Veselica

04/30/2026

We're excited for opening night! Tonight's the night you can watch the live stream of the concert if you can't attend in person. For those of you wishing to attend in person , you can order your tickets online at Eventbrite.

Our contributions to the "Borders" concert open and close the 2nd half of the concert . The first piece features dance and live drumming from along the Silk Road, specifically Tadjikistan, Persia and Mongolia. Our second piece features Bulgarian dance from the Sop region. The choreography is the result of a collaboration with computer science students and used algorithms to create sequences.

We hope you can join us for one of the shows!

04/23/2026

We're busy getting ready for our performances next week April 30, May 1 and 2 at 7:30 pm. See below for more details. For those not in Minnesota, opening night will be live-streamed on Thursday, April 30th .

Link to the live stream: https://www.stolaf.edu/multimedia/play/?e=5260

Please join us for BORDERS: SPRING DANCE CONCERT, the culmination of a year-long exploration by the Dance Department into the complex nature of borderlands. Borders marks a unique merging of St. Olaf’s two distinct dance ensembles: Companydance, with its focus on a diverse range of contemporary explorations, and the Veselica International Dance Ensemble, which brings the rich traditions and global perspectives of folk and character dance. This collaboration showcases the broad range and diversity of the St. Olaf College Dance Department, highlighting the beautiful friction and unexpected harmony that arise when different styles collide.

Featuring physically compelling, visually captivating, aurally stirring, and thought-provoking choreography by faculty members Dr. Andrea Conger, Brian J. Evans, and Heather Klopchin, guest artists Kaleena Miller and Jake Nehrbass and by current St. Olaf students Ivy Andreson, Maggie Doran, Delaney Dresser, Rel Edwards, Maya Fonseca-Jersild, Hailey Frank, Z Johnson, Mickenson Sanon, and Mary Staplin.

03/06/2026

For those of you unable to attend the upcoming Ecotones concert in person, the concert will be live-streamed on Saturday, March 7 at 2:00pm Minnesota time here: https://www.stolaf.edu/multimedia/play/?e=5259
The two Veselica pieces will open and close the first half of the concert.

03/05/2026

Excited for opening night of the Ecotones concert! Our second piece is titled "American Wake." In choreographing American Wake, we sought to embody the "ecotone" of the human spirit—that thin, vibrating line between agonizing grief and the desperate necessity of celebration.The piece is informed by the historical reality of the Great Famine, a period of mass exodus that defined Ireland for nearly a century. The "American Wake" was a cultural response to this trauma, serving as a living funeral for those who were forced to leave to survive. Because these departures were almost always permanent, the night before a journey was marked by a profound "heavy silence" and traditional lamentations and intense, frantic dancing: a funeral for those who hadn’t died; a dance to mask the mourning. By leaning into these contradictory energies, we invite you to witness the "borderland" where survival meets loss, and where the dance becomes the only language capable of holding both.

02/26/2026

We're looking forward to performing in the upcoming Ecotones concert March 5 & 6 at 7:30 pm and March 7 at 2 pm in the Center for Art and Dance on the St. Olaf College campus. The concert is free; no ticket required.

Ecotones is an evening of movement exploring the "borderlands" between genres. Borrowing from the ecological term for zones of integration, this concert brings together St. Olaf’s two distinct ensembles—Companydance and Veselica International Dance Ensemble—to celebrate the beauty of overlap and the emergence of new forms.

Veselica will premier two pieces in this concert. "Grenser" features Norwegian dance and hardanger fiddle music from Telemark while "American Wake" features Irish dance. Stay tuned for more details about these pieces in our next post!

10/24/2025

For those of you who are on campus or in the Northfield area, join us this evening for the Harvest Stomp in CAD Dance Studio One. There will be live music and teaching of contra and square dances. The event is being sponsored by Veselica. It is free and open to the public and no prior experience is required.

Today, October 24th, from 7-9 p.m.

10/24/2025

It is hard to believe the fall semester is already half over! A new crew of Veselica dancers has been working on new pieces to be premiered next semester. Our founding artistic director, Anne von Bibra, retired at the end of summer and our new artistic director is Veselica alum Dr. Andrea Conger ('99). Stay tuned for more information about opportunities to see Veselica perform in the coming months.

06/13/2025

Excited to see Ethnic Dance Theatre present their spring concert this weekend at the E.M. Pearson auditorium on Concordia campus in St. Paul. Three Veselica alums are among the cast members: Frances Olsen-Borgerding, Mita Pelecis and Raveena-Flor Lalwani. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday as well.

Ethnic Dance Theatre leads you on a captivating journey into the rich cultural tapestry of communities that weave together the essence of Minnesota. Using the dances, music, and songs of the peoples found throughout Central Europe, we will highlight where these communities found themselves when t

04/13/2025

Our Spring Concert opens on April 25th! Check out the details on the poster.

04/01/2025

Here are a few shots from the photo shoot at the end of the Slovak guest artist residency. Photos by Kent McInnes.

03/31/2025

We recently had the pleasure of working with Gene Lubas on a Slovak choreography that will be premiered at our spring concert on April 25 and 26. Here are a few photos from the guest artist residency with Gene.