Lou.Co.Lab
Louisville Collective Laboratory
Lou.Co.Lab
Louisville Collective Laboratory
Returning Lou.Co.Lab Choreographers
Abi Elliott received her BFA in Dance from UIUC and currently works as a freelance performer and dance instructor in Louisville, Kentucky. She performed as a company member for Moving Collective and VALLETO Dance and has participated in various projects with local artists for the Louisville Dance Series and other festivals. Her own work has been performed at Links Hall in Chicago, Illinois, as well as the Midwest RAD Fest in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Abi is so excited to continue sharing her passion for dance and expanding her choreographic and performance experience through LouCoLab's spring concert.
Emma Lucas is thrilled to be back with LouCoLab again as a choreographer & dancer! A Louisville native, Emma has trained in ballet, modern, & jazz throughout Louisville and Lexington over the last 22 years. She is a graduate of Kentucky’s Governor’s School for the Arts (2016) and the University of Kentucky (2021). Additionally, she has performed at the collegiate level at the American College Dance Association (2017) and in New York City, NY (2018) and Lorton, VA (2019). Emma is currently a dance teacher and stage manager at Louisville Academy of Fine Arts. She is so grateful to be a part of a company that is celebrating and creating space for local artists and is eager to present her work co-choreographed with Clare Kresse in LouCoLab’s second mainstage performance, Emergence.
Grace McWilliams is thrilled to be participating in another amazing Lou.Co.Lab production showcasing her shortened version of Carnival of the Animals. She has performed and choreographed in numerous productions with Sacred Heart School for the Arts, the Youth Performing Arts School, Louisville Dance Alliance, Vandiveir Ford Dance Company (2018), Louisville Dance Series (2019, 2020), Moving Collective (2015), and Lou.Co.Lab (2022-present). Grace is currently the Assistant Director with the Louisville Academy of Fine Arts (2019-present). Grace is extremely blessed and grateful for Clare and Lilly for their continued efforts in providing such a safe and welcoming community and giving us all the opportunity to participate in these amazing productions. She is also extremely thankful to her cast for their dedication and hard work in rehearsals.
Debuting Lou.Co.Lab Choreographers
Jon McWilliams is a film producer based in Louisville, Ky. After completing an undergraduate degree at Ohio University studying Dance & Filmmaking, Jon established HARDTOREADPRODUCTIONS to continue directing experimental films that challenge contemporary artistic conventions. After premiering "TAKE" with LouCoLab in 2022, the one-shot dance film screened at festivals such as the Louisville International Festival of Film and Athens International Film + Video Festival. In addition to spending time behind or in front of the camera, Jon teaches Ballet and Modern dance at Louisville Academy of Fine Arts. Their experiences in dance include attendance at Ohio University College of Fine Arts, the Kentucky Centre Governor's School for the Arts and the Youth Performing Arts School.
Courtney Martin Davis, a Louisville, Ky native, began her early dance education at various competition studios. It was not until the age of 14 did she find her passion for ballet and concert dancing at the Youth Performing Arts School. Courtney was honored to attend the Governor's school of the arts in 2008 for dance. She continued to pursue her passion in college while attending Western Kentucky University, graduating with a B.A in Dance and minor in performing arts administration. Since finishing school, she has had the pleasure of performing works by choreographers from Bill T. Jones dance company, Alvin Alley Dance Theatre, Ballet Hispanico and traveling with independent choreographers to Ashland,OR and Italy. In 2014, Courtney relocated to Chicago to dance professionally. During her time in Chicago, Courtney was a principal dancer for Jayson Tisa Dance Company and Project Bound Dance. When returning to Kentucky, she performed with Moving Collective under the direction of Theresa Bautista. Courtney has continued to share her love of dance through teaching at multiple studios, intensives and dance programs. In 2021, she became a substitute teacher for YPAS and choreographed for their Dance Concert the following year - a dream she had since attending the school! Courtney is very excited to be apart of the Louisville Co-Lab this season as a dancer and choreographer!
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.
Laura Neese is a dance artist and educator from New York City. Described as “ethereally romantic” by The Dance Enthusiast, Neese is a longtime company member of Bessie-nominated Darrah Carr Dance and has performed works by artists including Carr, Melissa West, Sean Curran, Ann Carlson, Maho Ogawa, & Chia-Ying Kao among others, and currently produces her own work through Laura Neese|Dance Projects. Neese’s choreographic research draws from her studies of the body in movement, and on the dissection table, to engage body as subject and matter, exploring structure, function, expression, and the fibrous animal-stuff that makes us all.
Neese holds an MFA from the Ohio State University, BFA/BA from SUNY Buffalo, & Pilates Certification from Kinected, and is currently on faculty at the University of Kentucky. She is thrilled to collaborate with the amazing Theresa Bautista, and to connect with the Kentucky dance community.
Kelsey Hutchison received her B.A. in Dance from the University of Kentucky in Lexington. She has performed in the Dumbo Dance Festival at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn. Most of her dance work has been centered in the Lexington area, performing at events at UK, and Movement Continuum's Forum Gala. Kelsey is an educator above all else. She loves to teach the next generation of dancers what she has spent her life learning to love.
This is Kelsey's first time working with Lou.Co.Lab and she is very excited to debut her new work 'sit with it.' A simple piece about all the could have, should have and would haves in life.