summer Camps 2025 has a few participant slots still available! For more information, visit https://www.dreamacresfarm.org/summer-camp, call 507-316-3795, or email Eva Barr at flourishsummercamp@gmail.com

For years, Martha Larson had felt the constraints of classical music traditions. As a cellist trained primarily in classical and jazz, she was accustomed to performances where musicians remain seated, audiences stay silent, and expression is largely cerebral rather than physical. 

“Music is generally performed from a seated position with very little movement aside from the motion required of arms and fingers to play the instrument,” Martha observes.

 

But she envisioned something different—a performance where musicians and audience alike could immerse themselves fully in sound and movement, breaking free from these long-established boundaries.

With help from a 2024 SEMAC Individual Artist grant, “There Is No Ground” emerged as Martha’s answer to this creative challenge. Collaborating with choreographer Shari Setchell and fellow musicians Wendy Placko and Brian Johnson, Martha set out to incorporate dance and embodied movement into live, improvised music performance. Their goal wasn’t merely to add movement to music but to fundamentally reimagine the relationship between sound, body, and space.

 

The creative process began with Shari’s guidance through warm-up exercises that taught the ensemble a shared physical vocabulary. These sessions introduced basic somatic movement concepts that would become the foundation for their original compositions. The process of translating these concepts into actual performance pieces didn’t come without unexpected complexities. “Some of the challenges were physical,” Martha explains, “as each musician figured out the logistics of what movements we could or couldn’t do with our instruments strapped to our bodies.” Others were emotional, as the performers navigated the vulnerability of moving in unfamiliar ways while building trust as an ensemble.

Despite these challenges—or perhaps because of them—moments of genuine connection emerged. When the group found their groove, both physically and emotionally, the experience was rewarding. They were creating something that transcended traditional performance categories, something that existed in the space between concert and dance.

The project extended its collaborative spirit beyond the ensemble to include the wider community. At Northfield’s Big Woods Movement Collective Annual Canopy Jam (https://www.bigwoodscollective.org/about), Martha and her collaborators rolled out a large canvas and invited festival attendees to contribute. People splattered, spilled, brushed, and stamped paint across the surface.  During the capstone performance two weeks later on August 3rd, 2024, this community-created artwork was displayed in the center aisle of the Northfield Depot, serving as both décor and a symbolic invitation to active participation.

Throughout the August 3rd capstone performance, audience members were encouraged to engage with the music in ways rarely permitted in traditional concerts. The culmination came with the final piece, which began with a slow, reflective rendition of “You Are My Sunshine” on bassoon before transforming into an up-tempo celebration. The musicians led the audience in a New Orleans-style “second line” procession around the performance space, dissolving the boundary between performer and observer. “The whole audience joined in singing three or four part harmonies,” Martha recalls, “which was a delightful and uplifting finish to the show.”

The response was overwhelmingly positive. Many attendees commented they had “never seen anything like this before” or “hadn’t seen anything this captivating and creative for a very long time.” 

For Martha, “There Is No Ground” represents just the beginning of a new artistic direction. The project has reinforced her commitment to exploring non-traditional approaches to cello performance and collaborative creation. She plans to continue working with these artists to further develop the innovative intersection of music and movement they’ve begun to map together.

In the end, the project’s title became its most powerful metaphor—when there is no ground, artists can discover a world of pure creative potential.

We are deeply grateful to the 223 members of our arts community who took the time to participate in SEMAC’s recent Needs Assessment Survey. Your thoughtful responses and candid feedback are an important part of our ongoing dialogue with the arts community and will help inform SEMAC’s understanding of needs throughout our eleven-county region.

We are currently reviewing all of the valuable feedback you’ve provided and look forward to sharing how it will shape our services and programs in the coming months. Your insights will help us continue to grow and evolve in ways that best serve the arts community of southeastern Minnesota.

If you’d like to review the complete survey results, you can find them here: SEMAC 2024 Assessment Survey.

Thank you again for your participation and ongoing support. Together, we can continue building a vibrant arts community that serves all of southeastern Minnesota.

Your partners in the arts,
The SEMAC Team

While most admire Minnesota’s lakes and rivers from above, artist Samantha Reiter-Johnson explores what hides beneath – an entire microscopic universe teeming with life. Through her project “Beyond the Surface: Biological Art of Minnesota,” Samantha brings this hidden world into focus, one illustration at a time.

“Art will always be a powerful tool for telling scientific stories and engaging the public,” Samantha explains. The project, funded by a SEMAC Individual Artist grant, allowed her to collect samples from waterways in every county in southeastern Minnesota, rendering microscopic observations into art illustrations that educate and inspire.

The project rippled through the community. Her February 2024 artist reception at Lake City Area Arts drew over 50 attendees, with many more viewing the exhibition during its run. Visitors were both amazed and occasionally terrified to learn about the organisms they’d been swimming alongside for years. Through her art, the community gained a deeper appreciation for protecting our natural waters and understanding the delicate balance of our local watersheds.

For Samantha, the grant provided more than just financial support – it offered the freedom to fully immerse herself in research and exploration. “As an artist, it can sometimes be difficult to focus your efforts on a new and innovative project due to time and financial constraints,” she shares. The funding enabled her to invest in quality materials to preserve her work and dedicate time to perfecting her craft.

The success of this project has carved new channels of opportunity. Samantha has recently been awarded another SEMAC Individual Artist grant to continue exploring the intersection of science and art with an upcoming 2025 project focusing on bee vision and native plants at Quarry Hill Nature Center in Rochester.Building on her experience as a grantee, SEMAC welcomes Samantha’s insights to SEMAC’s Arts Advisory Panel as one of our newest panelists.

To follow Samantha’s future projects and explorations, find her on Instagram: @chlorocreations.

In the world of theater, innovation often emerges from the fusion of traditional art forms with cutting-edge technology. This was precisely the case when Rochester-based artist Kevin Dobbe used a SEMAC Individual Artist Grant for his work on Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Rochester Civic Theatre.

The project’s goal was ambitious: to integrate computer animations seamlessly into the musical, creating a visual spectacle that would both serve the story and stand alone as a work of art. Over six months, Kevin dove deep into the world of 3D animation, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in theatrical set design.

The result? A groundbreaking, reimagined rock musical production that ran from February 8th to 25th, 2024, featuring a blend of Southeastern Minnesota’s regional talent and state-of-the-art technology. The animated set materials brought new life to the already powerful narrative of Hedwig, an East German transgender singer, and enhanced the exploration of the gender identity, love, and self-discovery themes that lie at the heart of the show.

The project wasn’t without its challenges. As Kevin noted and as our readers can certainly relate, working with contemporary technology always presents obstacles. However, these hurdles ultimately led to artistic growth and a deeply rewarding outcome.

The impact of this project extended far beyond the stage. After several performances, panel discussions were held, opening up conversations about LGBTQ dynamics and broader societal issues. The discussions sparked by the production provided an opportunity for important dialogues within the community.

And the ripple effects of this grant continue to be felt. Inspired by the success of this project, Kevin is now embarking on an even more ambitious venture: an original opera titled Tempus Fugit. This new work will build on the skills and SEMAC-funded technology used in Hedwig, incorporating 3D animated characters as synchronized “actor/singers.”
From sold-out audiences to community conversations, from technological innovation to artistic inspiration, Kevin’s initiative demonstrated the impact that can be achieved when we invest in creative visions. It’s a testament to the power of art to push boundaries, spark dialogue, and pave the way for future innovations.

We’re proud to have played a part in bringing Kevin’s creative vision to life and look forward to seeingwhere these new skills and technology will take him next.

 

 

Sydney Swanson, a dancer and choreographer based in Rochester, MN, recently completed an ambitious new dance film project titled “Elemental Body” with funding from a SEMAC grant. This 12-minute site-specific piece allowed Sydney to build upon her previous experience in dance film while pushing her artistic boundaries.

As the sole performer, Sydney choreographed, directed, and edited “Elemental Body” with the goal of exploring West African spiritual practices centered around the elements of earth, water, fire, nature, and mineral. While much of her prior dance films utilized improvisational work captured on a phone camera, this project required much more extensive planning and coordination.

Filming took place at different sites within the beautiful Quarry Hill Park in Rochester, with Sydney’s younger brother, Bradey Swanson, acting as videographer. Despite challenges like chilly weather, the sibling team’s dedication paid off, including her brother donning waders to capture footage in a stream. Sydney also hired Joni Griffith, a Minneapolis-based singer, multi-instrumentalist, movement artist and sound designer to bring her full vision to life.

The SEMAC grant funding proved invaluable, providing the time, space and resources to create “Elemental Body.” This is Sydney’s second SEMAC grant for a dance film project, which she credits with furthering her skills, artistic career, and recently helping her secure a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board.  

Sharing the film with audiences has been both a vulnerable and exciting experience for the choreographer. “One of my favorite parts of the process is hearing feedback from audience members after they view my film. It’s both nerve-wracking and thrilling to share art with an audience and hear how they related to it or didn’t. I find I learn more about the subtleties and synchronicities of my work when I hear what others saw in it…the observations come from this really human experience place,” Swanson remarks. Audience feedback revealed how they related to the “micro-macro, earth/human bodies, nature via layers/time/elements/connection” depicted in the film’s outdoor settings. Comments praised the “fresh and new” perspective on familiar nature paths and the desire to “dance for her and with her!”

Thanks to her Minnesota State Arts Board grant, Sydney will showcase “Elemental Body” in a series of six dance film screening events around southeastern Minnesota from September 2024 through February 2025. The screenings will feature other Minnesota-based dance artists alongside her work at venues like Rochester’s Pop’s Art Theater and the Winona Art Center.

For more information on Sydney and her future screenings and initiatives, visit her website www.insiteartsandhealing.com, or find her on Facebook at Insite Arts & Healing.