Get It Out There
Danceworks DanceLAB presents…
at Danceworks Studio Theatre
1661 N. Water St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
About the show: Danceworks Artistic Director, Christal Wagner, is set to unveil the latest edition of Get It Out There, a biannual showcase of works in progress by both emerging and established artists. This spring’s event, presented through Danceworks DanceLAB, will feature a diverse array of 22 new works from talented performers across Milwaukee and its surrounding areas. Scheduled for Saturday, March 16th, 2024, the performances will take place in two separate concerts at the Danceworks Studio Theatre. Following each show, attendees are encouraged to stay for an opportunity to interact with the artists, offering feedback and fostering dialogue. With a spectrum of genres on display including contemporary dance, dance theatre, poetry, and music composition, the evening promises a dynamic exploration of artistic expression.
Ashley Ray Garcia (she/her) is a dancer and choreographer from Michigan. She received her BFA in Dance-Performance and Choreography from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Through her love of traveling, she has had the opportunity to perform in France, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. Garcia has shown work at Central de La Danse (Paris, France), Get It Out There MKE (Wisconsin), Collage Dance Festival, and RAD Fest (Michigan). She is currently a company member of Wild Space Dance Company and Danceworks Performance Company while choreographing independently. She will also be presenting her own show in April at Danceworks titled, “For The Wolves.” Garcia enjoys choreographing, performing, and improvisation and looks forward to gaining knowledge through both exploring and experience.
Audrey Dudek is a dancer, and choreographer currently located in Milwaukee, WI. She is currently pursuing her Bachelors of Arts in dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Throughout her time at UWM she has had the opportunity to create her own choreographic works as well as working with Simone Ferro, Daniel Burkholder, Dawn Springer, Mair Culbreth and Gina Laurenzi. She has studied and trained in multiple styles including ballet, modern, contemporary and hip hop. Audrey is passionate about choreographing, and performing and is excited to gain more experience through exploration and collaboration.
Autumn Powless is a Milwaukee-based artist, educator creator and performer graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Psychology with a certificate in Childhood and Adolescent Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In her time there, she has worked alongside faculty and students in multiple performances such as: Maria Gillespie, Demar Walker, and guest artist Marina Magalhães of Los Angeles. She has trained in many styles of dance such as hip-hop, modern, jazz, ballet and African dance. Currently, Autumn is working as an instructor for the Milwaukee Ballet and Above The Clouds LLC and a performer with S.A.I.N.T.S Dance Crew (Milwaukee, WI.). She is a former NBA dancer of 4 years for the Milwaukee Bucks and is 2nd year coach and choreographer for their kids performance team the Young Bucks. Outside of performing throughout the Milwaukee community, Autumn served as the Artist in Residence under Wildspace Dance Company at the Lincoln Center of the Arts, Roosevelt Middle School and other public schools where she cultivates choreographic work for students. She has worked with local non-profit City on A Hill Milwaukee, teaching introductory dance classes and collaboratively planning and teaching health and wellness classes for their student summer program. Additionally, she has teaching experience with her childhood dance studio, Starz Dance Academy (Muskego, WI.) where she worked as the hip-hop choreographer and recreational class instructor. Autumn also teaches open choreography classes at local dance studio, Salute Society (Milwaukee, WI.) and other schools in the Wisconsin area. Autumn prioritizes serving others and finding a way to connect with others to help them best express themselves. She believes dance can serve as a means for wellness education while pursuing her creative ideas and choreographic works centered around her personal experiences of navigating this world and connecting with others.
Calla Beverly (she/her) is a double major in dance and kinesiology at the university UW-Milwaukee. Originally her love of dance came from the competitive world but has grown into a lifestyle. She has trained and competed in all styles of dance but her heart lies with contemporary and hip hop. She’s been focusing on choreography lately as it is her dream to one day become a choreographer.
Catey Ott Thompson, director of Catey Ott Dance Collective since 2005, has a BFA and MFA in dance from UWM. Catey resides in Milwaukee after dancing in NYC for 14 years with Soundance, Heidi Latsky, Allyson Green, Sean Curran, Bill Young, Li Chiao-Ping, Eun Jung Choi, and many others. She has performed at Danspace Project/St. Mark’s Church, 92Y, DNA, Gibney Dance, Green Space, BAX, Solar One, The Flea, and Muller/The Works Studio, In Milwaukee, CODC regularly performs at Danceworks Studio, MKE Fringe Fest, UW-Madison, UWM, Marquette University, Milwaukee Ballet, Wisconsin Dance Council, and others. Catey was a faculty member at Marquette University for 9 years and is currently teaching a wide range of classes at Milwaukee Ballet School and Academy.
Colin Gawronski (they/them) is a lighting designer and theatrical technician native to Milwaukee who has worked extensively with Danceworks, Inc, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Sunstone Studios and Black Arts MKE/Brozeville. They have worked with other local companies such as Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Next Act, PrideFest Milwaukee, Bard and Bourbon, Gina Laurenzi Dance Project, and In Tandem Theatre. Colin has also worked with the Sacramento Music Circus, the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Lila, Third Avenue Playworks and with the Indianapolis and Chicago Fringe Festivals. Favorite productions include: THREE OTHER SISTERS, STEW, OUT OF MANY ONE, ‘NEATH THE HILLS OF BASTOGNE, /ˌmaskəˈrād/, DUTCHMAN, BLACK NATIVITY, SECRETS FROM THE WIDE SKY, DADDY LONG LEGS, SPALDING GREY: STORIES LEFT TO TELL, STORIES FROM A LIFE, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, SERENDIPITY, BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, ROMEO AND JULIET (Lila), LAMPS FOR MY FAMILY, and VAGABONDARE. Give Love Always.
Cuauhtli Ramirez Castro (he/they) is a Mexican performing artist and dancer. He studied Performing Arts at the University of Guanajuato having a multidisciplinary approach, combining contemporary dance and acting techniques in his training. They have performed at the International Cervantino Festival (2016), as well as the Guanajuato International Film Festival (2015). They graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance and Choreography (2021). During his last year he was part of UWM´s Undergraduate Research Fellowship program as a teaching and research assistant for the project Parts of The Whole: The Body is Home under the mentorship of Maria Gillespie. During their time in Milwaukee, they have performed and collaborated in works by Maria Gillespie, Emma Draves, Bernard Brown, Caitlin Mahon, Joe Goode, Mair Culbreth, Amanda Lee, Cedar Becher, etc. And danced with companies such as Danceworks Performance MKE, WildSpace, and Li Chiao-Ping Dance.
Danceworks Intergenerational Performance Company (DIPC), formerly 50+ Performance Workshop, is a company of community dancers with a desire to explore movement and performance. The current group is made up of participants spanning several generations and a shared passion for movement. The ensemble explores dance-making, improvisation and performance concepts led by DPMKE company members, Gina Laurenzi and Christal Wagner. Dances are performed in concert collaborations with resident dance companies, Danceworks Performance MKE and Danceworks Youth Performance Company.
A Wisconsin native, Elizabeth Pischel trained at Charlotte Ballet under Patricia McBride during her high school years. She then joined the Alonzo King LINES Ballet | Training Program in San Francisco. During that time, Elizabeth also apprenticed with Sidra Bell Dance NY. Elizabeth has also trained with Joffrey Ballet Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance, and Complexions Ballet. After graduation, she joined DawsonDanceSF. She was featured in several company works, including a performance for Pixar Animation Studios. Elizabeth then freelanced in New York City, performing and choreographing for RAW Artists and Quixotic Fusion Contemporary Aerial and Circus Arts. Recently, Elizabeth has been continuing her practice and choreographic development at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point where her works have been presented in several department productions. Her work has also been presented at the American College Dance Association conference, Fog Fest in San Francisco, and the Youth American Grand Prix competition.
Erica Meier is a Milwaukee based dancer, educator, and arts administrator. Erica started collegiate dancing at Winona State University where she was on the Hip Hop Dance Team. Uponing transferring to UW-Milwaukee, Erica pursued a BFA in Dance. She trained in contemporary choreography and performance under the teachings of Simone Ferro, Daniel Burkholder, Dani Kuepper and several other professional artists and guest artists. During her education, her movement research was accepted for presentation at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research. She has danced with several groups and artists including, Revamped, Lady J, Vicki Lynn Mirage, Milwaukee pride fest and DanceCircus. She has been heavily involved in community arts participating in world water day dance, the ACE program, and Fringe Fest. She has been a judge for Badgerette dance competition and has worked as a guest artist at studios around the Midwest. She currently works as a teaching artist at Danceworks MKE and a dance teacher and project manager at Aspire Dance Center.
Ida Lucchesi (she/they) is a dancer and social worker in Milwaukee, WI. She is currently a collaborator with Wildspace Dance Company. They have produced and presented dance works at the Milwaukee Fringe Festival and collaborated with artists Katelyn Altmann, Dan Schuchart, Maria Gillespie, Andrea Burkholder, Posy Knight, Debra Loewen, and Joe Goode. More recently, she has been marrying dance and film work as a way of delving into the vulnerable details of dance.
Ida works at the intersection of movement exploration and communities that have historically been ignored. They focus on themes of interpersonal relationships and community-building to connect the LGBTQ+ community to the benefits of art education. Her primary research interests include creating space for marginalized communities to find joy in their bodies and the relationships developed by people who take up space society has historically denied them.
Isaac, also known as Ivy, (They/She/He) has been passionately involved in the art of dance and dance making for over 17 years. Robertson first started their training in post modern and Graham styles under the direction of Lisa Andrea Thurrell and Robert E. Cleary. Ivy also studied classical ballet at Madison Ballet under the direction of W. Earl Smith. Later, from 2010-2014, Robertson danced with Kanopy Dance Company for four seasons. They attended summer dance programs on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Isaac studied as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee studying contemporary dance and choreography from 2014-2017. Ivy has been a company dancer with Danceworks Performance MKE (DPMKE) since 2018. Robertson toured with DPMKE to the 2022 Making Space Festival held by TBD dance collective based in Omaha, Nebraska. Ivy continues to create work, educate and dance in Milwaukee.
Jaime Erickson (Germantown, WI) and Alecia Corey (Des Plaines, IL) are both recent graduates from Carthage College with minors in dance. While in the program there, they were constantly selected to develop, choreograph, and perform original work in the school’s recitals, which included a senior duet together and the privilege to each set a solo on themselves. In addition to that, Jaime and Alecia were also both on the Carthage College dance team for all the years they attended. Since graduation, they have kept dance in their lives by accepting jobs choreographing and teaching classes to children of all ages in their prospective hometowns at local studios and theatre-based organizations. They are so excited to be back together again with another duet, this time focusing more on life since college and the struggles they have faced in early adulthood!
Katelyn Altmann (she/her) is a movement-based artist, choreographer, and improvisor currently residing in Milwaukee, WI. She received her BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts. During that time, Altmann performed in works of Joe Goode, Simone Ferro, Maria Gillespie, Esmé Boyce, Daniel Burkholder, Dawn Springer, Melanie George, Esther Baker-Tarpaga and worked with artists such as Ishmael Huston-Jones, Kathleen Hermesdorf, and Irene Dowd among others. She is a current performance and collaborative artist with Wild Space Dance Company, Hyperlocal MKE, Danceworks, and Li Chiao Ping Dance. Katelyn has presented both her solo and collaborative work throughout Milwaukee, Chicago, Minnesota, Seattle, and New York. During her time at UW-Milwaukee, Altmann received two Undergraduate Research Fellowships immersed in movement research. Katelyn’s work lives in embodied study, tested and realized through creation processes, improvisational strategies and performance. This takes shape through porous embodiment, visceral play, connection, and attunement.
Katie Edwards is a dance instructor/choreographer/performer who has been dancing for 18 years, training in nearly every major genre of dance, including ballet, contemporary, lyrical, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop, musical theatre, ballroom, and more. Performances include the lead (Aurora) in the Sleeping Beauty ballet, two Dance Festivals for a Cause in Madison, WI, and two GIOT performances. She has taught at several well-known MN dance studios, including Creo Arts and Dance Conservatory, Dance Conservatory of Southern MN, and Metropolitan Ballet, and is currently teaching at A Step Above Dance Academy in Madison, WI. Katie has choreographed several musicals and other dance pieces and is best known for her visuals and powerful emotional portrayals through performance.
Kavon Cortez Jones (Kj) was born on September 26th, 1994 the same year as Bucks forward Giannis in a city he calls, Paris of the Midwest. He is a Milwaukee homegrown poet, avid biker, and storyteller who was born and grew up in Milwaukee. Young Kj was inspired to write poetry in 7th grade while attending Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. K-8 School thanks to local mentors Kwabena Nixon and Muhibb Dyer. Kwabena & Muhibb visited his school when he was 13-years-old, and wowed a gymnasium full of angsty-teenagers with poetic storytelling. Their stories talked about everything from losing loved ones to gun violence, to how jump rope, particularly Double-Dutch, is a lost art form. Muhibb wore an orange jumpsuit and Kwabena brought a jump rope which made the visual performance more intense and tear-jerking. Lupe Fiasco’s Superstar, a 2007 hit song around the time was another catalyst to indulge him into the scribe culture.
Kayla Siedlecki (she/her) is from West Chester, PA and moved to Milwaukee in 2022. She studied dance at the Rock School West for 7 years. There she trained mainly in ballet and contemporary but also had experience with modern, jazz, and tap dance. At the University of Pittsburgh, Kayla continued her dance studies through student-run clubs and classes at Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. She performed in 10 shows and choreographed 6 pieces during her time in Pittsburgh. Additionally, she served on the board of the Ballet Club for 3 years and helped with the production of 6 shows. She has continued her dance education in Milwaukee by taking classes at Danceworks.
Lia Smith-Redmann (she/her) is a Wisconsin-based artist, dancer, and writer. She studied dance and theatre throughout the Five College Consortium in Massachusetts and is currently pursuing her BAs in Dance and English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she is an Undergraduate Research Fellow under the direction of Maria Gillespie. She is a collaborating artist with Hyperlocal MKE and a former member of Ballo Dance Company and Laughing Tiger Tai Chi in Door County, where she also provides production support for Death’s Door Dance Festival. She has had the opportunity to work with internationally acclaimed artists, notably Chan Ming Shu, Ailey II, and the Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane Company, and has had the privilege of performing the works of choreographers such as Alfonso Cervera and Maria Gillespie. Her work has been performed at Hampshire College, the Peck School of the Arts’ Dance Collective Showcase, and the Wisconsin Interscholastic Theatre Festival.
Rae Zimmerli (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and photographer born in Kansas City and living in Milwaukee. She is currently pursuing her BFA in contemporary performance and choreography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her choreography has been performed at Camping Dance Festival (France), Milwaukee Fringe Festival, Chicago Danztheatre, and UWM’s Dance Student Organization Dance Collective shows. She has performed pieces by Katy Pyle of Ballez, YNOT, Kia Smith of South Chicago Dance Theatre, Simone Ferro, Maria Gillespie, Jaclyn Brown, Dan Schuchart, Gina Laurenzi, and Kyle Mullins. Her photography has been selected for exhibition in the Tim Murphy Art Gallery in Merriam, Kansas, and Leenhouts Gallery and La Gente Art Gallery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
After a long hiatus in Minneapolis performing only sparsely with Concerto Dance and Rhythmically Speaking, Simon returns to Milwaukee, his home, where he previously worked with Danceworks Performance Company and other well known Milwaukee based performance arts groups. He is excited to show something new and honored to be back in a cherished space.
Tom Hjelmgren has had the privilege of being a student, performer, and audience member of Danceworks since 2002. Highlights of this collaboration have been performing in both ‘Fairy Queen Fantasy’ (2015) and ‘Handel’s Bestiary’ (2017) at Lynden Sculpture Gardens wife Janice and daughters Katrina and Syrena. Tom has performed in Danceworks’ Sonder, Winter of Gratitude, Sobriquet’, and Small but Mighty. Additionally daughter Katrina and I have performed in GIOT in self choreographed works as well as works under the direction of Dani Kuepper, Gina Laurenzi, and Annie LeFort. Other performances include On Display With Catey Ott), Fluid Measure with Li Chaio Ping, and Animolecules with Quasimodo Physical Theater.
Zoe Glise (she/her) is a movement-based artist born in China and located in Milwaukee, WI. She is a company member with the Gina Laurenzi Dance Project, Madison Contemporary Dance, and Wild Space Dance Company. She has performed multiple times as a guest performer with Danceworks Performance Company, and worked with Nova Linea Contemporary Dance as their first company apprentice. Zoe received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Performance and Choreography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Zoe worked with Daniel Burkholder, Mair Culbreth, Simone Ferro, Maria Gillespie, Dani Kuepper, Gina Laurenzi, and Dan Schuchart, training in Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Improvisation, African, Composition, and more. In 2019, with the help of the National Endowment for the Arts grant, Zoe collaborated with Joe Goode to create a dance film, which was presented at the North Central American College Dance Association. In 2022, Zoe was selected to attend the Camping Residency at the Centre National de la Danse, where she took classes, taught, and performed in Paris, France.
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