KATELYN ALTMANN

Katelyn Altmann

Katelyn Altmann (she/her) is a movement-based artist, choreographer, educator, and improviser based in Milwaukee, WI. She holds a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance and Choreography from UW-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts, where she graduated magna cum laude. Katelyn has served on faculty for the UW-Milwaukee Department of Dance and has guest taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds an active presence in Milwaukee’s arts scene, performing and creating work with a wide range of local and national artists. Her choreographic work has been presented in cities including Milwaukee, Chicago, Seattle and New York. Katelyn’s piece “soft ground, stiff shoulder” was featured at the American College Dance Association’s North Central Conference, and in 2019, she collaborated with Joe Goode on a dance film supported by the National Endowment of the Arts. Katelyn has furthered her training at the Milwaukee Ballet, Seattle Festival for Dance + Improvisation Point Park, GALLIM and Bates Dance Festival. She also received two Undergraduate Research Fellowships at UW-Milwaukee focused on movement research. Katelyn has performed with Danceworks Performance MKE, Li Chiao Ping Dance, Wild Space Dance Company, The Seldom's, Hyperlocal MKE, Milwaukee Opera Theater and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

ALLEN RUSSELL

Allen Russell is a violinist, composer and instructor based in Milwaukee, WI. He began his musical studies on the violin at age 5, and studied at the String Academy of Wisconsin with Mimi Zweig and David Becker before later going on to study with Jerome Franke and Dr. Bernard Zinck. Allen is a composer of dance music and has scored shows for Milwaukee Ballet, UWM Dance, Danceworks Inc., and others. He has performed with his Hot Swing quartet Swing Chevron at festivals around the midwest and has contributed to the efforts of Tontine Ensemble premiering the new works of modern composers. Allen is a registered Suzuki Violin instructor and holds a Master of Fine Arts in String Performance and Pedagogy from UW Milwaukee.

ISAAC ROBERTSON

Isaac Jerin Robertson (He/They) has been passionately involved in the art of dance and dance making for over 17 years. Robertson first started their training in post modern and Graham styles under the direction of Lisa Andrea Thurrell and Robert E. Cleary. Isaac 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. As an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Isaac studied contemporary dance and choreography from 2014-2017. Since 2018, Robertson has performed in many seasons with DPMKE including the 2022 Making Space Festival held by TBD dance collective based in Omaha, Nebraska. Isaac continues to create work, educate and dance in Milwaukee. Isaac is a licensed cosmetologist and a full time returning student at UW-Milwaukee finishing their BFA in dance and choreography.

CUAUHTLI RAMIREZ- CASTRO

Cuauhtli Ramirez Castro (he/they) is a Mexican performing artist and dancer. They 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 their time in Milwaukee, they have performed and collaborated in works by Maria Gillespie, Emma Draves, Bernard Brown, Li Chiao Ping, Joe Goode, Mair Culbreth, Amanda Lee, Cedar Becher, etc.They currently dance with Danceworks Performance MKE and Wild Space Dance Company.

JESSICA LUECK

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. In 2023, she attended SALT Link dance festival in Utah, working with Christian Denice and Nicole Von Arx. 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. She is currently a dance instructor at B.Inspired dance, where she teaches numerous styles of dance to both Recreational and competitive students. Jessica also performs with Wildspace Company as a Freelance artist and has finished her third with Danceworks Performance MKE.

ELISE LEONARD

Elise Rose Leonard is a multidisciplinary artist and devoted morning coffee drinker in her final year at UW-Milwaukee, where she is double majoring in Dance (BFA) and English with a Creative Writing emphasis. She is perpetually writing, moving, reading, or reboiling water for just one more cup of coffee. Elise’s choreographic and written works often orbit around contemporary issues—especially the American cultural experience, animal welfare, and government censorship—blending research with a love for storytelling in all its forms.

Her movement practice is shaped by insatiable curiosity, ballet lines, modern forms, and groovin'. She’s been lucky enough to perform in and alongside works by brilliant emerging dance artists Rae Zimmerli, Lia Smith Redmann, and Koree Brosig, and to perform under the direction of Milwaukee dance artists Daniel Burkholder, Maria Gillespie, and Tiffany Kadani.

Elise loves nothing more than an open studio and people to share it with. She’s thrilled to be performing in IN WAKE alongside four artists she admires deeply. Come spring, she’ll be wrapping up her degrees—but don’t worry. She intends to keep dancing wherever and whenever she can, scratching poems on scrap paper, and finding joy in the in betweens.

VICTORIA FRANZ

Victoria Franz is an 18 year old dance artist who graduated with honors from Stevens Point Area Senior High School this past May. Victoria has been dancing since the age of 3 at Dance Dynamics LLC - eventually spending 6 years dancing pre-professionally with Point Dance Ensemble. As a member she learned the importance of collaboration, creativity, and community involvement. In 2024, Victoria was honored as the first non-senior soloist in company history and was featured as The Nutcracker in “The Nutcracker Jazzed.” Victoria also spent 5 years as an active member of the Dance Dynamics Competition Team where she won various awards including “Future Star Choreographer,” “Outstanding Solo Artistry,” and even “2025 National Outstanding Choreography.” Victoria is thrilled to pursue a degree in contemporary dance performance and choreography in University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s class of 2029

COLIN GAWRONSKI

Colin Gawronski is a lighting designer native to Milwaukee who has worked extensively with Danceworks, Inc, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Sunstone Studios and Black Arts MKE/Bronzeville. They have worked with other local companies such as Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee Ballet, Wildspace, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Studio K Flamenco, Aarambh Khatak, and In Tandem Theatre. Colin has also worked with Theatre Lila, Third Avenue Playworks and Forward Theater. Favorite productions include: Three Other Sisters, Stew, Out of Many One, Rusalka, ‘Neath the Hills of Bastogne, /ˌmaskəˈrād/, Dutchman, Black Nativity, Secrets from the Wide Sky, The Nether, A Room Shaped Story, Daddy Long Legs, Spalding Grey: Stories Left to Tell, Stories From a Life, The Glass Menagerie, Serendipity, Birds of North America, Romeo and Juliet: A Theatre Lila Invention, Lamps For My Family, and Vagabondare. Give Love Always.