STUDIO STORIES: REMINISCING ON TWIN CITIES DANCE HISTORY

Joanna Lees (she/her) is a choreographer, performer, producer, director, filmmaker, and educator based in Minneapolis, MN. Her current research involves cultivating empowering and healing through trauma-informed artistic practices. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Joanna graduated cum laude with distinction with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Business from The Ohio State University (2007). There, she was an Arts Scholar and the recipient of the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum Scholarship. Joanna studied with various artists including Bebe Miller, Susan Hadley, Karen Eliot Abigail Yager and Ming-Lung Yang. She also performed in Doug Varone’s Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) in collaboration with BalletMet Columbus.  Joanna moved to Minnesota in 2008, performing in projects and showcasing her choreography independently. In 2011, she co-founded the Minneapolis dance company, Alternative Motion Project alongside Kristin Howe. Joanna serves as the Artistic + Executive Director and has led in creating performing opportunities for artists, educational outreach programs for public school students, and innovating within audience engagement initiatives. As a performer, Joanna has worked with Body Watani (Noelle + Leila Awadallah), Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Khary Jackson, Erin Drummond, Penelope Freeh, Jennifer Glaws, Kristin Howe, Heather Klopchin, Erinn Liebhard, Blake Nellis, Darrius Strong, and Taja Will.  Joanna’s work has been presented by the College of DuPage (Chicago area), The Moving Collective (Louisville, KY) and at  Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival (Kalamazoo, MI – 2013, 2026). Joanna enjoys the collaborative process and has worked with artists in different genres, including composer Lee Kesselman, visual artist René Romero Schuler, the Grand Symphonic Wind Ensemble, soprano Lindsay Kesselman, string quartet 4spiel, and spoken word artist Cole Sarar . She continues to develop creative work with her long-time collaborator, award-winning sound and multimedia artist, Dameun Strange.  In 2020, Joanna earned her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Modern Dance at The University of Utah (Salt Lake City). Whilst there, she served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Dance and received the L. Scott Marsh Mentorship Award & a University Teaching Assistantship. Joanna performed works by Charles O. Anderson, Stephen Koester, Sara Pickett, and Christine McMillan with guided mentorship from Molly Heller and Eric Handman. She performed in work by Doug Varone in collaboration with Doug Varone and Dancers and was selected as a choreographer for Varone’s DEVICES mentorship program, showcasing her work, Spiral Into Control, in New York City (2018). An excerpt of her MFA thesis, BECOMING, was selected to represent the University of Utah in performance for the American College Dance Association Northwest Regional Conference at Gonzaga University (2020).  Joanna was a faculty member at Winona State University (2022-2024) where her original work, Entropy, represented WSU at the 2024 Northwest-Central Regional Conference (Northfield, MN). She has also led classes at University of Utah, St. Olaf College, College of DuPage, Universidad de Panamá, and DeSales University and has been a teaching artist at local studios, Zenon Dance School and Threads Dance Project.  

Dana Luebke is the Founder; Vice-President of the Board of Directors: SUN.ERGOS, A COMPANY OF THEATRE AND DANCE, 1977 – 1985;Director of the Board, 1985 to 2008; Ex-Officio 2008 to present; Artistic and Choreographic Director, 1978 to present; Dancer, Actor, Choreographer, Designer, Teacher, 1977 to present; Licensed Brain Gym® Instructor/Consultant, 1989 to presentWell-versed in modern, ballet and contemporary dance, Dana has performed over 200 roles, creating the original, principal roles in 80 major dances in over forty-five years as an artist. Beginning his career with the Minnesota Dance Theatre in Minneapolis, he has since danced in New York City with Sara Sugihara and the Family, in Canada and the United States with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and was Guest Artist with the Washington Ballet.He studied in Italy, France, England, Scotland, the United States and at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Canada as well as teaching both adults and children at the community, college and university levels. The recipient of two Gulbenkian Fellowships in Dance, he has studied at the Laban Centre in London and the International Course for Professional Choreographers and Composers in Surrey.He has worked with Murray Louis, Nina Weiner and Glen Tetley in choreography and Gisela Reber in folk-dance. He has done choreography on Balada Roumanian Folk Dance Ensemble, for the Alberta Games Show, Theatre Calgary, The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society and Menaka Thakkar. He is a regis- tered Brain-Gym teacher and award winner for outstanding service to the Educational Kinesiology Foundation for overseeing the translation of Brain Gym into Croatian. Dana was given Honorary Citizenship in the Zupanija of Sibenik, Croatia, for his artistic and humanitarian work with refugees of theBalkan Wars from 1991-1995, and most recently received the Classic Lake Conference Award in Fine Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for his artistic and humanitarian work.At present, he teaches Brain Gym® to the pre-School children in the community of Priddis, Alberta, from September through June of each year, and has done so since 2001. He teaches Brain-Body Fitness and Brain Gym® for Families at the Sheep River Library in Turner Valley, Alberta, workshops in Brain Gym® for Pre-School Teachers and Parents and Switched-On Learning for Teachers and Parents in Calgary, Alberta.His training in Brain Gym®, Specialized Kinesiology and Movement Literacy includes: Edu-K in Depth; Vision Circles; Creative Vision; Total-Core Repatterning; Movement Exploration; Integration of Birth and Change; Integrations of Dynamic and Postural Reflexes.Rhythmic Movement Training (Levels 1-3); Fear Paralysis Reflex; Facial Reflexes/Language and Bonding Language of Dance Foundations, Part 1 and 2; Elementary Labanotation.He has been and continues to be a cultural ambassador for the arts in urban and rural communities, having represented Canada to 22 different countries on 5 continents, by performing, and by teaching and mentoring thousands of children and adults celebrating the differences and recognizing the similarities among peoples and cultures in order to promote the arts and breakdown prejudice.“Dana Luebke dances…compelling movement images, strong yet sparse, stark in their simplicity, virile in their controlled energy…a beautiful intensity pervades his whole performance.” Brian Cooper, THE STAGE AND TELEVISION TODAY LondonDancer, Licensed Brain Gym® Instructor/Consultant

Orlando Hunter-Valentine is a choreographer who researches, illustrates and creates from a same gender loving African-U.S born perspective. A descendent of the great migration, great grandchild of farmers, their work tackles issues resulting from a capitalistic imperialist patriarchal white supremacist system. Orlando works as a Hood Agroartupreneur encouraging dance and agriculture for embodied and ecological sustainability. Recently Orlando received their MFA in Dance with a specialized study in Agriculture and Technology at The Ohio State University.

Gemma Isaacson is a Minneapolis-based dance artist originally from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. She began her professional performance career at the age of 15 with Minnesota Ballet before attending the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (BFA Dance, summa cum laude).Throughout the course of her freelance career, Gemma has originated roles in works by notable stage directors/choreographers across genres, including Patrick Acogny (Contempo Physical Dance), Berit Ahlgren (HoneyWorks), Hannah Benditt (Lakes Area Music Festival), Dimitri Chamblas, Karen L. Charles (Threads Dance Project), Non Edwards, Daniel Ellis (Minnesota Opera and Utah Opera), Eric Sean Fogel (Minnesota Opera and Portland Opera), Nildinha Fonsêca (Contempo Physical Dance), Zhauna Franks (Strange Loop Projects), Jennifer Glaws (Jagged Moves), Denyce Graves (Minnesota Opera), Helen Hatch (Hatch Dance), Jennifer Ilse (Off-Leash Area), Nic Lincoln, Hannah MacKenzie-Margulies (Little Tanz Theater), Alanna Morris (I A.M. Arts), Valerie Oliveiro, Kerry Parker, Sophia Pimsler, Stuart Pimsler and Suzanne Costello (Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater), Ashwini Ramaswamy (Ragamala Dance Company), Marciano Silva dos Santos (Contempo Physical Dance), Heidi Spesard-Noble (Minnesota Opera), Keturah Stickann (Minnesota Opera), and Yuki Tokuda. Since 2020, Gemma has created and performed her own work at the Off-Leash Art Box (Minneapolis), The Shed (St. Paul), Tofte Lake Center (Ely), the Minneapolis Club (Minneapolis), and DIY spaces around the Twin Cities. In 2021, she was a National Emerging Artist resident at Tofte Lake Center in Ely, Minnesota. During the 2024-25 season, Gemma was delighted to be engaged as a guest faculty member at Minnesota Opera, devising and leading a movement workshop series for the Resident Artist cohort. Gemma Isaacson is a 2026 McKnight Dancers Fellow. (gemmaisaacson.com)

DAVENTE GILREATH  was born and raised in Minneapolis. His dance training began at Perpich Center for Arts Education where he was exposed to styles of dance including modern, ballet, jazz, african, and contact improvisation. Gilreath  furthered his dance training at the University of Minnesota where he worked with professors such as Ananya Chatterjea, Erin Thompson, and Toni Pierce‐Sands. During this time he was also able to perform and create work with Minnesota‐based companies such as Threads Dance Project and Contempo Physical Dance (with Marciano Silva dos Santos). Gilreath Joined Garth Fagan Dance in 2014 and during his 8 years with the company performed numerous key works from the Fagan cannon around the country including new works choreographed by PJ Pennewell the company director. He was promoted to senior company member and appointed the Director of the Garth Fagan Dance Student Ensemble. He also taught Intermediate/Advanced Fagan Technique for the Garth Fagan Dance School and for the Garth Fagan Summer Movement Institute. Gilreath is now a dance instructor at The University of Minnesota where he teaches Contemporary, African Diasporic Movement and Jazz. In the last 4 years since returning to Minneapolis he has danced for choreographers Joe Chvala, Darrius Strong, and is in his second season with Ananya Dance Theatre. He has set choreography for senior students at TU Dance, Perpich Center for Arts Education, Saint Paul Conservatory, PiM Arts  and in his own solo work “Rumination” (which premiered in Choreographers' Evening, Walker Art Center, Nov 2024).  Davente Gilreath is a 2025 McKnight Dancers Fellow. 

David Voss (1938–1991) was one of the foundational figures in the development of contemporary dance in Minnesota. A composer, musician, dancer, choreographer, and beloved teacher, he helped shape generations of artists through his work with the University of Minnesota Dance Program and Minnesota Dance Theatre. His influence extended far beyond choreography; he was known for his extraordinary musicality, intellectual curiosity, and deep commitment to nurturing dancers as artists.Born and raised in south Minneapolis, Voss studied music at the University of Minnesota before beginning what became a lifelong relationship with dance. While accompanying classes for Loyce Houlton, he was encouraged to study modern dance himself, eventually becoming an integral artist with Houlton's Contemporary Dance Playhouse, which evolved into Minnesota Dance Theatre. Over the following decades, he composed music, danced, choreographed, and taught, becoming one of the defining artistic voices of Minnesota's dance community. Voss joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 1972, where his teaching profoundly influenced generations of dancers. As a choreographer, he created more than sixty works and was recognized for his ability to bridge music and movement with remarkable sensitivity. He was also an internationally respected guest artist, teaching and creating work in Australia and New Zealand. David Voss died of AIDS on June 22, 1991, at the age of 53. Even after his death, his legacy endured. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts requested his choreographic films and had planned to include him in its Oral History Project documenting dancers affected by AIDS, recognizing the significance of his contributions to American dance. 

Marciano Silva dos Santos is a Brazilian native recognized by the American Folkloric Society as a folk artist of unique and exceptional ability. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Contempo Physical Dance, where his extensive research has culminated in a dynamic fusion of Afro-Brazilian and contemporary dance. His professional dancing and choreography have earned widespread acclaim; he was named “Best Dancer” by City Pages, hailed as “one of the most graceful movers on any Twin Cities stage” by the Star Tribune, and called “one of the hottest choreographers in town” by Minnesota Monthly Magazine. He is also 2020 McKnight Fellowship for Dancers. He has served as a panelist for the Minnesota Sage Awards for Dance, USArtists International, NEA-National Endowment for the Arts and the Minnesota State Arts Board. 

Growing up, Rachel trained, performed, and taught primarily with Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. She moved to the Twin Cities to attend Macalester College, graduating in 2018 with a BA in Geography, and has since performed in works by Contempo Physical, Melissa Clark, Leila Awadallah, Off-Leash Area, A Cripple’s Dance, Mathew Janczewski, Javan Mngrezzo, Annika Johansson, Analog Dance Works, Zoë Koenig, Xina, Judith H Shuǐ Xiān, and Black Label Movement.Rachel’s choreography engages themes of home/place/violence/time/throughline from queer, jewish, diasporist, and surrealist perspectives. Her work has been presented by Alternative Motion Project, Franconia Sculpture Garden, Black Label Movement, Walker Art Center, Threads Dance Project, and Red Eye Theater. Primarily a movement artist, she also enjoys playing with sound, set, and costume design, and in textile and textual arts.Off-stage, Rachel works as a Program Director at Cow Tipping Press: teaching and publishing creative writing by adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

Dance Rec Pickup League is a group of friends who recreate together. Leslie O’Neill, Sarah Baumert, Erika Hansen, Gabriel Anderson, Jamie Ryan-Karels and Eva Mohn design proposals, scores, games and questions as a way to make dances. 

A native of the North Chicago suburbs, Ronna Rochell started dancing at age 5. At that young age, she started with creative movement classes, and by the time she was in junior high, she had evolved into a serious modern dance student. She was fortunate to have a fabulous teacher from junior high and high school who taught her the technique of Martha Graham and Alwin Nikolai.  Her dance teacher’s name was Carol Walker, who later went on to serve as Dean of the Department of Dance at SUNY Purchase. At age 16, after studying dance for a summer at the American Dance Festival at Duke University, Ronna auditioned and made it into one of the premiere modern dance companies in Chicago, the Joseph Holmes Dance Theatre.  She was an apprentice with the company and performed with them as well. After dancing in college at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, she went on to pursue her MFA in dance at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, earning her degree in 1989.  Right before graduation, she auditioned and was accepted into the New Dance Ensemble apprentice program.  So after graduation, in 1989, she moved to Minneapolis and apprenticed with the dance company for one year.  Next, inspired by the Nancy Hauser Dance Company, she was invited to join the company in 1991.  Ronna was a member of the Nancy Hauser Dance company for two years. She finished her modern dance career dancing in a Walker Art Center sponsored event in Gerry Girouard’s choreography on the beach of Cedar Lake in 1993! Since then she has gone back to her teaching roots and started her own business, BodyWisdom, teaching yoga, Pilates and fitness classes, as well as bringing chair yoga into senior living communities. More recently, she rebooted her dance career by going into musical theatre as she performed with Theatre 55 and had a fabulous time dancing in the productions of Pippin (2019) and A Chorus Line (2023). Now Ronna focuses on continuing teaching yoga and fitness classes, spending time with her three adult sons, tandem biking with her husband Steve, and enjoying cross-country skiing, even racing at the American Birkebeiner.  She is proud to say that she skied the Kortelopet at this event- 29 kilometers- and she just received her 10 year plaque for the Kortelopet - quite an achievement for her!

Kaitlyn trained with Loyce and Lise Houlton at Minnesota Dance Theatre and at the School of American Ballet (SAB) in New York City, where she earned the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise in 2004. She danced with the New York City Ballet (NYCB) from 2006 to 2011 and was named the company’s 2010 Janice Levin Dancer. After leaving NYCB, Kaitlyn became a sought-after freelance artist and began working with Twyla Tharp in 2014. She has since created and performed leading roles in numerous Tharp works, appearing most recently in the 2022 Bessie Award-winning revival of In The Upper Room at New York City Center. After returning to Minneapolis, Kaitlyn founded A Dancer’s Place Productions in 2024 to create meaningful performing opportunities for local dancers. She also continues to stage Tharp repertory around the world and leads the ballet programming at Summit Dance Shoppe in Plymouth, MN. Kaitlyn has previously served on the faculty of the School of American Ballet and as New York City Ballet’s Assistant Children’s Rehearsal Director. She holds a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

A multifaceted dance artist and a practitioner of experiential mechanics, Joe Tennis is an improviser and moment maker based in New York City. Engined by discovery and play, he is viscerally drawn to movement through experiencing it. He is in perpetual research of improvisation in service to attunement, the mechanics of intuition through floorwork and the prolonged effects of subtle integration. Tennis dances to find, and to show. 

Betsy Schaefer Roob was born and raised in Elm Grove, WI. Now based in Minneapolis for over fifteen years, she has worked with Rhythmically Speaking, ARENA DANCES, Threads Dance Project, 43X94 Movement Research, Dance & Other Behaviors, faux pas, as well as nationally and internationally based choreographers Sasha Kleinplatz, Salia Sanou, and Pat Taylor among others. Her own choreography for Rhythmically Speaking premiered at the Ordway Concert Hall in February 2026. Prior to landing in Minnesota, Betsy lived and studied in Michigan, Oregon, and El Salvador. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a self-designed Bachelor of Individualized Studies in English, Dance, and Sustainability Studies. Her career path has encompassed the arts, education, and healthcare, and she is mama to one.

Susan Chilcote-Wade Originally from Michigan, I received a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theater and Dance. In 1982 fresh from college, I was one of 7 original members of the New Dance Ensemble, a post-modern repertory dance company in Minneapolis, and in ’89 joined the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company in San Francisco. Those were amazing formative years and deep in my matrix.Dovetailing dancing was my bodywork practice including Therapeutic and Deep Tissue Massage, Trager, Feldenkrais and Pilates. I loved these beautiful careers and feel they inform me to this day. Family life, with its magical worlds and learning adventures was packing creative energy for all of us. Over the course of our kids lives, I volunteered in the schools, doing arts and crafts and running events with other dedicated parents.During that time I joined the team of amazing artisans at the Renaissance Institute, which runs the booth called Past Times Garden within the Northern California Renaissance Faire. It was there I created the Venetian Mask Painting Workshop, which became a popular activity during faire. I have always been interested in paper Mache, creating objects and creatures, so working faire was a perfect blend of teaching and creating.A decade ago, through local workshops and online learning, I discovered a fresh love for painting with Beeswax! That was a life changer! Seeking a way to blend my new found visual art with my movement and bodywork background, meant a steep learning curve into visual art. While the language of art and performing arts is similar, they are very different and skills don’t exactly translate, so I steep myself in continual learning everyday.I love working with Encaustic wax, the aroma alone is amazing. Using heat guns, irons and torches to move and fuse the layers, is part of the fun and interesting challenges that working with molten wax offers. It can take many different forms, layers, textures and luminocity. I’m able to integrate the life drawing I love, collage, photography, and the world of botanical arts of cyanotype and eco printing. It all works together so well and keeps me pushing forward.Thank you for your interest, I’m so happy to share my artwork with you. I’m on Instagram: @susanchilcotwade. Feel free to contact me here for purchases, questions, and comments. [email protected]; and you’ve found me on the web at www.susanchilcote-wade.com

Madeline’s life pursuit is the discovery of how the human body moves. Over 30 years in the field of movement, her curiosity explored all aspects of movement in dance, Pilates, yoga, Gyrotonic®, fitness training and from studies of human biomechanics, human cadaver dissection labs, osteopathic and manual therapies. Madeline is the author of “Centered: Organizing the body through movement theory, kinesiology and Pilates techniques” published by Handspring Publishing. Madeline developed the Madeline Black Method™, a method teaching movement teachers to use assessment skills, movement sequences and manual techniques to help people achieve their fullest movement potential. Her extensive study and widely respected accomplishments in the field of movement and fitness have fueled her rise as an international leader in movement and exercise education. What sets Madeline apart is her intuitive integrity, articulate awareness of the physical body and decades of expertise.Madeline has filmed many workshops and movement classes for Pilates Anytime and Fusion Pilates EDU Online. She has a private practice in Sonoma, CA USA. 

Catherine Jhung is a dancer, actor, teacher and school administrator. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and Denver, CO., she graduated with a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and holds a Master’s degree in early childhood education from Brooklyn College. Catherine appeared as a featured dancer and royal wife in The King and I on the First National Tour of the Tony Award-winning 1997 Broadway revival. Modern dance credits include Bill Young and Dancers (New York City), Silesian Dance Theatre (Bitom, Poland) and the New Dance Ensemble (Minneapolis, MN), where she performed in the works of many notable choreographers, including Bill T. Jones, Douglas Dunn, Bebe Miller, Doug Elkins and Ralph Lemon. In Minneapolis, Catherine also performed at the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company and Theatre Mu (Mu Productions). As an actor, Catherine appeared on television in ABC’s One Life To Live and All My Children. She was a member of the award-winning Rising Circle Theater Collective, originating roles in the plays Pulling the Lever and American Family Project. Catherine taught arts-in-education workshops in dance and drama to students of all ages in the New York City area for over ten years for American Ballet Theatre, Queens Theatre in the Park and New York City Center. She served as a Montessori preschool administrator for five years. And most recently taught at the Park Slope Schoolhouse and in NYC Dept of Ed PreK early learning centers. Catherine enjoys spending time with her family and in nature, swimming, cycling around her neighborhood, cooking and singing. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her musical husband and daughter and the family’s two beloved cats, Fripp and Eno.

Ololade Gbadamosi, also known as O, is a Twin Cities native who is a dancing artist, an educator and administrator. Ololade specializes in the dance styles Krump, Hip Hop and Afro Social dances.Krump is a street dance that stands for Kingdom Radically Uplifting Mighty Praise. Ololade is mostly self taught in this style and has traveled outside of Minnesota to participate in battles and also take classes from other proven krumpers including the creators of the dance style Chez "Tight Eyez" Willis and Jo'Artis "Mijo" Ratti. Ololade has been a big supporter in the MN Krump & dance community by teaching krump, hosting events such as The Uprizing and being involved in hip hop based performances such as I'm From Vol. 1; The Mixtape series at the Cowles Center; and Rooted Hip Hop Choreographers' Evening. He has also performed internationally in Montréal, Canada (Gutta Zone Krump event), Johannesburg, South Africa (One Kasi Arts Summit) and Dusseldorf, Germany (European Buck Session Krump event).

Vanessa Voskuil is a choreographer, director, performer, writer, designer, and teaching artist. Ranging from large community-inclusive performance works to ensemble and solo works for site-specific locations and theater settings, her work has been described as “visually arresting,” “boldly and uncompromisingly moving within its own time and its own logic,” and “interlaced with surrealist sensibility and bracing intelligence.”Voskuil has received two Minnesota Sage Dance Awards for Outstanding Design and nominated twice for Outstanding Performance. She has been honored twice with a McKnight Fellowship for Choreography (2009, 2015) and awarded “Best Dancer 2015” by City Pages in addition to her cast for “en masse” in 2009. She has been honored by Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine as "Best of the Year 2015." Voskuil has been named one of the “7 Artists to Watch” by Minnesota Monthly Magazine and recognized by the Star Tribune as one of “9 Minnesota Artists to Expect Great Things.” Her work has been commissioned by the American Dance Festival (NC), Walker Art Center, The Southern Theater, Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater, Minnesota Visible Fringe, Red Eye Theater, Off-Leash Area, and Flaneur Productions, and supported by the Jerome Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, Sewell Family Foundation, American Composers Forum, Moore Family Fund for the Arts of the Minneapolis Foundation, Forecast Public Art, Northern Lights.mn, and Dakota West Arts Council. In 2017, she was awarded a 3-month artist residency and travel fellowship to Japan provided through the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.From 2003-09, Voskuil served as co-founding, artistic director of award-winning, ensemble-based performance company, Live Action Set. In 2010, Voskuil co-founded the Minnesota Dance Film Festival and served as the festival director until 2013.As a teaching artist, Voskuil has taught through Zenon Dance school, University of MInnesota, and Live Action Set. She has held choreographic residencies at the American Dance Festival (NC), Carleton College, Macalester College, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Zenon Dance School, International Music Camp, and Guild Incorporated.As a performer, Voskuil has performed with Emily Johnson’s Catalyst Dances (1998-2005), Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater (2001-2009), Skewed Visions, Theatre Novi Most, and Off-Leash Area.Voskuil holds a BFA in Dance and a BA in Theater from the University of Minnesota.

Cecil Neal, also known as Virgo and The Final Warning, is an artist born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and based in Minneapolis. His training began in his high school dance program and at SPCPA (St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists), and was refined under the mentorship of Herb Johnson from the age of 16.Cecil’s artistry has carried him to stages such as the Ordway, the Super Bowl, Walker Art Center, and Orchestra Hall with the Minnesota Orchestra ensemble. Internationally, he has represented with companies like BRKFST and FWKD in Vancouver and Montreal—bringing the spirit of Krump to audiences across borders.In 2025, Cecil was awarded the McKnight Fellowship for Dancers, marking a milestone in his pursuit of growth and artistic freedom. That same spirit of trust and expression pushed him to victory at the 10-Year Anniversary of House of Dance Twin Cities (All Styles Battle) and continues to guide his leadership as he prepares to judge the 11-Year Anniversary this year. His teaching has also expanded beyond Minnesota, impacting communities in San Diego and Oceanside through classes with Culture Shock San Diego—reaching new levels of connection and inspiring dancers to find their own voice.At home, Cecil is building new programming for both youth and adults, while continuing to share his artistry at Hot House Studios, Young Dance, and through the YMCA Beacons Program.At the heart of Cecil’s work is a belief in consistency, hard work, and giving back. Through every performance, battle, and classroom, he strives to create moments of trust, freedom, and transformation for himself and the communities he serves.

Kayla Schiltgen is an interdisciplinary artist based in rural Two Harbors, Minnesota, blending dance and film to cope with and communicate her existence. Guided by her belief that subjectivity and vulnerability serve as an echo palette for others, Kayla creates screen dance, installation, and performance to facilitate exchange that affirms, affects, and inspires both artist and audience. She takes a multidimensional approach rooted in the Rural—working as choreographer/editor, dancer, cinematographer, and sound designer, with place as her collaborator.Kayla is a 2025 McKnight Choreographer Fellow, 2022 Upstream Artist Fellow, the recipient of multiple Minnesota State Arts Board and Arrowhead Regional Arts Council awards, and recognized as a creative rural leader in the Upper Midwest by Springboard for the Arts.Her work has been presented at the Walker Art Center, the International Meeting on Video-Dance and Video-Performance (Spain & France), North Dakota Environmental Rights Film Festival, InShadow Screendance Festival (Portugal), Duluth Superior Film Festival, DanceBARN Screendance Festival, Wolf Tree Film Festival (MI), Arena Dance’s CandyBox Festival, RAD Fest, The Lab at NorShor Theatre, and the Minnesota Fringe Festival, among others.Kayla’s practice centers the Rural as a site of resilience and creativity. She is currently touring rural Minnesota with performances, workshops, and artist chats of her evening-length work is this magic?.  She holds a B.A. in Dance from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and continues her studies with screendance artist Katrina McPherson, and courses in filmmaking and improvisational movement.Learn more about Kayla’s work @kaylaschiltgen or at kaylaschiltgen.com.

Emily Michaels King is a performing artist based in St. Paul, Minnesota exploring authentic expression and human depth through movement, multimedia, and visual compositions for the stage. Emily is known for her fearless personal work, provocative compositions, and collaged evening-length solo performances, including: her award winning show MAGIC GIRL; multimedia online work DIGITAL; IN PERSON, a companion to DIGITAL; the raucous CHICKEN WING; and the harrowing STAR KEEPER. An in-progress version of her solo, ELECTRIC, was performed at Arena Dance’s 2022 CandyBox Festival. Additionally, her work has been presented at the Walker Art Center, the Guthrie Theater, and Movement Research, among others. Emily is also a 2025 McKnight Choreography Fellow. Pairing minimalism and subtlety with cacophony and bared irreverence, Emily’s works employ the lush landscape of the inner world and the power of unapologetic vulnerability. They combine movement with text, graphics, sound, and technology to focus on themes of self discovery and reclamation, womanhood, and bold expressions of personal truth. 

Malia Craft is from Hartwell, Georgia and began her training at Hot Shots Dance Company, where she trained in ballet, modern, contemporary, hip hop, and jazz and found her love for performing, as well as teaching. Malia attended the University of Georgia, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, with a minor in exercise and sports science, and a certificate in K-12 dance education. Malia was also a part of the Georgette’s Dance Team for three years. She is currently an artist with Threads Dance Project, Concerto Dance and Rhythmically Speaking Dance. In addition to training and performing, Malia is passionate about working with young artists. She has choreographed musicals and dance team routines, and has taught at numerous studios throughout Georgia and Minnesota.

Twin Cities–based dancer and choreographer Dominick Burkhardt discovered his passion for the arts early in life, growing up in his mother’s dance studio. Immersed in a creative environment from a young age, he trained extensively in all styles of dance—including ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap, contemporary, modern, and acro—building a versatile and dynamic foundation. He honed his technical and performance skills at both Larkin Dance Studio and the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, graduating in 2018 with a strong focus on both commercial and concert dance. During his time at SPCPA, he also received training in musical theater, further enriching his performance range while maintaining a strong dance core. His diverse training has allowed him to move seamlessly across genres, whether on stage, on screen, or in the studio. Dominick has worked with top artists and global brands, performing and modeling for the NFL and several Fortune 500 companies in a range of commercial campaigns. He is a current company member with Black Label Movement, where he performed at the 2024 American Dance Festival, and has worked with companies and artists including Rachel Lieberman in the Red Eye's NW4W Festival, Cheng Xiong in the Candy Box Dance Festival presented by ARENA DANCES, and Eduardo Navarro in Cloud Museum, performed at the Walker Art Center. In 2025, he was selected as a choreographer for Black Label Movement’s Movers Make 2.0, a platform supporting emerging choreographic voices. In addition to performing and choreographing, Dominick is a dedicated educator who currently teaches all styles of dance at various Twin Cities dance schools. With a deep appreciation for both technique and artistry, he’s passionate about helping dancers of all levels grow in confidence, versatility, and discipline. Outside of the dance world, Dominick holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from Upper Iowa University and works as a system administrator in Minneapolis. He also serves as a Staff Sergeant in the Iowa Air National Guard. Whether on stage, in the studio, or in uniform, Dominick is committed to excellence, mentorship, and empowering others through discipline, creativity, and purpose in every area of life.

Growing up, Rachel trained, performed, and taught primarily with Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. She moved to the Twin Cities to attend Macalester College, graduating in 2018 with a BA in Geography. She has since performed in works by Contempo Physical, Leila Awadallah, Off-Leash Area, A Cripple’s Dance, Mathew Janczewski, Javan Mngrezzo, Annika Johansson, Analog Dance Works, Zoë Koenig, Xina, Black Label Movement, and Judith H Shuǐ Xiān. Rachel's choreography engages themes of home/place/violence/throughline from a queer, american, jewish, diasporist, and surrealist perspective. Her work has been presented by Alternative Motion Project, Franconia Sculpture Garden, Candy Box Dance Festival, Black Label Movement, Walker Art Center, Threads Dance Project, and Red Eye Theater. Primarily a movement artist, she also enjoys playing with sound, set, and costume design, and in textile and textual arts.For Rachel, dance is a practice of home-making and care-taking. Off-stage, she works as a Program Director at Cow Tipping Press: teaching and publishing creative writing by adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

 Alex Arce is an Ecuadorian American artist born and raised in Minnesota has been dancing since the age of 5 culturally and socially as well as technically. He focuses his practice within hip hop and Latin diasporic dance forms as well as contemporary/Modern Dance. He is a graduate of Larkin Dance Studio and Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. Upon his high school training he has also been a part of a pre professional dance program known as the Cli Conservatory in Massachusetts where he got to learn from different choreographers all around the states and further pursue his career as a movement artist, choreographer, and educator. After graduating from this program, Alex was accepted as a member of the Cli Company, working as both a choreographer and instructor with Cli Studios. Most recently he has focused his career in collaboration with other companies such as Meridians movement company and Black Label Movement and now as a Company Member with ARENA DANCES Rep Co where he has been able to have the opportunity to further develop his training and dedication to the craft while pursuing his love for creation and performance art.

Doug Hooker graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Dance. He has had a variety of professional performing opportunities, including with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps, the Broadway show Blast! and the Dancing People Company, and locally with ARENA DANCES, Collide Theatrical Dance Company, Concerto Dance, José A. Louis, Paula Mann, Shapiro & Smith Dance, Rhythmically Speaking Dance, and Threads Dance Project.

Frances Machala Cerro Grew up in Cumberland, Wisconsin, graduated from St. Catherine’s College in 1965. She met Loyce Houlton there in 1963 when Mrs.Houlton began teaching at St. Catherine’s.Loyce Houton had started the Contemporary Dance Playhouse inDinkytown by the U of M campus. It was an old Masonic Temple abovea Cleaners that later burnt down. Mrs. Houlton took Frances under herwing and studied, taught and performed with the Contemporary DancePlayhouse, later the Minnesota Dance Theater until 1972. Some of thechoreographies she was principal dancer in were: Chronicles, Audition,Bone Lonely, and Troth. She was in the 1 st Nutcracker Fantasy done atthe Moppet Theater and later at Northrup auditorium in many roles.Mrs. Houlton brought in many teachers at that time, she took classesfrom Graham teachers, Francois Martinet and MadamePereyaslavec.She performed twice at Jacob’s Pillow and in Spoleto, Italywhere the company went to learn Glenn Tetley’s “Mythical Hunters”.In 1972 She married Ramon Cerro and lived in Santa Fe, Argentina for14 years. There she started a school and company called” La Escuela deDanza Contemporanea”. They performed in Santa Fe, Argentina and inmany small towns in the area. She had the privilege of working with the“Orquesta de Provincia de Santa Fe” many times, includingchoreographing “Peter and The Wolf” and Vivaldi’s “Gloria” with 3choirs.The family returned to the United State in 1986 and moved to TulsaOklahoma. There, with other dancers started the Local Motion Foundation to bring in Modern Teachers and choreographers. She worked in the Lincoln Center Institute program for Art in to the Schools.

Kaleena Miller makes sound-focused dance and installation work, rooted in tap dance technique and deep listening modalities. Named one of DANCE Magazine’s 25 to Watch, she has received a McKnight Fellowship for Dance and a Sage People’s Choice Award, and has presented work at the Walker Art Center, Icehouse, First Avenue, Jazz Central and the Southern Theater in Minneapolis, as well as at Arts on Site, Center for Performance Research and Symphony Space in New York. Previously, she co-founded and co-directed Twin Cities Tap with Brenna Brelie, which produced the acclaimed Twin Cities Tap Festival from 2015-2021, and an additional project in partnership with the McKnight International Choreographer Fellowship in 2023. She also directed KMD2, a making-driven pre-professional ensemble for high school and college-aged dancers, from 2018-2023.  Kaleena has a BFA in Dance from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, a Deep Listening certification from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and will graduate this summer with an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Dancer and Choreographer Aneka McMullen is an independent performing and teaching artist who lives to dance through life, inspire & connect with all people through her passion for movement of all types.  She hails from Minneapolis and holds a BFA in dance from The Ohio State University.  Her extensive dance experience spans more than two decades and includes dynamic skills in performance and instruction in the genres of West African, Afro Modern, Modern, Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical & Liturgical.Aneka is a co- founder and artistic director of Epitome-No Question, an open Old Skool Hip Hop dance ensemble dedicated to celebrating the community conscious roots of Hip Hop culture through dance theater. 

Jennifer Hart - Hailed as a choreographer “with an imagination so exuberant that one could not be sure how one movement led to the next” and “not only inventive but heart-rending,” Jennifer Hart has been commissioned by Ballet Austin, Ballet Austin ll, Ballet Nouveau Colorado (now Wonderbound), James Sewell Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theater, The Walker Art Center’s Momentum Series, The McKnight Fellowship for Dancers, Metropolitan Ballet Project, University of Kansas, University of Massachusetts, Lawrence Ballet Theatre, Halcyon Dance Project in San Francisco, and Merick Strategies for its production of Leonard Bernstein's “Mass” and “Icons of Broadway Holiday Spectacular.” In July, 2022, Hart was one of four choreographers selected for National Choreographers Initiative.In 2011, Hart was awarded a New York City Ballet Fellowship and won third place at the Saint-Sauveur International Choreography Competition. She received second place at Ballet Nouveau Colorado’s choreography competition, and was one of three winners of the University of Kansas’ competitive choreography competition. She was chosen three times to present work at Ballet Builders, New Choreographer’s on Point in NYC. She was commissioned by University of Massachusetts in the fall of 2013; the work was chosen for the National College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center, June 2014. In 2024, she was a finalist in the Palm Desert Choreography Festival.In 2014, she formed Performa/Dance with Ballet Austin dancer Edward Carr. Performa/Dance launched its inaugural show. Ignite: Three Works, in June, 2014. Her work for Performa/Dance was awarded four Austin Critic’s Table awards for Best Short Work (“On Truth and Love”and "Camille: A Story of Art and Love"), Best Choreographer  ("Fellow Travelers" and “Murmuration"), and Best Dance Concert (Ignite: Three Works). Along with her work in concert dance, she has choreographed and performed cabaret shorts for nightclubs and television, and has begun working in video. She recently choreographed and co-directed the epic Bernstein's Mass, a work involving 300 performers.She trained at Minnesota Dance Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. Her performing career includes Minnesota Dance Theater, Ballet of the Dolls, and L.A Chamber Ballet, as well as independent choreographers. She choreographs for Ballet Austin’s apprentices and Fellowship recipients, teaches full-time in the academy and apprentice program, and serves as Curriculum Supervisor of the school where she sets syllabus and leads training for academy teachers.

Sam Aros-Mitchell (he/him) is an enrolled member of the Texas Band of Yaqui Indians and an interdisciplinary artist, scholar, and educator. His work spans performance, sound, light and scenic design, choreography, and embodied writing. Rooted in Indigenous cosmologies, his practice activates performance spaces as sacred sites of transformation, remembrance, and futurity. Through embodied scholarship, he interrogates colonial histories, uplifts BIPOC artistic excellence, and envisions just futures. Aros-Mitchell holds a Ph.D. in Drama and Theatre from the joint doctoral program at UC San Diego/UC Irvine, an MFA in Dance Theatre from UC San Diego, and a BFA from UC Santa Barbara. He is a 2025 Jerome Fellow and a 2023 McKnight Dance Fellow. Recently, he produced the inaugural Macalester Native Play Festival and will produce a week-long Indigenous arts festival in Mni Sota Makoce in November 2025, supported by the Minnesota State Arts Board. As a choreographer, his works include Ania Bwia Bwia Toochia , performed at Red Eye’s Works in Progress (May 2023), and Finding Sentience , performed by Semaphore Dance Repertory (November 2023). Since 2017, Aros-Mitchell has collaborated with Rosy Simas Danse as a performer, teacher, and community engagement organizer, appearing in Skins (2018), Weave (2019), Simas’ short film yödoishëndahgwa’geh (2021), and she lives on the road to war (2022–2024). He has also performed in Prairie/Concrete with Aniccha Arts (2023), Inner Blades of Grass (Soft), Inner Blades of Grass (Cured), Inner Blades of Grass (Bruised by the Weather) by Alutiiq/Sugpiaq multidisciplinary artist Tanya Lukin Linklater (2024), and Morgan Thorson’s Untitled Night (2024).For more information, visit www.samarosmitchell.com

Mathew Janczewski’s inquisitive, immersive and heartfelt approach to contemporary dance reaches beyond the surface and holds the viewer in its embrace. With over 40 works in his repertoire and more than two decades of experience as a choreographer, Mathew has cultivated a highly diverse and personalized style of movement. Increasingly, his performances explore pressing social issues, providing a platform for dialogue and action.Mathew’s work has garnered praise in the Twin Cities and beyond. He has created commissioned works for companies such as Minnesota Dance Theater, Cleveland Repertory Co., aTrek Dance and Zenon Dance Company. He was the Bates Festival choreographer (2001), received the Sage Award for Outstanding Performance (2005) and won the McKnight Choreographers Fellowship (2005). In 2008, Dance Magazine named him as one of their “25 to Watch.”Shortly after receiving his degree in dance at the University of Minnesota, Mathew founded his own non-profit dance company, ARENA DANCES, in 1995. ARENA serves as the vehicle for his body of work and provides young, aging and underserved segments of the Twin Cities community with opportunities to experience the transformative power of dance.More about only the perverse fantasy can still save us here:https://walkerart.org/calendar/2025/mathew-janczewski-arena-dance-only-the-perverse-fantasy-can-still-save-usand an article in the Walker Reader here: https://walkerart.org/summer-reader/

Cheng Xiong is a local artist, teacher, and community leader. Xiong grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota and received his Bachelors of Art in Dance at the University of Minnesota. Though he began his journey as a street dancer, through his studies, he was able to broaden to different styles and professional skills. Xiong is also a Hmong dance artist/researcher who is among the first in Minnesota to fuse forms of Breaking, Contemporary, and acrobatic dance styles. He is currently a company member of Black Label Movement and have recently worked with local professional companies such as STRONGmovement, BRKFST Dance, and Minnesota Timberwolves’s First Avenue Breakers.As a dancer, choreographer, and a 2022 McKnight Dancer Fellow, Xiong has presented many new works throughout his career; Saint Paul Conservatory Performing Arts’s J-Term Projet: Dance Repertory Concert, Arena Dances presents CANDY BOX as a Happy Hour artists, Mixtape 6: Cypher Space, Minneosta Orchestra’s annual Young People’s Concert: “Sounds of the Harvest,” and Black Label Movement’s Inaugural Mover’s Make.Alongside his repertoire of performances, Xiong is also a Breakdance instructor and educator. Xiong is currently teaching at the University of Minnesota Theater and Dance Program and Macalester College. Description of the work:“Off the beaten path… a solitary act”explores the emotional landscape of solitude and the courage needed to choose the road less traveled. It may be a lonely road, but it is where you will find your truest self—away from the noise of the world—peace carved to reflect, redefine, and grow. You must embrace a journey that diverges from conventional routes, requiring a willingness to step into the unknown. It is about seeking unique experiences, following intuition, and finding new perspectives undefined by societal expectations. Completing this journey equates to discovering personal truths, challenging comfort zones, and forging a distinctive path that reflects one’s true self.

Joe Chvala (Artistic Director/Flying Foot Forum) is the founder and artistic director of the highly-acclaimed percussive dance company, the Flying Foot Forum. In addition to the Flying Foot Forum, Chvala has directed, choreographed, and been commissioned to create new works for a variety of theater and dance companies including the Guthrie Theater, the Walker Art Center, the Ordway Music Theater, the Minnesota Opera, Chicago Shakespeare, Children's Theater Company, Arkansas  Repertory, Theater Mu, Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, the History Theater, The Alpine Theater Project, Park Square Theatre, and The Boston Conservatory.  He has been the recipient of both Ivey and Sage awards for theater and dance as well as numerous “Best of the Year” honors from various US newspapers and periodicals and numerous choreographic and interdisciplinary awards, fellowships, and grants from such organizations as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and the McKnight Foundation. His recent film work as a director/writer has been featured in a number of European and American film festivals.Description of WorkFootfall—Choreographed by Joe Chvala, “Footfall” features a mixture of Flying Foot Forum’s signature hybrid percussive dances with traditional clogging, folk music and dance to celebrate the passing of time, the ephemeral quality of life and the joys, struggles, strengths, longings, passions, and melancholy that are a part of it all. This piece will appear in its entirety in our upcoming concert May 8-18 at Park Square Theater. NOTE: The a cappella clogging duet “One Hundred Dead Dollars” was choreographed by founding company member, Clayton Schanilec.

Under the direction of Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Doma Dance Theater creates dance works for the stage and screen that explore the body as a tangible site of culture. Doma, the Carpatho-Rusyn word for “at home,” cultivates a sense of belonging, curiosity, and exuberant self-expression for its performers and audiences. Doma’s cross-cultural approach creates powerful contemporary dance works that examine shared experiences of diaspora and displacement. Informed by Bodnarchuk’s pan-Slavic cultural upbringing in Pittsburgh, PA, Doma’s work incorporates cultural influences, circular spatial patterning, and intimate partnering. As the first Carpatho-Rusyn American choreographer to make contemporary work with a folk lens, Doma’s works blaze a trail for Slavic representation in contemporary dance, demonstrating the enduring necessity of unearthing the cultural legacies each of us carry.Founded in 2024, Doma represents an evolution of Alexandra Bodnarchuk Dance Projects (ABDP), founded in 2017. Building upon Bodnarchuk’s past focus on body identity and societal expectations of womanhood, Doma continues to unfold the embodied experience in an ongoing search for the elusive feeling of home.Doma’a inaugural season includes performances at Candy Box Dance Festival, and Thistle & Rose at Celtic Junction. For more information visit domadancetheater.org or follow them on Instagram @domadancetheater. Doma Dance Theater’s new work for the 2025 Candy Box Dance Festival is set against an aural backdrop of Carpatho-Rusyn folk songs from the Šambron and Poloniny regions of Eastern Slovakia. Featuring dancers Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Non Edwards, Odessa Rain, and Yukina Sato accompanied by Mila Vocal Ensemble, the women weave in and around each other in syncopated harmony. 

NERVOUS THEATRE is a nomadic theatrical collective creating ensemble-driven productions. Their work celebrates and exploits the ‘liveness’ of theatre for all its physical and communal possibilities. Founded by artistic director Connor Berkompas, NERVOUS THEATRE has been hailed as "Ambitious and Fabulous" by The San Diego Reader and recognized as "an electrifying company to keep a close eye on" by The Arts Business. Their eclectic body of work has been presented by arts organizations across the nation including Tinworks Art, Gloucester Stage Company, The Boston Conservatory, Westside Theater and Surel’s Place.NERVOUS THEATRE will make their Minneapolis debut with the full-length work DANCING ANIMALS at The Southern Theater as part of their Performance Partnership Program in June of 2025.HH showing Friday, 4/24/25 5:30pmdance with me, baby is a celebration of communal movement and its transformative power. On this night, with this audience, what is the conversation that only we can have? In rediscovering each other, can we envision new ways of being together?There are four of us… and many more of you.Why are we all speaking at the same time?When did we start dancing?Where do we go from here?Nervous Theatre presents a work-in-process ahead of their evening-length premiere at The Southern Theater in June of 2025. dance with me, baby is created by artistic director Connor Berkompas in collaboration with Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Marcela Michelle, and Yukina Sato.

Dive into a world devoid of time that witnesses two people attempt to navigate their relationship while questioning their boundaries, perceptions of reality, and conflict resolution skills within the confined space of a growing cardboard set. Nieya Amezquita is a Minnesota-based artist currently working with Threads Dance Project, Rhythmically Speaking, Elayna Waxse Movement Projects and eMartin Dance while collaborating with independent artists like Kaitlyn Hawkins. She has also performed works with Concerto Dance, Yuki Tokuda, Off-Leash Area and Alexandra Bodnarchuk Dance Projects. Nieya earned a BFA in Dance from the University of Georgia. There she had the opportunity to perform nationally and internationally with founding company CADE:NCE before studying in Portugal with the Addo Platform. Most recently, Nieya has been a featured artist in the Blackness Is Arts festival produced by the Guthrie Theater, choreographed for Threads Dance Project and Alternative Motion Project, and launched her own dance company in 2023, Amez Dance.KAITLYN HAWKINS  (she/her) is a freelance dance artist and choreographer based in NYC who likes to research an endless list of questions with movement and conversation. She has performed with TU Dance, Shapiro & Smith, Honeyworks, Hatch Dance, Contempo Physical, Doma Dance, and Black Label Movement. She has self-presented work in Minneapolis, MN and Brooklyn, NY, and participated as a choreographer in the Movers Make showcase and the Candybox Dance Festival in Minnesota.

Yukina Sato is a Japanese dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker whose work explores the dynamic interplay of movement, identity, and culture. Her artistic practice delves into the liminal space of hybridity, capturing the unique experiences of living between two countries and navigating overlapping cultural landscapes. Yukina has collaborated with acclaimed performing artists and companies, including Abby Zbikowski, Crystal Perkins, Bebe Miller, and Diavolo – Architecture in Motion – among many others. As the co-founder of YY Dance+Media, she is passionate about creating innovative multimedia performances that merge dance, technology, and storytelling. Her recent work, Motion of Seeing, premiered at the Detroit Dance City Festival and earned the National Exchange Award in 2023, leading to performances at the RAD Festival in 2024. Yukina holds an MFA in Dance from The Ohio State University and a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of Central Oklahoma. Currently, she serves as an Assistant Professor of Dance at Minnesota State University Mankato. In this role, she shares her passion for movement, creativity, and choreography with students. 

Marge Maddux was born on December 28, 1944 in Cincinnati, Ohio.She graduated from Oak Hills High School in 1962 following a successfulstint as a baton twirler and majorette.She graduated from Denison University in Granville Ohio in 1966 with aBachelor of Arts degree.She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1968 with a Master ofArts degree, following her studies under Bessie Schoenberg.She taught dance at Macalester College in St. Paul Minnesota from1969 until 1972.Marge was a founding member of The Ethnic Dance Theatre in 1974,and remained with the company for 30 years as a performer, while alsoassisting in the production of performances and in running companyrehearsals.In 1972 she opened The Yarnery, a retail yarn store in St. Paul sellingsupplies for knitting and weaving.In 1973 Nadine Jette Sween hired Marge to teach folk dance at the Universityof Minnesota.Marge was the director of the dance program from 1998 until 2004She taught her last class in the Fall of 2007, before retiring as anassociate professor.Marge worked with architect Joan Soranno on the design andconstruction of a new building to house the dance program. TheBarbara Barker Center For Dance opened in 1999.She worked to have the dance program receive its initial accreditationwith the National Association of Schools of Dance in 1991.After retiring Marge moved to Ashland, Oregon with her family.

Jennifer Glaws is an artist who makes body-based work, who believes in elevating a deep-rooted felt experience for the audience, performer, and participant with the presentation of her work. She probes the physical psychology of SPACE and EFFORT, scrutinizing these elemental contemporary dance themes to recognize human and humane connection, time, push the proscenium, and inspire inquiry. Jennifer works as a choreographer, contemporary performance artist, educator, producer, and curator, serving as Artistic/Executive Director for Jagged Moves, Curator for RADFest Kalamazoo, MI, and Assistant Professor of Dance at Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction. She specializes in the creation of multi-disciplinary danceworks and cross-disciplinary collaboration, and has been recognized nationally with commissions, residencies, and invitations for her work by Red Eye Theater (MN), Southern Theater (MN), Gustavus Adolphus College (MN), Hamline University (MN), DanceBARN (MN), Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, Peck School of the Arts - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association, Sans Limites Dance (NY), RADfest (MI), Cohesion Dance Project (MT), The Generating Room: Cowles Center (MN).

Nancy J. Duncan has had an eclectic career spanning over 50 years of experience in the performing arts as a dancer, educator, producing director, manager, and arts management consultant.Nancy’s dance training started under Nevorah Adams in South Dakota and it was through Nevorah’s hosting of a summer dance residency taught by Loyce Houlton and two of her dancers, Frances Machala and David Voss, that her passion for dancing fully ignited. Under the tutelage of Houlton and her beautiful, diverselyskilled dancers and many guest artists at the Contemporary Dance Playhouse in Minneapolis, later renamed Minnesota Dance Theater, Nancy developed her skills as a dance teacher and performer.Upon moving to New York City in 1981, Nancy began forming her own artistic vision and mission greatly inspired by Loyce Houlton’s vision. Working in partnership with composer Scott Killian and dancer Jackie Goodrich, and in consultation with Lawrence Rhodes, esteemed dancer, teacher and Chair of the New York University Tisch School for the Arts Dance department, Nancy conceived and founded CoDanceCo (collaborative dance company).Nancy and her team established CoDanceCo as a production company devoted to nurturing the creative development of dance artists and providing audience access to outstanding dance artistry that reflected the creativity and eclecticism of contemporary dance. CoDanceCo was designed as a highly flexible organizational model that could adapt to the ever-changing world of dance creators, performers, collaborators, educators, presenters, and audiences.From 1982-1991 Duncan commissioned and presented works created by 28 choreographers, 14 composers, and 50 dancers. Choreographers commissioned over the years include Eiko & Koma, Ralph Lemon, Susan Marshall, Bebe Miller, Mark Morris, Charles Moulton, Ohad Naharin, Doug Varone, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane, among others. Duncan’s work through CoDanceCo garnered Duncan a 1991 New York Dance and Performance Award Citation (aka Bessie).Highlights from 1991-2003 include serving as the artistic director for London Contemporary Dance Theatre; producer of a four-week British dance festival in New York City, project management for Arts International, and Community Outreach Programs Director for Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project production PastForward, touring both nationally and internationally.From 1996-2003, under the umbrella of CoDanceCo, Duncan managed to keep producing projects to support dance artists and their audiences through her membership in the New York State DanceForce. The projects were accomplished in partnership with NY state artists, presenters, and educators. In 2003 Duncanrelocated to Long Island and established a new home base for her work through CoDanceCo. During this time Duncan also served as a member of the Suffolk County Citizens Arts Advisory Board, became a founding member of the Patchogue Arts Council, served on the Board of the Patchogue Theater, among other opportunities.In 2006, Duncan was introduced to Pierre Dulaine’s arts-in-education, social-emotional in-school residency program titled “Dancing Classrooms.” Working in partnership with Dulaine, Duncan secured a two-year grant from the Dana Foundation to have CoDanceCo become the licensed national network affiliate site on Long Island. Pierre and his staff trained Duncan and a team of teaching artists in the Dancing Classrooms syllabus and the company launched its first in-school residencies in the winter of 2008. Since the founding of DancingClassrooms on Long Island, CoDanceCo’s teaching artists have touched the lives of over 30,000 youth, adults, educators and families with the transformative power of Dancing Classrooms. For youth and adults alike, the program creates meaningful social connections, inspires respect for diversity, and instills self-confidence all through the joy of social dance.

Susan Delattre was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated fromBarnard College and earned an MFA in Dance from the University ofNorth Carolina at Greensboro. She continued in the academic worldteaching in the University of Minnesota’s Dance Program. As a member ofthe Minnesota Independent Choreographer’s Alliance, she choreographedand produced dance pieces, including a solo evening and collaborationswith other performers. Through the MN State Arts Board, Susan traveledthroughout the state doing Artist in the Schools residencies. With Heckand Delattre: Story Dance Theater, she performed in school assemblies. Shealso performed with At the Foot of the Mountain women’s theater and theWomen’s Performance Project. She co-authored two fables, The Woman WhoLost Her Heart and The Woman Who Found Her Voice. She has also self-publisheda collection of her poetry, Such Days as This.Susan currently lives in Minneapolis, working with hope for the healing of our planet from climate change.

Justin Leaf is a Minneapolis-based ballet teacher, choreographer, and performance artist whose multifaceted career spans over two decades. A graduate of The Juilliard School with a BFA in Dance Performance, Justin’s training also includes The Kirov Academy, School of American Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School.As a dancer, Justin was a company member with James Sewell Ballet and Minnesota Dance Theatre, and has also performed works by Ernesta Corvino, John Kelly, Morgan Thorson, George Stamos, and others through independent engagements. Critics have described them as “a fascinating and beguiling dancer—so lanky, loose, and idiosyncratic that [their] fine-tuned ballet chops take you by surprise” (Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice).In their extensive teaching career, Justin has worked with various schools and companies, including Ballet Hispánico, James Sewell Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Ballet Co.Laboratory, and Minnesota Ballet. Their teaching is influenced by their professional experiences and mentorship under master teachers Andra and Ernesta Corvino.As a choreographer, Justin has created works presented by organizations such as Minnesota Dance Theatre, James Sewell Ballet, and Minnesota Orchestra. Their performance work currently encompasses dance, theater, and vocal artistry. Since 2006, they have frequently performed as Mistress Ginger, a glittering cabaret persona. As Ginger, they authored Mistress Ginger Cooks!: Everyday Vegan Food for Everyone (2014).Justin is honored to have received awards such as the Zaraspe Prize for Outstanding Choreography, a Minnesota SAGE Award for Best Performance, a McKnight Fellowship for Dancers, and a Next Step Fund Grant.

Scott Killian has composed scores for Zvi Gotheiner (over 30 works), Shapiro & Smith Dance, Cherylyn Lavagnino, David Dorfman, Susan Marshall, Ralph Lemon, Bebe Miller, Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis. His works have been performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Limon Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, PACT Dance (South Africa), et al. Venues include The Joyce Theater, Lincoln Center, New York City Center, New York Live Arts, Jacob’s Pillow, The Annenberg Center and many regional venues. As a dance musician, he is a regular accompanist at NYC’s Gibney 890 Studios and NYU Tisch School of the Arts. As a composer and sound designer for theater, Scott has created works for over 120 professional productions in NYC and at many regional theaters. NYC theatrical venues include Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public Theater, New York Theater Workshop, MCC, Red Bull Theatre, Primary Stages and Rattlestick Theatre. Regional theatres include George Street Playhouse (over 25 productions); Berkshire Theatre Group (Resident Composer--over 50 productions), Alley Theatre (Houston), Shakespeare Theatre (DC), Seattle Repertory Theatre, A.C.T. (San Francisco). Cleveland Playhouse, Shakespeare and Company, Cincinnati Playhouse, Huntington Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Born in Chicago, Wendy began dancing with nuns who taught from ballet records.  Her vast experiences in dance crossed the country from UCLA to Colorado College to NYU and landed her in Minnesota where she taught at Carleton College and served as a Roster Artist for the Minnesota State Arts Board, teaching in hundreds of schools across the state. Always a fighter and an advocate for a better tomorrow, she served as Board member during the transition from the Minnesota Independent Choreographer’s Alliance (MICA) to the Minnesota Dance Alliance (MDA). With a committee of K-12 and college educators, she created and presented the Dance/Theatre license to the MN Board of Children, Families and Learning; with Michael Engel she wrote a K-8 Scope and Sequence in Dance and Theatre for the Minneapolis Public Schools; and with her charter school colleagues at Community School of Excellence, she led the courageous conversations to vote in the first ever wall-to-wall MN Charter School Union in which she served as Union President.

Sarah McCullough (she/her) is a Minneapolis-based movement enthusiast, freelance performer, yoga practitioner/teacher, and educator in contemporary forms. Originally from Virginia, she attended James Madison University as a Madison Achievement Scholar, and earned her BA in Dance and Mathematics. As a student, she performed works by Doug Varone, Netta Yerushalmy, Christopher K. Morgan, Rubén Graciani, and others. Since joining Minneapolis’ dance community in 2018, she has had the pleasure of performing in works choreographed by Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Berit Ahlgren, Carl Flink, Helen Hatch, Marisol Herling, Mathew Janczewski, Taja Will, and more. She has toured with Minneapolis based dance companies Black Label Movement and ARENA DANCES to the greater Minnesota area, Florida, and New York. She is a highly collaborative artist who is passionate about aliveness in performance, and seeks to perform works that center humanity, complexity, and play. She currently teaches contemporary classes at Zenon Dance School, Hothouse, and Minnesota Dance Theater. Sarah has offered classes at the Limón Twin Cities Intensive, ARENA DANCES' Instinct Intensive, The University of Winchester (UK), North Carolina State University, and several high school dance programs throughout the Twin Cities. She is also a 200-hour accredited yoga teacher and offers a holistic approach to mindful movement as a personal and artistic practice. 

Ruby Josephine Smith is a contemporary dance artist, choreographer, and founder of new company Ruby Josephine Dance Theater (RJDT). She is passionate about movement as a form of emotional expression, story-telling, and language. This passion was molded from having two artist parents, getting involved in both theater  and contemporary dance in her early years, and by her unconventional dance training, traveling around the world from the age of 20 to learn from a variety of artists at intensives and residencies. In 2014 she landed in Tangier, Morocco which became her home for the next 7 years, working with contemporary dance as an emerging art form in the city.  In Tangier, Ruby’s choreography was commissioned and sponsored by the US Embassy of Morocco,  l’Institut Français, the American Language Center Network, and the American Legation. She also had opportunities to perform and work with international artists at festivals around Europe. Ruby returned to her hometown of Minneapolis, MN in 2020 and has since choreographed works for Collab Arts, Zenon Zone, Threads Dance Project, and more recently two full-length productions under her company’s umbrella. She performs with Analog Dance Works and has appeared in work by Jennifer Mack and Jagged Moves. Ruby has been a teaching artist for over 10 years and currently teaches regular contemporary classes at Hothouse and WestMet Classical Training. She also offers artist residencies and dance program consultation to the American International School Network where she has taught in France, India and Vietnam. Throughout all of this work, Ruby believes strongly in the power of dance to tell stories, explore personal processes, and form strong human connections. 

Brenna Mosser (she/her) is a dance artist based in Minneapolis, MN. She seeks to illuminate the awe in her surroundings by sculpting falls, stumbles, and asymmetries gracefully. She spent two years in the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, where she faced the reality of climate change and has since dedicated her work to dissect and digest this crisis with her community.She earned her bachelor’s in dance performance at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, UK. She supplemented her degree at le Centre national de la danse Contemporaine in Angers, France where she spent two years learning intensively from world-renowned dance companies and their artists. There, she earned an L3 licence in dance performance and in arts management. Brenna founded founded Analog Dance Works in 2019, a dance company whose mission is to explore the intersection between dance and science through choreographic works and roundtable discussions. Alongside Analog, she currently dances for Threads Dance Project, Ruby Josephine Dance Theater, 43x94 Movement Research, and Zoë Koenig.

Elayna Waxse (she/they) is a St. Paul-based choreographer, dance educator, and performer who prioritizes emotional attunement, identity and risk taking in their work. They facilitate an environment of empathy, compassion and witnessing in which artists feel empowered to bring their full social and cultural identity to the work. Elayna has been commissioned by Minnesota Dance Theatre, University of Minnesota Dance Department (2022 Cowles Visiting Artist), Carleton College Dance Department, Threads Dance Project, St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, and the University of Minnesota Opera Theater among others. She was a 2023 alternate selection for the Ann and Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow, and a 2024 finalist for the Carmel Dance Festival Choreography Fellowship. In 2023, her work was selected for the National Gala Performance at the American College Dance Association’s National Conference in Long Beach, CA. In 2024, she was invited to join the inaugural cohort of ChoreoTech: Immersive Dancemaking with AI and VR at The School at Jacob’s Pillow.Professionally, Elayna has danced with Minnesota Dance Theatre, Colorado Ballet/Colorado Ballet Studio Company, Black Label Movement, BodyCartography Project, and with Cie. Ismael Ivo at ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival and in São Paulo, Brazil.She was a member of TU Dance from 2012 to 2019, performing works by Alvin Ailey, Dwight Rhoden, Jawole Willa Jo Zoller, Katrin Hall, Francesca Harper, Stephanie Batten-Bland, Gioconda Barbuto, and Gregory Dolbashian among others. They were part of the original creation team of Come Through, the collaboration between TU Dance and Grammy-award winning musical group Bon Iver. Through this collaboration Elayna performed at the Hollywood Bowl (LA, CA), the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), and at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival (Manchester, TN). Elayna is 2019 recipient of a McKnight Fellowship in Dance, through which they worked with choreographer Bobbi Jene Smith on an original solo. As a dance educator, they have taught ballet and contemporary dance at the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Dance Theatre, TU Dance, and Macalester College. In 2024, they served as Interim Artistic Director for Minnesota Dance Theatre & School and they are currently the Dayton Hudson Visiting Artist/Teacher at Carleton College.

Javan Mngrezzo(he/him) is a dance creator, instructor, and performer – in that order. He relocated to Minnesota in 2021 by way of Portland, OR. Oregon was his second home state, after CA, where he graduated from Western Oregon University in three years, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science in Dance and Sociology. As a creator: past credits include AMEZ Dance, James Sewell Ballet, and Minnesota Dance Theater – to name a few. As an instructor: currently teaching at Out on a Limb, and has previously taught at studios such as Lundstrum and HotHouse – to name a few. As a performer: past credits include AMEZ Dance, Rhythmically Speaking, ARENA Dances, and James Sewell Ballet – to name a few. He is presently investigating the convergence of dance and other mediums that will slowly find a home within his new creative art hub ZzoZzo.mn.