About WDC
A Non-Profit Organization Devoted to Dance as a Fine Art
The Wisconsin Dance Council serves the needs of dance education in Wisconsin and is devoted to dance as a fine art.
We promote the appreciation of all types of dance as an art form and as a means of cultural expression.
Holidays: The Wisconsin Dance Council makes every effort not to schedule meetings, conferences, or events on religious holidays.
About WDC
A Non-Profit Organization Devoted to Dance as a Fine Art
The Wisconsin Dance Council serves the needs of dance education in Wisconsin and is devoted to dance as a fine art.
We promote the appreciation of all types of dance as an art form and as a means of cultural expression.
Holidays: The Wisconsin Dance Council makes every effort not to schedule meetings, conferences, or events on religious holidays.
Our purposes are exclusively educational and charitable and as such are:
Our purposes are exclusively educational and charitable and as such are:
Since its beginning in 1966, the Wisconsin Dance Council has:
Since its beginning in 1966, the Wisconsin Dance Council has:
Wisconsin Dance Council is excited about our potential for the future.
We have made significant accomplishments toward the promotion of dance. Let’s keep moving on!
Wisconsin Dance Council is excited about our potential for the future.
We have made significant accomplishments toward the promotion of dance. Let’s keep moving on!
2023 Board Members
2023 Board Members
President
A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Simone Ferro is a choreographer, educator and researcher. She joined the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2001 where she served as M.F.A. program director and as department chair for many years. After a professional career as soloist with dance companies in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Geneva, Switzerland, she completed her graduate work in dance at the University of Iowa. She is a Laban Certified Movement Analyst by the Columbia College of Chicago. Simone has collaborated extensively with local dance, theater and opera companies, including the Milwaukee Ballet, the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, the Florentine Opera, the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, the Milwaukee Opera Theater, Danceworks Performance Company, Wild Space Dance Company and Theatre Gigante. She is a strong advocate for the Milwaukee and the Midwestern artistic community where she collaborates with visual artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers and scholars of different fields. Her choreographic work encompasses a wide range of thematic approaches from social justice issues, from historical and women’s themes to the analysis of more intimate human relationships.
Simone is recipient of several awards, including a UWM Graduate School Research Grant, an Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, a Research Growth Initiative (RGI) grant, Choreographic Fellowship from the Wisconsin Arts Board and was honored with a 2013 University of Iowa Alumni Fellowship. Most recently, Simone has received a Fellowship by the UWM’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and has been awarded a Fulbright to continue developing her research in Maranhão in the Spring 2022.
For the past 15 years, she has traveled to Brazil with her husband and research partner, Meredith W. Watts, to document and research popular culture and the traditional Bumba-meu-boi folk festivities in the Northeastern state of Maranhão. She has posted dozens of video-clips in her personal website where she has pioneered a repository of the Bumba-meu-boi. Simone has recently completed a manuscript she is jointly writing with her husband on the Leadership of Women in the Popular Culture of Maranhão.
Simone’s Milwaukee Through Embodied Research has worked with more than fifteen research students over the past six years. The project addresses social and environmental justice and community resilience through oral histories in the central city community of Sherman Park and Washington Park. It includes a variety of community activities including site-specific interventions in foreclosure homes, performances in porches and living rooms, parks, alleys, restaurants and public spaces. https://milwaukeeembodiedresearch.squarespace.com/projects-bedford
She is currently in her second term as the president of the Wisconsin Dance Council and is on the board of the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD).
Anne Marie Brunner-Abderholden was born in Holland and spent most of her childhood in Switzerland. At age seven, she joined the Opera Ballet School in Zurich. After a nine-year professional ballet career, Anne Marie went on to complete an advanced degree in classical ballet (extended Vaganova) pedagogy from the Music College in Cologne, Germany. She taught at the Opera Ballet School in Zurich, at the Swiss School for Professional Dancers and at the Theater Ballet School in Krefeld and Monchengladbach, Germany. In 1991, she moved to Madison, Wisconsin where she taught for the Monona Academy of Dance. She was a choreographer for the Wisconsin Dance Ensemble and the Performing Arts for Children. In 2002, Anne Marie founded Valley Academy for the Arts in Neenah, WI. Anne Marie currently holds positions on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Dance Council and the Neenah Arts Council. Many of Anne Marie’s students have been accepted into prestigious programs such as Kirov Academy Washington DC, The Nutmeg Conservatory, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, Bolshoi Academy, and the Milwaukee Ballet summer program. In addition, many have gone on to acclaimed college dance programs and professional dance careers.
Mauriah Kraker
Dan Schuchart is an interdisciplinary artist and teacher. He creates and produces independent work in collaboration with Monica Rodero and their work has been presented throughout the US. Schuchart earned BFA degrees in Dance and Painting/ Drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an MFA in Experimental Choreography from the University of California- Riverside, a Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis at Columbia College Chicago, and recently became certified as a Fascial Fitness Trainer through the Fascia Training Academy. Since 2002, he has worked with Wild Space Dance Company as a company member, choreographer, and Artistic Associate. Dan is currently a Senior Lecturer at the UW-Milwaukee Department of Dance, and in 2016, he was the recipient of the UWM Dance Department New Work Award. Outside of dance, Schuchart has worked as a scenic painter, including for the movie Public Enemies, and scenic charge for the Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Florentine Opera, and Skylight Music Theatre.
Dan Schuchart
UW-Milwaukee
Peck School of the Arts – Dance Department
Senior Lecturer
MFA, GL-CMA
Ann Brusky is the Director of Public Programs at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. She is responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of JMKAC public programs, including performing arts, community arts, education, and preschool. As such, she generates strategies to engage diverse constituencies and promote JMKAC’s important role as a vital and invigorating multidisciplinary resource. Prior to her role in public programs, she was the Performing Arts Manager and responsible for curating the performing arts seasons including dance, music, theatre, and film. Brusky holds a B.S. in Communications with Theatre emphasis from UW-Oshkosh along with an M.A. in Arts Administration from Goucher College (MD). Brusky also serves on the board of the Robert E. Gard Foundation. She has been involved with the Wisconsin Dance Council for six years and has served on the Board.
President
A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Simone Ferro is a choreographer, educator and researcher. She joined the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2001 where she served as M.F.A. program director and as department chair for many years. After a professional career as soloist with dance companies in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Geneva, Switzerland, she completed her graduate work in dance at the University of Iowa. She is a Laban Certified Movement Analyst by the Columbia College of Chicago. Simone has collaborated extensively with local dance, theater and opera companies, including the Milwaukee Ballet, the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, the Florentine Opera, the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, the Milwaukee Opera Theater, Danceworks Performance Company, Wild Space Dance Company and Theatre Gigante. She is a strong advocate for the Milwaukee and the Midwestern artistic community where she collaborates with visual artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers and scholars of different fields. Her choreographic work encompasses a wide range of thematic approaches from social justice issues, from historical and women’s themes to the analysis of more intimate human relationships.
Simone is recipient of several awards, including a UWM Graduate School Research Grant, an Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, a Research Growth Initiative (RGI) grant, Choreographic Fellowship from the Wisconsin Arts Board and was honored with a 2013 University of Iowa Alumni Fellowship. Most recently, Simone has received a Fellowship by the UWM’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and has been awarded a Fulbright to continue developing her research in Maranhão in the Spring 2022.
For the past 15 years, she has traveled to Brazil with her husband and research partner, Meredith W. Watts, to document and research popular culture and the traditional Bumba-meu-boi folk festivities in the Northeastern state of Maranhão. She has posted dozens of video-clips in her personal website where she has pioneered a repository of the Bumba-meu-boi. Simone has recently completed a manuscript she is jointly writing with her husband on the Leadership of Women in the Popular Culture of Maranhão.
Simone’s Milwaukee Through Embodied Research has worked with more than fifteen research students over the past six years. The project addresses social and environmental justice and community resilience through oral histories in the central city community of Sherman Park and Washington Park. It includes a variety of community activities including site-specific interventions in foreclosure homes, performances in porches and living rooms, parks, alleys, restaurants and public spaces. https://milwaukeeembodiedresearch.squarespace.com/projects-bedford
She is currently in her second term as the president of the Wisconsin Dance Council and is on the board of the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD).
Anne Marie Brunner-Abderholden was born in Holland and spent most of her childhood in Switzerland. At age seven, she joined the Opera Ballet School in Zurich. After a nine-year professional ballet career, Anne Marie went on to complete an advanced degree in classical ballet (extended Vaganova) pedagogy from the Music College in Cologne, Germany. She taught at the Opera Ballet School in Zurich, at the Swiss School for Professional Dancers and at the Theater Ballet School in Krefeld and Monchengladbach, Germany. In 1991, she moved to Madison, Wisconsin where she taught for the Monona Academy of Dance. She was a choreographer for the Wisconsin Dance Ensemble and the Performing Arts for Children. In 2002, Anne Marie founded Valley Academy for the Arts in Neenah, WI. Anne Marie currently holds positions on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Dance Council and the Neenah Arts Council. Many of Anne Marie’s students have been accepted into prestigious programs such as Kirov Academy Washington DC, The Nutmeg Conservatory, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, Bolshoi Academy, and the Milwaukee Ballet summer program. In addition, many have gone on to acclaimed college dance programs and professional dance careers.
Dan Schuchart is an interdisciplinary artist and teacher. He creates and produces independent work in collaboration with Monica Rodero and their work has been presented throughout the US. Schuchart earned BFA degrees in Dance and Painting/ Drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an MFA in Experimental Choreography from the University of California- Riverside, a Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis at Columbia College Chicago, and recently became certified as a Fascial Fitness Trainer through the Fascia Training Academy. Since 2002, he has worked with Wild Space Dance Company as a company member, choreographer, and Artistic Associate. Dan is currently a Senior Lecturer at the UW-Milwaukee Department of Dance, and in 2016, he was the recipient of the UWM Dance Department New Work Award. Outside of dance, Schuchart has worked as a scenic painter, including for the movie Public Enemies, and scenic charge for the Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Florentine Opera, and Skylight Music Theatre.
Dan Schuchart
UW-Milwaukee
Peck School of the Arts – Dance Department
Senior Lecturer
MFA, GL-CMA
Mauriah Kraker
Ann Brusky is the Director of Public Programs at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. She is responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of JMKAC public programs, including performing arts, community arts, education, and preschool. As such, she generates strategies to engage diverse constituencies and promote JMKAC’s important role as a vital and invigorating multidisciplinary resource. Prior to her role in public programs, she was the Performing Arts Manager and responsible for curating the performing arts seasons including dance, music, theatre, and film. Brusky holds a B.S. in Communications with Theatre emphasis from UW-Oshkosh along with an M.A. in Arts Administration from Goucher College (MD). Brusky also serves on the board of the Robert E. Gard Foundation. She has been involved with the Wisconsin Dance Council for six years and has served on the Board.
Maria Hackbarth began her study of ballet at the age of 7 and went on to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point with a BFA in Dance. During her time at UWSP, she performed in several student choreographed showcases as well as faculty and guest artist choreographed productions. As a dancer, she has worked with various companies and artists including Elation Dance Theater, Mary Anthony, Ko-Thi Dance Company and Doug Verone.
Realizing her passion for choreography, Hackbarth began Warped Dance Company in 2007 and created WDC’s Youth Ensemble in 2013. Since then she has been creating works and performance projects for many formal and alternative venues, as well as traveling both nationally and internationally, receiving praise and recognition for her innovative choreography. Recently, Maria has extended Warped Dance Company’s capabilities into the next level and began training both the Youth and Professional companies in Aerial Silks, after earning her Level 1 Training Certification in 2014.
Hackbarth’s artistic vision and choreographic style borrows from the neo-classical and contemporary ballet styles but opens the door to a more modern interpretation. Her works include many and varied lifts, floor work and new alternatives to traditional partnering, rejecting the more “flowy” and “traditional” modern ballet compositions. Instead, she provides more lines and shapes giving the viewer an edgier peek into the world of modern and contemporary ballet. This type of choreography forces the dancer to dig deep into core strengths of ballet and move away from the predictable forms they have traditionally been forced to accept and repeat. Additionally, it encourages the dancer to explore their choreographic range, as Hackbarth works in a highly collaborative environment. This allows the dancer the opportunity to push their strengths, both mentally and physically.
Katherine Kramer has been a vital presence in the resurgence and evolution of classic jazz and tap dance since the 1970’s. Grateful for having had the opportunity to work with many of the finest of tap’s masters and contemporary innovators, she maintains a commitment to sharing this legacy. She has received numerous grants and awards, including the 2018 Hoofer Award from the American Tap Dance Foundation, an Artist Innovation Award from the Montana Arts Council, a Fulbright Grant, and a Creation Fund Grant from the National Performance Network.
Her one-woman show, “Rhythms of the Heart,” toured from 1992 – 2000, including performances at Jacob’s Pillow and international festivals, and her innovative choreographies have been commissioned by numerous universities and dance companies. She was one of 12 dancers chosen to work with the late tap legend Charles ‘Honi’ Coles in America’s first creative residency for tap at The Colorado Dance Festival in 1989 and was a featured soloist at the 1996 Tap Extravaganza in New York. She worked annually as a Master Mentor for YoungArts Org. from 2006 – 2016. Katherine has worked at tap and jazz festivals including Tap City NY , Tap Rio, Portsmouth Percussive Dance, Soul 2 Sole, Discover Jazz, Sitka Jazz, Jazz Week in Anchorage, AK, and 10 of her own Rhythm Explosion Festivals in Bozeman, MT.
In Havana, Cuba she has taught tap to Danza Contemporarea and Conjunto Folklorica de Cuba and in 2004 she was invited to Fortaleza, Brazil to work with Co. Vata, directed by Brazilian choreographer, Valeria Pinheiro. At the heart of Katherine Kramer’s work is a desire to bring people together, to encourage intimacy, and to promote the value of play as a tool in creating a more humane world. She currently is based outside of Madison, WI, where she teaches, creates and produces events at Primrose Studio and Retreat.
Born in Laos and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Yeng Vang-Strath is a passionate educator and advocates to bring more dance curriculum into the public school systems. She graduated from Alverno with a Master’s in Education and certification of Administration and Curriculum Design. She earned her undergraduate from Peck School of the Arts-Dance at the University of Milwaukee Wisconsin. She performed with Wild Space Performance Company for seven years and currently serves on the board of directors. Yeng was a contributing writer for the 2019 Wisconsin Dance Standards and her primary focus is to promote dance education to our public schools.
Cyenthia Vijayakumar is a Kathak dancer, performer, choreographer and teacher from Milwaukee. She has undergone her training in Lucknow gharana from Guru Murari Sharan Gupta and Guru Hari and Chetna. She is currently undergoing her training under Guru Sujatha Banerjee from London. She is the artistic director of Aarambh Kathak Dance School, which she founded in 2019 in Milwaukee to spread this art form to a diverse group of people in Milwaukee.
She believes that practice is a key to make progress in any kind of Indian Classical art form be it dance or music. Practice is a continuous process that should not stop at any point in time. Practice evolves you as a dancer and as an individual helping you move towards the path of perfection and progress. Anything can be achieved if a dancer has the right kind of guidance from a Guru and the right practice techniques.
“Never ever give up on whatever you love to do! Good dancers are not born talented. They have been taught and trained and pursued practicing without giving up” is what she believes in. https://www.indiantalentmagazine.com/2019/09/05/cyenthia-vijayakumar/
Erin Zintek is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she started her training under Kellie Plathe from Accent On Dance. Erin graduated from the University of Iowa with a BFA in dance. Pre-professionally and professionally Erin has danced with Charlotte Adams and Dancers, David Dorfman and Dancers, Poetic Rebound Co., Bill Young, KO& Co., Esther Lapointe, Lyfe Dance Company, Top Shake Dance, and created her own modern company The Erin Zintek Movement Project. During the summer of 2008, she traveled to Brazil to study capoeira and participate in company class with the company Balé Folclórico. Besides teaching dance, Erin is a certified Pilates instructor, certified yoga instructor, and is the co-creator of The Ellové Technique®. She formerly taught at BodyVox, Nike World Headquarters, The Portland Ballet, and Multnomah Athletic Club, where she was the Dance Head Coach to the pre-professional dance company. Erin also served on the executive board for Oregon Dance Education Organization.
In 2008 Megan Zintek graduated summa cum laude with her BFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with over 20 years of experience in her field. She has immersed herself in dance pedagogy since the age of 12, continually sharing her artistry and love of movement with children and adults. It has been her dream, from the first dance class she ever had the privilege of teaching, to open her own dance studio. She felt a calling to give others the same opportunity to grow, mature and express themselves with confidence and strength, just as she had been given as a young girl. Bella Via was not a spur of the moment idea… Megan diligently worked to obtain every tool possible that would ensure her dream not only come to fruition, but would be a powerful force in the dance community.
While receiving her undergrad, she had the privilege of working with and performing for André Tyson, Darci Brown Wutz, Li-Chao Ping, and Simone Ferro. She also had the opportunity to dance in works created by guest artists Daniel Gwirtzman, Laura Dean, and Uri Sands. She studied under the tutelage of Ed Burgess, Janet Lilly, Luc Vanier and Fern Caulker-Bronson. Beyond her studies, she has danced with Wildspace Dance Company, as well as the Catey Ott Dance Collective. During the summer of 2008, she traveled to Brazil to study Capoeira and dance with the company, Bale Folclorico. Megan was chosen to choreograph works for Here Comes Trouble and Art to Art in Milwaukee, and had the privilege of being cast in the film Missed Connections, which premiered in the 2011 Milwaukee Film Festival. She has been a company member of Elizabeth Johnson’s Your Mother Dances since 2008, keeping her connected and inspired within the dance community of Milwaukee. In 2012 she was interviewed and featured on Fox6 WakeUp promoting the launch of her fitness program, BellaBarre.
In 2015 and 2016, she was thrilled to return to UW-Milwaukee as a member of the faculty, teaching Jazz at the very university that inspired and motivated her growth as a teacher and artist. She is privileged to return in the Spring of 2019 as Rehearsal Director for a guest artist’s piece in UWM’s faculty show, SpringDances.
Megan is honored to have been nominated onto the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Dance Council. This wonderful organization parallels perfectly with everything Megan believes, and strives to further dance education in our communities.
Bella Via was named by Megan’s mother, whom she lost in the summer of 2009. Her mother had been her #1 fan and biggest supporter in attaining her dreams. She instilled in Megan the belief that she could do anything she set her mind to, inspiring Megan to encourage that personal belief in others. In the memory of Susan Zintek, Megan opened the doors of Bella Via in October of 2011. Bella Via, aptly named by her Mother, means “the beautiful way” in Italian. Megan’s hope is that it certainly will be for anyone who walks through the studio door.
Maria Hackbarth began her study of ballet at the age of 7 and went on to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point with a BFA in Dance. During her time at UWSP, she performed in several student choreographed showcases as well as faculty and guest artist choreographed productions. As a dancer, she has worked with various companies and artists including Elation Dance Theater, Mary Anthony, Ko-Thi Dance Company and Doug Verone.
Realizing her passion for choreography, Hackbarth began Warped Dance Company in 2007 and created WDC’s Youth Ensemble in 2013. Since then she has been creating works and performance projects for many formal and alternative venues, as well as traveling both nationally and internationally, receiving praise and recognition for her innovative choreography. Recently, Maria has extended Warped Dance Company’s capabilities into the next level and began training both the Youth and Professional companies in Aerial Silks, after earning her Level 1 Training Certification in 2014.
Hackbarth’s artistic vision and choreographic style borrows from the neo-classical and contemporary ballet styles but opens the door to a more modern interpretation. Her works include many and varied lifts, floor work and new alternatives to traditional partnering, rejecting the more “flowy” and “traditional” modern ballet compositions. Instead, she provides more lines and shapes giving the viewer an edgier peek into the world of modern and contemporary ballet. This type of choreography forces the dancer to dig deep into core strengths of ballet and move away from the predictable forms they have traditionally been forced to accept and repeat. Additionally, it encourages the dancer to explore their choreographic range, as Hackbarth works in a highly collaborative environment. This allows the dancer the opportunity to push their strengths, both mentally and physically.
Katherine Kramer has been a vital presence in the resurgence and evolution of classic jazz and tap dance since the 1970’s. Grateful for having had the opportunity to work with many of the finest of tap’s masters and contemporary innovators, she maintains a commitment to sharing this legacy. She has received numerous grants and awards, including the 2018 Hoofer Award from the American Tap Dance Foundation, an Artist Innovation Award from the Montana Arts Council, a Fulbright Grant, and a Creation Fund Grant from the National Performance Network.
Her one-woman show, “Rhythms of the Heart,” toured from 1992 – 2000, including performances at Jacob’s Pillow and international festivals, and her innovative choreographies have been commissioned by numerous universities and dance companies. She was one of 12 dancers chosen to work with the late tap legend Charles ‘Honi’ Coles in America’s first creative residency for tap at The Colorado Dance Festival in 1989 and was a featured soloist at the 1996 Tap Extravaganza in New York. She worked annually as a Master Mentor for YoungArts Org. from 2006 – 2016. Katherine has worked at tap and jazz festivals including Tap City NY , Tap Rio, Portsmouth Percussive Dance, Soul 2 Sole, Discover Jazz, Sitka Jazz, Jazz Week in Anchorage, AK, and 10 of her own Rhythm Explosion Festivals in Bozeman, MT.
In Havana, Cuba she has taught tap to Danza Contemporarea and Conjunto Folklorica de Cuba and in 2004 she was invited to Fortaleza, Brazil to work with Co. Vata, directed by Brazilian choreographer, Valeria Pinheiro. At the heart of Katherine Kramer’s work is a desire to bring people together, to encourage intimacy, and to promote the value of play as a tool in creating a more humane world. She currently is based outside of Madison, WI, where she teaches, creates and produces events at Primrose Studio and Retreat.
Born in Laos and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Yeng Vang-Strath is a passionate educator and advocates to bring more dance curriculum into the public school systems. She graduated from Alverno with a Master’s in Education and certification of Administration and Curriculum Design. She earned her undergraduate from Peck School of the Arts-Dance at the University of Milwaukee Wisconsin. She performed with Wild Space Performance Company for seven years and currently serves on the board of directors. Yeng was a contributing writer for the 2019 Wisconsin Dance Standards and her primary focus is to promote dance education to our public schools.
Cyenthia Vijayakumar is a Kathak dancer, performer, choreographer and teacher from Milwaukee. She has undergone her training in Lucknow gharana from Guru Murari Sharan Gupta and Guru Hari and Chetna. She is currently undergoing her training under Guru Sujatha Banerjee from London. She is the artistic director of Aarambh Kathak Dance School, which she founded in 2019 in Milwaukee to spread this art form to a diverse group of people in Milwaukee.
She believes that practice is a key to make progress in any kind of Indian Classical art form be it dance or music. Practice is a continuous process that should not stop at any point in time. Practice evolves you as a dancer and as an individual helping you move towards the path of perfection and progress. Anything can be achieved if a dancer has the right kind of guidance from a Guru and the right practice techniques.
“Never ever give up on whatever you love to do! Good dancers are not born talented. They have been taught and trained and pursued practicing without giving up” is what she believes in. https://www.indiantalentmagazine.com/2019/09/05/cyenthia-vijayakumar/
Erin Zintek is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she started her training under Kellie Plathe from Accent On Dance. Erin graduated from the University of Iowa with a BFA in dance. Pre-professionally and professionally Erin has danced with Charlotte Adams and Dancers, David Dorfman and Dancers, Poetic Rebound Co., Bill Young, KO& Co., Esther Lapointe, Lyfe Dance Company, Top Shake Dance, and created her own modern company The Erin Zintek Movement Project. During the summer of 2008, she traveled to Brazil to study capoeira and participate in company class with the company Balé Folclórico. Besides teaching dance, Erin is a certified Pilates instructor, certified yoga instructor, and is the co-creator of The Ellové Technique®. She formerly taught at BodyVox, Nike World Headquarters, The Portland Ballet, and Multnomah Athletic Club, where she was the Dance Head Coach to the pre-professional dance company. Erin also served on the executive board for Oregon Dance Education Organization.
In 2008 Megan Zintek graduated summa cum laude with her BFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with over 20 years of experience in her field. She has immersed herself in dance pedagogy since the age of 12, continually sharing her artistry and love of movement with children and adults. It has been her dream, from the first dance class she ever had the privilege of teaching, to open her own dance studio. She felt a calling to give others the same opportunity to grow, mature and express themselves with confidence and strength, just as she had been given as a young girl. Bella Via was not a spur of the moment idea… Megan diligently worked to obtain every tool possible that would ensure her dream not only come to fruition, but would be a powerful force in the dance community.
While receiving her undergrad, she had the privilege of working with and performing for André Tyson, Darci Brown Wutz, Li-Chao Ping, and Simone Ferro. She also had the opportunity to dance in works created by guest artists Daniel Gwirtzman, Laura Dean, and Uri Sands. She studied under the tutelage of Ed Burgess, Janet Lilly, Luc Vanier and Fern Caulker-Bronson. Beyond her studies, she has danced with Wildspace Dance Company, as well as the Catey Ott Dance Collective. During the summer of 2008, she traveled to Brazil to study Capoeira and dance with the company, Bale Folclorico. Megan was chosen to choreograph works for Here Comes Trouble and Art to Art in Milwaukee, and had the privilege of being cast in the film Missed Connections, which premiered in the 2011 Milwaukee Film Festival. She has been a company member of Elizabeth Johnson’s Your Mother Dances since 2008, keeping her connected and inspired within the dance community of Milwaukee. In 2012 she was interviewed and featured on Fox6 WakeUp promoting the launch of her fitness program, BellaBarre.
In 2015 and 2016, she was thrilled to return to UW-Milwaukee as a member of the faculty, teaching Jazz at the very university that inspired and motivated her growth as a teacher and artist. She is privileged to return in the Spring of 2019 as Rehearsal Director for a guest artist’s piece in UWM’s faculty show, SpringDances.
Megan is honored to have been nominated onto the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Dance Council. This wonderful organization parallels perfectly with everything Megan believes, and strives to further dance education in our communities.
Bella Via was named by Megan’s mother, whom she lost in the summer of 2009. Her mother had been her #1 fan and biggest supporter in attaining her dreams. She instilled in Megan the belief that she could do anything she set her mind to, inspiring Megan to encourage that personal belief in others. In the memory of Susan Zintek, Megan opened the doors of Bella Via in October of 2011. Bella Via, aptly named by her Mother, means “the beautiful way” in Italian. Megan’s hope is that it certainly will be for anyone who walks through the studio door.