up to 42 musicians and adds the dimension of live orchestral music. The orchestra pit can also be adjusted to add two additional rows of seating in the house. The stage is large enough to provide choreographers with ample space in the wings to perform large-scale productions. The stage also includes a full-size stage house with 52 riggings that can support extensive and elaborate set designs. U.S. Bank Atrium The main entrance to The Cowles Center houses the box office and information desk, concession space, donor wall, and entrances to the Goodale Theater and The Hennepin Center for the Arts. A Labanotation wall art piece inspired by Rites of Spring hangs above the concession area. Developed by dance artist and theorist Rudolf Laban (1878–1958), Labanotation is a way of writing down dance which is analogous to the way music notation is a way of writing down music. Labanotation uses symbols to represent points on a dancer's body, the direction of the dancer's movements, the tempo, and the dynamics. Target Education Studio The studio was designed specifically for dance with a sprung maple floor, studio lighting and a wall of mirrors. It houses the center's long distance learning program. Using video conferencing technology, the center brings artists into classrooms to create two-way, interactive, real-time teaching environments. Thanks to generous funding, the center is also able to provide free sessions to Minnesota schools. Inaugural season The Cowles Center inaugural season spanned the fall of 2011 and the spring of 2012 and brought a variety of Minnesota dance companies to the same venue. Dance companies which performed in the 2011–12 season included: Ragamala Dance Minnesota Dance Theatre Beyond Ballroom Dance Company Black Label Movement Zorongo Flamenco Native Pride Dancers James Sewell Ballet Matthew Janczewski's Arena Dance Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater Katha Dance Theater Shapiro and Smith Dance Company Zenon Dance Company Breaking Boundaries Dance Company Tu Dance The inaugural season also included Cantus, and a performance by New York-based dancers Kegwin + Company. References External links The Cowles Center Artspace USA Colonial Revival architecture in Minnesota Dance in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Minneapolis Performing arts education in the United States Theatres completed in 1910 Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota