Kanopy Dance Company
Puppet Master
Thursday, October 2 - Sunday, October 5
Reception following Friday night performance
Promenade Hall
Adults: $56.48
Groups of 4 or more: $50.20
Ages 18 & under / Students: $29.27
Ticket prices reflect sales tax, facility and phone/online fees
Runtime
90 minutes, including one intermission
Age Recommendation
All ages
A Glam Rock Ballet
“Puppet Master” will be the ultimate theatrical experience in visual storytelling. Vibe to the dynamic energy of animated stage lighting, moodscapes and other special effects… all synced to creative dance moves and the powerful beat of cello metal!
Concertgoers will chill and delight as they follow the tormented Mohawk Man (Biker Boy) into a netherworld of enchantment and bizarre altered reality under the spell of the Puppet Master and alluringly freaky China Dolls who hold Biker Boy captive.
This dance concert will teem with the decibel drive of metal cello as dancers, veiled in fantastical glam metal garb, explore cliché and the physicality of angst with movement, lightness and a touch of ironic humor.
It’s also a great concert to let loose, have some fun and dress up as a splashy metal star. If so inspired, our award-winning New York City based costume designer David Quinn says, “Think spandex, leather, neon, studs, chains, sparkle, animal print, fishnet, everything too short and too tight... über make-up and hair-hair-hair!”
Meet the Artists
Choreographer
Robert E. Cleary
Robert E. Cleary (Cleary) artistic director of Kanopy Dance has toured, performed, choreographed and taught throughout the United States and Denmark. He trained intensively at American Ballet Theatre and with Susan Klein in Klein Release Technique in New York. Critics hail Cleary as “fiery and riveting, inspired, wicked dancing… astonishing.” Cleary’s choreography has been featured by numerous presenters, including at several Arhus and Copenhagen Dance Festivals, in Chicago at the Ruth Page Center and at New York City’s Sokolow Theater/Dance Ensemble.
Thank you sponsors
Underwritten with support from Tom Neujahr & Julie Underwood, Paul & Clio Bushland and other generous support.
Upcoming Dance Events
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March 14
Saturday
Dance, Family Friendly, Free Events, Kids in the Rotunda Kalaanjali Indian Dance Company
Rotunda Stage
Experience breathtaking stories of the East through the graceful postures, percussive feet, vibrant costumes and dynamic expressions of the Kalaanjali dancers.
Multiple Showtimes -
March 28
Saturday
Dance, Family Friendly, Free Events, Kids in the Rotunda Madison Ballet
Rotunda Stage
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience the Madison Ballet like never before! Audience members will have an up-close experience of a ballet class warm up, barre practice, center floor work and choreography rehearsal.
Multiple Showtimes -
April 3 - April 5
Dance, Family Friendly, Madison Ballet ChoreograpHER
Starlight Theater MYARTS
The highlight of our 2025/26 season is a bold celebration of the female choreographic voice. Although women have long been the faces of ballet, they remain vastly underrepresented in choreography —especially women of color.
Multiple Showtimes -
April 4
Saturday
Dance, Family Friendly, Free Events, Kids in the Rotunda Trinity Irish Dance Academy
Overture Hall Main Lobby
Get ready for a high-energy showcase that will leave you breathless! In this performance, you’ll witness the incredible talent of Trinity students, some as young as 3.5 years old, as they bring traditional Irish steps and vibrant choreography to life on stage.
Multiple Showtimes -
April 10 - April 11
Dance, Free Events Line Breaks Showcase
Promenade Hall
Enjoy back-to-back nights of performance showcases as part of the Line Breaks Festival presented by the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI).
Multiple Showtimes -
April 11
Saturday
Dance, Family Friendly, Free Events, Kids in the Rotunda, Music Limanya Drum and Dance
Rotunda Stage
Performing traditional music from Guinea and Mali, West Africa, Limanya Drum and Dance Ensemble incorporates song, dance, drum and theater into high-energy entertainment for all audiences.
Multiple Showtimes -
April 16 - April 19
Dance, Family Friendly, Kanopy Dance Divine Mythologies
Promenade Hall
Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble and Kanopy Dance collaborate on a rare remarkable performance of Anna Sokolow’s epic “Odes," a luminous, searing vision of humanity, unsparing in its demands for intense physical concentration and dramatic depth.
Multiple Showtimes -
April 18
Saturday
Dance, Family Friendly, Free Events, Kids in the Rotunda, Music Duke Otherwise
Rotunda Stage
Don’t miss the wildly entertaining Duke Otherwise! This playful wordsmith, spirited performer and captivating tap dancer brings music and laughter to audiences of all ages.
Multiple Showtimes -
May 8 - May 10
Dance, Family Friendly, Madison Ballet Innovation II
Promenade Hall
In this invigorating artistic initiative, the dancers of Madison Ballet step into the role of choreographer, creating new works on one another.
Multiple Showtimes -
May 16
Saturday
Dance, Family Friendly, Kanopy Dance The Next Generation of Dance
Promenade Hall
Watch the next generation of dancers and choreographers in Kanopy’s pre-professional training program, Kanopy 2 and the Kanopy Academy, ignite the stage with new ideas, new expressions and even original choreography and costuming developed and built by the dancers themselves.
Multiple Showtimes