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Carl Flink and Black Label Movement

Carl Flink is the endowed Nadine JetteSween Professor of Dance and Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities where he offers contemporary dance and partnering technique and dance making.  He is also the choreographer and artistic director of the dance company Black Label Movement based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN (www.blacklabelmovement.com).

From 1992 – 1998, he toured the world with the New York City based Limón Dance Company, performing the works of Jose Limón, Donald McKayle, Ralph Lemon, and Daniel Nagrin among others.  A short list of other dance companies and choreographers he has performed for encompasses Creach/Koester Men Dancing, Paul Taylor, Joanna Mendl Shaw, Paul Taylor, Janis Brenner and Shapiro & Smith Dance.

His choreography is recognized and embraced for its intense athleticism, daring risk taking and humanistic themes that often address social, political and working class topics in addition to more abstract dance approaches.  Dance programs and arts institutions across the United States have presented or commissioned his choreography including the Minnesota Orchestra Stanford University, University of Iowa, Mount Holyoke College, Brigham Young University, Carleton College, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and Roger Williams University. His new commission HIT for the Chicago-based dance company premiered at The Dance Center of Columbia College of Chicago March 10, 2011.  The Chicago Tribune declared: Flink "employs a singular, combative image, more an act of aggression, really, as signature motif. The dancers periodically punch each other, directly and often seemingly out of nowhere, as if in challenge or even mild assault. . . The unexpected jabs to the shoulder and later the slaps initially seem almost cartoon-like. But Flink's aesthetic is more complicated, this combative edge intermingled with a wealth of feats of acrobatic oomph. Sparingly, he injects such images as a dancer leaping into the air and ending horizontal in the arms of others. In one arresting sequence, a dancer jumps over a huddled row of her colleagues as if they were barrels in a daredevil, split-second stunt." This commission was supported with funding from Same Planet Different World, the McKnight Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. 

 Founded in 2005, BLM is now recognized as one of the leading dance companies in the Twin Cities, a major center for dance in the United States, as evidenced by four successful seasons at the Southern Theatre, invited participation in the recent Taste of Minnesota dance concert at the North Regional American College Dance Festival Conference held at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, and selection for the upcoming inaugural 2011-2011 season of the new Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts which opens in fall 2011 in downtown Minneapolis.  Flink and BLM have been invited to the 2011 Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston, Maine to teach and present his new collaborative project with the New York City based The Equus Projects.  

Bryan Godbout has been with BLM since the inaugural season in summer of 2006. He started his training in the great city of Minneapolis where, in 2006 he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BFA in Dance and a second major in Theater Arts. While at the U of MN Bryan had the pleasure of performing in works by Carl Flink, Shapiro and Smith, Paul Taylor, MerceCunnigham, Doug Elkins, Jerome Robbins, Marge Maddux, Matt Jenson, Charles Moulton, Zoe Sealy, and many more. Outside of the U of MN he has worked with Christopher Watson Dance Company, Becky Heist, Tina Anderson, Matt Jenson’s New and Slightly Used Dance, Metropolitan Ballet, Nautilus Musical Theater, Ethnic Dance Theater as their ‘Nutcracker’, The Minnesota Opera as a featured dance soloist, and Zenon Dance Company. Through Zenon Bryan was able to work with artists such as: Johannes Wieland, Colleen Thomas, Sean Curran, Daniel Sheridan, Kyle Abraham, Uri Sands, Danny Buraczeski, Sydney Skybetter, Morgan Thorson, Wynn Fricke, and many more.  Currently Bryan also is a company member with Shapiro and Smith Dance Company.  In 2009 he was named the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s “Up and Coming Dance Artist of the Year.”  He has received and been nominated for various Sage Dance awards for his ensemble work with Zenon Dance Company.  Working with Carl and the Black Label Movers is Inspiring, Challenging, Athletic, and Virtuous, all of which are qualities he enjoys very much. Love to his family and wife for always believing in him. He looks forward to the future with Black Label Movement.

Eddie Bruno Oroyan is a founding member of Black Label Movement. He also dances with Shapiro & Smith and as a freelance artist, while his experience spans working with Roberto Olivan, Zenon, ARENA, Creach/Company, Keith Johnson, Joe Chvala and the Flying Foot Forum, Metropolitan Ballet, Nautilus Music Theater, and Minnesota Opera.  Eddie received Metro Magazine's 2009 "Keeper" Award was featured as “Dance Artist of the Year 2006” in City Pages, as well as given honorable mention in the Star Tribune’s 2006 Artist of the Year. Eddie is a 2010 McKnight Artist Fellowship recipient.

As a choreographer Eddie's work has been recognized and performed in ACDFA Gala concerts and at the Bryant Lake Bowl, Phipps, Varsity, Southern, and the McGuire theatres in the Twin Cities area. His work has also been commissioned in several Twin Cities Arts schools, UW-River Falls, Hamline University, and St. Olaf, while his piece, Melisma, was presented at the 2006 Choreographer’s Evening. His exploration, Brown Rocket, was performed in the 2008 Momentum Series, for which he recieved a 2008 Sage Award for ‘Outstanding Performer’ and nominated for ‘Outstanding Performance. His works have recently shared the stage with Black Label Movement and Shapiro & Smith.