PROGRAM
Saturday, July 23rd @6pm
Sister Bay Beach Performance Pavilion
2362 Mill Rd, Sister Bay, WI 54234
*Don't forget the chairs, blankets, AND coolers!
2362 Mill Rd, Sister Bay, WI 54234
*Don't forget the chairs, blankets, AND coolers!
Chronicles of a "Cat Lady"
Choreography & Performance: Kelly Anderson
Music: "Lonesome Town" by Ricky Nelson and Sex in the City theme song- Tim Findlay & Douglas J. Cuomo
Sound Design: Kelly Anderson
Note: Excerpt from evening-length work: Message Me If… (2014)
Music: "Lonesome Town" by Ricky Nelson and Sex in the City theme song- Tim Findlay & Douglas J. Cuomo
Sound Design: Kelly Anderson
Note: Excerpt from evening-length work: Message Me If… (2014)
Kelly Anderson is the Artistic Director of Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre--a company inspired by variety, theater and comedy. Evening-length works include: THE END IS HERE and that's ok. presented in Links Hall's 40th Anniversary Season, Skits and Pieces, presented in Steppenwolf's LookOut Series, "In Sarah's Shadow: The Eleonora Duse Story," a co-creation with Writer/Director Olivia Lilley at Prop Thtr, “Livin’ the Dream," VAUDEVILLE! and the Chicago company debut, Message Me If... in 2014. Prior to her arrival to Chicago in 2012, Kelly co-created the evening-length: this is how we disappear and The Little Things with Portland-based performance company bobbevy. Kelly has created two solo shows with the Danceworks Performance Company (Milwaukee, WI): Vaudeville and The Bra Project. Her most notable independently produced works include a dance/theater/opera collaboration, 26, with Milwaukee Opera Theatre, choreography for Gal Friday Film's Missed Connections, Red Knife Lottery's music video "Junkie Jazz", the creation of The Mondo Lucha Dancers for the Mondo Lucha Variety Show, two collaborative evening- lengths, Vacant (w/Kelly Zwiers) and Bad Meat (Jacob Neumann), choreography for A Wrinkle in Time with actor/director Mark Metcalf and The First Stage production of Peter Pan. Her work has been performed in The Minnesota Fringe Festival, Detroit Dance Festival, and her commissioned work, Shower, was presented at Puffin Room in NYC. Chicago choreography credits include D49 Festival, Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, THAW (2013-2021), It's Happening! and Mediums. Anderson was a recipient of a Summer CoMISSION residency for Links Hall's 2019-2020 season. She is a former company member of Gerald Casel Dance Company (NYC), Danceworks Performance MKE (DPMKE), Wild Space Dance Company (MKE), Your Mother Dances, and Foothold Dance Performance (MKE). Professional performance credits also include: bobbevy, Janet Lilly, Simone Ferro, Sean Curran, Amii Legandre, Melinda Jean-Meyers, and Anthony Lyons. Anderson is the founder of Death's Door Dance Festival.
to show some love: Venmo @Kelly-Anderson-41
"...we're through" (excerpt/in process)
Choreography & Performance: José A. Luis
Music: Lavender Daughter
Program Note: An excerpt from my most recent work "By the Time We're Through" featuring original music by Minneapolis band, Lavender Daughter, "...we're through" now investigates newness. As I aim to expand this evening length work, I present a portion of it tonight exploring where it came from and where it wants to go.
Music: Lavender Daughter
Program Note: An excerpt from my most recent work "By the Time We're Through" featuring original music by Minneapolis band, Lavender Daughter, "...we're through" now investigates newness. As I aim to expand this evening length work, I present a portion of it tonight exploring where it came from and where it wants to go.
José A. Luis was born in Veracruz, Mexico and raised in Racine, Wisconsin. Considered a “late-dancer” he began his formal training at UW-Milwaukee, graduating with a BFA in dance. He performed and created works locally before moving to dance professionally in Chicago. Collaborative, undergraduate, and post-undergraduate pieces led to festivals, residencies, as well as progress showings during this time. Now in Minneapolis, he hones his introspective, honest approach to dance making as an independent solo choreographer. The artistic and personal growth across borders formed a nine year dream to self-produce an evening length show. In September of 2021 this dream became reality by honoring the people who have shaped his voice. Challenged by dancing for artists again (after a seven year hiatus) and teaching, José approaches movement in 2022 with the intent to accept, challenge, and learn as we are, human. For more: www.jose.dance
to show some love: Venmo @JoseALuis, Paypal- josealuis03, Cash App- $josealuis03 or donate HERE
Diane and Actaeon
Choreography: Marius Petipas
Performance: Milwaukee Ballet Company- Hailee Rodriguez & Isaac Allen
Music: Diana and Actaeon Pas de Deux, Cesare Pugni
Performance: Milwaukee Ballet Company- Hailee Rodriguez & Isaac Allen
Music: Diana and Actaeon Pas de Deux, Cesare Pugni
Isaac Allen began his ballet training at age eight at Stillpointe Dance Studio in Southern Oregon. He also spent many of his summers attending Intensive programs at San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre. In 2015, he joined Oregon Ballet Theaters’s Pre-Professional Program. The next year, he was accepted into the HARID Conservatory in Florida where he trained for two years under Meelis Pakri before joining the Nancy Einhorn Milwaukee Ballet II Program, where he performed alongside the Company in Michael Pink’s Dracula, Val Caniparoli’s Lambarena, Bruce Wells’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream and many more. Allen was recently promoted to Milwaukee Ballet’s Company for the 2020-21 Season.
Hailee Rodriguez is originally from Jacksonville, FL where she trained at the Florida Ballet at Jacksonville. She then received scholarships to train in Orlando Ballet’s trainee program for two years. In 2019, she attended Milwaukee Ballet’s Summer Intensive and received a contract for their second company, Milwaukee Ballet II (MBII). As a MBII dancer for two seasons she has had the opportunity to perform in many Milwaukee Ballet productions including Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker and Coppélia, as well as the MBII production MOMENTUM, where she danced in Swan Lake and new works created by Adam McKinney, Tania Verga-Perez, and Kristopher Estes-Brown. In her second year as an MBII she performed in Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker and his world premiere of Symphony, as well as excerpts of Don Quixote and Mariana Oliveira’s Pagliacci. Rodriguez was recently promoted into the main Company for the 2021/22 Season.
OrobroyOrobroy
Choreography & Performance: Kerensa DeMars/Studio K Flamenco
Music: Orobroy, Music by David Peña Dorantes. Lyrics by Pedro Peña
Program Note: Flamenco dance is often recognized for its elaborate costuming. In this piece you'll see the elegant 'bata de cola' or long train dress often used in flamenco dance. The heavy skirt measures seven to eight feet in length and dancers train specifically in bata technique to learn to move this unique prop. The music was composed by flamenco pianist Dorantes and features an Andalusian children's choir singing in the Spanish Romani dialect known as Caló.
Music: Orobroy, Music by David Peña Dorantes. Lyrics by Pedro Peña
Program Note: Flamenco dance is often recognized for its elaborate costuming. In this piece you'll see the elegant 'bata de cola' or long train dress often used in flamenco dance. The heavy skirt measures seven to eight feet in length and dancers train specifically in bata technique to learn to move this unique prop. The music was composed by flamenco pianist Dorantes and features an Andalusian children's choir singing in the Spanish Romani dialect known as Caló.
Kerensa DeMars is a choreographer, performer and educator based in Milwaukee. She is the director of Studio K Flamenco, Milwaukee’s home for the Flamenco arts. Her work explores the evolution of the ‘Flamenca’ archetype, the ethnically diverse roots of Flamenco and the poetry at the heart of the form. Elements of digital collage, poetry and cross disciplinary musical collaborations feature prominently in her productions. Kerensa has performed internationally at venues like the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Tivoli in Barcelona, Madrid's Teatro Calderón and the Fort Mason Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The founding director of the San Francisco Flamenco Dance Company, Kerensa lived in Spain from 1997-2004 where she trained intensively in Flamenco dance with Spain’s foremost artists. Kerensa is the recipient of major choreography commissions from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Theatre Bay Area/Dancer's Group, the Azahar Dance Foundation and the Teatro Pradillo of Madrid. Her recent work Volver paired the poetry of Cecilia Woloch, Federico Garcia Lorca and Leonard Cohen with traditional Flamenco and interpretations by Palestinian musicians.
To show some love: contribute HERE
Abbot & Viv
Choreography: RE|dance group
Performance: Michael Estanich and Lucy Vurusic Riner
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
Note: Abbot & Viv is RE|dance group's signature work by directors Michael Estanich and Lucy Vurusic Riner.
Performance: Michael Estanich and Lucy Vurusic Riner
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
Note: Abbot & Viv is RE|dance group's signature work by directors Michael Estanich and Lucy Vurusic Riner.
Creative partners, Lucy Riner and Michael Estanich, established RE|Dance Group in 2009 as a means to explore long distance collaborations and present dance theatre works that examine the many facets of human relationships. Executive Director, Lucy Riner, is a Chicago based dance artist and teacher. Artistic Director, Michael Estanich, lives in Stevens Point at the University of Wisconsin as an associate professor of dance. Their creative process embodies rich emotional content and dramatic imagery through the layering of music, text and sculpture. They seek to establish physical memories that enrich their dancing and the relationships created in their works.
Lucy Vurusic Riner (BS in Dance Education and Performance; MEd in Curriculum and Instruction) is a Chicago dance artist and teacher. She co founded RE|Dance Group, with her artistic partner Michael Estanich, in 2009. Lucy has been a member of the Chicago dance community for over 25 years. She has worked at several high schools and is currently on faculty at New Trier Township High School. Creative partners, Lucy Riner and Michael Estanich, established RE|dance Group in 2009 as a means to explore long distance collaborations and present of dance theatre works that examine the many facets of human relationships.
Michael Estanich (artistic director) and Lucy Vurusic Riner formed RE|dance group in 2009 as a means to explore long distance collaboration since he lives in Stevens Point, WI and she lives in Chicago, IL. Michael's creative research currently examines ideas about the intersection of the physical body with space, architecture, and landscape often resulting in dances supported by sculptural environments. He is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He earned his MFA from The Ohio State University and his BFA from Denison University. Michael’s performance credits include Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, Cerulean Dance Theatre, Rebecca Rosen, Melanie Bales, Bebe Miller, a reconstruction of Mark Morris’ choreography All Fours, and Susan Marshall's ARMS. He is the Mainstage Choreographer at the Trollwood Performing Arts School in Moorhead, MN and Vice President of Policy and Procedure for the American College Dance Association (ACDA).
Lucy Vurusic Riner (BS in Dance Education and Performance; MEd in Curriculum and Instruction) is a Chicago dance artist and teacher. She co founded RE|Dance Group, with her artistic partner Michael Estanich, in 2009. Lucy has been a member of the Chicago dance community for over 25 years. She has worked at several high schools and is currently on faculty at New Trier Township High School. Creative partners, Lucy Riner and Michael Estanich, established RE|dance Group in 2009 as a means to explore long distance collaborations and present of dance theatre works that examine the many facets of human relationships.
Michael Estanich (artistic director) and Lucy Vurusic Riner formed RE|dance group in 2009 as a means to explore long distance collaboration since he lives in Stevens Point, WI and she lives in Chicago, IL. Michael's creative research currently examines ideas about the intersection of the physical body with space, architecture, and landscape often resulting in dances supported by sculptural environments. He is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He earned his MFA from The Ohio State University and his BFA from Denison University. Michael’s performance credits include Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, Cerulean Dance Theatre, Rebecca Rosen, Melanie Bales, Bebe Miller, a reconstruction of Mark Morris’ choreography All Fours, and Susan Marshall's ARMS. He is the Mainstage Choreographer at the Trollwood Performing Arts School in Moorhead, MN and Vice President of Policy and Procedure for the American College Dance Association (ACDA).
to show some love: contribute HERE
Greatest Lakes I Ever Knew
Choreography and Performance: Emily Loar
Music: "The Great Lakes Song" performed by Lee Murdock, and "Rolling" by Roedelius and Arnold Kasar
Program Note: “Sweet Mother Michigan, Father Superior, Coming down from Mackinaw and Sault Ste. Marie Blue water Huron rolls down to Lake Erie-o, Falls into Ontario, and runs on out to sea.” Like most things, the Great Lakes are filled with a rich and complicated history and life. In a time of so much hardship, my wish for us is to connect by reflecting over the things that bind us together as a community in this special part of the world: traditions, nostalgia, food, music, clothing, recreation, and a shared love for these great lakes. Join the movement to protect them for generations to come.
Music: "The Great Lakes Song" performed by Lee Murdock, and "Rolling" by Roedelius and Arnold Kasar
Program Note: “Sweet Mother Michigan, Father Superior, Coming down from Mackinaw and Sault Ste. Marie Blue water Huron rolls down to Lake Erie-o, Falls into Ontario, and runs on out to sea.” Like most things, the Great Lakes are filled with a rich and complicated history and life. In a time of so much hardship, my wish for us is to connect by reflecting over the things that bind us together as a community in this special part of the world: traditions, nostalgia, food, music, clothing, recreation, and a shared love for these great lakes. Join the movement to protect them for generations to come.
Emily Loar is a dance artist, writer, and improvisor living in Chicago. Loar’s work seeks to combine our primary forms of communication: written language, spoken word, body language, facial expression, and instinct. After graduating with a BFA from Columbia College Chicago, Loar has presented original work across the Chicagoland area, and has performed professionally with dancemakers including Peter Carpenter, Lydia Feuerhelm, Kasey Foster, Erin Kilmurray, Jonathan Meyer and Julia Rae Antonick of the dance company, Khecari, and Ishti Collective. Emily Loar is a founding member and current Co-Artistic Director of the Chicago-based modern dance group, Project Bound Dance.
“In lieu of personal donations, I would like folks to contribute to Alliance for the Great Lakes”- Emily
to show some love TO DOOR COUNTY: Contribute HERE
“In lieu of personal donations, I would like folks to contribute to Alliance for the Great Lakes”- Emily
to show some love TO DOOR COUNTY: Contribute HERE
a feeling of and, a feeling of if
Choreography & Performance: Dan Schuchart, Wild Space Dance Company
Music: "Circadian Arc," Lorna Dune
Music: "Circadian Arc," Lorna Dune
Dan Schuchart of Wild Space Dance Co. is an interdisciplinary artist and teacher. He creates and produces independent work in collaboration with Monica Rodero and their work has been presented throughout the US. Schuchart earned BFA degrees in Dance and Painting/Drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an MFA in Experimental Choreography from the University of California-Riverside, and a Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis at Columbia College Chicago. Since 2002, he has worked with Wild Space Dance Company as a company member, choreographer, Associate Artistic Director, and soon to be Artistic Director. Dan is currently a Senior Lecturer at UW-Milwaukee Department of Dance.
I Haven't Heard From You
Choreography: Shirley Mordine, Mordine and Company Dance Theater
Performance: Danielle Gilmore, Melissa Pillarella, Emily Stepleton
Music: Sinfonia Concertante by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performance: Danielle Gilmore, Melissa Pillarella, Emily Stepleton
Music: Sinfonia Concertante by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Melissa Pillarella // Danielle Gilmore // Emily Stepleton
Danielle Gilmore is a Chicago-based artist, performing and mentored under the direction of Shirley Mordine since 2011 with Mordine and Company Dance Theater and currently holds the role of performance and repertoire preservationist for the Mordine Legacy Project. Danielle has premiered choreography under mentorship of Mordine and Ayako Kato’s Art Union Humanscape. Originally from Arizona, Danielle attended the University of Arizona where she received a BFA in dance performance. Interested in movement and dance injury prevention, she became a certified Yoga instructor in 2011. Danielle has performed with Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre, RE|Dance Group, Hedwig Dances, Chicago Dance Crash, MonTom Arts, Norwegian Cruise Line, and on-camera work including Carl Dondrol “Wayward Wind,” Dove Commercial and Hitchens ”Better Without You.”
Melissa Pillarella has been dancing with Mordine & Company Dance Theater since 2011. She is originally from Chicago and began her dance training at Whitney Young Magnet High School and then attended The University of Illinois where she received a BFA in dance and studied under Mo&Co founding member, Jan Erkert. In Chicago, Melissa has also danced with The Dance COLEctive, Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre, Nora Sharp, Laboratory Dancers and has performed as a guest artist with The Inconvenience.
Emily Stepleton is a dancer and movement educator in Chicago, Illinois. She has danced professionally with Mordine and Company Dance Theater since 2016 and represents the Mordine Legacy Project at this exciting premiere of Death's Door Dance Festival. She has had the pleasure of performing throughout the Midwest, as well as touring internationally, with Azagano, a multi-ethnic dance company under the direction of Zelma Badu-Younge and Paschal Yao Younge. Emily's passionate relationship with the arts first rooted in her hometown of Lima, Ohio and spread to Athens where she earned a BFA in dance performance and choreography from Ohio University. There, she began her journey with the Pilates method and continued education to become a comprehensive certified instructor. Emily enjoys sharing her knowledge of the Pilates method teaching others to build strength and confidence to feel their own sense of empowerment through movement.
to show some love- contribute HERE
Melissa Pillarella has been dancing with Mordine & Company Dance Theater since 2011. She is originally from Chicago and began her dance training at Whitney Young Magnet High School and then attended The University of Illinois where she received a BFA in dance and studied under Mo&Co founding member, Jan Erkert. In Chicago, Melissa has also danced with The Dance COLEctive, Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre, Nora Sharp, Laboratory Dancers and has performed as a guest artist with The Inconvenience.
Emily Stepleton is a dancer and movement educator in Chicago, Illinois. She has danced professionally with Mordine and Company Dance Theater since 2016 and represents the Mordine Legacy Project at this exciting premiere of Death's Door Dance Festival. She has had the pleasure of performing throughout the Midwest, as well as touring internationally, with Azagano, a multi-ethnic dance company under the direction of Zelma Badu-Younge and Paschal Yao Younge. Emily's passionate relationship with the arts first rooted in her hometown of Lima, Ohio and spread to Athens where she earned a BFA in dance performance and choreography from Ohio University. There, she began her journey with the Pilates method and continued education to become a comprehensive certified instructor. Emily enjoys sharing her knowledge of the Pilates method teaching others to build strength and confidence to feel their own sense of empowerment through movement.
to show some love- contribute HERE
Apple Mary
Choreography: Annie Arnoult
Performance: Rachel Molinaro
Music: "Minor Swing" by Hunter Perrin
Performance: Rachel Molinaro
Music: "Minor Swing" by Hunter Perrin
Program Note: ”Apple Mary" is an excerpt from a full length work entitled "The Shadow," which told the story of the first superhero comic from the Great Depression.
Annie Arnoult is the founding artistic director of Open Dance Project in Houston, Texas where she directs the company’s professional performance season and oversees the company’s extensive dance education work. Arnoult returned to her native Houston from Chicago where she was the artistic director of Chicago’s Striding Lion Performance Group, garnering acclaim for the company as a “new center of gravity for indie dance in Chicago.” Arnoult was named one of the “25 to Watch 2018” by Dance Magazine, citing her “keen attention to detail” and was a 2017 recipient of Houston Arts Alliance Individual Artist Grant for the development of the critically acclaimed ‘Bout a Stranger, deemed one of the “most fully realized pieces to come out of Houston in decades,” by Nancy Wozny in Dance Magazine. Arnoult’s creative work is deeply informed and influenced by her 25 years as an artist teacher and integrated arts education advocate in Chicago Public Schools, HISD, and surrounding districts. Her research and choreography has been presented regionally and internationally. Arnoult has served on the dance faculty of Northwestern University and The School of Theatre and Dance at University of Houston.
Rachel Molinaro has been active in the Chicago arts community as a performer, choreographer, administrator and educator for nearly 10 years. Rachel has danced professionally with companies such as Project Bound Dance, Striding Lion Performance Group, Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre, Mish Mash Productions, enidsmithdance and The Leopold Group and currently creates her own work as an independent artist. Rachel recently joined the Senn Arts High School staff as the Fine & Performing Arts Program coordinator, helping arts students create a path for success after graduation. She currently acts as the Artistic Director of the youth dance company ede2 in Evanston and sits on the board of directors for Project Bound Dance.
MOSS- Remembers
Choreography and Performance: Emma Draves
Music: “Moss,” Robert Rich and “Jaipur Jam,” Gloombeam
Program Note: MOSS is an ecosomatic-focused work inspired by the simultaneously tenacious and supple qualities of moss. An ancient organism 450 million years old, moss is able to propagate in poor soil - stabilizing surface soil and retaining water - altering the environment to help new plants to grow. I find deep lessons in how moss enters depleted environments, altering conditions to help itself thrive and other organisms to flourish.
Music: “Moss,” Robert Rich and “Jaipur Jam,” Gloombeam
Program Note: MOSS is an ecosomatic-focused work inspired by the simultaneously tenacious and supple qualities of moss. An ancient organism 450 million years old, moss is able to propagate in poor soil - stabilizing surface soil and retaining water - altering the environment to help new plants to grow. I find deep lessons in how moss enters depleted environments, altering conditions to help itself thrive and other organisms to flourish.
Emma Draves is a dance artist and educator navigating intertextual spaces of identity. She draws from trainings in modern, bharatanatyam, ballet, jazz, and ethnography, to weave work of kinesthetic narrative - derived through colliding multiplicities of physical effort, idiosyncrasy, and emotional landscape. Emma’s choreographic work has been shown internationally in Edinburgh (UK) & Vancouver (BC), as well as at NYU, Beaufort (SC), McKnight Center (OK), and across the Chicago area. Work as also been commissioned by Danceworks Company and UW-Milwaukee. As a performer, Emma has worked with several companies and as an independent artist. Notable experiences include Mordine & Company, Hedwig Dances, Jonathan Meyer, and Archana Kumar; and theatrical productions at Victory Gardens and Lookingglass Theatre Trained in bharatanatyam under Guru Hema Rajagopalan, Emma has enjoyed a long association with Natya Dance Theatre as a performing artist - participating in several national tours and international collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma & Silk Road Project, NanJombang (Indonesia), and Astad Deboo (India) - grant-writer, and archivist. Emma holds a GLCMA & MFA - and has served on faculty at Columbia College Chicago, College of DuPage, Northwestern University, and OK State University.
to show some love: Venmo @Emma-Draves
Choreography and Performance: Andria Nikoupolis-Weliky
Music: “To Tango Tis Nefelis,” Alexiou Xaris
Music: “To Tango Tis Nefelis,” Alexiou Xaris
Gratitude
Andria Nikoupolis Weliky brings a lifetime of dance performing and teaching to all ages for over thirty years in a wide variety of dance forms, Classical Ballet, Middle Eastern Dance, Jazz, Modern and Tap to name a few. Continually inspired by nature, Andria is passionate about movement as a holistic practice. She embodies this nurturing essence through dance and strives to share this healing connection of balance and oneness with others. She is part of a movement studio collaborative newly opened in Sturgeon Bay, WI, STUDIO234, now offering classes for children and adults in dance and mindfulness movement practices
to show some love: Venmo @Andria-NikoupolisWeliky
If I Don't, It Doesn't
Choreography: Project Bound Dance
Performance: Kathryn Hetrick and Sarah Morimoto
Music: "Lights" by M.I.A.
Performance: Kathryn Hetrick and Sarah Morimoto
Music: "Lights" by M.I.A.
Under the direction of Ashley Deran and Emily Loar, Project Bound Dance is a Chicago based modern dance group rooted in the practice of collaboration. Since its founding in 2013, Bound has created work that is both curious and accessible. Creating both live concert performance and dances for camera, Bound draws from both modern dance and somatic fundamentals. Incorporating vigor, athleticism, and intricate gesture exploration, Deran and Loar weave together the vision of two distinct artistic voices to create richly textured dance performance.
Kathryn Hetrick has held an abiding love for all things dance and began her pre-professional dance training in Auburn Hills at Oakland University. While in their dance program, Kathryn had the noted privilege of being a member of their Reparatory Dance Company, performing works by John Lehrer, Lori Eisenhower, Shane O’Hara, Michael Foley and Ginger Thatcher. Outside of the university, Kathryn also had the opportunity to perform a world premier work by Rodney A. Brown as a member of the Brown Dance Project. Wanting to expand her dance training even further, Kathryn then transferred to Western Michigan University, where she honed her craft working with many world-renowned choreographers including Arturo Fernandez and Jason McDole. Since moving to Chicago, Kathryn has had the distinct pleasure of working with Esoteric Dance Project, assisting with their creative process during their residency at the Chicago Cultural Center, as well as performing in two world premieres for EPD’s winter concert Shift/Ed. As a member of Salty Lark Dance, Kathryn had the opportunity to dig deep into her background in modern dance, marrying Laban movement analysis with somatic integration. Performing in and around the Chicago area, she found this experience to be extremely fulfilling and is very happy to be able to bring her background to her work with Project Bound Dance. This will be Kathryn's 6th season performing with Project Bound Dance, she's very pleased about it.
Sarah Morimoto is a Chicago performer. She graduated from Northwestern University in 2016 with degrees in dance and chemistry. Throughout her training, Sarah has worked with and performed works by several Chicago artists including Jeff Hancock, Lizzie Leopold, Laura Wade, Maray Gutierrez, Robyn Mineko Williams, Joseph Caruana, and Riccardo Battaglia. Professionally, Sarah has had the opportunity to work with Joel Hall and Hanna Brictson and Dancers. In addition to performing, Sarah has also choreographed and performed works at The iO Theater. She also has set works on several youth companies in the city and suburbs. Sarah excited to be returning to Project Bound Dance for another season.
to show some love: Venmo @ProjectBounddance
Similar Story, Familiar Song
Choreography: Kelly Anderson in collaboration with performers
Performance: Cheryl Cornacchione, Stacy DeMorrow, and Danielle Gilmore
Program Note: This piece is an excerpt from a work-in-progress collaborative evening-- Heartbreak Motel-- presented by Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre
Performance: Cheryl Cornacchione, Stacy DeMorrow, and Danielle Gilmore
Program Note: This piece is an excerpt from a work-in-progress collaborative evening-- Heartbreak Motel-- presented by Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre
Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre is a Chicago-based, Door County-led performance company whose work is inspired by humor, theater and pop culture. KADT creates relatable work driven by complicated topics. “Seamlessly weaving movement and dialogue,” Anderson strives to bridge the gap between artist and non-artist through comedy “filtered perfectly throughout a series of serious moments.” Her work has been performed/commissioned in Chicago, NYC, Milwaukee, Detroit, Minneapolis and Portland, OR. “A master of comedic timing… Anderson proves that dance doesn’t have to be dead serious.” *Credits- Lauren Warnecke (Chicago Magazine) and Kristin Vasilakos (Performance Response Journal)
Cheryl Cornacchione holds a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Southern Mississippi. Upon graduating, Cheryl moved to Chicago where she has performed with BONEdanse, CORE Dance Project, Hope Goldman, Laboratory Dancers, We Stand Sideways Dance, Erin Kilmurray, Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, and was an artistic collaborator with The Runaways Lab Theatre. She has been a core company member of Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre for nine years and counting and is currently dancing with REIdance group. Cheryl is beginning to branch out as a choreographer, with her solo that will eventually be presented in a larger work through KADT.
Stacy DeMorrow earned her bachelor’s degree in dance from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point. During her studies there she performed works by Billy Siegenfeld, Susan Marshall, Mary Anthony, as well as spending a month teaching dance in Thailand as part of the Thailand Project, a mission to use higher education as humanitarian aid. Living in Chicago the last ten years Stacy has performed for Perceptual Motion Dance Company, We Stand Sideways Dance, Mordine and Company Dance Theater, Montom Arts by Monica Thomas, Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre, and RE|dance Group. When not dancing Stacy is an avid baker and Star Trek nerd.
Danielle Gilmore is a Chicago based artist, performing and mentored under the direction of Shirley Mordine since 2011 with Mordine and Company Dance Theater. Currently taking the role of performance, repertoire preservationist for the Mordine Legacy Project. Danielle has premiered choreography under mentorship of Mordine and Ayako Kato’s Art Union Humanscape. Originally from Arizona, Danielle attended the University of Arizona where she received a BFA in dance performance. Interested in movement and dance injury prevention, she became a certified Yoga instructor in 2011. Danielle has performed with Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre, RE|Dance Group, Hedwig Dances, Chicago Dance Crash, MonTom Arts, Norwegian Cruise Line, and on camera work includes Carl Dondrol, “Wayward Wind", Dove Commercial and Hitchens, ”Better Without You”.
to show some love: Venmo @Kelly-Anderson-41
Sojourn (2007)
Choreography: Christal Wagner, Danceworks Performance MKE (DPMKE)
Performance: Nekea Leon
Music: ”Amasango" and "Ingoma" by Insingizi
Performance: Nekea Leon
Music: ”Amasango" and "Ingoma" by Insingizi
Christal Wagner is a visual artist versed in Movement, Choreography, Video and Photography. Upon receiving her BFA in dance from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 2007, she joined Danceworks Performance MKE and has performed in over 40 regular season shows with the company. She is an 8 time Jerry award recipient for her work in Musical Theatre and has choreographed for Skylight Music Theatre, Milwaukee Ballet II, Present music, and Danceworks Performance MKE. Christal is a cofounder of the music and dance trio Cadance Collective, co-creating pieces through processes where music and dance are worked on simultaneously through improvisational practices and original soundscapes. Her video work has been presented in collaboration with Danceworks Inc, Milwaukee Dance Theatre Network, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, UWM Dance, The Saint Kate Arts Hotel, The Cactus Club, and Li Chiao-Ping Dance, where she was a 2020 SEED Creation Fund grant recipient. In 2020, Christal Wagner became the Saint Kate Art Hotel’s FIRST artist in co-residence and their weekly resi-dancer. Christal’s mission is to support and elevate the voices of her community, collaborators, and fellow artists.
Nekea Leon is a Milwaukee based dancer and a native of the city. She began her love of dance at the age of 5 and continued her studies at her middle and high school. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee with her BA in dance in 2018. She has also performed with DanceCircus, Wild Space, and other community dance experiences.
Things Hidden
Choreography: Same Planet Performance Project
Performance: Chloe Grace Michels and Enid Smith
Music: CoH
Performance: Chloe Grace Michels and Enid Smith
Music: CoH
Same Planet Performance Project (SPPP) abstracts the shared human experience centering on individuals and narratives within global dynamics through athletic and sensuously constructed dances that transform performers and audiences on a visceral emotional level. Directed by Joanna Read, Same Planet Performance Project is one of Chicago’s most inventive contemporary dance companies. Known for it’s highly physical, yet emotionally driven work, SPPP presents original work by its artistic director, and also commissions work from acclaimed national and international artists. The company has performed at prestigious venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, The Dance Center of Columbia College, The Auditorium Theatre, and Joyce Soho. Engaging aspiring artists is foundational to the company’s work, especially at the collegiate level. Past exchanges have been at the University of Minnesota, The University of Iowa, The University of Illinois, and Illinois State University. Same Planet is available for touring, college residencies and master classes. SPPP is in residency at Chicago’s Dovetail Studios
Chloe Grace Michels graduated with a BFA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago in May 2015. Upon graduating she has worked with choreographers Timothy Buckley, Margi Cole (The Dance Colective), Paige Cunningham (Off Center Project), Fred Darsow, Emma Draves, Hannah Santistevan, and Emily Stein. Michels has restaged works by Fred Darsow and Timothy Buckley on students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Columbia College Chicago respectively. She has created works for The Coincidentals' Mess Hall installment #1 and #2, LiRa Dance Theater, and premiered her first solo work, BIG GIRL PANTIES, in the fall of 2018. This is Michels' first season dancing for Same Planet Performance Project.
Enid Smith is a graduate of the contemporary dance program at the North Carolina School of the Arts. In New York City she performed with Ivy Baldwin Dance, The Merce Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group, Anita Cheng Dance, and MAC Cosmetics, among others. Since moving to Chicago she has performed with Khecari, Lucky Plush Productions, Chicago Fringe Opera, The Evanston Dance Ensemble, and The North Shore Choral Society and presented her own work under the name enidsmithdance. Enid has been teaching ballet and modern at Dance Center Evanston since 2008. She has been working with Same Planet Performance Project since 2018
to show some love: Venmo @joanna-read-1
Ash in the Rainbow (2020)
Choreography: Nick Pupillo, Visceral Dance Chicago
Performance: Braeden Barnes & Michelle Meltzer
Music: Haco + Sakamoto Hiromichi
Performance: Braeden Barnes & Michelle Meltzer
Music: Haco + Sakamoto Hiromichi
Nick Pupillo, Founder and Artistic Director of Visceral Dance Chicago, is an award-winning choreographer recognized for the power and versatility in his work. A graduate of Indiana University and former dancer with Giordano Dance Chicago, Pupillo’s focus quickly became concentrated on teaching and creating. In 2006, he developed the now reputable, pre-professional company, Visceral Studio Company. In 2007, he founded Visceral Dance Center. This facility continues to be a Chicago dance landmark. Utilized by a number of Chicago-based companies, Visceral Dance Center is home to its resident company, Visceral Dance Chicago. Founded in 2013, this repertory company presents his daring vision to explore the infinite possibilities of contemporary movement. Since inception, the company has developed a diverse and respected repertoire by new emerging voices and distinguished, world renowned choreographers. Pupillo has created fifteen signature works for the company, as well as four collaborations with The Chicago Philharmonic. Pupillo teaches master classes in the U.S. and around the world and has taught for the Jazz Dance World Congress, Culver Academies, Chicago Dance Connection and Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, where he received the 2018 Artistic Achievement Award.
Braeden Barnes (Chicago, IL), received his training from Faubourg Ballet, Academy of Dance Arts, San Francisco Ballet School, and Houston Ballet School. Braeden was then accepted into the Joffrey Ballet training program under the directors Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik. Braeden is in his fifth season with Visceral Dance Chicago and has worked professionally with Balletmet, Ron de Jesus Dance, Billy Elliot the Musical, Cocodaco Dance Project, LEVELdance, and Nevada Ballet Theatre. Braeden Barnes is also a choreographer based in Chicago, IL. His choreography has been featured on stage in such cities as Chicago, Las Vegas, New York City, Denver, and Atlanta. He has choreographed for festivals such as: Dance Chicago, Dance Canvas and REVERBDance Festival in New York, where his work won the First Place Audience Choice Award. He has choreographed on various companies such as A & A Ballet, Aerial Dance Chicago, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Cirque Du Soleil, LEVELDance, Cocodaco Dance Project, and in New Dances, a collaboration between Thodos Dance Chicago and Dance Works Chicago.In 2016, He started his own company, Symbiosis, which has gone on to produce national concerts and has commissioned choreographers such as Anna Long, Jason Parsons, and Taylor Mitchell.
Michelle Meltzer (Indianapolis, IN) graduated with honors from the Jacob's School of Music at Indiana University and holds a B.S. in Ballet with an Outside Field in Education. Michelle has danced professionally with Nevada Ballet Theatre, Aerial Dance Chicago, Chicago Repertory Ballet, Symbiosis, Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre II, and in New Dances- a collaboration between Danceworks and Thodos Dance Chicago. She has performed works by George Balanchine, James Canfield, Daniel Ezralow, Mónica Cervantes, among others. This is her third season with Visceral Dance Chicago.
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Photo Credits: Matthew Gregory Hollis (1, 14 & 15, 17), Dru Jefferson (2), William Frederking Photography (3), A. Deran Photography (4, 7, 10-12, 16), Chuck Osgood (5), Lynn Lane (6), Robin Hill (8), Zach Kuntsman Photography (9), Peter Sherno (13), Christal Wagner Photography (18 &19), Rachel Malehorn (20 & 21), Vin Reed (22), Meghan Archer Photography (23), Mark Linley (24), Arthur Wilinski/Revo Photo (25), KT Miller Photography (26), M Reid Photography (27 & 28)
Graphic Design- Charlie Stephens
Photography- Matthew Gregory Hollis
Photography- Matthew Gregory Hollis