Tapestry Folkdance Center is a non-profit dance venue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, dedicated to folk dances. Founded in 1983, the organization inhabited rented spaces until 1999 when it purchased a permanent home on Minnehaha Avenue. Tapestry offers a variety of dances including

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

, contra, Bollywood, and

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

History

Tapestry Folkdance Center was formed in 1983 by a group of dancers who had previously danced together at the Saltari Folkdance Emporium in the late 1970s. The group held folkdance lessons and gatherings in rented spaces throughout Minneapolis including their first in Dinkytown at the former Marshall University High School building. They began to dance at Sabathani Community Center in 1990. In November 1998, Tapestry's rent was scheduled to triple at Sabathani, forcing the organization to consider acquiring its own permanent space. Tapestry Folkdance Center purchased an abandoned structure, the Clayhill Simmer Building, at 3748 Minnehaha Avenue South in Minneapolis in May 1999. The building, which Tapestry's Board president Lisa Strong had observed was for sale while riding her bike, cost $270,000 which was paid for with funds from hundreds of donors. Before housing an air compressor assembly, the building served as a car dealership, evidenced by

Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

wheels etched into its exterior. Renovation of the space took place during the summer months of that year and was conducted by over 120 volunteers who collectively spent over 2,000 hours working on the project. Repairing and altering the building to suit Tapestry's needs cost $300,000 which executive director Beth Hennessy characterized as "a leap of faith" considering the organization's budget of under $100,000. Alterations made to the structure included the installation of wooden dance floors and an electrical sound system, the addition of a new

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

system, and construction of a lounge, offices, and classrooms. A grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on October 16, 1999. Shortly after opening, attendance at the new space was 160, higher than the 85–100 dancers who typically danced with the group at Sabathani.

Programming and operations

Tapestry offers lessons in and gatherings for Scandinavian dance, swing dance, English country dance, contra dance, Bollywood dance, and

Romani dance This is a list of dances of the Romani people. Among the many styles of Gypsy dance, the most famous is the flamenco dance, the traditional dance from Andalusia in Southern Spain. Other Romani dance styles are Ghawazee (Egyptian Gypsies), Rom (E ...

. Dance events tend to include a lesson during the half hour before the dance begins and many of the dances are called. The space is rented by outside organizations for meetings, dance rehearsals, and music lessons. ''

City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...

'' named Tapestry the best place to learn to dance in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area in 2000 and 2001. Tapestry is a non-profit organization sustained via membership. As of 2015, the center had approximately 350 members who served on a volunteer basis as planners for the center's dancer, ticket-takers, and fund-raisers. In 2015, Tapestry was led by executive director Mary Cummings.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://tapestryfolkdance.org/ Folk dance Arts organizations based in Minneapolis Dance venues in the United States Arts organizations established in 1983 1983 establishments in Minnesota