D.E.L.V.E. Incubator - Dance Experience Lab for Vibrant Exchange
D.E.L.V.E. Incubator - Dance Experience Lab for Vibrant Exchange
Witness SIX new works by local choreographic forces:
Raka Bandyo, Rachelle Fochs, Kendyll Hazzard, Caitlyn Lamdin, Clyde Mayberry, & choreographic duo Courtney Kopchinski and Jessica Billings
Dozens of local professional and pre-professional dancers perform in these new works, bridging aesthetic, demographic, and geographic divides by working outside their comfort zones in new forms. IDC’s DELVE Incubator provides an opportunity for dancers and choreographers to create and explore artistically, while making new connections and performing for local audiences.
This is the Isthmus Dance Collective's newest move in its mission to nurture dance in the Madison area this May. Come through and be part of this beautiful cross-pollination of Madison Community through DANCE.
In true IDC form, these works highlight the incredible and often unseen diversity of contemporary dance in Madison -. It's Global Contemporary - an expression of our current moment from the perspectives of Madison’s rich diversity in dance.
Throughout history, dance visionaries have charted new roads by thinking and exploring beyond the tradition and disciplines of the past and from finding inspiration in other forms of dance and art. In true IDC form, the DELVE (Dance Experience Lab for Vibrant Exchange) Incubator will highlight the incredible and often unseen diversity of contemporary dance in Madison. Dancers and Choreographers alike, will be expected to expand beyond their current domains and learn from each other as they explore in new styles and forms. This Global Contemporary dance is not limited to the concept of contemporary dance as regarded in the Western Hemisphere but includes contemporary tendencies from other cultures and disciplines.
Special thanks to the Wisconsin Arts Board via the Madison Arts Commission and Dane Arts for their generous support of this project!
About the Choreographers:
Raka Bandyo
Raka Bandyo is a first-generation child born in the USA to Indian parents. She began dancing and performing Odissi dance at age 4. Her first teacher, Guru Sangeeta Mohapatra Kar was a student of the great Padma Vibushan Guru Kelucharun Mohapatra. Odissi dance for Raka is an extension of her heritage and spiritual ritual.
While finishing her MS in Engineering, she began teaching Odissi dance. In 2005, she moved to Madison, Wi to work full time in Healthcare IT. She then trained in Aerial and Modern dance and performed with the Cycropia Aerial Dance Company for several years. During this time, she continued teaching Odissi in local yoga studios and performing Odissi as a soloist and choreographer, producing several works for her ensemble the Karmic Flower Dance Company.
In the last several years, she cut back her IT work hours to part-time to further pursue a more focused study of the Indian Sciences and Arts. In 2017, she became a Certificated Ayurvedic Practitioner and re-entered dance study within the Kelucharun lineage. She continues learning and performing in that lineage today from a network of international artists.
She is also a student of Vedic Astrology, Sanskrit, Vedanta and other Indian Philosophies.
Www.Karmicflower.com
Caitlyn Lamdin
Caitlyn Lamdin is originally from Vermont and grew up dancing jazz, hip hop, ballet and lyrical styles.
At Vassar College, Caitlyn was a member of Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre under the direction of Steve Rooks, John Meehan, and Kathy Wildberger, where she was able to perform works set by New York artists Larry Keigwin, Takehiro Ueyama, Tom Gold and others. Caitlyn also performed with and set choreography for FlyPeople, a student-run dance group.
Caitlyn has choreographed a number of musical productions, including RENT, Reefer Madness, High School Musical, Beauty and the Beast, Once on This Island, and Shrek the Musical.
After a too-long hiatus, Caitlyn refound her home in dance thanks to the incredible Seattle arts community. There, she was able to perform in and choreograph for a number of local festivals, including Full Tilt, Converge, and takePAUSE, working with artists such as Marlo Martin, Laura Ann Smyth, Phi Voba, Sarah Alaways, Amy J Lambert and others.
After relocating to Madison in 2021, Caitlyn has become a member of Isthmus Dance Collective and Madison Contemporary Dance and choreographed work for the Shifting Gears Bike Path Festival. She is grateful for the opportunity to create and share space with so many talented dance artists in this new city.
Clyde Mayberry
Clyde Mayberry CEO/Founder of The House Urban Arts Initiative. He serves as the Artistic Director of the performing Arts department. He also serves as Artistic Director of UW-Madison Badgerette Colligate Dance Team. He is responsible for overseeing and guiding the creative process in vision, choreography, aesthetics, concept, and execution.
Clyde’s dynamic skills promise to build an artist driven piece surrounding hip hop, house, and body positivity. He comes with over 20 years of teaching experience. Clyde prides himself on teaching for tomorrow’s purpose and not today’s rehearsal.
Jessica Billings
Jessica Billings (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and ACE Certified Fitness Professional from Acton, Massachusetts. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Dance with an additional major in Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin Madison in May 2023. A passionate and well-rounded dancer, she strives to share movement with those around her as a tool to build community and add meaningful joy to life. As a choreographer, Billings is inspired by dance’s versatility of style, athleticism, and storytelling. She creates work through rehearsal processes that incorporate these elements and celebrate the art of sharing dance. In addition to performing & choreographing, Billings teaches a variety of styles at Madison Dance Academy and Barrio Dance in Madison, WI.
Courtney Kopchinski
My name is Courtney Kopchinski. I am a dancer, choreographer, and certified Pilates Instructor from Plover, WI, currently residing in Madison, WI.
I began my dance training at a young age training in classical styles such as Ballet, Jazz, and Modern. Upon starting my college career, I found an interest in urban street styles such as Hip Hop, Heels, and Contemporary/Floorwork.
In 2021, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison receiving my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance along with my certificate in Pilates.
Currently, I am a Hip Hop and Contemporary Dance instructor and choreographer at Barrio Dance Studio, located in Madison, WI along with other Madison area dance studios and competition teams. I am a freelance dancer and apart of a Madison-based performance dance crew known Barrio Dance Factory. Additionally, in March of 2023, I opened my private Pilates business, CK Pilates.
Rachelle Fochs
Rachelle’s professional training began with Wisconsin Dance Ensemble (now Madison Ballet), A Step Above, and continued on to The Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet, and Ballet Chicago. Her professional career includes dancing with Sacramento Ballet and Madison Ballet, where she performed soloist and principal roles until her retirement in 2016.
Following her retirement she became Ballet Master and School Director for Madison Ballet. During that time, she rehearsed company dancers and students in full-length productions such as The Nutcracker, as well as Madison Ballet’s mixed repertory programs. Currently, she spends most of her time learning and growing with her son, Xavier, and teaches throughout the Madison area.
Rachelle began teaching while a student at Ballet Chicago, and has continued to develop her comprehensive and compassionate teaching style throughout her professional career. Rachelle encourages dancers through a curriculum of ballet training with an approach that includes focus on muscle and bone alignment. She is a strong advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion - allowing this to guide her continued work towards a more diverse and accepting world through her chosen medium, ballet.
Kendyll Hazzard
Kendyll Hazzard truly found her passion for dance in her undergrad, as a dance minor and Arts Merit Scholar at Bucknell University. She studied modern dance under the direction of Professor Kelly Knox, and ballet and jazz under Professors Er-Dong Hu and Dustyn Martincich. As a dancer and choreographer for the Bucknell Dance Company she was privileged to be able to perform in repertory from notable artists such as Nathaniel Hunt, Eddy Ocampo, and Sidra Bell. Her commitments to student-lead organizations included Stampede Hip-Hop club, and Riff and Ray Tap Club, and she has taught at various studios in Pennsylvania and Southern Wisconsin.
Currently she is working as an apprentice to refine her classical modern technique, and is working as a dance educator at A Step Above Dance and Music Academy. She has been fortunate to have had her work with dance for film showcased as a part of DanceWorks Chicago's Dance Chance event, and occasionally moonlights as an amateur dance videographer and photographer.
She is excited to be participating in this beautifully community driven event!
