Art & Social Justice

This will be an interactive Krump/Dance workshop with an opportunity to learn how building a positive self-image can help you develop as an individual and as a future community leader. Participants are welcome to join in with the movement/dance being presented but it is not required.

Artist bio: Traviance Witherspoon is a Multifaceted Artist from Racine, WI. She is a Sports Management Major at UW-Parkside who previously was a UW-Madison PEOPLE Program Scholar majoring in African-American Studies with an Arts Emphasis and a Certificate in Dance Movement Therapy. She has recently competed in several Miss America Local competitions where she promotes “Celebrating Yourself: Projecting A Positive Self-Image” which is a state of mind/lifestyle that gives you the tools to become unapologetically you. Traviance started her dance journey in 2000 with Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Praise Dance as her foundation. In 2017 she began training in the dance style of Krump, a South Central Los Angeles originated Street Style dance closely related to HipHop, characterized by its high level of energy, expressive nature and its roots in African American Culture. Through her hard work and dedication towards the craft she became the Leading Lady of the Wisconsin Krump Movement (WIBuck) where she is best known as Buckerfly. She has a love for the community and carries this passion everywhere she goes.

This 55-minute workshop incorporates imagination and theater games to create a greater sense of self-expression, how one fits within a group, and how one fits within the greater whole. We will create a safe and fun space to engage with improvisation techniques, the Viewpoints acting method, breath work and movement.

Encore Studio for the Performing Arts celebrates 23 years as Wisconsin's first professional theatre company for people with disabilities and is one of the very few in the United States. Encore offers an innovative, inclusive, and professional environment where all people work together in the pursuit of artistic and theatrical excellence. Encore’s actors develop their creative skills and talents to communicate, through the performing arts, a challenging and authentic message about disability and culture.

Presenter Bio: Jessica Jane Witham, (she/her/hers) is an arts producer, director, performer and educator. Program Director of Encore Studio for the performing Arts and Artistic Producer with Whoopensocker, Jessica has worked with many wonderful companies including American Players Theatre, Forward Theatre Company, Music Theatre of Madison, Theatre Lila, the NYC Frigid Festival, and the NYC Fringe Festival. Additionally, Jessica is a certified yoga teacher specializing in trauma sensitive yoga and founded the hybrid theatre-yoga program TheatriKidz Yoga. Jessica attended American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City and UW–Madison where she received her BA in cultural anthropology and MA from the Bolz Center for Arts Administration. 

Explore variations in dance, hip-hop, popping, krump, locking and house

Presenter bio: Kooy has been teaching street style technique (hip-hop, popping, krump, locking and house) 12+ years and KPOP choreography for 5+. He's won and judged all styles battles all around the midwest. He’s very passionate about utilizing the art forms as a way to express all parts of yourself, build self confidence, as well as using it as therapy for our mental, physical and emotional health. 

Explore Solarpunk concepts of a liberated future with a deep connection to nature as you creatively imagine a more equitable future through an art form of your choice. Then, discover some concrete organizing steps that you can lead to bring your visions to life! 

Presenter Bio: Karen Polnitz (she/her) is a writer, performer, organizer, and educator who enjoys growing alongside each new group of students she is able to guide in exploration. She holds a B.A. in Playwriting from UC Santa Barbara and an M.A. in Teaching from Fresno State University. She has served as an arts, high school, and spirituality educator for the last decade, organizes and supports social justice efforts in the Madison area through Families for Justice and within her virtual job based out of Fresno, CA. 

A play that is about a group of people, that may be somewhat crazy, but also have something to hide and they are never on the same page. 

Presenter Bio: Micah Anderson is a West alumni and UW theatre major.