Meet the Artists Behind “Torch & Glamour”

 

Danceworks Performance Company presents…

Torch and Glamour: An Exploration of Love and Illusion

Ran February 9-10 & 14-16, 2019
at Danceworks Studio Theatre

Featured guest artists Andréa Moser & Ryan Cappleman.

 

Love is in the air…and going up in flames! Guest artists Andréa Moser and Ryan Cappleman emceed a variety show of hilarious heartbreak that featured Danceworks Performance Company as dancers, singers, rappers, pianists, lip sync artists and more! DPC looked to the audience for advice on love, romance and dance moves. The audience was invited to help us tackle the comedy and tragedy of love and loss in an evening of romance on the rocks. Photo: Jeff Zmania.


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.


Andréa Moser

Concept, Script & Direction; Emcee

 

Andréa is thrilled to be collaborating with Danceworks again. She was previously seen at DW in “Mad Lim(b)s”, “Women Who Dance”, and “What’s So Funny?” Her education includes a BFA in Theatre Performance, improv (Seattle Theatresports, Flanagan’s Wake, Late Night Catechism), sketch comedy (The Show), a tiny bit of Treteau technique, singing, dancing, and “other”. She has performed locally with Milwaukee Metro Voices, In Tandem, Luminous Theatre, Bunny Gumbo’s Combat Theatre, the Alchemist, Sunset Theatre’s touring Bug-in-a-Rug program, and in short films for the 48-Hour Film Contest. Favorite commercial credits include taking a cymbal crash to the head and voicing a milkshake.


Ryan Cappleman

Musical Direction; Emcee

 

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.


Colin Gowronski

Lighting Design

 

Colin Gawronski is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee’s Theatre Program and Milwaukee native. Colin currently works as the master electrician in the Studio Theater at Skylight Music Theater. He has worked with such local companies as Milwaukee Chamber Theater, Renaissance Theaterworks, Optimist Theater, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, UWM Dance, Danceworks Inc., Next Act, Chamber Theatre, Kohl’s Wild Theater, PrideFest Milwaukee and Bard and Bourbon. Colin has also worked with the Sacramento Music Circus, the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and with the Indianapolis and Chicago Fringe Festivals. Favorite productions include: Russian Transport, Frankie and Johnny, Stories From a Life, The Glass Menagerie, Serendipity, Mauritius, Thrill Me, In A Black Mood, Gruesome Playground Injuries, My Fair Lady, Lamps for My Family, and Vagabondare. Give Love Always.


Corbin Putz

Board Operation & Stage Management

 

Corbin Putz is finishing his degree in Theatre Production at UW-Milwaukee, and has done work on a wide variety of shows, from Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Springdances at UWM to The Taming of the Shrew with Voices Found Repertory. He also worked with Danceworks last fall for Against the Grain, and is overjoyed to be working with them for the second time as he approaches the end of his college career, and is excited to work with a wonderful crowd of talented individuals.


Melissa Anderson

Danceworks Performance Company

 

Melissa Anderson joined the company in 2002 and has previously performed with Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Teatro Municipal de San Juan of Puerto Rico, Southern Ballet Theater (now Orlando Ballet) and Islenski Dansflokkurinn (Icelandic Ballet). Melissa teaches ballet at all levels at Danceworks, as well as at Nancy Dianne Studio and UW-Milwaukee. She frequently choreographs and teaches for dance organizations such as Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, Dance Masters of Wisconsin and Texas Association of Dance Teachers.


Kim Johnson

Danceworks Performance Company

 

Kim Johnson, a native “Yooper,” joined Danceworks Performance Company (DPC) in 2000, shortly after graduating from UW-Milwaukee with high honors with a BFA in dance. She has created works for DPC as well as Milwaukee Ballet II.  Kim served as DPC’s Associate Artistic Director from 2009-2012 before taking on the role of Artistic Manager of both performance and studio. In 2012, Kim was one of M Magazine’s “10 Performers that are Changing the Stage.”  Kim’s passion for teaching dance to others has been shared at the Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy where she served as faculty, branch manager and Children’s Division Coordinator, a dance lecturer at UW-Milwaukee since 2006, and faculty Danceworks Studio since 2000. Kim has helped write curriculum for both Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy and Danceworks Studio. She has thoroughly enjoyed growing Danceworks’ ballet and dance fitness program among other facets including DanceLAB. Kim is truly passionate about bringing dance to the community and providing established and emerging artist with performance opportunities. Because of this commitment, in 2017 she began to serve as Senior Director of Programs. Kim is a member of Milwaukee Dance and Theatre Network and Wisconsin Dance Council, for which she served as Board Secretary. Kim is Pilates mat and Progressing Ballet Technique certified.


Liz Licht

Danceworks Performance Company

 

Liz Licht joined Danceworks Performance Company in 2011 and the studio faculty in 2017 as a 50+ yoga instructor. She has also worked at Danceworks as development and marketing assistant, a Mad Hot Ballroom assistant instructor, and Art to Art production manager. Her other performance credits include Valentín Projects, Skylight Music Theatre, the Gina Laurenzi Dance Project, Cooperative Performance Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Fringe Festival, Wild Space Dance Company, Your Mother Dances, Li Chiao-Ping Dance, and internship performances with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. She also studied on full-tuition scholarship at Garth Fagan Dance. Her Dance BFA, Journalism Minor, Honors College Degree, and Dean’s Honors Award are from UW-Milwaukee (2010), where she participated in one summer of the Master of Fine Arts dance program through the Honors College. Liz completed her yoga certification from YogaOne Studio in 2014, after having been introduced to Iyengar yoga at UWM in 2008. She also teaches chair yoga and all-levels vinyasa yoga in Sheboygan. A writing tutor and freelance editor specializing in the genres of somatics, wellness, and spirituality, she previously tutored student through faculty writers across disciplines in the UWM Writing Center. A book she edited, Clearing the Path by Stephen Parker, PsyD, on Patañjali’s Yoga-sūtra, neuroscience, and emotion is available through Ahymsa Publishers. Contact her at www.elizabethlicht.com.


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.


Andrew Zanoni

Danceworks Performance Company

 

Andrew Zanoni is thrilled to be back at it again! After a temporary hiatus from dance, he is more than excited to get back to performing with the wonderful group of artists who make up Danceworks Performance Company. Andrew graduated with a BFA in Dance from UW-Milwaukee in 2010 then moved to NYC where he spent two years dancing with David Parker and The Bang Group. After returning home in 2013 he performed with Danceworks Performance Company for two seasons and now comes back to them once again. Tons of love to my amazing family for always supporting me.


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