A mad inventor tries to apply logic to the absurd and abstract. Distant memories, ideas and images smash together, surreal scenes and characters push, prod and taunt. We ask: what is irony? Where is sincerity? Who can I believe? Our inventor finds himself in a world where the rules have changed and irreverence abounds. Pie equals Square is a structural feat that constantly evolves and folds in on itself, challenging the timeline of our shared existence. Choreographer, Paula Mann’s idiosyncratic, whimsical post-post modernist movement combined with composer, Hans Kruger’s soulful sound score provides the perfect counterpoint to our rollercoaster world.
Genesis Of Piece
“Technology originates from the Greek word, “techne” meaning art. The suffix ‘ology’ means ‘study or discussion of’ so technology translates to ‘art-ology.”
In an attempt to realize a lifelong passion for the art of physical movement, biomedical engineer and University of Minnesota Professor Gerry Timm decided to pursue modern dance in 2010 at the age of seventy. Making his first public appearances at local performance venues in 2012, Timm created his first piece for the Minnesota Fringe Festival in 2013. In August, 2016, he commissioned choreographer Paula Mann of "Time Track Productions" and composer Hans Kruger of the local Minneapolis group "Black Market Brass" to help create a piece about finding himself through movement.
A company of five dancers, Rachel Clark, Doug Hooker, Brianna Johnson, Germaine Lindsey and Leslie O’Neill began rehearsals in the fall of 2016. This is Timm’s chance to facilitate his technological understanding of biomedical engineering into an artistic expression.“Pie Equals Square” will debut at the Crane Theater in NE Minneapolis on July 27th, 2018. The company was accepted to the 2018 Fringe Festival in Edinburgh Scotland, and will be making their debut there at Zoo Southside Main Theater Aug 16th-22nd.
Pie Equals Square Company
Rachel Clark |
Rachel received a B.A. from Carleton College in 2015 where she performed works by Shapiro and Smith, Chris Schlichting, April Sellers, Mathew Janczewski, and Judith Howard. She was the recipient of the Toni Award for the Arts, which sent her to the West Coast Contact Improv Jam in Berkeley, CA and the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation in Seattle, WA. Since moving to Minneapolis, she has performed works by Theresa Madaus, Mathew Janczewski/ARENA Dances, Laurie Van Wieren, and Paula Mann. She has also collaborated with Halie Bahr and Emma Call to produce “Love Letter,” an original work that was performed at 5x5 in Milwaukee, WI and 9x22 In Minneapolis in the summer of 2017.
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Doug Hooker |
Doug Hooker graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Dance. He is very thankful to have had a wide variety of professional performing opportunities, such as dancing with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps in Santa Clara, California, and touring with the Broadway show Blast!, both nationally and internationally, including Japan and the 2012 World Expo in South Korea. Works of note include: Dancing People Company in Ashland, Oregon under the direction of Robin Stiehm, Mathew Janczewski's ARENA DANCES, Threads Dance Project, Paula Mann, Erin Drummond, Jeffrey Peterson Dance, and Erinn Liebhard.
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Brianna Johnson
Hans Kruger |
With and inquisitive and analytical mind, Brianna Rae Johnson is entertained by her own curiosity, investigation, problem solving and discovery. Dance, however, didn’t enter the formula until high school. She fell in love with modern dance and her investigations permeated into the arts without her realizing. She received her BA from St. Olaf College in dance and biology and a concentration in American racial multicultural studies. Now, after seven years of performing professionally with Robin Stiehm’s Dancing People Company, Mathew Janczewski’s ARENA DANCES, Paula Mann and Erin Drummond, and pursuing her own research of improvisation, contact improvisation, photography and dance for camera, Brianna has returned to academia to let her research take the wheel. She is currently in her first year of her MFA in dance at the Ohio State University where her artistic research examines the manifestations of power in the body and in movement.
Hans’ childhood passion for music materialized while playing guitar during his teenage years and developed as a young producer through early adulthood. After recently earning an A.S. in Sound Design, Hans is actively pursuing a B.A. with a focus in Sound Design and New Media at Metropolitan State University. Along with being a founding member and performer with the local group “Black Market Brass,” Hans also collaborates with various projects around the local Minneapolis scene. Since joining GT Artistry in 2013, Hans continues to grow as an artist through a range of expressions, musical and beyond.
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Germaine Lindsay
Paula Mann |
Born as Germaine Lindsey, he prefers to be called Tazz. He has danced all his life. Training started with Perpich Center for Arts Education which he graduated in 2008. Following after he trained with Garth Fagan and Zenon dance schools. In 2013 Tazz graduated with a BA in Dance from University of Minnesota. Throughout his time in college and after completion he danced with Energy Dance Collective, Threads Dance Project and as a freelance dancer for various shows. Paula Mann has been a choreographer for 38 years. Mann was co-artistic director of the New York based company Dudek /Mann & Dancers with Tina Dudek from 1980-1986. Mann’s work has been presented by many performance venues both in New York—at Dance Theater Workshop, P.S 122, Danspace, Off Broadway at the Douglass Fairbanks Theater, Movement Research at the Judson Church and in the Twin Cities by The Southern Theater, O’ Shaughnessy Dance Series and Women of Substance Series, The Ritz Theater, The Walker Art Center, Red Eye Theater and the MN Dance Alliance. In 2003 she formed Time Track Productions with media artist Steve Paul. Mann has been recognized with several awards from the McKnight Foundation, The Jerome Foundation, Meet the Composer, the MN State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, two Sage Cowles Chairs at the University of Minnesota and a Bush Artist Fellowship. She holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in dance and performance from NYU and was full-time faculty at the U of M from 1993-2013. Over the course of her career, Mann has created 50 new works. |
Leslie O'Neill |
Leslie began her formal dance training at age 18 at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay and received her BFA in Dance from the University of Minnesota in 2003. She began her professional career as a founding member of Black Label Movement from 2005 – 2009, and joined Zenon Dance Company in 2006. She has earned recognition for her excellence in performance with Sage Award Nominations in 2009 and 2016 and she is the recipient of a McKnight Fellowship for Dancers in 2010. her choreography has been supported by Red Eye Theater, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Walker Arts Center, and the Minnesota State Arts Board, most recently featured in her 2014 dance-film “Good Night, Sleep Clean.” In addition to her work with Zenon, Leslie dances with other Minneapolis-based artists Tamara Ober, Paula Mann, and Maggie Bergeron.
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Gerry Timm |
Gerry Timm is a long-time Minneapolis resident arts connoisseur and dance enthusiast. As a retired U of M medical engineering professor, Gerry’s life-long dream of dance materialized in the “Ages and Stages” cohort formed after he attended a few dance labs at Bryant Lake Bowl Theater.
Following a well-received debut dance performance at the 2013 MN Fringe Festival, an event Timm would often frequent in the past as a spectator, and some advice of several local dance community icons, Gerry began to immerse himself further into the local arts scene. |