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CURRENT ARTISTS
Kathleen Guardamino
Kathleen Guardamino began dancing when she was four years old at McDonald Dance Academy in her hometown, Arlington Heights, Illinois. She’s had opportunities to be immersed in numerous styles and be a part of projects in Milwaukee such as the Lake Arts Project and Heidi Latsky’s On Display. She graduated from Marquette University with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and English and a minor in Dance. She has performed with the Latin dance company, Las Estrellas, has been teaching yoga for the past few years, and is honored to be a member of CODC.
Rebecca Kapla
Rebecca Kapla is a Milwaukee native and is honored to be dancing with the Catey Ott Dance Collective again for the 2025 season! Rebecca has her bachelor's of science in dance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. During her undergraduate studies, Rebecca received scholarships to train at the Joffrey Ballet School, Perry-Mansfield Pre-Professional dance intensive, and the Dance Education Laboratory. She has performed in work by Alex Ketley, John Pennington, Jin-Wen Yu, Chris Walker, Rob Kitsos, and Marlene Skog. In addition to CODC, Rebecca has danced professionally with the Madison Bach Musicians in work choreographed by Karen McShane-Hellenbrand and with Marlene Skog Dance. Rebecca works as a physical therapist at the Lutheran Home and Harwood Place in Wauwatosa and is honored every year to feed her passion for dance as a member of CODC!
Natasha Posey
Natasha Posey, a Georgia native, earned a BFA in dance from Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has performed with Augusta Ballet Company, Lynda Martha Dance Company (Chicago), Wisconsin Ballet Theatre (Green Bay), and Danceworks Performance Company (Milwaukee). She has been a faculty member with Milwaukee Ballet School and Academy for over 20 years. Natasha is an MPS teacher at Fernwood Montessori, and she enjoys spending her summers as a guest teacher with Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts. She is honored to be dancing with Catey Ott Dance Collective since 2016. Much love to her biggest fans: husband Mike and children Clare and Jacob!
Meghan McKale-Visual Art
Meghan McKale is a Milwaukee based artist that creates connections through art, education, and collaboration with other disciplines. Her studio practice involves exploring and abstracting imagery from her observational world predominantly through drawing, painting, and photography. Meghan earned her B.F.A. in General Fine Arts and Masters of Art in Teaching from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. She currently is a Visual Arts Instructor at Pius XI Catholic High School. Meghan and Catey have found ways to collaborate through dance and art for 30 years.
Colin Gawronski- Lighting Designer + Theatrical Technician
Colin Gawronski is a lighting designer and theatrical technician native to Milwaukee who has worked extensively with Danceworks, Inc, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Sunstone Studios and Black Arts MKE/Bronzeville. They have worked with other local companies such as Renaissance Theaterworks, Wildspace, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Gina Laurenzi Dance Project, and In Tandem Theatre. Colin has also worked with Theatre Lila, Third Avenue Playworks and Forward Theater. Favorite productions include: Stew, Out of Many One, ‘Neath the Hills of Bastogne, /maskəˈrād/, Dutchman, Black Nativity, Romeo & Juliet: A Theatre Lila Invention, Secrets From the Wide Sky, Daddy Long Legs, Spalding Grey: Stories Left to Tell, Stories From a Life, The Glass Menagerie, Serendipity, Birds of North America, My Fair Lady, Lamps For My Family, and Vagabondare. Give Love Always.
Glorimar Rosado-Febus
Glorimar Rosado-Febus is a Milwaukee-based dancer specializing in Latin dance, with a strong foundation in modern and contemporary styles. She began her dance journey at Escuela Vieau School through their dance program where she learned Latin dance styles. She later received further technical dance training at Milwaukee High School of the Arts and has expanded her expertise at Alverno College and teaching ballet, contemporary, jazz, creative movement, composition, choreography, modern, salsa, and bachata.Blending movement, storytelling, and visual artistry, Glorimar brings both technical excellence and emotional depth to her performances and choreography. She has experience choreographing and teaching technical dance classes, fostering a passion for both performance and education.Beyond dance, Glorimar is deeply involved in event planning, leadership, and ministry, using her creative talents to serve her community through the arts. She continues to explore new opportunities that align with her artistic and spiritual calling, pushing boundaries in her creative expression
GUEST ARTISTS
Kayla Siedlecki
Kayla Siedlecki (she/her) is a Milwaukee-based artist originally from West Chester, PA. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2022 with degrees in Actuarial Math and Finance. At the University of Pittsburgh, she continued her dance studies through classes at Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and as a performer and choreographer in student-run clubs. Kayla currently dances with Danceworks Apprentice MKE. She has also performed in UWM’s Upstart, Kim Miller’s Social Choreography, and Danceworks’ GIOT.
Kathryn Becker
Kathryn Becker began dancing at the age of 3 with the Central Wisconsin School of Ballet in Wausau, WI, where she received training from many acclaimed dancers such as Waltraud Karkar, Patrik Kasper, Darryl Yeager, Jeanene Russell Perry, Carlos Lopez, Vladilen Semenov, and many more. She was able to perform both ensemble and solo parts in notable ballets like Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, as well as in modern, contemporary, jazz, and musical theater pieces throughout her time there. Since moving to Milwaukee, she has had the opportunity to work with and learn from Catey Ott Thompson at Milwaukee Ballet. Heidi Latsky's On Display Global in 2024 was Kathryn's first artistic project with Catey, and she is very excited about the chance to further collaborate with the CODC!
Natalie Stehly
Natalie Stehly is a dancer, maker, and educator. She graduated from the University of
Illinois Urbana-Champaign earning her BFA in Dance. During her time in Urbana, she
performed in works by Kendra Portier, Mauriah Kraker, Leah Wilks, Charli Brissey,
Renée Wadleigh, Nico Brown, Linda Lehovec, Paige Cunningham-Caldarella, Rachel
Rizzuto among others. Natalie is passionate about dance education and has notably
taught at Dancewave, Peridance, Dance Theatre of Harlem, La Crosse Dance Centre,
Milwaukee Ballet, and guest taught at Lawrence University. Her choreography and
teaching practices are interwoven with her love for improvisation and somatic practices.
Her work has been presented at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (Urbana, IL),
Current Showcases (Brooklyn, NY), Green Space (Queens, NY), Dancewave (Brooklyn,
NY), Triskelion Arts' Waxworks (Brooklyn, NY), New York Live Arts through
Dancewave’s Company Program (New York, NY), Wisconsin Dance Council's Mini
Dance Festival (Reedsburg, WI), and DanceWorks’ Get It Out There (Milwaukee, WI).
Most recently, Natalie was selected to be part of the Emerging Artist Mentorship
Program through Wisconsin Dance Council where her work was performed at
Warped Studio (Milwaukee, WI).
Photo credit: Hallee Bernstein
Lia Smith-Redmann
Lia Smith-Redmann is a Wisconsin-based artist, dancer, and writer. She studied dance and theatre throughout the Five College Consortium in Massachusetts and is pursuing her BA in Dance and English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is a collaborating artist with Hyperlocal MKE and the Catey Ott Dance Collective, a Guest Choreographer for Fable Dance Company, and a former member of Ballo Dance Company and Laughing Tiger Tai Chi in Door County, where she also provides production support for the Door Community Auditorium and Death's Door Dance Festival. She has had the opportunity to train with internationally acclaimed artists, notably Chan Ming Shu, Ailey II, and the Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane Company, and has had the privilege of performing the works of choreographers such as Alfonso Cervera, Maria Gillespie, Daniel Burkholder, Dan Schuchart, and Ishmael Konney. For her academic and artistic merit she is the recipient two consecutive Research Fellowships under the direction of Maria Gillespie. Her choreography and research have been performed at the St. Louis Contemporary Dance Festival, Still Inspired Future Artists (Chicago), the American College Dance Association, Danceworks MKE DanceLab, UW-Milwaukee’s Dance Collective, New Dancemakers, and New Dramaworks Short Play Festival, the Honors College Association for Undergraduate Research, Hampshire College (Amherst), and the Wisconsin Interscholastic Theatre Festival.
Jessie Emma-Friend - (Understudy)
Jessie Emma Friend was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For 15 years, she
mainly studied classical ballet, along with a couple of other dance styles, with the Milwaukee
Ballet School and Academy (MBSA). Through studying ballet with the MBSA program, she has
performed many times with the school, including its Pre-Professional Program. As well, she has
had the incredible opportunity to dance in a multitude of professional shows with the Milwaukee
Ballet Company (including two of their world premieres) and a nonprofit company, The Lake Arts
Project. Since graduating from the MBSA program in 2021, she has switched her pointe shoes
to bare feet and socks and is currently halfway through pursuing her BFA in Modern Dance at
the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. After graduating from the university in 2027, she
hopes to further pursue an MFA and then begin working her way into the professional modern
dance world!
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