Carl Flink

Carl Flink is the Artistic Director of the award winning dance company Black Label Movement (Minneapolis, MN) and the Director of Dance at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. Featured in Dance Magazine's January 2014 issue, Flink’s dancemaking is noted for its intense athleticism and physical risk taking, compositional intelligence and humanistic themes for both contemporary dance and theater. He was a member the Limón Dance Company during much of the 1990s. He also worked with Creach/Koester Men Dancing, Janis Brenner & Dancers and JoAnna Mendl Shaw, as well as, project with Paul Tayler and Bill T. Jones, among others while based in New York City. His commissions and invited presentations include the American Dance Festival (Durham, NC), Bates Dance Festival (Lewiston, ME), The Minnesota Orchestra, MADCO (St. Louis, MO), University of Florida Performing Arts (Gainesville, FL), Same Planet Different World (Chicago, IL) and Urbanity Dance (Boston, MA), among many others. He is a two-time Mcknight Choreography Fellow.

Since 2010, he has become a successful and award winning choreographer and movement director for theater with multiple award winning and critically acclaimed productions with Black Label Movement, Theatre Latté Da (Mpls, MN) and The Guthrie Theater (Mpls, MN), among others.

Carl has received significant recognition for his innovative collaborations with scientific researchers through his Moving Cell Project with University of Minnesota biomedical engineer David Odde and the creation of multiple embodied TED talks, including Dance v. Powerpoint: A Modest Proposal. Their Bodystorming System, a rapid modeling technique using human bodies and choreographic strategies, has been highlighted by Science Magazine, Dance Magazine, Twin Cities Public Television’s Minnesota Original and TPT TV Takeover and TED Talks for TEDx Brussels and TEDMED 2013 (Washington D.C.). During the COVID pandemic, he moved into the realm of screendance, creating two dance films in 2021: A Dream of Touch When Touch Is Gone and cage(d) which have combined to receive over 40 laurels from Dance Festivals across the country and 11 countries beyond.

He is the Dance Program Director and the Nadine Jette Sween Professor of Dance.

Carl holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School JD and was a Farmers’ Legal Action Group, Inc. attorney (St. Paul, MN) from 2001-2004. He also holds a B.A. in Political Science and Women's Studies summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota.

Educational Background & Specialties

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Educational Background

Bachelor of Arts Summa Cum Laude: Political Science & Women's Studies, University of Minnesota, 1990 -
J.D.: Law, Stanford Law School, May 2001

Specialties

Choreography
Performance Direction
Dance
Dance Composition
Collaborations between Science and Dance
Theater
Musical Theater
Contemporary Dance Partnering Technique
Academic Leadership & Administration

Publications

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Activities

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Activities

Creative

Founder & Artistic Director of the Twin Cities based professional dance company Black Label Movement. Website: http://blacklabelmovement.com/: I founded Black Label Movement in 2004. It is now recognized as one of Minnesota's leading contemporary dance companies. . 2004 - present
Battleground - An American Dance Festival Commission : My company Black Label Movement and I has been commissioned and will premiere a new evening length work Battleground at the 2024 American Dance Festival in Durham, NC in June 2024. ADF is the United States preeminent dance annual dance festival. This project will be funded in major part by a 2022 MAP Fund grant. . Ongoing - Premiere Date: June 2024
Film: A Dream of Touch When Touch Is Gone (2021): I conceived, choreographer and directed this 7 minute screendance film that has received over 35 laurels from film festivals across the United States and 11 different countries beyond. . Released May 2021
The SEEN Project @ The Weisman Art Museum : This is an ongoing project I am working on with incarcerated writer Sarith Peou. The project is produced by Emily Baxter, founder of WeAreAllCriminals.org, and the Weisman Art Museum on the campus of the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The project is slated to be a part of the Weisman exhibition in spring 2025. . Ongoing
Film: cage(d) (2021): I conceived, choreographed and directed this experimental, movement driven documentary about with my collaborator Sarith Peou, an incarcerated writer held in the Minnesota State Correctional Facility in Stillwater, MN. This film has received 5 film festival laurels, including 2 festivals in England. . Release Date: May 2021
"A Duet for Wreck" Choreographed by Carl Flink: Short film for Twin Cities Public Television's MN Original Series, Aired: April 2012. The episode received a regional Emmy Award in 2012. .
Recipient of a 2012 McKnight Fellowship for Choreographers ($25,000)
Recipient of a 2010 Ivey Award for Choreography for Jungle Theater production of "Mary's Wedding"
Commissioned to create "HIT," a quartet for the Chicago-based professional dance company Same Planet Different World. Premiere venue: The Dance Center of the Columbia College of Chicago, March 10, 2011: .
"Lost Lullabies," an original dance created by Flink in 2006, was selected to perform at the 2012 American College Dance Festival National Gala at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Commissioned by Minnesota Orchestra to create "Oceania," an octet to Claude DeBussy's La Mer. Premiere Venue: Orchestra Hall, Mpls, MN, March 23, 2011
"Spring Awakening: The Musical": Choreographed Theatre Latte Da's Production of this musical. Premiere Venue: Stoll Thrust Theater, Rarig Center, Mpls, MN, April 14, 2012.

Research

The Moving Cell Project : This is my 12 year collaborative project with biomedical engineer David Odde where we explore collaborative research that contribute to me research as a choreographer and his research as a cancer researcher. The project has been featured in Science Magazine and two TED talks. . 2010 - present
"Spring Awakening: The Musical": Carl Flink choreographed the movement for Theater Latte Da's all new version of the Tony award winning musical. Opened April 14, 2012..
Black Label Movement Set and Performed Carl Flink's Evening Length Work "Wreck" at Clyde Iron Works in Duluth, MN October 9, 2012 - October 10, 2012
Black Label Movement Set and Performed Carl Flink's Evening Length Work "Wreck" at Clyde Iron Works in Duluth, MN October 9, 2012 - October 10, 2012
"When Dancers and Biologists Collide": Presentation at the 2011 Chicago Humanities Festival.
2012 TED: Full Spectrum Presentation: "Let's Talk About Sex" : Presentation created for the 2012 TED: Full Spectrum Conference, Long Beach, CA, March 2, 2012.
"A Modest Proposal: Dance Your PhD": Presentation created for the 2011 TEDx Brussels Conference. Venue: BOZAR Theatre, Brussels, Belgium.
"Choreography of the Moving Cell": Presentation at the 13th Annual Subtle Technologies Conference, Toronto, Canada, June 8, 2011.
Black Label Movement in Residency at the 2012 Marine Biological Laboratory: Black Label Movement joined long time science collaborator David Odde to examine the research technique "Bodystorming". July 3, 2012 - July 10, 2012

Professional

Limón Dance Company, New York: Company member and soloist from 1992 - 1998. . 1992 - 1998
Creach/Koester Men Dancing: Company Member 1991 - 1994.

Awards

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Awards

University of Minnesota 2020 College of Liberal Arts Dean's Medalist, This honor, made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor to the UMN College of Liberal Arts, is awarded each year to a member of the College of Liberal Arts faculty who has demonstrated excellence across many realms of their work.The Dean’s Medal is awarded yearly to a scholar who exemplifies the highest standards of research, instruction, interdisciplinary reach, University citizenship, academic leadership, and local and national engagement., November 2020
University of Minnesota Grand Challenges Collaborative Research Scholar, This program brought a group of select UMN scholars from across the Twin Cities campus together to examine issues concerning equitable societies and clean water practices as a part of the UMN Grand Challenges program. , Academic Year 2017-18
Two 2016 Regional Emmy Award Nominations - Twin Cities Public Television's TV Takeover featuring Black Label Movement, TPT's TV Takeover featured my dance company's activities during an hour long episode. , 2016
Minnesota Dance Community 2016 Sage Award Nomination for Outstanding Choreography, My 2016 work MERGE created in collaboration with choreographer Marciano Silva Dos Santos was nominated for the category of Outstanding Choreography. , 2016
UMN College of Liberal Arts Arthur "Red" Motley Exemplary Teaching Award 2015, 2015
Minnesota Dance Community 2014 Sage Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance - Black Label Movement, My dance company received this honor for its performance of my evening length work "Wreck" at the Guthrie Theater's Dowling Studio, Mpls, MN. , Fall 2014
Named "2012 Best Choreographer" by the Minneapolis City Pages
Best Dance Performance of the Past 12 Months, City Pages, 2007 - none
Shared 2010 Ivey Award for Choreography for the Jungle Theater's production of "Mary's Wedding"
2012 Live Music for Dance Grants from the American Music Center and American Composers’ Forum (Award: $5,000)
Two 2011 Live Music for Dance Grants from the American Music Center and American Composers’ Forum (Awards: $5000 & $2000)
Shared 2012 Ivey Award for "Overall Excellence" as Choreographer of the Theater Latte Da/UMN Theatre Arts & Dance Dept. Production of "Spring Awakening: The Musical"
Shared 2012 Regional Emmy Award for Twin Cities Public Television's MN Original Episode 319

Courses

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Courses

DNCE 3010 - Contemporary Dance Technique 5
DNCE 4601 - Dance Composition 3
DNCE 3020 - Contemporary Dance Technique 6
DNCE 1010 - contemporary Dance Technique 3
DNCE 1040 - Modern Dance Partnering
DNCE 5040 - Modern/Contemporary Dance 10
DNCE 3602 - Dance Composition 2
DNCE 5601 - Dance Composition 5
DNCE 4901 - Capstone Seminar for Dance
DNCE 3010 - Modern/Contemporary Dance 5
NCE 1701 - Freshman/Sophomore Repertory