The International premiere of TAPESTRY, a dance-theater collaboration between Karlovsky & Company Dance and Divadlo Štúdio Tanca of Slovakia opening March 21-22 at The Grandel Theatre
TAPESTRY
An International Collaboration with Karlovsky & Company Dance and Divadlo Štúdio Tanca (Slovakia)
March 21-22, 2025 - 7:30pm
The Grandel
3610 Grandel Square
St. Louis, MO 63103
Friday night performance:
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Celebrate this historic moment with us as Terry Smitka, the Honorary Consul of Slovakia extends a warm welcome to Divadlo Štúdio Tanca.
Gilberto Pinela, Director of the Office of New Americans will present a proclamation from Mayor Tishaura Jones and Alderwoman Laura Keys will present resolutions from St. Louis City’s Board of Alderman.
Both Friday and Saturday Shows:
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Join us for a champagne toast reception after each performance for an opportunity to
meet the artists!
TAPESTRY is an international concert collaboration with Karlovsky & Company Dance and Divadlo Štúdio Tanca from Slovakia. Don't miss this unique opportunity to see powerful work of physical-dance theater by our guest artists, along with a new work, This Home, by artistic director, Dawn Karlovsky.
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Live and recorded sound scores by Kalo Hoyle and Tory Starbuck
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Video collaboration with filmmaker, Zlatko Ćosić
This year, the company is excited to announce the St. Louis international premiere of TAPESTRY, a collaborative dance theater program that brings Divadlo Štúdio Tanca, the foremost professional contemporary dance theater company in Slovakia. The company will come to the USA for the first time for this event and Karlovsky & Company dance will go to Slovakia this summer as part of the collaboration.
Divadlo Štúdio Tanca will present Medusa and Somewhere, we begin again at the premiere of TAPESTRY. Medusa is centered on the myth of Medusa, the performance intertwines themes of body dysmorphia and the societal pressures of physical appearance, while examining the human struggle with self-acceptance and the search for inner power. Through captivating movement and visual poetry, Medusa challenges the audience to question beauty standards and embrace the power of self-love and resilience.
Somewhere, we begin again is a contemporary dance performance that explores the longing for human connection in a world where people often feel disconnected. The piece examines how empathy and touch can help heal emotional distances. Through powerful, raw movement, the dancers confront modern isolation, showing how simple acts of closeness—like a hug or a touch—can bring comfort and understanding. The performance transforms into a celebration of human connection, even in a world that feels increasingly distant.
Karlovsky will present the premiere of This Home. This featured work was inspired by the migration story of her family heritage in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Following her visit to these regions, she imagined a time and place she had never known, yet still felt this connection, deepening her understanding of the risks families take when emigrating in search of a better life. This Home explores themes of migration, displacement, and transformation, reflecting the universal human desire for a sense of place and belonging.
Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, the Regional Arts Commission, The Kranzberg Arts Foundation, and by private donors.
Karlovsky & Company Dance
Company Members
Dawn Karlovsky
Founder / Director
DAWN KARLOVSKY is the Founder and Director of Karlovsky & Company Dance. Her thought-provoking, athletic, and emotionally candid dances have been commissioned and presented by universities and modern dance/theatre companies nationally and worldwide. International credits include choreography commissioned by Le Théatre du Rouret and Le Communauté de Culture de Couloisy in France, Cie Haute Tension (France), Tsinghua University (Beijing, China), Cape Town (South Africa) with New World Dance Theatre, and as an Artist in Residence at Moulin-Belle in Mareuil, France.
A native of Chicago, Dawn came in St. Louis after dancing with companies in San Francisco, Louisville, and Chicago. Additionally, Karlovsky is a 5th generation Isadora Duncan dancer who has been studying and performing the Duncan repertoire with Dr. Alice Bloch since 2005. She has an MFA from the University of Utah and a BA from Northern Illinois University.
Dawn teaches at Washington University and in the Department of Dance at Webster University in St. Louis. She is a nationally certified teaching member of the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) since 2004 and Chair of AmSAT's Committee for the Alexander Technique in the Performing Arts (CATPA). Dawn is a recipient of an Artist Fellowship in dance awarded by The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis
Summer Beasley
Summer began her dance training at the age of 3. She continued on her dance journey through college at Webster University with a BFA in Dance, and Lindenwood University receiving a MFA in movement with an emphasis in theater. She has danced and choreographed across the U.S. and has been working with Dawn Karlovsky since 2004. As a founding member of Karlovsky & Company Dance, Summer has enjoyed the opportunity to tour with the company to France and South Africa. Currently, she teaches dance, creative movement, and yoga at MICDS. Her yoga certificate includes the completion of a 200 hour yoga teacher training with Pam Schulte and a 95 hour children’s yoga teacher training with Lisa Roberts.
Liliana Merifield
Liliana is a 2022 graduate from Lindenwood University and holds a BFA in Dance. Her experience includes over a decade of extensive training and direction from the wonderful faculty at DaySpring Arts and Education. She studied many styles of dance, musical theatre, voice, and drama while at DaySpring. Liliana has been on the dance and performing arts faculty at Dayspring for seven years and loves the community that is found there. She is currently serving as the Performing Arts Department Head at DaySpring and is enjoying her new role. From 2017-2018 Liliana completed a trainee program with Common Thread Contemporary Ballet where she learned and performed company repertoire. Her other artistic endeavors include filmmaking where she had her short film "Upward and Over" featured at ACDA (American Collegiate Dance Association) conferences across the region in 2023. Liliana believes that movement is a gift and she loves to share it with others!
Emily Gregg
Emily is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer native to St. Louis. She holds a BA in Dance from Southeast Missouri State University where she also studied and received a BS in Mass Communications. While at SEMO, she had the opportunity to work with several guest artists such as Kristopher Estes-Brown, Jennifer Archibald, Emily Schoen Branch, Emily Haussler, and Mike Esperanza. She has also had the honor to perform in the Big Muddy Dance Festival (St. Louis) in 2022. Throughout her dance career, she has trained all over the St. Louis area in dance, musical theater and voice. She has also received training in various other cities such as Milwaukee, WI, Oklahoma City, OK, and Kalamazoo, MI. Emily is currently the assistant dance team coach for Nerinx Hall, and she is thrilled to be starting her second year with Karlovsky & Company Dance.
Melissa Miller
Melissa began dancing at The American Academy of Dance under Meredith Hudson in Paris, France. She received a BFA from Belhaven University and additional training from The Jose Limon Dance Foundation in New York under Risa Steinberg, Roxanne D’Orleans Juste, Jim May, and Carla Maxwell.
She holds an MFA from Hollins University in collaboration with Metheor Physical Theater in Plovdiv, Bulgaria under Jeffery Bullock, Maurya Kerr, Alex Ketley, Molly Rogers, Jonathan Burrows, Boyan Manchev, and Ani Vaseva.
She has performed with the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation with Lori Belilove, Live Arts Opera by Nancy L'Heritier, The Physical Plant with Karesia Batan, Chattanooga Ballet, Chattanooga Dance Theatre, Duncan Dance South, and Ballet Esprit. Miller performed original work at the Hunter Museum of American Art as part of their annual special exhibits for four years and had the honor of creating and teaching the first undergraduate dance course at Covenant College in the fall of 2022 as an Adjunct Professor. She is currently an instructor for the Center of Creative Arts and Vitality in Motion, and is a contributing writer for St Louis Dance HQ. She is excited to be in her first season with Karlovsky & Company Dance!
Elise Marie Harowitz
Elise (she/her/hers) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Modern Dance from Texas Christian University and a Master of Arts degree in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling from Columbia College Chicago. Elise is excited to join Karlovsky & Company Dance for her seventh season and is grateful for the opportunities KCD has provided her. Notably, Elise has enjoyed bringing dance to the community of St. Louis, as well as other regions, including France, Minneapolis MN, Kansas City MN, and Columbia MO through outreach programs, educational series, festivals, and concerts. Elise has also presented her original choreography at festivals and concerts in St. Louis MO, Fort Worth TX, and Chicago IL. In addition to dancing and choreographing, Elise works in private practice at Embodied Pathways as a psychotherapist and dance/movement therapist. Elise looks forward to continuing to dance for herself as well as spreading the psychotherapeutic benefits of movement to others.
Emilee Morton
Emilee graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point with a degree in Dance and Arts Administration. She is thrilled to perform in her eighth season with Karlovsky & Company Dance where she's had the opportunity to work in collaborative dance projects in the US and abroad. Currently, Emilee is a full time Pilates instructor and Movement Specialist at St. Louis City Fitness. She is a Balanced Body Pilates certified instructor and has been teaching movement for people with diverse abilities since 2012. Emilee continues her education with a variety of training: Level 1 Precision Nutrition Coach, OOV Fundamentals and OOV on Pilates Apparatus with Dr. Loribeth Cohen, OOV Level 2/3 Afferent/ Efferent with Daniel Vladeta, Pilates and Dance Specialization with Dr. Suzanna Martin, Level 1 Reflexive Performance Reset (RPR) with Jeff Branhall, Immaculate Dissection: Core Concepts with Dr. Kathy Doole, McLoughlin Scar Tissue Release (MSTR®) with Cyndi George.
Abigail Hinrichs
is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher native to St. Louis, Missouri. She holds a BFA from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance where she was inspired to not only perform professionally, but to collaborate and create with a variety of other artists. Abigail currently serves as the Studio Manager at Central Studio and teaches dance and Pilates for all ages throughout the St. Louis area. She is passionate and excited to continue dancing and participating in community outreach with Karlovsky & Company Dance, Collective Motion, and Ballet 314. This is her fifth season with Karlovsky & Company Dance.
Ramona Orion
Ramona is a multidisciplinary artist based in St. Louis. She holds a BA in Dance from Webster University where she also studied Psychology and Expressive Art Therapy. While at Webster she had the opportunity to work with Maggi Dueker, Beckah Reed, Xi Zhao, Betsy Brandt, Dawn Karlovsky, Michael Uthoff, and Geoff Alexander. She has participated in Jacob Henss’s Space Station dance residency for three years now, both as a choreographer (2022) and mover as a part of Jakki Kalogridis’s piece I’m Thoreau Waiting (2023). This year she was both assistant producer for the show and a performer in Ty Lewis’s work Turning Points. Ramona has just begun her first season as a company member with Karlovsky & Company Dance. In November she will complete her 200-hour yoga teacher training and is excited to share dance and yoga with the St. Louis movement community
Tayler Kinner
Tayler Kinner grew up with a passion for movement and dance. They hold a BFA in Dance and a minor in Advertising & Marketing Communications from Webster University, graduating with departmental honors. Tayler spent several years in San Francisco where she worked with contemporary and dance-theater companies including RAWdance, Alyssandra Katherine Dance, Tim Rubel Human Shakes, KWENTO, REYES Dance, and several independent artists. They are the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Big Plate Dance, offering movement improvisation workshops to the public and bringing spontaneous and immersive works to audiences. She currently is Adjunct Faculty at Webster University and works with Karlovsky & Company Dance and Collective Motion. Tayler lives in St. Louis with their partner and two cats.
Sam Schenkein
began his dance training in 2003 with Irena Brecher and Misha Gabriel in Denver, Colorado, where he danced with a variety of studios and companies including Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble and the Colorado Ballet. He decided to continue his education at Webster University in St Louis, pursuing a BFA in Dance and graduating with Departmental Honors in 2023. He worked with artists including Maggi Dueker, Beckah Reed, Xi Zhao, Betsy Brandt, Dawn Karlovsky, and Michael Uthoff through both class and performances with the Webster University Dance Ensemble. He also had the honor of participating in and performing through residencies with Fiona Lundie (Abby Z and the New Utility), Kurt Douglas (Limón Dance Company), and Rodney Hamilton (Ballet Hispánico), among others. Sam was further given the incredible opportunity to study abroad and perform in Accra, Ghana, learning traditional Ghanaian Dance and Drumming styles. This is Sam’s second season with Karlovsky and Co Dance!
Ashley Mason
Ashley is a native of St. Louis, Missouri who joined the Karlovsky & Company Dance in 2024. She trained for 4 years upon graduation at Webster University Department of Dance in 2019 with a BFA in Dance (emphasis in modern dance). While attending Webster, she had the opportunity to work with the artists such as, Dawn Karlovsky, Michael Uthoff, Xi Zhao, and Maggi Dueker through class and performances with the Webster University Dance Ensemble. In addition, Ashley has performed in the BFA Concerts, the Chinese Cultural Dance Event, and American College Dance Association Regional Conference in Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Minnesota.