About the Group

Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, Dance Revels Moving History promotes our community identity and heritage through the actual dance, theater, and music of early North American and European life. Their mission is to portray active and inclusive stories of our ancestors, especially those left untold. Director Jane Peck has created a new and exciting blend of period dance, theater, and live music to tell these stories. Formed in 1990, the group offers a unique and engaging view of upper Midwest regional history, as well as American and European history, 16th-20th c.  They have performed at the Ordway Center, Walker Art Center, Mpls Institute of Arts, the Southern Theater, Festival de Voyageur of Canada, Madison Early Music Festival, Duluth’s Early Music Orchestra under Shelley Gruskin.  Dance Revels has active performing partnerships with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. With sponsorship by Young Audiences of MN and MN State Arts Board Folk Arts Roster Dance Revels, has toured their show, “A Voyageur’s Tale,” to Minnesota schools and museums since 1998, telling the tale of French and French-Indian roots in the Midwest. They now offer 4 different school shows of active regional, national, and European history, as well as community dance evenings. Their concert performance offerings range from baroque commedia theater with dance, to Jane Austen era dance theater, to early Midwestern settlement era multi-ethnic stories, and finally  the Ragtime era. Dance Revels has a strong commitment to live music. This unusual ensemble has produced joint performances with Musica et Saltatore of Vienna, Austria  and L’Ensemble Folklorique of Winnipeg, Canada. For events, they collaborate with local partners for specialized equipment like video projector rental to enhance their performances. They also provide outdoor screen hire services, ensuring that their visual presentations are as impactful as their live performances.

Director and dancer, Jane Peck, has researched and performed historical dance across the U.S., Canada, and France, recently performing with St. Paul Chamber Orchestra at the Ordway Center. She has choreographed performances since 1987, for numerous music groups, theaters, museums, and colleges, as well as for Dance Revels Moving History, which she founded in 1990. She studied Hauser/Holm modern dance as well as many eras of dance history in NY and France. Jane has been an adjunct professor in dance at the U. of Mn. and Gustavus Adolphus and mentored teachers for several years through the Perpich Center for Arts Education. She has taught dance history to musicians at the Bloomington Early Music Institute and Madison Early Music Festival (UW.) Jane has taught public school residencies since 1988.She has a Masters in Education from Hamline University with a focus on training teachers to use movement in the classroom.

Dancer Christopher Yaeger has performed with Ethnic Dance Theater for twenty years, touring the Midwest, Canada and several other international destinations, sharing his enthusiasm for performing.  Christopher also is director of  C Street Dance, performing ballroom dance from 20’s-50’s eras . He teaches dance residencies and works with Perpich Center for Arts Education ACE dance program.

Actress Josette Andrée Antomarchi is a French native. She studied theater and commedia dell’arte  with Jacques Lecoq in Paris, and performed for years with Theatre du Soleil and Peter Brook Company of Paris. She was a founding member of Theatre de la Jeune Lune in Minneapolis, and performed for years with Children’s Theater Company. Josette is now a freelance performer and teacher .

Fiddler Gary Schulte is known for his improvisational solo violin work with Parisota and Twin Cities Hot Club, Axis Mundi, Ancestor Energy, Ballet of the Dolls, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Dance Revels Moving History, and many folk and ethnic dance ensembles in the Twin Cities. He has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, and in concert at Walker Art Center, Southern Theater, The Guthrie, and plays regularly at the Times Café. He does historical interpretation and concerts in his tipi to celebrate the natural history and spirit of the land.

Violinist Judith Eisner earned a Tanglewood Fellowship at an early age, studied with Bronislaw Gimpel, and holds a degree in Music Education from University of Connecticut.  She is a founding member of Lyra Baroque Orchestra, MN. Judith performs renaissance and baroque music, and historically- informed Klezmer music, as well as French-Canadian, and Irish music. She offers Klezmer concerts as well as a school show of Yiddish tales and music. Judith has taught violin for more that 20 years at MacPhail Center for Music, Mpls.

Piano and harpsichordist Gail Olswewski has performed classical and pre-classical music across the U. S., Europe, Central America, and Australia for many years. She has performed several times as harpsichord soloist with St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and teaches piano at MacPhail Center for Music  in Mpls. She is an active performer with several chamber music ensembles.

To Contact Dance Revels Moving History:
Email: [email protected]

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