In the late 70s and early 80s grocery stores began carrying non-brand name or generic foods, the labels for which were either all white or yellow with bold black lettering indicating what was in the container e.g. Sweet Peas, Fruit Cocktail, Corn, etc. My friends and I called these products black label foods. I always loved the no frills, you get what you see impact of these black label products. There was no hiding a product’s actual quality or contents behind glossy marketing, hype, or branding. That is the no nonsense ethic I want to infuse in Black Label Movement. I also enjoy the layered meaning “movement” evokes. It speaks about actual movement, but it also could describe a political or social movement which feels right for what BLM hopes to be. Eventually, I want BLM to have an identity independent of my name with my and BLM Artistic Associate Emilie Plauche Flink’s work showing along side the work of other company members like an artist’s collective.

Carl Flink, Artistic Director

Carl Flink is the founder and artistic director of the Minneapolis, Minnesota based performance group, Black Label Movement (BLM). He is currently a tenured associate professor with the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota. For the past three years he has served as the department’s Director of Dance and on July 1, 2008 will become the department’s Chair.

A Limón Dance Company member and soloist during much of the 1990s, Flink has also danced for Daniel Nagrin, Creach/Koester Men Dancing, Bill T. Jones, Paul Taylor, Shapiro & Smith Dance, David Grenke, Joanna Mendl-Shaw, Nina Winthrop, Paula Mann and Janis Brenner. His choreography has been commissioned by Stanford University, the University of Minnesota, Ballet Arts Minnesota, and Roger Williams University, as well as, presented by the Limón Dancers’ Choreography Project. He has upcoming commissions with the dance programs at Brigham Young University, Carleton College and the University of Iowa. In May 2008, he received a Boomerang Fund for Artists, Inc. Award and received a 2008 McKnight Fellowship for Choreography.

Beyond the dance world, he graduated from Stanford Law School in 2001 and worked as a staff attorney with Farmers’ Legal Action Group, Inc. protecting the legal rights of low-income family farmers and promoting sustainable agriculture until 2004. Carl also holds a B.A. in Political Science and Women Studies, summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota. Most importantly, he raises his three daughters Willa, Freyja and Iris with his life partner and BLM Artistic Associate Emilie Plauché Flink.

Emilie Plauchè Flink, Artistic Associate

A member and soloist with the Limón Dance Company from 1989 – 1999, Emilie also performed for and was greatly inspired by Annabelle Gamson and Martha Clarke. She has also danced in works by Ralph Lemon, Doug Varone, Phyllis Lamhut, Garth Fagan, Jiri Kilian, Anthony Tudor, Colin Connor and Paul Taylor, among others. During her time with Limón, she was a frequent faculty member of the Limón Institute in New York City and conducted master classes across the country. In the spring of 1998, she was a Sage Cowles Guest Artist at the University of Minnesota’s Dance Program along with her husband and former Limón partner, Carl Flink. As a choreographer, she has created commissioned work for San Jose State University, The Carlisle Project, Roger Williams University, Chattanooga Ballet, Of Moving Colors Dance Company, Baton Rouge Ballet, and Minnesota’s Springboard Dance Company. Emilie is the mother of three daughters; Willa, Freyja and Iris. She holds a B.F.A. in Dance from the Juilliard School.

Sharon Fischlowitz, Managing Director

Sharon Fischlowitz is the Managing Director of Black Label Movement. Formerly the Executive Director of Minnesota Justice Foundation, she served in various roles from VISTA attorney to Executive Director. She earned a Comparative Arts degree from Washington University and a J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law and has been connected to dance through Carl and Emilie for many years.