Photo via Nō Studios - nostudios.com
Nō Studios - Dance Fest
Dancers perform at Nō Studios' Dance Fest at the Peck Pavilion
Nō Studio’s Dance Fest on Saturday August 2 is an outdoor gala celebrating many dance styles, genres and perspectives. The 10 a.m.-9 p.m. event at the Marcus Performing Arts Center’s Peck Pavilion and grounds begins with open dance classes. Contrasting performances by 13 Midwest companies follow.
It’s the festival’s fourth year and the largest in terms of events. It’s the second year curated by Morgan Williams, founder and artistic director of Water Street Dance MKE. As dancer, choreographer, and teacher, the Chicago-born Williams has first-hand experience with companies across the county.
Also returning is Danni Gee, director of programming at the Joyce Theatre, New York City’s major dance venue. She’ll MC the show and moderate a midday Q&A with the directors of the performing groups.
“I think the festival will give you a huge appreciation for the art form,” Williams says. “For anyone who’s curious, it’s a great way to see what dance can be and how it’s evolved. I think this festival is needed. It’s bigger than Milwaukee. It’s focused on an ecosystem.”
Yoga, Africa and More
It begins with public classes. “There’s a yoga class by Teresa Noonan, an artist in my company,” Williams explains. “There’s an African Dance class by Milwaukee’s Ko-Thi Dance Company which is 55 years old, and Mama Ferne herself, the founder, will be there. Daync Studio will teach bachata, followed by a Latin Social since it’s customary after salsa or bachata class to show your moves off with a dance party.”
The Q&A session will follow. Then a music break. Then a wide-ranging, multicultural preshow.
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Williams identifies the performers: “We’re bringing my youth group, the Water Street Dance preprofessional company. Milwaukee Irish Dance Company is bringing their youth dancers. LunaBellas, an Asian-inspired dance group, is bringing their youth company. The hip hop group TRUE Skool is bringing their adult competition team with break dancers. And Danyc Studio is bringing their adult salsa and bachata teams.”
Peeling Back the Layers
Photo via Nō Studios - nostudios.com
Nō Studios - Dance Fest 2024
Attendees smile at Dance Fest 2024
Williams’ professional company will open the main show with his new work, Clownin Around. Here are his beautiful notes: “It’s about how we live in a world of assumptions and expectations that dictate how we should act, who we should be, and what emotions we’re allowed to show. It explores the masks we wear, the forced smiles and the performances we give just to get by. But beneath it all, we’re all struggling with something. This piece peels back the layers, revealing the tension between the façade and the truth, the comedy and the chaos, the laughter and the loneliness.”
“I don’t know if it’s really that deep,” he tells me. “I felt like showing my past. It starts with a piece of my early work set to Nina Simone’s ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.’ The dancers wear clown make-up because when you’re in your twenties, you’re reckless, you’re acting crazy. Then it goes into ‘Smile’ by Frank Sinatra. That’s when the clown is overworked. Then there’s this dark section with the performers backstage taking off their make-up. That’s when the reality of life hits. I play with physical theatre there, instead of just dance steps. Then ‘Send in the Clowns’ which starts as a solo, and finally a little more fun song, ‘People Are Strange.’”
He calls his style contemporary fusion. “I ease whatever I feel into the contemporary aesthetic and challenge my dancers to do it all.”
Next on the program: Detroit’s House of Jit, specializing in a Detroit street dance style called Jit. “Culturally,” Willaims notes, “street means Hood.” He calls it fast, raw, and distinct.
Emphatically Contemporary
Then Madison Ballet will offer a duet by artistic director Já Malik. Williams deems Malik’s ballet style as emphatically contemporary. The Chicago tap dance company M.A.D.D. Rhythms follows. “I don’t want to hear that tap is a dying art form. I want to support it,” says Williams.
A staunch advocated for Midwest art, Williams is delighted that the Ailey II company from New York—which he describes as “equally talented, just younger than the main company”—will dance a quartet by Chicagoan Houston Thomas. “New York and L.A. get the bigger spotlight,” he says, “but we have some of the best dance companies.”
Witness Danceworks Performance MKE and a work by emerging Milwaukee choreographer Kaitlyn Altmann. “Danceworks laid the groundwork for dance, other than ballet, to be taken seriously in Milwaukee,” says Williams. “We wouldn’t exist without them.”
Visceral Dance Chicago is presenting an all-woman tour-de-force by artistic director Nick Pupillo. “What I love is the cultural diversity represented in his movement vocabulary and by his dancers,” says Williams. “He’s an equally strong contemporary and ballet choreographer. Both styles are represented fifty-fifty in his work.”
The Dance Fest closes with Chicago Dance Crash. “Their roots are modern,” Williams says. “It’s concert hip hop. They’re really amazing.”
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The Fest is Saturday, August 2, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Marcus Center’s Peck Pavilion. For ticket information, visit nostudios.com/dance-fest-2025
