Dance Fest 2025 Sponsor Deck by NO Studios

SponsorshipOpportunities

DanceFest2025

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH The Joyce Theater, New York

Water Street Street Dance Milwaukee WISN 12 News

Photo Credit: Mark Frohna

Madison Ballet

Photo Credit: Mark Frohna

ABOUT Milwaukee,WI

“With close to 200 festivals year-round, Milwaukee is known around the country as the City of Festivals. From the world’s largest music festival, Summerfest, to the state’s largest celebration of Pride at Pridefest, the 120-year celebration of an iconic bike brand at the Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival to the world’s largest celebration of Celtic culture at Irish Fest, there’s always more to explore in the City of Festivals.” - Visit Milwaukee

Nō Studios

Nō Studios derives from the word play between a rejection artists are so often told, with, nō 能, the Sino-Japanese root word for "skill" or "talent".

Founded by Oscar winner and Milwaukee native, John Ridley, the desire behind our 40,000 square foot headquarters is to create a collaborative workspace, hybrid experience platform, and social community that offers an environment for artists and activists to come together. Our historic building features offices, co-working space, a state-of-the-art screening room, performance stage, café bar, gallery, and rooftop lounge and deck.

John Ridley

John Ridley is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director, novelist, playwright, and showrunner whose credits include 12 Years A Slave, Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992, “American Crime,” and Jimi: All Is By My Side.

Past projects include “Five Days at Memorial,” a limited series for Apple TV+, chronicling the first five days in a New Orleans hospital after Hurricane Katrina, The New Group’s Off-Broadway stage musical Black No More, and DC Power: A Celebration, which aims to amplify Black voices across the DC Universe.

His film, Shirley, which he directed, wrote, and produced, tells the story of Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 presidential run, starring Regina King, premieres on Netflix on March 22nd.

Last fall, he launched his new comic through IDW Publishing, The Ministry of Compliance, a sociopolitical sci-fi thriller surrounding an inconspicuous alien invasion.

In the fall of 2018, Ridley opened Nō Studios, a space for the arts and community, in his hometown of Milwaukee.

JohnRidley FounderandCEO,NōStudios

DANCE FEST 2025

Nō Studios is thrilled to partner with The Marcus Performing Arts Center and NYC’s Joyce Theater to bring Dance Fest back to Milwaukee in 2025 on Saturday, August 2nd. The combined performance is curated by Morgan Williams, Morgan Williams, Founder and Artistic Director of Water Street Dance Company.

Dance Fest is now a regional experience featuring Milwaukee area dance companies alongside important companies from outside of Wisconsin Performances are offered at accessible prices in order to bring dance to audiences that might not otherwise encounter it.

Dance Fest is part of a larger combined performance program series produced by Nō Studios that includes the Filmmaker Showcase, Visual Arts Gallery, and Live Music. The series is intended to explore, honor and elevate the regional Midwest creative landscape. See the Appendix for details.

“Off-the-charts energy ” -The New Yorker

“There s nothing like an evening spent with Ailey II, the younger version of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater” -The New York Times

“The entire company looks terrific. Clearly, the future is theirs”

-The New York Times

“Second to none ” -Dance Magazine

“Wow factor aplenty. . . ” -Herald Scotland

Dance Fest 2025 will be headlined by Ailey II. For over 50 years, Ailey II – The Next Generation of Dance – has merged the spirit and energy of the country’s finest early-career dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding and emerging choreographers Founded by Alvin Ailey in 1974, this universally renowned company embodies his pioneering mission to establish an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training, and community programs for all people Under the leadership of Sylvia Waters, who served as artistic director for 38 seasons, Ailey II flourished into one of the most popular modern dance companies, combining a rigorous touring schedule with extensive community outreach programs Today, with Artistic Director Francesca Harper at the helm, she brings fresh perspectives to Mr. Ailey’s legacy, while nurturing new creative voices and propelling the company forward.

Photo Credit: Nir Arieli

CELEBRATE dance

Dance Fest 2023 at Bayshore

Dance Fest 2019 at Sherman Phoenix

Enjoy video recaps from previous Dance Fest programs

Dance Fest 2024 at Marcus Center Peck Pavilion

SPONSORSHIP Packages

Sponsor benefits include both advertising and event access opportunities. Contact info@nostudios.com for details.

Gold Sponsor

$5,000 ADVERTISING

• Pre-event branding on social media, email newsletters and our website

• Media alert recognition

• Introduction or mention during the live event

• Promotion opportunities with our media partner WISN 12 News.

• Full page branding on program guides

ACCESS

• 25 event tickets

Silver Sponsor

$2,500 ADVERTISING

• Pre-event branding on social media, email newsletters and our website

• Media alert recognition

• Introduction or mention during the live event

• Half page branding on program guides

ACCESS

• 5 event tickets for the program and the VIP Experience

Community Sponsor

Sponsor a dance company or purchase a block of tickets for a community group in any amount. Benefits include a mention in the program guide and 5 event tickets for the program and the VIP Experience..

The Marcus Center Peck Pavilion

The Joyce Theater

Danni Gee

Morgan Williams

Nō Studios Digital Footprint

Combined Performance Program Series

MARCUSPERFORM ARTSCENTER

VenueHost

The 2025 Dance Fest is scheduled for Saturday, August 2nd at the Marcus Center Peck Pavilion in Milwaukee, WI.

The Marcus Performing Arts Center (MPAC) has been a fixture in Milwaukee for over 50 years and is a proud partner of the Milwaukee Theater District. MPAC serves more than 300,000 people annually with a diverse range of performing arts and community events in their premier spaces. Dance Fest will take place in Peck Pavilion, MPAC’ s outdoor theater space located along the Milwaukee River.

The Joyce Theater

The Joyce Theater Foundation (“The Joyce,” Executive Director, Linda Shelton), a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community for over four decades. Under the direction of founders Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, Ballet Tech Foundation acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea. Opening as The Joyce Theater in 1982, it was named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther’s clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to build the theater.

Ownership was secured by The Joyce in 2015. The theater is one of the only theaters built by dancers for dance and has provided an intimate and elegant home for over 400 U.S.-based and international companies.

The Joyce has also expanded its reach beyond its Chelsea home through off-site presentations at venues ranging in scope from Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater, to Brooklyn’s Invisible Dog Art Center, and outdoor programming in spaces such as Hudson River Park.

To further support the creation of new work, The Joyce maintains longstanding commissioning and residency programs. Local students and teachers (K–12th grade) benefit from its school program, and family and adult audiences get closer to dance with access to artists.

The Joyce’s annual season of about 48 weeks of dance now includes over 340 performances – both digital and in-person – for audiences of over 150,000.

Danni Gee Program Emcee

Danni Gee has over 40 years of experience in the Arts and Entertainment industry. She has performed as a principal dancer with both PHILADANCO! The Philadelphia Dance Company, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where she performed memorable roles including the iconic solo, “CRY.” As a vocalist, she has appeared with renowned music artists such as Kathy Sledge, of Sister Sledge, Gloria Gaynor, and CHER, as well with her own NYC-based indie rock band, Suga Bush.

Danni returned to concert dance in 2006 when she accepted the position of Dance Curator for City Parks Foundation SummerStage, one of New York City’s largest, free outdoor festivals where she engaged such established companies as Parsons Dance, Dance Brazil, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Kibbutz Contemporary Company, Ballet Hispanico, Martha Graham Dance Company, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and Alvin Ailey.

Along with providing performance and commissioning opportunities for many emerging and established choreographers and companies over the years, she also successfully presented several special theatrical evenings including Notes of a Native Song featuring indie-rockers Stew and the Negro Problem; a 10th anniversary concert version of Fela! The Musical; the 20th anniversary of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam; and the 40th anniversary celebration of the hit Broadway show, The Wiz, with direction by Tony Award-winning choreographer, George Faison, and featuring appearances by original cast members including Phylicia Rashad, Andre De Shields, and Dee Dee Bridgewater, who also won a Tony in 1975 as the original “Glinda.”.

Danni is also the creator of the online series, dannIGeeLive, which she began in April 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic to support her artistic community. The series, live streamed via Instagram from her living room, features conversations with artists and educators across disciplines and genres. Archived episodes of dannIGeeLive are available on demand at www.dannigeetv.com.

In September of 2022, Danni embarked on a new adventure as Director of Programming at The Joyce Theater in New York. Under the leadership of Executive Director, Linda Shelton, Danni will oversee 45-plus weeks of programming at the heralded venue and will strive to continue and uphold its mission to serve and support artists and the art of dance and choreography, and to promote the richness and variety of the art form in its fullest expression.

MORGAN WILLIAMS Program Curator

Morgan Williams is a distinguished international performer, choreographer, and creative director. At 18, he secured his first professional contract with Dance Kaleidoscope in Indianapolis, IN. Following his time with the company, Morgan went on to perform with renowned concert dance companies, including Momenta Dance Company, Cerqua Rivera, Joel Hall & Dancers, Chicago Dance Crash, Deeply Rooted, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, and Visceral Dance Chicago. His expertise also extends to commercial projects such as So You Think You Can Dance, Catapult Entertainment, Empire (Fox), the BlackEyed Peas, and Pretty Lights.

In 2019, Morgan founded Water Street Dance Milwaukee, a professional repertory company recently recognized as one of Dance Magazine’ s “25 to Watch.” His choreographic works have toured extensively throughout the United States, receiving widespread acclaim. Morgan has also been commissioned to create works for prominent companies and institutions, including Madison Ballet, Visceral Dance Chicago, Milwaukee Ballet II, Texas Christian University, UW-Parkside, and Illinois State University.

“Morgan Williams's choreography is so unique and expressive that I would be happy if he choreographed every show in Milwaukee.” – Milwaukee Magazine

MEDIA Footprint

See our Impact Report for a full summary of the Nō Studios digital footprint

12K 6K 38K

16.5K

Nō Studios offers a range of marketing channels that can be accessed by sponsors to socialize and amplify their participation in our program Our weekly newsletter reaches over 12K recipients. The Nō Studios website attracts over 6K page views and 2-3K site visits per month. Our Vimeo channel LTM views exceed 38K and our combined social media platform has over 16.5K followers.

In addition to our channels, Nō Studios has partnered with various media companies to extend our audience.

John Ridley discusses the Nō Studios Social Justice Summit on Morning Joe, May 2022

Media partnerships

Weekly In-Studio Live Broadcast

EACH WEEK, NŌ STUDIOS CURATES A WISN 12 NEWS

LIVE BROADCAST ENTITLED COMMUNITY CURATED FEATURING LOCAL ARTISTS AND MISSION BASED ORGANIZATIONS

Weekly Event Calendar

EACH WEEK, NŌ STUDIOS PRODUCES A COMMUNITY CALENDAR WHICH IS BROADCAST ON THE WISN 12 NEWS 11AM AND 4PM SEGMENTS

NŌ STUDIOS PRODUCES AN ARTIST INTERVIEW SEGMENT WHICH IS POSTED TO THE MILWAUKEE MAGAZINE DIGITAL PLATFORM.

NŌ STUDIOS PRODUCES A WEEKLY PODCAST FOR DEADLINE ENTITLED DOCTALK FEATURING DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER INTERVIEWS BY JOHN RIDLEY AND MATT CAREY

COMBINED performance Progrm series

This community-centric program is designed to explore, honor and elevate the regional Midwest creative landscape.

The Filmmaker Showcase

An open call opportunity for area filmmakers to screen in our state-of-the-art theatre. Each screening event is followed by a filmmaker talkback and panel discussion. The Q1 2024 Showcase featured 40 filmmakers and nine screenings over a four-day program.

The Visual Arts Program

A rotating pop-up featuring local community artists with an installation schedule that coincides with Milwaukee’s citywide Gallery NIght. Participating artists keep 100% of their sale proceeds and are invited to participate in our Marketing Services free of charge.