Meet the Founders
Lilly Ann Comstock, a Louisville, Kentucky native, is co-founder and artistic director of Louisville Collective Laboratory, or, Lou. Co.Lab. Lilly began her journey with dance at the Louisville Ballet School where she trained for 14 years, alongside training with the University of Louisville Dance Academy and the Youth Performing Arts School of Louisville (YPAS), from which she graduated in 2015. As a 2013 Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA) alum, Lilly was able to earn a full-ride scholarship to Western Kentucky University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a focus in Performing Arts Administration in 2019. Lilly had the opportunity to train with Meghen McKinley, Amanda Clark, Anna Patsfall, Christa St. John, Pilobolus, Geoffrey Ballet, Bejart Ballet, as well as Ohad Naharin when she traveled to Tel Aviv with full funding from Western Kentucky University. After graduating, Lilly danced professionally in New York City with VISIONS Contemporary Ballet before returning to Louisville at the start of the pandemic in 2020. In 2022, Lilly Comstock and Clare Kresse founded Lou.Co.Lab and have since been dedicated to the longevity of the performing arts and the cultural and social impact it has on our Kentucky home. Lilly has enjoyed choreographing and performing for other Kentucky performing arts organizations like Cirque de Louis, Soma Center for Dance, and Shakespeare in the Park, as well as teaching at Motion Studio LLC and the Louisville Ballet's Mind Body Balance program. Lilly is currently completing her certification to become a licensed massage therapist, in which she hopes to pair in tandem with her dance career as a way to further her knowledge of all the ways movement can heal.
Clare Kresse is an artist of many trades, whether that be acting as Executive Producer of Lou.Co.Lab, assistant rehearsal director and graphic designer at the Louisville Academy of Fine Arts, or yoga teacher by night! Clare is honored to have a life immersed in creativity. Her artistic path began at Sacred Heart School for the Arts back in 2003, and continued through the Youth Performing Arts School (2012-16), American Ballet Theater Collegiate Summer (2015), and the Governor's School for the Arts (2014). Kresse pursued her passion for dance, attaining a BA in Dance and Environmental Studies from Goucher College in 2020. During undergrad, she was able to work with artists such as Adam Hougland, Sirdra Bell, Milton Meyers, Urban Bush Women and Kevin Jenkins. Graduating amidst a pandemic relocating her from Baltimore to her home of Louisville, prompted the formation of Lou.Co.Lab with Lilly Comstock. Kresse is proud of the community Lou.Co.Lab has fostered in its three years as a company. Thank you all for your continued support!
Returning Lou.Co.Lab Choreographers
Abi Elliott
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Abi Elliott received her BFA in Dance from UIUC and currently works as a freelance performer and dance instructor in Louisville, Kentucky. She has performed with Moving Collective, VALLETO Dance, Louisville Dance Series, Poetry Is, and Synergy Dance Series. Abi has also choreographed for and danced in LouCoLab's past three productions, and she's excited to get spooky this fall with her new work “Nighttime Rituals.
Theresa Bautista​
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Theresa Bautista has been hailed by the Louisville Courier Journal as “a delight to watch” and “mesmerizing” on stage by Louisville Arts Review. A dancer, choreographer, and educator based in Louisville, KY, she earned her B.S. in Biology from Indiana University. Theresa has performed with ICONography Dance, The Susie Thiel Collaborative, Brown Dance Projects, Anna Sapozhnikov’s MOYAMO DANCE, Gordon Dance Projects, Rachel James, jan street dance theatre, and Art! Art! Barking Dog Dance Company. She is the recipient of the FY21 Al Smith Fellowship in Choreography and a 2019 Hadley Creative. In addition to being the Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Moving Collective, she has created works for the Louisville Ballet Studio Company, University of Kentucky’s Department of Theatre and Dance, Louisville Ballet Youth Ensemble, School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Youth Performing Arts School, Cincinnati’s Area Choreographer’s Festival, Centre College, Moving Collective, the Berea College Modern Dance Troupe, University of Louisville Dance Theatre, The Center for Women and Families, Empujon, Bluegrass Youth Ballet, and University of Kentucky Dance Ensemble. Theresa has performed and/or presented works at the American College Dance Association Festivals, Regional Dance America (RDA)/Southeast Regional Ballet Association (SERBA) Dance Festivals, High School Dance Festival, Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, RADfest, and the Big River Dance Festival. Theresa teaches for the University of Kentucky’s Department of Theatre and Dance, Louisville Ballet School, and Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts.
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Debuting Lou.Co.Lab Choreographers
Trevor Dylan Edwards
Hey y’all! I’m Trevor Dylan Edwards (he/him/they/them)—an educator, dancer, and choreographer currently based in Glasgow, Kentucky. I’m the director, owner, and principal educator of Soma Center for Dance, a pre-professional student company, performance studio, and movement hub rooted in connecting mind, body, and spirit through dance.
I hold a B.A. in Dance with a Minor in Performing Arts Administration from Western Kentucky University. After graduating, I spent a year teaching at Wrk. Plc. for Dancers in Nashville before stepping into the professional dance world with companies like Numinous Flux (Nashville), Jon Lehrer Dance Company (NYC), Hannah McCarthy Dance (Nashville), The Stephen Foster Drama Association (Bardstown).
Currently, I’m in motion with InFlight Entertainment of Nashville, TN and Lou Co. Lab. This fall, I’m diving into an original, dance-theatre reimagining of Wicked at Soma, and I’m thrilled to return as the colorguard instructor for the Glasgow High School Colorguard.
When I’m not in the studio or onstage, you can find me spending time with my three pups—Ottie, Leona, and Chewy—or off exploring new adventures with my partner, Dylan. Life, love, and movement are at the heart of everything I do.
I’m all about story-driven work, collaborative spaces, and creating movement that resonates from the inside out. To keep up with my journey, follow me on Instagram & TikTok (@trevydylan), on Facebook at Trevor Dylan Edwards, or email trevordylandance@gmail.com for more info about classes, collaborations, and upcoming performances.
Parker Hall
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Parker Hall, at the age of thirteen, graduated from the New York Shakespeare Tap Institute where he studied under Ted Levy. He also had the opportunity to study with the late Dr. Buster Brown. Parker has performed all over the world with Artists and Shows such as Savion Glover, Riverdance, The Broadway Cast of Wicked, Grammy Winner Bela Fleck, Grammy-Nominated Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer, Amy Lee (Evanescence), Olympic Skaters and more. In addition to tap dancing Parker is also an actor and singer and been in National Commercials, Print Ads and Short Films.
Joseph Cox
Joseph has been an active artist and teacher in the Kentucky region for years, having been a former principal dancer with the Louisville Ballet, a faculty member of the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, and the director of the Cincinnati Ballet second company (CBII). He holds an MFA in Dance (Choreography) from The University of Iowa, is the recipient of the 2008 Kentucky Arts Council “Al Smith” Fellowship for Choreography, and has over 30 works to his credit. Currently, Joseph serves as a professor of Dance and Global Studies for Austin Community College and is an instructor for the Louisville Ballet School.
Julie Mcwilliams
Julie McWilliams is the owner and director of Louisville Academy of Fine Arts. She has been teaching classical ballet and choreographing full-length ballets in the Louisville community for over 30 years. Before discovering her passion for teaching, she had a short but meaningful professional career with Louisville Ballet Civic Company and Lexington Ballet Company. Her very first students were adults, leading her down a fulfilling pathway. As she comes into this new stage, working with the adult dancers of LouCoLab, she is excited to welcome new opportunities and share with others her love for dance, music, and life.
