collaborators

directors

Michael Estanich (artistic director) and Lucy Vurusic Riner formed RE|dance group in 2009 as a means to explore long distance collaboration since he lives in Stevens Point, WI and she lives in Chicago, IL. Michael's creative research currently examines ideas about the intersection of the physical body with space, architecture, and landscape often resulting in dances supported by sculptural environments. He is a Professor of Dance and Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he teaches modern dance technique, composition, and movement analysis. He earned his MFA from The Ohio State University and his BFA from Denison University. Michael’s performance credits include Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, Cerulean Dance Theatre, Rebecca Rosen, Melanie Bales, Bebe Miller, a reconstruction of Mark Morris’ choreography All Fours, and Susan Marshall's ARMS. He is the Vice President of Regional Planning for the American College Dance Association (ACDA).

Lucy Vurusic Riner (executive director) is a native Chicagoan who has been dancing, choreographing, and teaching in the Midwest for over twenty years. She received her BS Degree in Dance and Dance Education from Illinois State University. Lucy has been a member of Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, RTG Dance Company, and Matthew Hollis’ “The Power of Cheer.” She has also been part of the community cast of White Oak Dance Project and David Dorfman Dance. Lucy has taught modern, hip hop, and jazz at numerous studios and high schools in the Chicagoland area. She was the Director of Dance at Oak Park and River Forest High School for 14 years before joining the faculty at New Trier High School in 2012. In 2005, Lucy completed her Masters Degree in Education from National Louis University and also received the Midwest Dance Teacher of the Year award and was the youngest of four finalists in the running for the National Dance Teacher of the Year award. Lucy continues to produce, choreograph, teach and perform with the company while also raising two teenagers.

Zach Bird (dancer) is a Chicago based performer, artist, and communist. He holds a B.F.A. in Dance Studies and Improvisation from the University of Iowa. While not reading Karl Marx, Zach enjoys long walks on the beach and collaborating with his Chicago compatriots. He has had the pleasure of dancing for/with Mordine and Company, Hedwig Dances, Kelly Anderson Dance Theater, RE|dance, The Evanston Dance Ensemble, The Fly Honey Show, AJA Talents, Earlyn Sherry-Whitehead, Monica Thomas, Brady VanPatten, Kitch Annette, Lauren Linder, and his mentor Jennifer Kayle. "The less you eat, drink, and read books, the less you go to the theatre, the dance hall; the less you think, love, theorize, sing and paint, the more you save your capital. The less you are, the more you have; the less you express your own life, the greater is the store of your estranged being." Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels.

Cheryl Cornacchione (dancer) holds a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Southern Mississippi. Upon graduating, Cheryl moved to Chicago where she has performed with BONEdanse, CORE Dance Project, Hope Goldman, We Stand Sideways Dance, Erin Kilmurray, Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, and was an artistic collaborator with The Runaways Lab Theatre. She has been a core company member of Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre since 2014 and is currently a performer and collaborator with Laboratory Dancers. Cheryl began working with REIdance group in 2022—taking the stage with them for the first time at the Minnesota Fringe Festival.

Corinne Imberski (dancer) , a member of RE|dance group since 2014, is a Chicago based dance performer, choreographer, improviser, and educator. As an independent dance artist, Corinne has presented solo and ensemble works for over thirty years at venues grand, small, impromptu, and digital. Her greatest dance joy is to perform in collaboration with live musicians. In 2024, she was given a grant through Chicago Dancemakers Forum, which allowed her to start on a long-term solo project entitled Your Stillness Resembles. Although she is primarily a live performance artist, since 2020 she has experimented with dance on film. Corinne created Lost Dreamer, a film project through a residency from See Chicago Dance, as well as the film project Roof Series 2020-2021, which was a response to life in quarantine and crisis. She has taught and staged her choreography throughout the country, including at the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, Columbia College Chicago, Grand Valley State University, American College Dance Festival, Links Hall, Midwest RAD Fest, Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, and the Toledo Museum of Art. Corinne is a grateful recipient of the 2020 Meier Achievement Award, an award given to Chicago-area artists each year by the Helen Coburn Meier and Tim Meier Charitable Foundation for the Arts. In 2021, she was nominated as “Best Dancer” and “Best Choreographer” in Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago poll. Corinne was an artist in residence at the Ragdale Foundation in 2023. In addition to presenting her own work, she has performed and collaborated with Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape (Chicago, IL), Peter Sparling (Ann Arbor, MI), DDCdances (Detroit, MI), Ann Arbor Dance Works (Ann Arbor, MI), and HNM Dance Company (Windsor, Ontario). For more information, please see www.corinneimberski.com.

Sarah Lee (dancer) has an MA in dance therapy from Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea and a BS in dance from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. She previously performed with Renegade Dance Architects (of Chicago), the Coincidentals, RE|dance, Lee Ingyu, and Shin Hee Ahn. As a mover, a mental health professional, and a Certified Movement Analyst (CMA), she continually returns to dance for its potential for healing, expression, and connection. Recently having returned to Chicago, she has been delighted to reconnect and share space, time, and movement with RE|dance.

Melanie Neumeier (dancer) is delighted to have been exploring new worlds through rehearsal and performance with RE|dance group since 2011 and serving on the RE|dance group board as a dancer liaison since 2023. She has a BA Dance from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and has previously collaborated with Laboratory Dancers and Darling Shear in Chicago. Melanie's lifetime devotion to dance has drawn her to crave the nuance and eccentricities that movement and live performance have to offer us as a community. Whether in rehearsal, as a brand and content strategist, or spending time with a friend, Melanie believes that intimate human connection isn't just good, it's essential.

Evan Ricaurté (dancer) began dancing in the Chicago area at New Trier High School and Foster Dance Studios before minoring in dance at California Polytechnic State University. In California, Evan performed in, choreographed for, and directed numerous dance concerts including collaborations with live and original music, multimedia art installations, and more. Evan has performed with Interweave Dance Theater company in Boulder, Colorado, and also developed numerous performance projects focusing on experiential dance design that shifts and challenges traditional audience perception of live dance performances. He began dancing with RE|dance in 2024. More of Evan's work can be found at www.ricaurte-designs.com/dance

kt williams (dancer) is a contemporary dance artist, educator, and dance-maker based in Chicago, IL. She earned her MFA in Dance/Choreography from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her BFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she received the Donald Carducci Memorial Scholarship Award for overall excellence in dance performance. In addition to her own solo work, kt has performed professionally in works by Renay Aumiller, Sara Hook, B.J. Sullivan, and Megan Rhodes, and she is thrilled to be performing with RE|dance Group this season. kt is on faculty in the dance program at College of DuPage and teaches movement classes and workshops across the Chicago area. kt is a co-founder of DanSeries Collective with creative colleague Caitlyn Schrader, and together they make duet work that pushes traditional definitions of dance performance through public performances, installations, and events, which are always presented as a series. kt’s pedagogical and artistic practice is collaborative in nature, as she genuinely believes working in community fosters the wellbeing and sustainability of the artist-citizen.

Sammy Baxter (costume designer) (they/them) is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, earning a BFA in Theatre Design and Technology with an emphasis in costume and wig design & construction. Their credits at UWSP include hair & makeup design for She Loves Me, The Misanthrope and A Christmas Carol as well as costume design for original works by choreographers Jordan Linton (A Touch of Love) and Paige Hoover (Surreality). They have had the privilege of working with Michael on two of his beautiful works and is honored to be a part of In C, a vigorous study of time. They are extremely grateful to the choreographers and directors who have allowed them to be a part of making their ideas a reality, their mentors and friends who have helped them to grow and, most importantly, their mom and sister for their endless support; they wouldn’t be doing what they love without them!

Charlotte Rathke (lighting designer) has been blessed to work professionally as a Lighting Designer for over 40 years. She is excited to be designing for this Project with REdance Group. When not working for DCE, EDE & Studio 5, she stays busy at North Shore Center for Performing Arts in Skokie. Other Area credits include: 25 years as Lighting Designer at Niles West HS teaching the next generation of theatre artists. over 20 years at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire (120 productions), The Miracle Center, Schaumburg Dance Ensemble, Deerfield HS, District 214 Summer Musicals, Rolling Meadows HS, Woman's Club of Evanston, Harper College, Roosevelt University, Northwestern University Opera among many others. She was honored to Assist. LD for Diane Ferry Williams in 2016 for the pre-Broadway run of "Born for This" in Atlanta. For fun, fulfillment and renewal, she travels to Tutwiler, Mississippi with The Sheil Catholic Center to help build houses with Habit for Humanity.

CeCe Sickler (costume construction) is the Costume Shop Manager at UW-Stevens Point. She has been working in the costume industry for over 15 years. She freelances as a Costume Designer and is the Lead Cutter/Draper for The Phoenix Theatre Company. She is the Owner of Blue Collar Costumes where she builds bespoke costume pieces for various theatres around the country. She wants to make all the things!