Embodied Truth:
finding ways to move together

Dr. Culbreth creates, researches, and teaches at the intersection of Dance and Cultural Studies. Engaging a social kinesthetic framework, she investigates the geopolitics of movement, performance practices, and embodiment. Her work engages in social justice and community engagement; as a movement researcher, she considers the ways in which the body is the site for marginalization and how movement functions to enact agency and challenge social norms. Her doctoral research analyzed the politics, pedagogies, and performances practices of the San Francisco Bay Area as it illuminates the innovative dancemaking specific to this cultural geography. She focused specifically on LGBTQ+/Queer, Critical Disability Studies, Critical Race and Feminist theories to articulate the impact and innovation of dance-makers/researchers on embodied identity. As a dance-maker, Dr. Culbreth incorporates her scholarly research into her creative practice and generates new areas of inquiry at the intersection of the two. As an educator, she is particularly interested in cultivating ethical, critical pedagogies of dance, where the curriculum engages both dance studies students and interdisciplinary conversations around embodiment. Read more...

Rita Higgins is a mom, wife, and respiratory monitoring clinical specialist for Medtronic. Her daughters are 18 and 13, and she has been married for 22 years. She does not have any formal performing experience or training but wanted to be a part of this work after processing the way that race and gender have affected how she raises her daughters, and how she interacts with the world around her. Born and raised in Rockford, IL she moved to Milwaukee in 2000. She has a BA in business management with a minor in criminal justice. She also has a degree in nursing and spent several years as a nurse taking care of patients at Children’s Wisconsin, in addition to other roles with the organization. Her passions include health literacy and health equity, and she serves on the Health Literacy committee at Children's Wisconsin. She also serves the work of health equity and inclusion through engaging in work in various capacities with Conquering CHD, an organization focused on affecting positive outcomes for patients with congenital heart defects. Conquering CHD is also committed to raising awareness of health disparities among patients affected by the disease and finding ways to include their voices at the table.

Tisiphani Mayfield is a seasoned performer, educator, journalist, student, mentor, coach and mother. Ms. Mayfield earned her B.A. in Dance from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She enjoys learning from all genres of dance but concentrates her studies in the African Diaspora. She has training in traditional West African and Afro-Caribbean dance styles. As well as training in Dunham, Horton, Lindy Hop, jazz, tap and hip-hop. She is blessed to have been able to perform all over the Continental United States, the Caribbean and China. The excitement, passion and love of her own culture brought Ms. Mayfield to Ko-Thi Dance Company where she moved from intern, to performer, to Assistant Artistic Director in the span of 2 years. Ms. Mayfield has been teaching dance for more than 20 years and choreographing for 10. Ms. Mayfield’s hard work is evident around the city of Milwaukee and in Florida where she obtained her first degree in Broadcast Journalism from Florida A&M University in 2004. Ms. Mayfield has worked with Mahogany Dance Theatre in Tallahassee, where she was the Rehearsal Director, and Milwaukee Bucks Energee! Dance Team where she was a Captain and Choreographer. Read more...

Trained as a dancer and certified yoga teacher, Sarah Moore also works as a clearing and simple living coach, helping people heal themselves, release the clutter in their lives and establish healthy patterns. Sarah is active as a volunteer in our community. She founded “Power Down Week“ in 2010 and passionately promotes “permaculture” and the planting of fruit and nut trees in our city. In 2012, she attended an 11-month nature immersion program in northern Wisconsin with her two sons and thirty other seekers; what she emerged with was trust. “We are all already perfect, we are part of a magical circle of life and the world is loving us with every breath. My goal is to use our connection to nature, awareness in our bodies and sensuality to help us reconnect to our sacred spirits, healing ourselves, our communities and world.”

Monica Rodero received a BFA in Dance from the UW-Milwaukee and her MFA degree in Experimental Choreography at the University of California-Riverside. While at UCR, Monica was the proud recipient of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellowship Award, the Gluck Fellowship of the Arts Award, and a BYPED Travel Grant. Monica began her professional career with Wild Space Dance Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she performed, collaborated, choreographed and taught as Associate Artistic Director. She frequently works as an independent choreographer and performer and has pursued producing and presenting her own work including independent, evening length dance concerts, and interactive multimedia gallery events. Working in frequent collaboration with Daniel Schuchart, their choreography has been presented by: the UW-Milwaukee, UC-Riverside, Wild Space, Your Mother Dances, Danceworks, Kunzelmann-Esser Loft Galleries of Milwaukee, the Minnesota Fringe Festival, IndyFringe Festival, Project 418 in Santa Cruz, California, Saint Mark's Church in New York City, and in Washington State by the Cody Rivers Show. With an emphasis in dance, yoga and other movement disciplines, Monica has over ten years of teaching experience through UW-Milwaukee, Lawrence University, Beloit College, UC-Riverside, Milwaukee Public Schools, YMCA, Danceworks, and Wild Space Dance Company.

Dan Schuchart is an interdisciplinary artist and teacher. In 2013 he earned his MFA in Experimental Choreography from the University of California, Riverside, where he was honored to be a recipient of the 2012-13 Dissertation Year Program Fellowship. Schuchart earned BFA degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts in both Dance and Painting/Drawing and has since worked professionally in both fields. In addition, he earned a Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis from Columbia College Chicago in 2015. Since 2002, Schuchart has worked with Wild Space Dance Company as a company member, choreographer, and Artistic Associate. He has actively pursued creating and producing work in collaboration with Monica Rodero, including several independent dance concerts, and curating interactive multimedia gallery events. His interests in dance include collaborative creative process, dance-theatre, improvisation, and contact improvisation. Schuchart is also a Faculty member in the Theatre Arts Department at Lawrence University where he teaches movement for actors as well as choreographing for musicals and plays. Outside of dance, Schuchart has worked as a scenic painter, including the movie Public Enemies, and scenic charge for the Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Florentine Opera, and Skylight Music Theatre.

Alvin Hill is a technology based artist whose work combines sound, projection, light, and DJ arts. He studied classical violin and piano from the age of four, then shifted his focus towards technology while completing his BA at Dartmouth College, where he studied electro-acoustic composition with Jon Appleton. He earned his Masters in Media Arts from the University of Michigan. Alvin has composed scores and media for, and performed live with dance companies throughout the US, including Amy Cova Dance, Arachne Aerial Arts, Brown Dance Project, Chavasse Dance and Performance, Koichi Tamano & Harupin-Ha, and The Playground. He has performed at the Alvin Ailey Theater (NY), the Cranbrook Science Center (MI), the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (D.C.), and also had an installation at the Smithsonian (D.C.) as part of their Nam June Paik exhibit. Alvin has taught classes in multimedia performance at the University of Michigan and Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. www.alvinhill.com