UpStart is an experimental project choreographed, researched and performed by Dance MFA students at the Peck School of the Arts. Each performance reflects deeply personal themes and self-exploration by the individual artists.
Led by dance professor and graduate program director Maria Gillespie, the project features eight first- and second-year MFA students, each taking a unique approach to their work. The performances also include dancers from both UWM and the Milwaukee dance community.
Alex Hlavaty, a first-year MFA candidate, created a piece centered on the poetry of Ocean Vuong alongside his own poetic techniques. After discovering a love for poetry during his undergraduate studies, Hlavaty found space in the MFA program to blend his writing practice with movement, while exploring how personal experiences of art can resonate with others.
“I was researching Ocean Vuong, and he writes a lot about his cultural background, his relationship with his parents, and his relationship with himself and his culture, and I thought, well art exists in everything,” said Hlavaty. “I thought about how I can put myself into his shoes and how can I relate to this experience?”
Kelly Williamson, also a first-year MFA student, brings a background in comedy and a lifelong fascination with costuming—sparked by watching Solid Gold dancers as a child. Her piece, Divorcing Cindy Sherman, began as an exploration of the artist’s photography but evolved in response to a key question from Gillespie: Why costumes?
“Originally my piece was about the photography of Cindy Sherman, but then Maria Gillespie posed the question ‘why costumes?’,” said Williamson. “So, why costumes? Why do you have these things? Then it became a little bit less about Cindy Sherman and a little bit more about the idea of being addicted to costuming.”
The MFA cohorts drew heavily on resources at PSOA to research and develop their pieces, from access to studio space to support for academic inquiry. But for many, the collaborative spirit has been the most impactful element of the process.
“The feedback and help I’ve received is very beneficial,” said Williamson. “It’s great to have feedback from amazing artists who have never seen my work. The whole concept is amazing to me.”
A central goal of UpStart is to foster community connections. While the performances reflect each choreographer’s vision, the cast includes undergraduate dancers and community members who serve as performers, designers, and collaborators, many taking on multiple roles.
“I’ve been taking my ideas and proposing the questions to my dancers: how do you fit into these ideas?” said Hlavaty. “They are really a great bunch. They are so open to my ideas and trying new things. I’ve even using some of the movements they’ve created and incorporating them into my performance.”
As UpStart takes shape, it becomes more than a showcase of individual choreography. It’s a space for dialogue, risk-taking and mutual influence. For the dancers involved, it’s both a performance and a research practice, one that’s helping define what it means to make dance in community.
UpStart is July 30 at 7 p.m. at UWM’s Mitchell Hall Studio 254. Tickets and more information are available on the PSOA events calendar.
Story by Payton Murphy ’27 (BFA Film)