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The Minnesota Dance Theatre (MDT) dance company and school in Minneapolis, Minnesota was founded by Loyce Houlton in 1962 as the Contemporary Dance Playhouse. It was renamed the Minnesota Dance Theatre in 1969. Lise Houlton succeeded her mother as artistic director in 1995. Each holiday season MDT presents the ballet Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker Fantasy based on Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. Ballet Arts Minnesota and the company's school joined in 2006 to become The Dance Institute. The organization is based in the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts. Prince was a member of the Minnesota Dance Theatre.
The mission of Minnesota Dance Theatre & the Dance Institute is to create masterful and provocative dance performances which entertain and inspire audiences, and to foster talent by providing a comprehensive classical and contemporary training curriculum focused on the technical and artistic demands of a professional dance career.
Minnesota Dance Theatre offers classes for students and adults. The school has two divisions, the Young Childrens Division (YCD) and the Performing Arts Division (PAD). Both divisions have performance opportunities including Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker Fantasy and Strawberry Festival: a Student Showcase. MDT offers ballet fundamentals, beginning ballet, intermediate ballet, and advanced professional ballet classes. Making it possible for somebody at any level to take class.