Danceworks Performance MKE

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, Danceworks, and Li Chiao Ping Dance. Katelyn has presented both her solo and collaborative work throughout Milwaukee, Chicago, Seattle, and New York. Her work, “soft ground, stiff shoulder” was selected to be presented at the American College Dance Association’s North Central Conference. Katelyn has furthered her training by attending intensives such as Milwaukee Ballet, Point Park, Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation, Bates Dance Festival, Gibney Connect, and Moving Queries. 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.This is Katelyn’s fifth season with Danceworks Performance MKE.

Greta Jenkins is a dance artist, choreographer, teacher, and personal trainer. She is brand new to the Milwaukee area and grew up dancing in northern Kentucky at MJM Studios and the Kentucky Center Governor’s school for the Arts. She received her BFA in dance performance from Ball State University. While at college, Greta became fascinated with combining the two worlds of artistry and athleticism to create authentic contemporary movement connections for the body and soul. Also in school, Greta had the opportunity to learn and perform the repertoire piece “Steps in the street” by the Martha Graham Dance Company. She also performed work by Chicago choreographer Jamey Meek and had the privilege to train and perform at the Radio City Rockette Summer Intensive in NYC. Greta has also performed in Milwaukee, Sheboygan, and Madison as a trainee with Waterstreet Dance MKE. This is Greta’s first season with Danceworks Performance MKE.

Gina Laurenzi graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM) with a BFA in Dance: Choreography & Performance. Before beginning her chapter in Milwaukee, Gina was awarded a full merit scholarship to train at Giordano Dance Chicago and later performed with Giordano II and Inaside Chicago Dance, among other Chicago artists. For seven years, Laurenzi owned and operated Laurenzi Dance (Kenosha, WI). In her hometown of Kenosha, Laurenzi presented work regularly and mentored many local artists through the performance groups she founded including; Project Innovate: A Performing Dance Company, Captivate Dance Co. and Momentum Dance Project. Since living in Milwaukee, Laurenzi has been able to perform the works of Daniel Burkholder, Simone Ferro, Marie Gillespie, Dani Kuepper, Deb Loewen, Dawn Springer, Christal Wagner, and Morgan Williams among many others. Laurenzi continues to set work on the Gina Laurenzi Dance Project and in the past has created works for Danceworks Performance MKE (DPMKE), Danceworks Youth Performance Company, Makaroff Youth Ballet (Appleton, WI), the Milwaukee Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program students, Milwaukee’s High School of the Arts, UWM Dance Dept., and Water Street Dance Milwaukee. Laurenzi is currently on faculty at both Danceworks and the Milwaukee Ballet and continues to teach at UWM where she is also pursuing her MFA in Dance. Laurenzi is happy to be able to continue to work with the wonderful artists of DPMKE after performing with the company since 2013.

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.

Kaitlyn Moore is a Milwaukee-based dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She graduated from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2020 with a BA in Dance as well as a minor in Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies. She has a passion for both performance and teaching and is able to continue both in Milwaukee and surrounding areas. Her passion for performance continued with opportunities such as dancing professionally as a Milwaukee Bucks Dancer as well as performing with musicians like Bell Biv DeVoe, Riolanza and WebsterX. Throughout her time at UW-Milwaukee, she had the opportunity to study under many talented professors and guest artists such as Mair Culbreth, Emma Draves, and Caitlin Mahon. Along with her training at UWM, Kaitlyn has trained with a variety of different companies, programs, and classes throughout Los Angeles, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and Salt Lake City.

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.

Ashley Ray Garcia (she/her) Ashley Ray Garcia is a dancer and choreographer 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, Dani Kuepper, and Dan Schuchart. 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/history and mental health awareness. Her most recent performance/choreography, “Dear Édith,” was performed in Detroit, Michigan at the Collage Dance Festival. “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. She is also a dancer with Wild Space Company. Garcia enjoys choreographing, performing, and improvisation and looks forward to gaining knowledge through both exploring and experience.

Tessa Ritchey (she/her) Tessa Ritchey was born and raised in Walworth, Wisconsin, where she trained at The Dance Factory. She graduated from The University of Iowa in 2018 with a B. F. A in Dance Performance and Choreography. Tessa has furthered her training by attending intensives such as American Dance Festival, ELSCO Dance Intensive, NW Dance Projects Five Dance Days, the Gypsy Project and Water Street Dance Festival. While in College Tessa apprenticed for Dance In the Parks, in Chicago, where she was able to perform and help run the shows. Along with performance experience, she has had multiple of her own choreographic works produced by the university, one of which was selected to perform at the 2018 ACDA North Central Conference. After college, Tessa has had her work presented at the College of DuPage’s Choreographic Showcase, MADCO 2’s Dare To Dance, Trifecta’s A New Light, the Iowa Dance Festival, Emergence, SMUSH Moves Vol. 7, JELLO and MKE Fringe. Tessa has had the privilege of working with Alluvion, a Chicago Dance Company, premiering a work in 2019 as well as this 2023. This is Tessa’s second season with Danceworks Performance MKE as a Company Dancer.

Isaac Jerin Robertson, AKA Ivy, has been passionately involved in the art of dance and dance making for over 15 years. Robertson first started their training in post modern and Graham styles under the direction of Lisa Andrea Thurrell and Robert E. Cleary. Isaac Jerin 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 Jerin studied contemporary dance and choreography as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee from 2014-2017. Ivy received their Cosmetology license in 2018 and is now a Senior Stylist at Drybar Milwaukee in the third ward. Along with hair and dance, Robertson participates in drag performance at local bars around Milwaukee under the name ‘Ivy Wife’. This is Ivy’s second season with Danceworks Performance MKE.

Elisabeth Roskopf was born in South Korea and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin where she began dancing at the age of 6. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Piano and a minor in Dance. She is a company member of Danceworks Performance MKE, Li Chiao-Ping Dance, and a performance collaborator with Wild Space Dance Company. She has also performed with Marlene Skog Dance, the Gina Laurenzi Dance Project, Dawn Springer Dance Projects, Catey Ott Dance Collective, and Montauk Project [più mosso]. Since the spring of 2014, Elisabeth has performed in the Lake Arts Project, directed by Jennifer Miller and Karl von Rabenau formerly of the Milwaukee Ballet. Since 2013, she has choreographed and performed her solo works for the Danceworks DanceLAB Get It Out There concert series. In addition to her performing, she is also a ballet and contemporary teacher and choreographer in the Greater Milwaukee Area. This season, Elisabeth will be partnering with Danceworks to co-present her Dance for Diversity, an annual screendance project series that is made explicitly for Artists of Color to elevate their unique voices and share their stories of identity through dance-making and performance work. Identity is a part of who we are and who we are matters.

Halle Sivertson (she/her) is a Milwaukee-based dancer in her third season with Danceworks Performance MKE. She graduated from UW-Milwaukee in 2020 with a degree in Contemporary Dance Performance & Choreography. Through UWM, she has had the opportunity to create her own choreographic works, as well as collaborate with and perform in the works of many other amazing artists, including Daniel Burkholder, Gina Laurenzi, Emma Draves, and Maria Gillespie. She has studied as a UWM Undergraduate Research Fellow under the mentorship of Daniel Burkholder, and in 2019 studied abroad in Brazil researching multiple styles of dance and other art forms. She is passionate about evolving her own movement voice and showcasing those of her peers.

Gabi Sustache, a Milwaukee native, is a performer, choreographer, and dance educator. Shen is a recent graduate from UW-Milwaukee and received her Bachelors of Arts in dance from the program in Spring of 2020. In addition to being a member of Danceworks Performance MKE, she is also a company member with Danceworks On Tap, Danceworks’ resident tap dance company. Gabi enjoys performing with various Milwaukee-based hip hop crews, including S.A.I.N.T.S, and was recently a guest performer with the Gina Laurenzi Dance Project. Her choreography has been featured as part of Danceworks’ DanceLAB concert series Ignite: A Hip Hop Dance Experience from 2013-19, Get It Out There 2016-19, Milwaukee Bucks halftime performances, for several high school musical theatre 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. Gabi joined the Danceworks faculty in 2014 where she teaches studio classes. You can also find Gabi teaching in the community for the Danceworks Mad Hot Rhythm program in addition to other workshops and residency work.