InSite: FIELD GUIDE

Havenwoods State Forest - 6141 N Hopkins St, Milwaukee, WI 53209

PROGRAM

Choreography:

Katelyn Altmann, Cuauhtli Ramírez Castro, Ash Ernesto, Zoe Mei Glise, Alejandra Jiménez, Elisabeth Roskopf, Dan Schuchart, and in collaboration with the dancers

Music Direction and Live Performance:

Lorna Dune, John Larkin, Allen Russell, Antonio Velázquez

Lighting Design & Stage Manager:

Colin Gawronski

Technical Director:

Tony Lyons

Tech Crew & Docents:

Maria Shanklin, Rae Zimmerli

PERFORMERS:

Ometochtli: Favi Álvarez, Leah Colchado, Ash Ernesto, Angelica Escamilla, Norma Gonzalez, Alejandra Jiménez, Mariela Jiménez, Laura Medina, Jaquelin Moreno, María Pérez, Yarely Ramírez, Alejandra Rodríguez Ortega, Antonio Velázquez

Wild Space: Katelyn Altmann, Emma Becker, Audrey Dudek, Angela Frederick, Cuauhtli Ramírez Castro, Ashley Ray Garcia, Zoe Mei Glise, Jessica Lueck, Jenni Reinke, Elisabeth Roskopf, Nicole Spence, Jasmine Uras

Milwaukee County Parks System

Land & Water Acknowledgment

We respectfully acknowledge that the land and waterways encompassed by the Milwaukee County Park System are on the ancestral homeland of Indigenous People, including the Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee. We recognize that they were forcefully removed from their lands along the shores of Michigami, North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and where the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign nations remain present. In honoring the ancestral owners and stewards of these lands and waterways, we strive to be respectful stewards.

In the Field/Al Campo

Ometochtli - Xochipitzahuatl

Into the Forest/Al Bosque

2A Aztec Dance with Popoxcomitl

2B Hearts of Ember Huehueteotl

Choreography by Cuauhtli Ramirez Castro

In the Holding

Choreography by Elisabeth Roskopf

2C Ometochtli - Firma, Tonantzin, Águila Blanca, Paloma, Copiteo

Ometochtli Mexican Folk Dance

2D Somewhere [In] Between

Choreography by Zoe Mei Glise

2E TRACES

Choreography by Katelyn Altmann

To the Six Directions/A Las Seis Direcciones

Ometochtli - Firma, Fuego and ofrenda for Closing

More about the dances performed by Ometochtli

Section 1: Xochipitzahuatl 

Xochipitzahuatl is a Nahuatl word composed of Xochitl, meaning “flower,” and pitzahuatl, meaning “small” — together, “little flower.”

It is a beautiful traditional song sung in the Nahuatl language. The accompanying dance represents an offering to something or someone special. It can be performed at weddings, to celebrate the birth of a child, or during religious festivals.

The song and dance are a powerful representation of the blending of two cultures. The lyrics and attire reflect Indigenous traditions, while the dance is also performed in Catholic celebrations — a practice that emerged from the cultural exchange following the arrival of the Spanish.

Section 2: Aztec Dance with Popoxcomitl

Aztec Dance is a spiritual and cultural expression of Mexico’s Indigenous peoples, rooted in pre-Hispanic rituals. These dances serve as a form of prayer, meditation, and communication with the spiritual world. Dancers move in circles, wearing traditional regalia and making offerings to honor nature, their ancestors, and especially the four elements — earth, air, fire, and water.

More than just a performance, Aztec Dance is a living tradition that helps reconnect participants with their Indigenous identity, heal the wounds of colonization, and preserve cultural heritage. This sacred practice has endured for more than 500 years and continues to thrive in communities throughout Mexico and beyond.

Dances: Firma, Tonantzin, Águila Blanca, Paloma, Copiteo. 

Section 3: Closing up for círculo de la Danza. 

There are several dances for Aztec dance, but one of the dances that brings energy is Fuego dance!  Dancers connect with the element of fire, expressing its strength and vitality through movement. We bring our own energy into the dance, allowing it to flow, transform, and fill the space with life.

The Fuego dance can be performed before or during the Poktapok game — an ancient Mesoamerican ball game similar to today’s soccer. It serves as a way to celebrate life, unity, and the connection between the players, the earth, and the fire element.

The dances are offerings — something we give from the heart. Through movement and reflection, we create an ofrenda (offering) filled with obsequios (gifts) to honor the elements and the spiritual world. We offer copal (sacred incense), the sound of the huehuetl (drum), and the rhythm of the atecocolli, each sound carrying our intentions and gratitude.

Dances: Firma, Fuego and ofrenda for Closing.

Choreographers

Katelyn Altmann is a movement-based artist, choreographer, and educator based in Milwaukee, WI. She holds a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance and Choreography from UW-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Katelyn was named the Inaugural Artistic Fellow at Danceworks, where she continues to cultivate her choreographic practice and further develop performance programming. She has served on faculty for the UW-Milwaukee Department of Dance and has guest taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Deeply rooted in Milwaukee’s dance community, Katelyn has performed and created work with a wide range of local and national artists. Her choreographic work has been selected to be presented throughout Milwaukee, Chicago, Seattle, and New York including, setting at work within DANSTAGE, a UW-Stevens Point faculty and guest concert. Altmann’s piece “soft ground, stiff shoulder” was presented at the American College Dance Association’s North Central Conference (ACDA), and in 2019, she collaborated with Joe Goode on the dance film “Real Words,” supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Katelyn has furthered her training at Juilliard, Milwaukee Ballet, Seattle Festival for Dance + Improvisation, Point Park, GALLIM and Bates Dance Festival. She also received two Undergraduate Research Fellowships at UW-Milwaukee focused on movement research.

Katelyn is a current company member with Danceworks Performance MKE, Li Chiao Ping Dance, Wild Space Dance Company and has performed with The Seldoms, Hyperlocal MKE, The Gina Laurenzi Dance Project, Aperi Animam, Milwaukee Opera Theater, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Cuauhtli Ramirez Castro (he/they) is a Mexican performing artist and dancer. He studied Performing Arts at the University of Guanajuato having a multidisciplinary approach, combining contemporary dance and acting techniques in his training. They have performed at the International Cervantino Festival (2016), as well as the Guanajuato International Film Festival (2015). They graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance and Choreography (2021). During his last year he was part of UWM´s Undergraduate Research Fellowship program as a teaching and research assistant for the project Parts of The Whole: The Body is Home under the mentorship of Maria Gillespie. During their time in Milwaukee, they have performed and collaborated in works by Maria Gillespie, Emma Draves, Bernard Brown, Caitlin Mahon, Joe Goode, Mair Culbreth, Amanda Lee, Cedar Becher, etc. And worked in companies such as Danceworks DPMKE, Wild Space, and Li Chiao-Ping Dance.

Zoe Mei Glise (she/her) is a choreographer, performer, and movement-based artist born in China, and located in Milwaukee, WI. Zoe is Danceworks’ Development and Partnerships Fellow, as well as a company member with Danceworks Performance MKE (DPMKE), Wild Space Dance Company, and the Gina Laurenzi Dance Project (GLDP). Previously, she has danced with Madison Contemporary Dance and Nova Linea Contemporary Dance. Zoe received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Performance and Choreography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In 2019, with the help of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, Zoe collaborated with Joe Goode to create a dance film “Real Words” which was presented at the North Central American College Dance Association (ACDA).

In the summer of 2022, Zoe was selected to travel to Paris, France to attend the Camping Residency at the Centre National de le Danse, where her work “what was, what is” was performed. Her solo “blood, DNA, connection” was accepted to present at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Bozeman, MT. She has been selected numerous times to choreograph for Danceworks’ Get It Out There concerts in Milwaukee, WI, and has set work for performances with La Crosse Dance Centre in La Crosse, WI. In 2025, her most recent work “Property of Society” was selected to perform at the Emergence festival in Chicago, IL and Dance for Hope MKE in Milwaukee, WI. Zoe has furthered her training through summer intensives and workshops, working with companies such as the Joffrey Ballet, Bandaloop, Wasatch Contemporary Dance, Nova Linea Contemporary Dance, Stewart/Owen Dance, and the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts. In the fall of 2024, Zoe presented her debut evening length performance “Uncommon Ground” held at Adventure Rock Milwaukee, as a way to blend her two passions—dance and rock climbing. 

Alejandra Jiménez was born in Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, in 1984. She began dancing at the age of five, and by twelve she had joined the representative Compañía de Danza Folclórica de la Universidad del Estado de Morelos. Her passion for the performing arts, education, and nature led her to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and a Diploma in Mexican Folk Dance and Arts at the Centro Cultural Universitario de Cuernavaca. She also completed a technical certification in Mexican Folk Dance at the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Tixtla, Guerrero.

Throughout her teens, Alejandra performed with the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos in Cuernavaca, the representative group of Cuernavaca city Sol Naciente Academy, and the Chicahuastli Dance Studio in Mexico City. She also joined the research team of the Instituto de Investigación y Difusión de la Danza Mexicana and taught folk dance at elementary, middle, high school, and adult levels across various institutions in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

In 2010, Alejandra moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Education at Carthage College. While there, she taught Latin dances and created choreographies for the annual performance at Carthage’s Wartburg Theatre. She also began developing choreographies that combined dance with environmental education, presenting projects in Mexico, Guatemala, and the United States.

Two years later, she moved to Milwaukee to work as an Environmental Educator at the Urban Ecology Center, where she also led Mexican folk dance and Aztec dance classes for the community. During this time, she performed with the Mexican dance academies Hermanos Ávila and Escamilla Entertainment.

In 2020, Alejandra founded her own dance company, Ometochtli Mexican Folk Dance, with the mission of helping Mexican Americans and Mexicans to connect with their cultural heritage in Milwaukee, while promoting and preserving Mexican traditions. She also began teaching children’s folk dance  and Aztec dance at CORE El Centro, and at Milwaukee Public Schools, offering both virtual and in-person classes.

Alejandra is passionate about sharing her culture through movement and artistic expression. Her mission is to celebrate and preserve Mexican traditions while fostering community, social responsibility, and cross-cultural understanding.

Born in South Korea and raised in Wisconsin, Elisabeth Roskopf 이지영 is a dancer, performer, choreographer, educator, pianist, and a mother to her daughter, Alina. She is a company member of Li Chiao-Ping Dance, Danceworks Performance MKE, Wild Space Dance Company, and the Gina Laurenzi Dance Project. Elisabeth received her Bachelor of Arts in Piano and a minor in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) where she is honored to be a recipient of the Graduate Student Excellence Fellowship award. Elisabeth’s Dance MFA thesis concert, | Out of Place |, became a platform for her to create the first Transracial Asian American Adoptee Dance Project in the city of Milwaukee. At UWM, she began her career in academia as a lecturer in the Department of Dance and became a graduate teaching assistant while she is also performing and studying under the distinguished professors and guest artists such as Daniel Burkholder, Maria Gillespie, Mair Culbreth, Dan Schuchart, Dawn Springer, Deb Loewen, Mauriah Donegan Kraker, Vershawn Sanders-Ward, Jan Erkert, Alexandra Beller, Kevin Williamson, Teresa VanDenend Sorge, and Sooyeon Lee. Elisabeth is the Founder and Creative Director of Dance For Diversity, a screendance project that is made explicitly for Artists of Color to share their voices and stories of identity through their dance-making and performance work.

Elisabeth co-produced and performed in Provenance: A Letter to My Daughter, an award-winning screendance work created with director/choreographer Li Chiao-Ping and cinematographer/editor Christal Wagner. This dance film has been selected to be screened in various film festivals nationally and internationally, such as the 2024 Incheon International Short Film Festival (Finalist for Best Short Film), 2024 Busan New Wave Short Film Festival (Best Editing Award), 2023 Experimental, Dance & Music Film Festival (Best Direction Award), 2023 Milwaukee Film Festival, to name a few.

As the second installment following Provenance, Elisabeth conceived 결코 잃지 않았다 (Never Lost) as the next chapter in her ongoing MFA thesis research. This dance film was created in collaboration with director, choreographer, and producer Li Chiao-Ping, cinematographer and editor Christal Wagner, and featuring performance, unscripted narration, and additional choreography by Elisabeth. Never Lost received the Honorable Mention in Direction award from the 10,000 Dreams Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award from the Asian American Dance Festival, and the Exceptional Merit Award from the 2025 WRPN Women’s International Film Festival.

Elisabeth’s research encompasses autoethnography in movement through storytelling that creates a path for her embodied subjectivity. She links her corporeal experiences through cultural studies, post-colonial studies, and embodied cultural memory. As a Korean American Dance Artist, Elisabeth’s choreographic work creates a platform for Adoptees and BIPOC Dance Artists to have a place to be visible in the fullness of their identity and authenticity while fostering a sense of belonging through embodied storytelling.

Music Direction and Live Performance:

Lorna Dune is an electronic artist and sound designer. A classically trained pianist turned synthesist, she has shared the stage with renowned composers like Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, and Missy Mazzoli, performing at Carnegie Hall, the Whitney Biennial, BAM Next Wave, and more.  She is one of eight female-identifying Ableton Certified Trainers in the U.S., empowering others through music technology. Lorna is currently based in Milwaukee, where she teaches at Alverno College and is co-curator of the Out There Series. She also serves as Audio Director for Austin-based SoundSelf, developing digital therapeutic audio-visual software, and contributes to projects bridging neuroscience, health, and wellness through music and sound therapy.

Her newest ambient record “Sequential Dreaming” will be released this Fall on Mystery Circles Records.

http://lornadune.com

John Larkin is a musician and artist living and working in Milwaukee.  His music utilizes trumpet, tape loops, voice, and synths, and can sound anywhere from minimalist and neat to blurry and chaotic. In addition to his solo work he collaborates with local groups Lightninging and Angelica. 

He also facilitates performances at the Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, and co-curates the Out There series, a free and all-ages performance series showcasing local and regional experimental musicians, poets and performance artists. 

Artist IG: @jhn_lrkn 

Out There Series IG: @out_there_series

www.outthereseries.com

Allen Russell is a violinist, composer and instructor based in Milwaukee, WI. He began his musical studies on the violin at age 5, and studied at the String Academy of Wisconsin with Mimi Zweig and David Becker before later going on to study with Jerome Franke and Dr. Bernard Zinck. Allen is a composer of dance music and has scored shows for Milwaukee Ballet, UWM Dance, Danceworks Inc., and others. He has performed with his Hot Swing quartet Swing Chevron at festivals around the midwest and has contributed to the efforts of Tontine Ensemble premiering the new works of modern composers. Allen is a registered Suzuki Violin instructor and holds a Master of Fine Arts in String Performance and Pedagogy from UW Milwaukee.

https://www.allenrussell.org/about.html

Wild Space Dancers

Production Team

Special Thanks to:

Angela Vickio, Havenwoods State Forest Staff, The Out There Series, and Jeff Grygny

This program is made possible in part by a Ruth Foundation for the Arts' Wisconsin Special Project Grant and Bader Philanthropies. This program is supported by a grant from the Milwaukee Arts Board and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Thanks to major season sponsors Stephen Baker & Dr. Nadine A. Chang, Herzfeld Foundation, Bert L. & Patricia S. Steigleder Charitable Trust, and:

Mark your calendars…

Wild Space’s next dance production is April 10-11, 2026 in the Jan Serr Studio.