Meet the Dancers of Carmina Burana

Dani Kuepper

Artistic Director & Choreographer

Dani Kuepper joined Danceworks Performance Company in 1998 and has since choreographed more than 30 dances for the company. As a Danceworker, she has enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate extensively in the Milwaukee community with established organizations as well as independent artists. Dani received both her BFA and MFA from UW-Milwaukee, where she has been a faculty member of the UWM dance department since 1999. As an undergraduate at UWM, Dani performed the solo, Mrs. Schultz, at the national American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She was honored in 2009 as a “Forty Under 40” recipient by the Business Journal of Milwaukee and also received the UWM Alumni Association Teaching Excellence Award for non-tenure track instructors in 2010.

Elisabeth Roskopf

Danceworks Performance Company

Elisabeth Roskopf’s passion for dance began at age 6 and she has been dancing ever since. She graduated with a BA in Piano and a minor in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2011.  She is a company member with Li Chiao-Ping Dance and Danceworks Performance Company as well as a guest artist with Wild Space Dance Company, Marlene Skog Dance, and an alumna of Catey Ott Dance Collective.  Since the spring of 2014, Elisabeth has been performing in the Lake Arts Project, directed by Jennifer Miller and Karl von Rabenau of the Milwaukee Ballet.  Since 2013, and still ongoing, she has choreographed and performed her solo works for Danceworks DanceLAB Get It Out There concert series.  In addition to performing, she is also a dance teacher and choreographer in the Greater Milwaukee Area.

Zach Schorsch

Danceworks Performance Company

Zach Schorsch (BFA Dance ‘16) is newest member of Danceworks Performance Company. He has appeared with Hyperlocal MKE and has previously danced in the works of Maria Gillespie, Dani Kuepper, Deb Loewen, Joelle Worm and Posy Knight. Zach’s choreographic body of work has been presented in Cooperative Performance Milwaukee’s One Act Festival and the Danceworks DanceLAB Get It Out There concert series. Since being awarded a Danceworks Space Grant this spring, Zach continues to collaborate and create within several different creative mediums.

Maggie Seer

Danceworks Performance Company

Maggie Seer received her BFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2016. She has been a company member with Wild Space Dance Company since 2016, and joined Danceworks Performance Company in 2018 as a company member. She performs regularly with Maria Gillespie’s Hyperlocal MKE and has performed with the Gina Laurenzi Dance Project. She has created works for Danceworks DanceLAB’s experimental performance venue, Get It Out There, and choreographed numerous musical theatre productions throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. Maggie enjoys teaching all forms of dance at the studio and in the community through Danceworks Mad Hot and Generations, but especially loves teaching creative movement, contemporary dance and yoga. Maggie joined the Danceworks administration team in 2017 as the Development and Volunteer Coordinator.

Christal Wagner

Danceworks Performance Company

Christal Wagner has danced with Danceworks Performance Company since 2007. She is an Undergraduate of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee with her BFA in Dance. Christal is a founding member of the collaborative trio, Cadance Collective, performing their original works since 2012.  She has formally danced with Your Mother Dances and Gina Laurenzi Dance Project. She has been a featured performer with Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Present Music and Dawn Springer Dance Projects. She choreographs Musical Theatre throughout the Milwaukee area at Divine Savior Holy Angels, Shorewood High School, Nicolet High School and Skylight Music Theatre.

Ryan Cappleman

Guest Artist

Ryan Cappleman is a performer, choreographer, music director, and teaching artist in the Milwaukee area. As a performer, recent roles include the Piano Player in Billy Bishop Goes to War at Third Avenue Playhouse, the Duke of Cornwall in Optimist Theatre’s King Lear, McQueen in Urinetown and Pooh Bah in The Hot Mikado both at Skylight Music Theatre. As a choreographer, recent shows include Skylight’s Hairspray and Urinetown, Pippin at UW Waukesha, and Rent at Shorewood High School (which he also music directed). Ryan is on staff at Skylight as the Resident Education Music Director, and teaches for First Stage, Danceworks, The Virginia State Thespian Conference, and the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts Summer Dance Intensive. At Danceworks, he has appeared in Handel’s Bestiary and Danceworks on Tap, and has taught for Madhot, school residencies, and been a studio sub. He will also be dancing in Carmina Burana (a collab with Skylight and Danceworks), Kiss Me Kate, and singing in/music directing two cabarets at Skylight. Thanks especially to Dani for being a wonderful mentor over the years and for including him on this project, as well as Kim and Melissa for being such great teachers.

Julia Y. Edwards

Guest Artist

Julia Y. Edwards is a dancer, choreographer and movement educator. She attended UNCSA for Contemporary Dance in NC, holds a B.S. in Sociology from the College of Charleston, a comprehensive Pilates certification from PraXis Balanced Body Studio and an M.F.A. in Choreography from UNC-Greensboro.  Before relocating to WI from Brooklyn, Julia studied, taught, performed and choreographed throughout NC, SC, OH and NYC.  Julia has served as contemporary dance faculty for the North Carolina Governor’s School West Campus, and adjunct faculty at UNC- Greensboro. While living in New York City, Julia created contemporary works as a freelance choreographer, owned and operated a Pilates studio and taught Pilates at ABT’s Jackie Kennedy Onassis School for Pre-Professional Dancers.

Posy Knight

Guest Artist

Posy Knight began her professional career as a modern dancer in New York City after a youth immersed in professional ballet training programs at the Washington Ballet and National Ballet of Canada. She has since developed into an award winning choreographer, delving into production design and implementation, non-profit operations and dance education at all levels. Posy will appear with the Danceworks Performance Company in this season’s production of Carmina Burana. She is adjunct faculty for the Alverno Theatre Department, a visual art teacher for Milwaukee Public Schools and a dance educator for the Wauwatosa Recreation Department. Posy received her BFA in Dance in 2002 from The Juilliard School, and her MFA in Scenic Design in 2014 from the University of Connecticut where she learned how to design and paint sets.

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