Rockford DanceMakers Festival 2027 Performances March 19 & 20 RPL Nordlof Center

Baylor Twins Move is a Rockford-based dance duo composed of twin sisters Caitlyn Baylor and Meghan Baylor. Both graduated from Grinnell College, where they completed a Mentored Advanced Project in Advanced Choreography under the guidance of Celeste Miller of Jacob’s Pillow. They work as choreographers, modern dancers, and dance educators. In 2024, Caitlyn and Meghan were named Performing Artists of the Year by the Rockford Area Arts Council. They are also co-recipients of Rockford Area Arts Awards for Innovation in the Arts for Somnium (2021) and Placemaking for Dance at the Dells (2021). Recent projects include participation in the inaugural Rockford DanceMakers Festival (2026); an artist residency at Great Basin National Park through the National Park Service and Great Basin National Park Foundation (2025); All Will Come Again (2024), an evening-length work exploring a life-altering medical diagnosis; and Dance at the Dells (2019–2021; 2025–2026), an award-winning site-specific dance series at Severson Dells Nature Center. In April, Baylor Twins Move will present an evening of three original works at the Rockford Theatre, including pieces inspired by artist Brad Towell and featuring original music by Micky Torpedo. Caitlyn and Meghan are faculty members at the West Side Show Room.

Ella Lakey is a Chicago-based dance artist whose training began through the Rockford Public Schools Performing Arts Program and Rockford Dance Company, where she studied a wide range of dance genres. During her training, she performed in numerous productions, including The Nutcracker, and attended pre-professional intensives at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, The Boston Conservatory, and SALT Contemporary Dance. In 2022, she completed the trainee program at Water Street Dance Milwaukee before relocating to Chicago. Ella’s professional career includes concert dance, musical theatre, and multimedia performance. Her performance credits include Skylight Music Theatre, Black Arts MKE, Mandala South Asian Performing Arts, and the Rockford Area Arts Council. As a choreographer, Ella has presented work through Cornish College of the Arts (2021), Water Street Dance Milwaukee (2022), Rockford Area Arts Council (2022–2025), West Side Show Room (2025), Alluvion Dance Chicago (2025), the Rockford DanceMakers Festival (2026), and Trifecta Dance Company (2026). In 2025, she founded Chicago Dance Company and produced its inaugural performance, Flourishing Threads.

Jenny Vause is the founder of Evolve Dance Company in Rockford, Illinois, where she works with dancers throughout the community and supports their growth in both confidence and artistry. Her professional work has also taken her beyond Rockford. Jenny has been featured at the Carnival Choreographer’s Ball in Chicago, taught as a guest artist at IAMT in New York City, and serves as a judge for dance and talent competitions, including Imagine and Tribute. Jenny also choreographs for local musical theatre productions at Starlight Theatre, with credits including Cinderella, Legally Blonde, Grease, and 9 to 5. She is pleased to return to the Rockford DanceMakers Festival for its second annual season.

María E. Castello is a dancer, choreographer, physician, and educator with a 40-year career spanning Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and the United States. She holds a medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires, a master’s degree in Teaching from Rockford University, and certification as a Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst (CMA). She trained at Buenos Aires’ National School of Dance and Teatro Municipal San Martín. Her choreography has been presented at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, Dance Place, the Bay Area and Monterey Dance Festivals, and festivals in Canada. In 2002, she received the Illinois Arts Council Choreography Finalist Award. As Artistic Director of Without Shoes Modern Dance Company, María creates interdisciplinary work and has collaborated with organizations including Rockford Dance Company, where she served as School Director from 1996 to 2004, and Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center. María taught for 20 years in Rockford Public Schools’ bilingual classrooms and developed youth outreach initiatives supporting access to the arts. Her contributions earned her La Voz Latina’s Hispanic Heritage Award in 2002 and Arts Educator of the Year in 2020. She teaches in the Dance Movement Therapy Program at Argentina’s National University of the Arts (UNA) and courses endorsed by the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of New York.

Michelle R. Stolberg started dancing in a studio-based setting while in college, and graduated with a BA in Dance from The University of Iowa in 2013. Prior to her studio work, Michelle found a passion for the visual arts in high school with the Dubuque Senior High School Color Guard and through performing with The Colts Drum and Bugle Corps Color Guard based out of Dubuque, IA. While at the University of Iowa, she had the pleasure of dancing for a number of artists, including Christopher Masters, Jennifer Harge, Jessica Anthony, and Deanna Carter. After graduating, Michelle performed with several companies in the northern Illinois region, including Rockford Dance Company, Without Shoes Modern Dance Company, and Bad Wolf Dance Theatre. Michelle has taught on the faculty of Rockford Dance Company and as an Adjunct Professor of Dance at Rockford University. While teaching, she had the opportunity to set work on the students of RPS 205’s Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) Program. As she continues her work, Michelle continues to find and produce work based on the intersections of mixed performing arts and advocacy for marginalized communities in her choreography and teaching philosophies.

Winifred Haun & Dancers was founded in Chicago in the 1990s by award-winning choreographer and dancer Winifred Haun. In the nearly three decades since its founding, the company has received a MacArthur Foundation Award, been chosen by the Martha Graham Dance Company to participate in its Lamentation Variation Project, been presented at Danspace Project in New York City, and twice received the Oak Park Area Arts Council’s “Best in Class” Award, along with numerous other national and regional honors. The mission of Winifred Haun & Dancers is to create and present original, contemporary, innovative dance works that illuminate and elevate diverse artists, audiences, and global themes. Part of the company’s artistic vision is to have dance viewed not only in the context of professional presentation, but also at the community level and in nontraditional performance venues. The company has a longstanding commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, as reflected in its artists, staff, board, and programming priorities.

Christy Munch (she/her) has worked in dance for over four decades as a performer, choreographer, dance educator, director, costumer, and administrator. Her choreography has been presented at numerous Chicago dance venues, including five years in Chicago’s NEXT Dance Festival, and has been reviewed in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Dance Magazine, and Chicago Reader. In Chicago, Christy performed with Jan Bartoszek/Hedwig Dances and Timothy Buckley, touring with Buckley to Jacob’s Pillow International Dance Festival and Dance Theatre Workshop in New York City. Among the influential teachers in her dance career have been Stella Applebaum, Birute Barodicaite, Claire Bataille, Greg Begley, Timothy Buckley, Gus Giordano, Laurie Merriman, Paul Sanasardo, Susan Quinn Williams, and Sherry Zunker. Christy holds master’s degrees in Interdisciplinary Arts and the Art of Teaching from Columbia College Chicago. She teaches Level 1 Giordano Jazz Dance Technique (NGCP Level 1 Certification), BeMoved, Adult Ballet, and Active Morning Program classes at the Rockford Dance Company. When not in the studio, Christy teaches BeMoved classes aboard Carnival Cruise Lines as a Certified Artistry BeMoved® Instructor and assists Sherry Zunker as an Artistry BeMoved Certification Mentor.

Faith Minneyfield is a dancer, choreographer, and educator from Rockford, Illinois. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Dance Performance and Psychology from Illinois State University in 2022, where she worked with choreographers including Molly McMullen, Alexander Michael, Mark Caserta, and Morgan Williams. Faith has choreographed and performed in the immersive multidisciplinary production SOMNIUM since 2022. Her choreography has also been presented through the American College Dance Association, Water Street Dance Milwaukee’s Water on Water, Trifecta Dance Collective’s A New Light Emerging Choreographer’s Showcase, Delve Dance Chicago’s Choreography Showcase, Chicago Dance Company’s Flourishing Threads (2025), and the Rockford DanceMakers Festival (2026). In addition to performing and choreographing, Faith has taught at dance studios throughout the Midwest and continues to teach in the Rockford area. Her artistic work explores authentic individuality, the complexity of simplicity and minimalism, and connection through the psyche.

Liz Hernandez founded Mosaico Cultural to showcase, teach, and celebrate Mexican culture, art, history, and traditions through dance. What began with three dancers has grown to approximately 50 students of all ages. Through performances and educational opportunities, Mosaico Cultural shares the traditions and stories of Mexican folkloric dance with the community. Its work is centered on preserving cultural traditions while creating opportunities for audiences and participants to learn about the history and meaning behind each dance. Mosaico Cultural welcomes dancers of all ages and experience levels, from young children to adults, and encourages participation as a way to experience and express culture through movement. With the support of its dancers, families, and community, Mosaico Cultural continues to grow while preserving and sharing the traditions of Mexican folkloric dance.

Micki Selander is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer with more than two decades of experience in performance, dance education, and choreography. She received her early ballet training at the Maryland School of Ballet, after which she moved to Chicago to train professionally with Lou Conte, Claire Bataille, and Birute Barodicaite. Soon after, she joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago as a full company member. Micki went on to dance in New York City before returning to the Chicago area, where she continues to teach, choreograph, and perform in local productions. Her teaching reflects her extensive background in ballet and dance technique, along with a longstanding commitment to sharing her knowledge and experience with her students. Micki is pleased to be part of the Rockford DanceMakers Festival.

Nicole Rundall-Royal has been involved in dance for nearly four decades, studying a range of forms with an emphasis on modern dance. She attended Northern Illinois University’s School of Theatre and Dance, where she minored in Performance Dance. Nicole has taught through after-school programs in Rockford Public Schools, summer arts programs with the Rockford Area Arts Council, and at Rockford Dance Company. She is a founding member of the dance collaborative Social Motion and has performed with Baylors’ Move, Without Shoes Dance Company, and in Rockford Dance Company’s The Nutcracker alongside her children. A social worker and therapist by profession, Nicole brings an interest in social justice and the human experience to her choreography. She draws inspiration from Nina Simone and other revolutionary musicians whose work explores struggle, resilience, and inner strength. Her artistic perspective reflects a belief in dance as an expression of the human condition and its beauty, pain, and triumph. Nicole values the many dancers and choreographers she has worked with throughout the Rockford area.

If you are interested in having your choreography professionally produced as a part of next year's Festival, stay tuned! Or, reach out at RockfordDanceMakersFestival@gmail.com. Thanks!