MFA Dance students get the opportunity to showcase their original, experimental choreography at UpStart 2024, an evening of diverse work from eight different students.
The work showcased at UpStart is rooted in thoughtful creative research and strong collaboration between UWM students, alumni, and the Milwaukee community. These important facets allow choreographers to pose a multitude of questions and themes to those who attend.
The dance community at UWM encourages collaborative efforts. One student who has benefitted from this in preparation for UpStart is Meg Gourley, whose work explores time and relationships.
Gourley describes collaboration as an important way to build a dance, taking in feedback from her dancers to let them perceive the work in their unique way while staying true to Gourley’s vision.
“I like to build material, especially partnering work, in collaboration,” said Gourley. “I will often give a few jumping-off points, see where a group goes with an idea, and then come back to add on more.”
The students presenting work also took on creative research, with many crediting personal experiences as a driver for shaping their dance.
Among them is Juan Enrique Roque Irizarry Jr., who will be presenting a piece at UpStart exploring the “physical manifestation” of his life with bipolar disorder.
“I investigate through an interdisciplinary lens, focusing on dance pedagogy, my experiences, psychopathology, anthropology, sociology, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC Studies,” said Irizarry Jr.
The Milwaukee community offers a diverse array of dancers, something that will be on display at UpStart. Samuel Hanson noticed this during the preparations for his piece, crediting the “unique mix of human beings” that he cast as instrumental in producing quality work.
“My dancers bring a very eclectic set of skills to the task of improvising together,” said Hanson. “I hope that the audience gets to be as surprised by how these different voices come together as I have been.”
For more information and tickets for UpStart, visit the PSOA Event Calendar.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25