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 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he teaches modern dance technique, composition, dance pedagogy, movement analysis and dance history. 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 Mainstage Choreographer at the Trollwood Performing Arts School in Moorhead, MN and Vice President of Nominations and Elections 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.

Stacy DeMorrow (dancer) earned her bachelor’s degree in dance from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point. During her studies there she performed works by Billy Siegenfeld, Susan Marshall, Mary Anthony, as well as spent a month teaching dance in Thailand as part of the Thailand Project, a mission to use higher education as humanitarian aid. Living in Chicago Stacy has performed for Perceptual Motion Dance Company, We Stand Sideways Dance, Mordine and Company Dance Theater, Montom Arts by Monica Thomas, Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre, and currently is dancing with Project Bound Dance. Stacy is proud to have worked with RE|dance group since 2010.

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.

Erika Astrid Farkvam (dancer) began her dance training at the Academy of Movement and Music in Oak Park, IL. In 2005, she moved to Tucson, Arizona to attend the University of Arizona where she received her BFA in Dance in May 2009. From 2009 to 2012, Erika danced and choreographed with New ARTiculations Dance Theater in Tucson. Since Erika’s return to Chicago in 2012, she has performed with Momenta (2012-14); a showing of Aftertaste, hosted by The Inconvenience and Tuesday Night Dinner (2013); The Fly Honey Show (2013-14); works choreographed by Erin Kilmurray; and most recently in The David Bowie Variety Hour Show at the MCA with The Salt. She is very excited to be performing with RE|dance group this season.

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. 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 will be 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.

Melanie Neumeier (dancer) has been delighted to have been exploring new worlds through rehearsal and performance with RE|dance group since 2011. In addition to thriving in exactness and clarity, Melanie's lifetime devotion to dance has drawn her to also crave the nuance and eccentricities that movement and live performance have to offer. The study of movement and all its communicative possibilities inspires her to bring this artistic perspective into all that she does. Whether in rehearsal, as a brand and content strategist at a tech company, or spending time with a friend, Melanie believes that intimate human connection isn't just good, it's essential. She has a BA Dance from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and has previously collaborated with Laboratory Dancers and Darling Shear.

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

Taylor Taylor (dancer) is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher from North Carolina. Taylor began her dance journey at Dance Project: School at City Arts in Greensboro, NC, where in her formative years she gained a deep appreciation for postmodern and contemporary dance styles. She continued her studies at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance: Choreography and Performance (‘21). After graduation, Taylor had the privilege of interning at Dance Place in Washington D.C.,where she learned the administrative skills needed to produce and bring dance to local communities. Once back in NC, Taylor was delighted to choreograph a local production of Moana Jr in collaboration with other UNCG artists. Now, based in Chicago, Taylor is in her first season with 773 Dance Project as a company dance artist. As a choreographer, she had shown work at Common Ground. Taylor’s movement practice is constantly evolving but presently she is focused on how to integrate her love for movement and her insatiable curiosity by choosing projects that challenge her physically and intellectually.

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.