By Tessa Retterrath, Theoroi  Theoroi is a project coordinated by The Schubert Club which consists of 26 young individuals (ages 21-35) who attend a curated schedule of various Twin Cities arts performances and share about the experience using their choice of social media. Each event consists of an arts performance, an educational event, and a social gathering. This project is aiding in audience development across the Twin Cities by sparking curiosity about the arts through viral and organic marketing methods.

On Friday, April 13, the Theoroi group attended the James Sewell Ballet with the Parker Quartet performance titled “Opus 131” at the Cowles Center. One of the participants, Andrew Csavoy, expressed his opinion of the performance on Facebook as follows, “Now I know the answer to the question: ‘Does it take two to tango?’ The James Sewell Ballet gave my eyes a delectable view and provided a visual journey through Beethoven’s Opus 131. The attention to detail, color phrasing, playful use of the traditional tutu and of course men in tights enraptured me. The second Tango-inspired piece was a wonderful evolution of movement evoking thoughts of human sensuality, love and intrigue through intertwined forms.”  Another participant, Jake Allorie, used Twitter to share about his experience saying, “Had a great night w/ @jsballet & @parkerquartet. Well timed bits of humor brought unexpected lightheartedness to ballet/classical #theoroi.”

Following the performance, the group gathered in James Sewell Ballet’s rehearsal space, TekBox, for a reception and discussion with James Sewell and several other dancers from the group. The dancers discussed the process of choreographing and rehearsing this performance and explained that changes were being made even on the day of the opening performance. James also explained his background and his motivation and passion for starting James Sewell Ballet. Following the formal discussion, the dialogue carried on into one-on-one conversations with the dancers during the catered reception.

Theoroi participant, Lauren Viner, summed up the evening saying, “It was the kind of thing you go to and think, ‘My life should be more like this all the time.’” read more from Lauren

The group’s next event is again at the Cowles Center on Saturday, May 19 when they will be seeing Tu Dance.

Read more posts and comments from the Theoroi group at theoroi.com, facebook.com/theoroi, and twitter.com/theoroiproject.