{"id":152758,"date":"2026-01-26T08:41:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T14:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=152758"},"modified":"2026-01-26T08:43:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T14:43:28","slug":"multiyear-community-based-creative-research-project-culminates-in-world-premiere-work-at-winterdances-resilience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/multiyear-community-based-creative-research-project-culminates-in-world-premiere-work-at-winterdances-resilience\/","title":{"rendered":"Multiyear community-based creative research project culminates in world premiere work at Winterdances: Resilience"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts Department of Dance will present the world premiere of CARE, a new dance-theatre work created through a multiyear creative research project. The premiere will be featured in\u00a0Winterdances: Resilience\u00a0with performances Feb. 5-8, at 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Mainstage\u00a0Theater.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through\u00a0the\u00a0CARE: Illuminating Milwaukee\u2019s Queer and Trans Communities Project, the Department of Dance commissioned acclaimed American choreographer, writer, director and filmmaker David\u00a0Rouss\u00e8ve\u00a0to create an original work in collaboration with Milwaukee\u2019s LGBTQ+ organization Diverse & Resilient. The project unfolded through multiple phases of community engagement,\u00a0storytelling\u00a0and choreographic research beginning in 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rouss\u00e8ve\u00a0made several visits to Milwaukee to work with community members and 51ÁÔÆæ students. Through interviews and storytelling workshops, he developed a work that blends narratives from Milwaukee\u2019s queer and trans communities with a hybrid dance form combining contemporary choreography and vogue. The resulting piece emphasizes stories of resilience,\u00a0care\u00a0and\u00a0joy.<\/span><\/p>\n

CARE\u00a0was developed in response to a political climate in the Midwest that continues to struggle with gender diversity and queer identity. While Wisconsin was the first state to outlaw discrimination\u00a0on the basis of\u00a0sexual orientation more than 40 years ago, recent legislative efforts have underscored the ongoing challenges faced by transgender and queer communities. The project\u00a0seeks\u00a0to restore and illuminate LGBTQ+ voices that have been disenfranchised within heteronormative, white, cis-dominant cultures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The commission was created with and for Milwaukee\u2019s BIPOC LGBTQ+ community, exploring how communities under assault care for themselves by redefining family,\u00a0community\u00a0and support. The project engaged with the aging HIV community and Milwaukee\u2019s vogue dancers, groups that have long reimagined \u201cfamily\u201d and \u201cmother\/father\u201d relationships. Themes of mentorship, sex education and health care were central to the\u00a0work.<\/span><\/p>\n

During\u00a0the 2025-26 production year, the project\u2019s final phases centered Milwaukee vogue dancers through choreographic research,\u00a0storytelling\u00a0and dance-literacy engagements with participants from Diverse & Resilient, alongside 51ÁÔÆæ dance majors. Vogue dancers were positioned as experts within the creative process, contributing to the development of a nuanced hybrid movement\u00a0style.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rehearsals\u00a0and production began in 2025, with\u00a0Rouss\u00e8ve\u00a0assembling text, narratives and movement drawn from stories gathered in earlier phases. The final work features local dancers Richard Buda Brasfield, Jacques Infiniti\u00a0Hall\u00a0and DaCosta Mart\u00edn, who collaborated closely with\u00a0Rouss\u00e8ve\u00a0on the vogue and ballroom sections of the\u00a0piece.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0completed dance-theater work anchors the CARE Project with vital visibility for social change, centering queer and trans BIPOC communities in Milwaukee. As\u00a0Rouss\u00e8ve\u00a0confronts his own experiences as an aging, HIV-positive artist, the work engages intergenerational perspectives, exploring mentorship, mental health and what it means to become an elder within the LGBTQ+ community. The project emphasizes the systems of care that persist in the face of ongoing challenges. <\/span><\/p>\n

The world premiere of CARE: Illuminating Milwaukee\u2019s Queer and Trans Communities will be presented as part of\u00a0Winterdances: Resilience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

About 51ÁÔÆæ Peck School of the Arts\u00a0<\/strong>
\nExcellent performing and visual arts training, a full calendar of events and deep connections with Milwaukee\u2019s creative economy make the Peck School of the Arts a destination for aspiring artists and creative entrepreneurs from around the world. Immersed in hands-on learning and mentored by faculty who are working artists, students explore uncharted territory in art and design, dance, film & animation,\u00a0music\u00a0and theatre.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0because our faculty not only educate and inspire the next generation of artists but also welcome them as essential collaborators united on a mission to change the world through the arts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts Department of Dance will present the world premiere of CARE, a new dance-theatre work created through a multiyear creative research project. The premiere will be featured in\u00a0Winterdances: Resilience\u00a0with performances Feb. 5-8, at 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Mainstage\u00a0Theater. Through\u00a0the\u00a0CARE: Illuminating Milwaukee\u2019s Queer and Trans Communities Project, the Department of Dance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39392,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[202],"tags":[],"section":[],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-152758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-releases"],"yoast_head":"\nMultiyear community-based creative research project culminates in world premiere work at Winterdances: Resilience<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts Department of Dance will present the world premiere of CARE, a new dance-theatre work\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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