CONNECTING AND CARING FOR PEOPLE AND PLACES IN RURAL AND GREATER MINNESOTA THROUGH DANCE.

SOFTBODY movement is a fiscally sponsored project of Springboard for the Arts. 

WHY SOFTBODY MATTERS...

In northeastern Minnesota, access to mental health care can feel out of reach. According to Wilder Research (2023), 64.3% of adults in our region are not receiving the mental health care they need. Nearly 1 in 3 rural adults say stigma alone keeps them from seeking care.

But there’s another path to healing already rooted in our communities: the arts.

Research shows that creative community programs like SOFTBODY:
  • Reduce isolation by bringing people together around shared experiences
  • Provide safe outlets for expression, stress, and trauma
  • Build resilience and confidence
  • Expand access to care through welcoming, familiar spaces

By offering dance as a lifeline for community well-being, SOFTBODY is part of the solution. Our work helps people feel seen, connected, and inspired.
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Kayla teaches a free dance workshop for youth in Grand Marais, MN (2025).
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Workshop participants in Fergus Falls, MN explore ways of seeing one another (2025).
Meet the Artistic Director:

Kayla Schiltgen is an interdisciplinary dance artist based in rural Two Harbors, MN. She is a 2025 McKnight Artist Fellow in Choreography, a 2022 Upstream Artist Fellow, and the recipient of multiple Minnesota State Arts Board and Arrowhead Regional Arts Council awards. Kayla is recognized by Springboard for the Arts as a creative rural leader in the upper Midwest.

A word from Kayla: I grew up thinking I don't belong, that I needed to leave the Rural in order to have a creative and vibrant future, that the Rural is nothing more than a place to escape, where horror movies happen. None of this true! These are places of possibility and magic! This is where I want to make and share dance. To rewrite the narrative, to give people and place art that feels like them, shows them they belong, to inspire imagination, to care for, and to love. This is SOFTBODY.

I am so glad you are here. If supporting SOFTBODY financially feels right for you at this time, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution on our GiveMN page any time. If supporting our work another way feels like a better fit, we love that too! Please consider sharing our work, booking us for an event, or following us on social media.
dance artists in photos: Kristen Hylenski, Allisun Zagar, Kayla Schiltgen
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Kayla is a recipient of the Individual Artist Equity Grant, made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and culture heritage fund.
additional Photography by cc Boyle Photography, Adrian Steinbach, bill cameron, ASHLEY DEREN