Your Mother Dances

Artists

Elizabeth Johnson - Artistic Director

Luc Vanier -Associate Artitstic Director

Dancers

Special Guest Artists

Ed Burgess (The Very Extravagant...)

is one of the founding members of the Department of Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he is Professor of Dance in the Peck School of the Arts. He has lived and worked in Milwaukee since 1989, following years of touring with Jennifer Muller and the Works (NYC) and teaching internationally in Ireland, Norway and Taiwan. He has choreographed, directed or performed with Milwaukee Shakespeare Company, Wild Space Dance Company, Milwaukee Dance Theater, Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Danceworks Performance Group, Renaissance Theaterworks, Cleveland Playhouse, the Monomoy Theater on Cape Cod and The Hartt School in Hartford, CT. His interests range from original work in contemporary dance and performance art to theatre, cabaret, and musical theatre. Ed is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. 2007-2008 projects include “Seascape”, “A Christmas Carol”, and “Armadale” for Milwaukee Repertory Theater, and “Antigone” for Milwaukee Dance Theater.  

Simone Ferro (in From the Chill...)

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Simone Ferro joined the faculty at UWM in the fall of 2001. She most recently choreographed original works for Foothold Dance Performance in Milwaukee, Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA, Ballet Quad Cities, IL and Bucknell Dance Company in Lewisburg, PA and collaborated with local companies such as Wild Space Dance Company and Danceworks Performance Company in Milwaukee. She was awarded an MFA in choreography from theUniversity of Iowa Department of Dance, for which she received a graduate fellowship. She is a certified Pilates instructor by Stott Conditioning from Canada. She obtained a Solo Seal degree from the Royal Academy of Dancing of London and has had an extensive professional career with numerous internationally known dance companies in Brazil and Switzerland. She performed with and managed the Alias Dance Company based in Geneva, and for six years, she was soloist with the prestigious company of Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève. In Brazil, her work was recognized through performances as principal dancer with Ballet of Rio de Janeiro, Bale da Cidade de São Paulo, and Grupo de Dança Cisne Negro. In 2003, she was recipient of a Graduate School Research Grant for her work called “What’s Her Name? Never Mind...” which she produced in February ‘04 in collaboration with pianist Lois Svard and guest dancer Michele Kriner. Since then, she has been collaborating with not only UWM dance faculty and students but also with music alumni, such as composer Josh Schmidt. In December 2004, Simone was awarded a Choreographic Fellowship from the Wisconsin Arts Board and in the summer ’05 she produced a new work in collaboration with the poet and UW-Whitewater Professor DeWitt Clinton, performed by several UWM dance alumni and with UWM Music Professors Bernard Zinck, Elena Abend and Ana Bermudez.

Erika Randall (Friends, Lovers and Mothers)

Erika Randall is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder. From 2004-2007, Ms. Randall was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University Illinois. Erika received her MFA in choreography from The Ohio State University in 2003; she served as a guest lecturer there from 2003-2004. Working with partner in crime Anna Sapozhnikov on their collaborative duet company, Sweetie Pie Productions, Erika has found her perfect match for presenting theatrical and physical dance works. In 2004, Erika formed the nationally acclaimed Columbus Movement Movement (cm2) to support development and visibility of contemporary dance artists in Columbus, OH. Ms. Randall has most recently worked with Gabriel Masson, Sara Hook Dances, David Parker and the Bang Group, the Mark Morris Dance Group and Buglisi/Foreman Dance

Anna Sapozhnikov (Friends, Lovers and Mothers)

Anna is the founder and artistic director of MOYAMO DANCE. She is currently on adjunct dance faculty at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago as well as a Teaching Artist through Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's MAP Program. Anna has served on dance faculty at the Youth Performing Arts High School in Louisville, Kentucky from 2002-2005, as well as the Louisville Ballet School. Anna received her MFA in dance from the University of Illinois in Champaign, where she was also a Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance for the 2005-2006 school year.

Her choreography has been produced in various venues throughout Chicago, including Links Hall, Hamlin Park, the Athenaum Theatre, and in Thodos Dance Chicago's “New Dances” at Ruth Page. Her work has also been produced at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Champaign, at the American College Dance Festival at the University of Michigan and University of Iowa, and various venues throughout Louisville, Ohio, and Colorado. Anna is the recipient of numerous grants from the Illinois Arts Council, the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Kentucky Arts Council, which have led to various productions with MOYAMO DANCE. Currently, Anna dances with -Sara Hook Dances-, -Thread Meddle Outfit-, and was a guest performer with New York City based -David Parker & the Bang Group- during their 2007 season.