press
PRESS
“One of the most dynamic movement artists in the Twin Cites.” – 3-Minute Egg
“…see one of her compelling performances, interlaced with surrealist sensibility and bracing intelligence, and you won’t forget her.” – Star Tribune
“…the depth of Voskuil’s thinking is matched by the breadth of her vision.” – mspmag.com
“…enjoy a taste for the unexpected poetry that defines the human experience.” – City Pages
“…luminous, mysterious work…unique brand of wit and dramatic heft…” – City Pages
“She caught our eye…for her steely, resolute dancing…as well as singular, cinematic smarts.” - Star Tribune
“Vivid stage images fraught with emotion.” – mspmag.com
“Some performers just can’t live a life of cud-chewing complacency. These errant few bring their creativity to the edge.” – Minnesota Daily
THE STUDENT
Vanessa Voskuil premieres large-scale danceThe Student at O'Shaughnessy
by Sheila Regan
City Pages: Blogs, April 2, 2014
Large-scale dance work ponders big questions
by Caroline Palmer
Star Tribune, April 4, 2014
“The evening-length work makes an impression....The Student” stands out for its intelligence and questioning spirit...strong conceptual vision....a fascinating journey through its creator’s mind."
"A gorgeous sense of flow unfolds as movement ripples through the crowds onstage...as if controlled by a force far bigger than them. And they are – Voskuil, despite her slight frame, is a powerful presence with a command of how to move large groups of people for her creative ends."
GATES
Review: ADF concludes with demanding, magnificent works
by Susan Broili
The Herald Sun, July 28, 2013
"Voskuil’s expert use of a large cast makes for a powerful and mysterious work."
Review: An exceptional ADF ‘Footprints’ program for 2013
by Roy C. Dicks
newsobserver.com, July 23, 2013
ADF 7: Opening Night (1): Footprints
by Lightsey Darst
Huffpost Arts & Culture, August 6, 2013
"Forty, fifty of them, coming like a plague wave -- and when they hit the edge of the stage they don't stop, they tumble right off....it's terrifying. Every instinct urges run -- and I have no idea what to think of myself when I don't. I seem to have split in two..."
"We're left at some entry; we seem to have passed through the gates of Voskuil's title. Where that leaves us I don't know, but we've come through a reckoning. This is why people dance and why people come to dance: transformation."
ADF 3: Building the Big Show
by Lightsey Darst
Huffpost Arts & Culture, July 23, 2013
EN MASSE
"Best Dancer, The Mass in En Masse"
City Pages Best Of Award, 2010
"As the performers jogged, swayed, milled restlessly, posed seductively, huddled, and embraced, they embodied a shifting dynamism, an unfolding of forces and temperaments, and a unity of purpose that defines the greatest dancers."
Momentum: Vanessa Voskuil and Sachiko Nishiuchi
by Lightsey Darst
Mnartists.org, July 21, 2009
"...fascinating....can't stay unmoved....there's no denying the charisma of the crowd. A group this large is magic; there's no looking away."
Momentum New Dance Works
by Linda Shapiro
Dancemagazine.com, August 2009
"...like a giant organism seeking a higher purpose"
Dance `en masse' has crowd appeal
by Caroline Palmer
Star Tribune, July 28, 2009
"Voskuil skillfully taps into...humanity's vulnerabilities as much as our strengths through simple demonstrations of conflict and cooperation."
Momentum: One weekend down, one to go
by Camille LeFevre
MinnPost.com, July 21, 2009
"...humanity at its worst...and its best...Voskuil clearly has a way with such a large group. There wasn’t anything innately innovative, provocative or genre-shattering about the work, but "en masse" left one with faith in one’s own and other’s humanity — and a desire to join in Voskuil’s vision on stage."
Vanessa Voskuil "en masse"
by Cathy Wright
Walker Art Center Blog The Green Room, July 18, 2009
"I want more, stop, wait, there it is again....The group taps their fingers to their chest, their heart, in perfect synchronicity to the walls and the sound. Home....A task has been accomplished with great efficiency and grace- the power of community effort."
THE SILENTS
Post-Show Review: the Silents
Audience Member, 2007
“I found myself feeling many visceral reactions throughout….It is a true joy to behold a work…that leads me somewhere even more spectacular than I had imagined possible….like you are speaking a new language that I understand and somehow have always understood, yet never heard before until I saw this work.”
Post-Show Review: the Silents
Audience Member, 2007
“What you are creating with this work is a sacred space, an austere and unique environment that is completely separate from the din and relative chaos of the outside world...”
THE SILENTS: for Dérive
4.5.07: Dérive at the Northwestern Casket Company
by Lightsey Darst
mspmag.com, 2007
“…I was in another world. ….Meaning? If you can’t state one, you won’t miss it. In Voskuil’s work, image leads sense."
Post-Show Review, the Silents: for Dérive
Audience Member, 2007
"I imagined your piece to be something the filmmaker David Lynch might make if he were working in a different medium, particularly the arresting soundtrack...thank you for a challenging and inspiring evening. I'm seriously grateful to you for reminding me that artistic vision is alive in the Twin Cities.”
THE WHITE SOLOS
Vanessa Voskuil’s The White Solos – 5 Stars
by Matthew Everett
In My Humble Opinion, 2006
“This work is playing with the most basic of theatrical elements – the difference between light and darkness, sound and silence, movement and stillness. Under these conditions, the simple act of breathing can fill the space and rivet attention.”
Post-Show Review: The White Solos
Audience Member, 2006
“….my favorite part of your performance is your focus, your unyielding commitment to the creation…and the quiet desperation, the pseudo-schizophrenic nature of your characters and see them as caricatures of thoughts, of real emotions…”
PROFILES
Seven Artists to Watch
by Tim Gihring and Alex Davy
Minnesota Monthly, October 2010
Vanessa Voskuil: 100 Creatives
by Jessica Armbruster
City Pages, February 1, 2011
The Dance Scene
by Lightsey Darst
innesotaPlaylist.com, January 2010
“Realizing that there is a Minnesota style might also allow us to be more open to artists who don’t fit the mold. Take Vanessa Voskuil.”
McKnight Choreography Fellowship Winners
by John Munger
Twin Cities Daily Planet, September, 26, 2009
“She is a shaper as well as a servant of large forces.”
Young Artists: On the Verge
by Camille LeFevre
Star Tribune, November 7, 2007
"…see one of her compelling performances, interlaced with surrealist sensibility and bracing intelligence, and you won't forget her."
An All Weather Scene
by Linda Shapiro
Dancemagazine.com, January 2012
"[Voskuil]...create richly evocative, surreal landscapes, often in alternative spaces."
INTERVIEWS
Interview for en masse - 3-Minute Egg
Interview for throne/thrown with filmmaker John Koch - MNTV: TPT
Interview for Haven as part of Dance Film Project - 3-Minute Egg