Click through the performance groups below to learn more about the talented performing artists of Rhythmworks: Swingin’ Algorhythms.
We are eager to present a full season of exciting concerts next year featuring Danceworks Performance MKE and numerous community artists and collaborators! But we can’t do it without you. Please help Danceworks make a strong return to the stage with a donation.
Your gift will help us celebrate the diverse artists in the DanceLAB: Rhythmworks concert, position us for a strong 2023-24 Concert Season, expand our reach into the community and strengthen our offerings for both in-person and virtual classes. Thank you for your support!
MkeMe (pronounced “Make Me”) Crew is a K-pop performance group from Milwaukee, WI established in 2023. This K-pop dance cover group is working towards showcasing K-pop to the greater Milwaukee Community. We hope to help build upon the K-pop community that is growing here in the Midwest, build up those who are a part of this team, and be an influence on the audience to make their move into K-pop.
IG: @mkeme.crew
Adrean Maxwell (Prince Adrean) is a Sophomore Dance major at Columbia College Chicago and company 2 dancer of Muntu Dance Theatre. At the age of three Prince Adrian started his training in Praise Dance (Liturgical) and at the age of 7 he started his performance training with the Ton Ko-Thi Children’s ensemble. In 2020 he transitioned to the adult company as a member of Ko-Thi Dance Company. In 2021 Prince Adrean graduated as a Double Major from Milwaukee High School of the Arts. He continues his studies in the arts of West African Dance and the diaspora, as well as training in western techniques such as ballet, modern, and contemporary.
IG: @prince_adrean
Paté Patrice Nassalang is a professional African and Afro Jazz dancer, instructor and choreographer from Senegal west Africa with a lot of experience competing on the international stage. Paté danced with some of the biggest African dance companies in the world outside of Africa. He founded Jamakjam Afro-Dance Theatre dance company. Paté is a Jazz and Lindy hopper connecting and linking the Jazz dance moves to its roots from Africa as well.
IG: @afro_lindy
Kerensa DeMars is a choreographer, performer and educator working in Flamenco dance. She trained in Spain for ten years with some of the world’s foremost Flamenco artists. Kerensa has performed internationally at venues like the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Tivoli in Barcelona, Madrid’s Teatro Calderón and San Francisco’s Yerba Center for the Arts. She has received major choreography commissions from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Theatre Bay Area, the Azahar Dance Foundation and the Teatro Pradillo of Madrid. Kerensa is currently the director of Studio K Flamenco in Milwaukee. New and notable projects include curating ‘Living Traditions’ for the Death’s Door Dance Festival, directing the fourth annual ‘Flamenco Nutcracker’ and pre-production on ‘Mujer. Vida. Libertad.’
IG: @kerensademars
Gabi Sustache, a Milwaukee native, is a performer, choreographer, and dance educator. A recent graduate from UW-Milwaukee, where she received her Bachelors of Arts in Dance from the program in Spring of 2020. She is currently a member of Danceworks On Tap, Danceworks’ resident tap dance company and Danceworks Performance MKE. Gabi also enjoys performing with various Milwaukee-based hip hop crews, including S.A.I.N.T.S, Gabi has had the opportunity to perform at events such as the 2019 Milwaukee Sports Awards and Summerfest. Her choreography has been featured at Milwaukee Bucks halftime performances, for several high school musical theater productions in and around the Milwaukee area and was selected in 2019 to be adjudicated at the American College Dance Association’s North Central Conference.
IG: @gabsterdance
Wezley Turner, a recent 2021 graduate from Marquette University, where he earned his Masters in Nursing, started his dance journey in the Milwaukee community in 2019. Since then he has continued his training in various styles of hip hop dance. Wezley has also performed with local hip hop crew, HYPE, in Fall of 2021 and Spring of 2022 and has had the opportunity to perform at a Milwaukee Bucks playoff game. Currently you can find Wezley continuing his dance training and performing in and around the Milwaukee area.
IG: @_wez4dance_
Alex Vanissaveth is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee where he received his degree in education. He began his journey into dance early on while learning from his mom traditional Lao and Thai dances. This journey continued while attending the university when he took his first dance class after attending the UWM Hip Hop Showcase. From there he gained new connections and experiences from becoming a part of a dance community in Milwaukee. He took that likeness for dance and continued to grow as a dancer by taking classes at the university and at studios like Danceworks. He was able to dance with different groups and learn the necessities of preparing for a performance. His true passion for dance comes from the performance style that Kpop has to offer. In 2017, Alex was able to become a part of KASPER Dance Crew that dedicates their time to learning both Kpop and Hip Hop choreography. In 2019, Alex began teaching at Danceworks as a Kpop Instructor and is currently teaching the Adult Kpop classes for Danceworks.
IG: @_xandervan
Christal Wagner is the Artistic Director of Danceworks Performance MKE and an Alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee dance department (BFA) where she is also adjunct faculty. She is a screendance artist and has produced work as a cinematographer, performer, editor and director for Joe Goode, Josh Halverson, Maria Gillespie, 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. Christal has danced for Your Mother Dances, Gina Laurenzi Dance Project, Dawn Springer Dance Projects, Skylight Music Theatre and spent 14 years as a company member with DPMKE. 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. In 2020 Christal Wagner became the Saint Kate Art Hotel’s FIRST artist in co-residence. She is the recipient of 8 Wisconsin Jerry Awards for her work in musical theatre and has choreographed over 20 musicals in the city of Milwaukee. Christal’s mission is to support and elevate the voices of her community, collaborators, and fellow artists.
IG: @waitingforutah
Jessica Lueck is a dancer currently based in Milwaukee, WI. Through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee she has attained two degrees, one in Dance Performance and Choreography and the other in Information System and Technology. Through the duration of her time at UWM, she has studied modern, ballet, jazz, improvisation, composition, Alexander technique, laban movement analysis, applied anatomy, and numerous other master classes. She has also performed in works created for several UW-Milwaukee Faculty Shows, working with Artists such as Emma Draves, Daniel Burkholder, Maria Gillespie, Deb Loewen, Parijat Desai and Dawn Springer. Jessica has also studied abroad in 2022 through the Centre national de la Danse in Paris, France. Before attending UWM, she has had training from the Milwaukee HighSchool of the Arts, where she studied modern, ballet, pointe and composition under Sandra Jordan and Dean Drews, with additional instructors such as Amie Ferrante and Petr Zahradníček assisting in her training. She has also had numerous Master classes during this period including Milwaukee Ballet and Alvin Ailey II Company and more. More recently, Jessica currently performs with Wildspace Company as a Freelance artist and has begun her first season with Danceworks Performance MKE.
IG: @rynixi_me
Ashley Ray Garcia (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and performer from Michigan. She received her BFA in Dance-Performance and Choreography from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. During her time at UWM, she has worked with Maria Gillespie, Simeone Ferro, Mair Culbreth, Daniel Burkholder, Anthony “YNOT” Denaro, Melissa Anderson, and Dani Kuepper. Through her love of traveling, she has had the opportunity to perform in France, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. Her choreographic focus right now centers around women’s rights and mental health awareness. Her most recent performance/choreography, “Thinking of Mother,” premiered at the Milwaukee Fringe Festival in August 2021. In March of 2022, her dance for film “In This Hallway” premiered at RAD Fest in west Michigan. Her senior piece, “In These Skirts” was chosen by the faculty at her university to perform ACDA in the adjudication concert in 2022. “In These Skirts” was also performed at Central de la Danse in Paris, France in June of 2022. Garcia enjoys choreographing, performing, and improvisation and looks forward to gaining knowledge through both exploring and experience.
IG: @ashleyraygarcia
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