Identity

Meet the Artists of Elpis Dance Festival✨

We would like to welcome, Olivia Lemmenes, to Elpis Dance Festival!

Olivia Lemmenes is a professional choreographer, dancer, and educator located in Chicago, IL. She trained at Dance Center Evanston for 15 years, then continued her dance training at Western Michigan University – where she graduated with a BFA in Dance. After graduating, Olivia taught pre-professional and professional dance classes, and choreographed dances throughout the state of Michigan. Olivia currently teaches at The Grainger Academy of the Joffrey Ballet, Dance Center Evanston, and is the Assistant Director of Evanston Dance Ensemble 2 (ede2).


Photographer: Carly Vanderheyden

Meet the Artists of Elpis Dance Festival✨

Up next is Mark Gonzalez! Mark is one of our Company Artists and we are excited for him to present work this year in addition to performing with Identity and Still Inspired!

Mark Gonzalez is a dance artist from Edinburg, Texas. He received a BFA in Dance with emphasis in Performance and Choreography from Texas State University. During his time in Texas he had the privilege to work with artists such as Christa Oliver, Andy and Dionne Noble (Noble Motion Dance), and Mike Esperanza. After leaving Texas, Mark trained and performed with The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company 2 under the direction of Shonna Matlock. He was a scholarship recipient for Giordano Dance Chicago and Flockworks and has trained at Orsolina28 in Moncalvo, Italy. After moving to Chicago, Mark Apprenticed with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre where he performed the works of Monique Haley and Katlin Bourgeois. He is now a Company Artist with Identity Performing Arts and Still Inspired.

Outside of performing, Mark is a commissioned choreographer and has had the privilege to present his own choreography regionally, nationally and internationally at festivals including but not limited to COCO Dance Festival (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago), Dance City Festival (Detroit, MI), Koresh Artist Showcase (Philadelphia, PA), BarnStorm Dance Festival (Houston, TX) and New Dances 2024, a partnership with DanceWorks Chicago and Thodos Dance Chicago. Recently, Mark was selected as a 2025 Standout Choreographer International Exchange Recipient at Dance City Festival: Detroit, and was selected to present his work in Seoul, South Korea at the 2026 ARTSinTANK Dance Festival in Korea. He will also be leading a performance workshop where he will be collaborating on a new work with his artists and Choi Bo-gyeol Dance Company while in Seoul. Mark is also a dance competition adjudicator with KAR Productions and ID Dance Competition.

Photo Credit: Dance City Festival

Meet the Artists of Elpis Dance Festival✨

We would like to welcome Bodies of Water to Elpis Dance Festival! They will be presenting work by their Artistic Director, Esther Pauline Farley.

Bodies of Water is a Chicago-based dance company dedicated to fostering artistic innovation and engagement through dance, performance, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Established in
2023, Bodies of Water emerged from a desire to flood the city with opportunities for dancers and artists in all stages of their careers, and to showcase their talent and build a thriving community.

Bodies of Water has produced three evening length dance theatre shows as well as performing in various local and national dance festivals. Other programming includes workshops and
classes, community events, and our annual dance and movement festival, Fluid Expressions. Bodies of Water recently started its fourth season under the direction of artistic director Esther
Pauline Farley.

Photo Credits: Katie Miller

Meet the Artists of Elpis Dance Festival✨

We would like to welcome 3rd Coast Contemporary Dance Program to Elpis Dance Festival! They will be presenting work by their Director, Julia Schaeffer.

Julia Schaeffer (she/her) is originally from California, and she began dancing at age 13. She received her BFA in Dance Performance from Chapman University where she studied Jazz, Modern, Ballet, and Contemporary. After graduation, Julia danced with the Lineage dance company for four years where she had the privilege of performing and teaching community outreach classes. She relocated to Chicago in the summer of 2019 to perform and teach throughout the city. Julia joined Winifred Haun & Dancers in 2020 and was promoted to Assistant Artistic Director in 2024. Additionally, Julia currently Directs the 3rd Coast Contemporary Dance Program and teaches for Dance on Broadway, Joel Hall Dancers & Center, Kenwood Dance Academy, and Design Dance. She has also presented choreography at Simantiko’s Choreo Kick Off, Detroit Dance City Festival, Trifecta Dance Collective’s A New Light, and Winifred Haun & Dancer’s Absent Moon.

Photo by Michelle Reid