Note from the Artistic Director:
Dear Friends, Family, and Community Members of KAAN,
It is an honor to welcome you to my dance performance, | Out of Place |. I am truly thankful to be gathering with such an inspiring adoptee community and to be sharing this special project with you all at the KAAN 2026 Resilience and Reckoning Conference in Denver, Colorado.
As a recent graduate of the Master of Fine Arts in Dance Program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the culmination and continuation of my graduate research work for this project explores how transracial Asian American adoptees express their stories of identity and personal experiences through the realm of contemporary dance performance. Through my artistic vision of | Out of Place |, I am creating the first Transracial Asian American Adoptee Dance Project in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The mission of this project creates a platform for adoptees to have a space to be visible in the fullness of their identity and authenticity while centering their voices, personal narratives, histories, movement experiences through adoptee autoethnography, and fostering a sense of radical belonging and community. Through self-discovery and storytelling through movement, the dancers and I are pursuing to tell our truths that come from our embodied subjectivity while discovering reclamation and adoptee sovereignty for ourselves, being with our own complexities, and unearthing who we are along our personal journeys through the vessel of dance.
Throughout my graduate school experiences, I have been on the path of self-discovery to learn more about who I am as a dance artist, choreographer, educator, scholar, and director while finding my artistic voice, trusting the unknown, and further excavating my personal story through my research and embodied dance scholarship. Bringing in my own narrative and personal experiences as a transracial and transnational adoptee from South Korea, I am utilizing dance as a vehicle to reclaim my Korean identity while performing in both predominantly white dance spaces and within my birth country as well as finding my sense of place between two cultures. The artistic vision of my choreographic work is inspired by my commitment to equity and a mission to advance social justice and culturally expansive experiences while empowering and elevating the voices of others within the field of dance studies, performance, and higher academia.
Thank you to Nick Ramsey, Katie Bozek, Scarlett Hester, Phil Pellouchoud, Nathan Nowack, and the KAAN Tech Team for all your kind support and generosity in helping to bring this project to life onstage and for creating a space for us to be seen at KAAN.
To the Collaborating Dance Artists, Zoe Mei Glise, Maree ReMalia, and Ailie Snyder, I deeply thank you for being a part of this project. Thank you for sharing your powerful story of identity, your inspiring artistry, and your authentic, beautiful selves. There are not enough words for me to express how appreciative I am that you have trusted me to be a part of your journey. Thank you for the special bonds and community that we have created together.
This project is created in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Department of Dance in partial fulfillment of work towards an M.F.A. in Dance. Partial financial support provided by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts Department of Dance.
With gratitude,
Elisabeth Roskopf 이지영
Program Info:
| Out of Place | is an evening-length dance performance that is a culmination of the graduate research work of Elisabeth Roskopf, an MFA Candidate in Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (@uwmdance) and Milwaukee-based dance artist and choreographer. Her research explores how transracial Asian American adoptees express their stories of identity and personal experiences through the realm of contemporary dance performance. Through Elisabeth’s artistic vision of this project, she is creating the first Transracial Asian American Adoptee Dance Project in the city of Milwaukee.
The mission of this project creates a platform for adoptees to have a space to be visible in the fullness of their identity and authenticity while centering their voices, personal narratives, histories, movement experiences through adoptee autoethnography, and fostering a sense of radical belonging and community. Through self-discovery and storytelling through movement, Elisabeth and the dancers are pursuing to tell their truths that come from their embodied subjectivity while discovering reclamation and adoptee sovereignty for themselves, being with their own complexities, and unearthing who they are along their personal journeys through the vessel of dance.
To learn more information about Elisabeth Roskopf and the collaborating dancers, purchase tickets, and donate to this project, visit jeeyeongdance.com.
IG Handle: @elisabethroskopf
Show Order:
Arrival
Dancers: Zoe Mei Glise, Elisabeth Roskopf, and Ailie Snyder
Choreography: Elisabeth Roskopf, in collaboration with the dancers
Opening Text: Elisabeth Roskopf; Ending Text with the dancers
Music: Ólafur Arnalds
Costume: Elisabeth Roskopf, in collaboration with the dancers
Sound Production: Phil Pellouchoud
Lighting Design: Joe Gonzalez, Spectrum AV, and the KAAN Tech Team
Pieces
Choreography and Performance: Ailie Snyder, with direction and collaboration from Elisabeth Roskopf
Text and Narration: Ailie Snyder
Music: Ludovico Einaudi
Visual Projection: Ailie Snyder
Costume: Ailie Snyder
Sound Production: Phil Pellouchoud
Lighting Design: Joe Gonzalez, Spectrum AV, and the KAAN Tech Team
There are Matters Difficult to Tell
Choreography and Performance: Zoe Mei Glise, with direction and collaboration from Elisabeth Roskopf
Text and Narration: Zoe Mei Glise
Music: Jóhann Jóhannsson, Yuki Numata Resnick, Tarn Travers, Ben Russell, and Clarice Jensen
Costume: Zoe Mei Glise
Sound Production: Phil Pellouchoud
Lighting Design: Joe Gonzalez, Spectrum AV, and the KAAN Tech Team
상자 밖으로 (Out of the Box)
Choreography, Performance, Text, and Narration: Elisabeth Roskopf
Music: BTS, performed and recorded by Kody Kojima of Blue Ribbon Music Studios
Costume: Elisabeth Roskopf
Sound Production: Phil Pellouchoud
Lighting Design: Joe Gonzalez, Spectrum AV, and the KAAN Tech Team
Be\longing
Dancers: Zoe Mei Glise and Ailie Snyder
Choreography: Elisabeth Roskopf
Text and Narration: Zoe Mei Glise and Ailie Snyder
Music: Rainfall sounds
Visual Projection: Elisabeth Roskopf
Costume: Elisabeth Roskopf in collaboration with the dancers
Sound Production: Phil Pellouchoud
Lighting Design: Joe Gonzalez, Spectrum AV, and the KAAN Tech Team
결코 잃지 않았다 (Never Lost)
Direction, Production, and Choreography: Li Chiao-Ping
Cinematography and Editing: Christal Wagner
Unscripted Interviews, Additional Choreography, and Performance: Elisabeth Anne (O’Keefe) Roskopf 이지영
Music: Bora Yoon and Kim So Ra
Reclamation
Dancers: Zoe Mei Glise, Elisabeth Roskopf, and Ailie Snyder
Choreography and Narration: Zoe Mei Glise, Elisabeth Roskopf, and Ailie Snyder
Costume: Elisabeth Roskopf, in collaboration with the dancers
Sound Production: Phil Pellouchoud
Lighting Design: Joe Gonzalez, Spectrum AV, and the KAAN Tech Team
Collaborating Dancers:
Ailie Snyder
Ailie is so honored to be part of this project! They are currently studying at UW-Milwaukee for their Musical Theatre BFA and minor in Dance Performance. They are excited to get to help share the experience of being an Asian Adoptee through dance. Recently, they finished their run as The Captain in Dames at Sea on UWM’s Mainstage. Previous dance productions include: Winterdances 2025: Perfectly Wild and UpStart – MFA in Dance Research Concert. Special thanks to Elisabeth for including them in this beautiful concert!
Photo by Halle Sivertson
Zoe Mei Glise
Zoe Mei Glise (she/her) is a choreographer, performer, and movement-based artist born in China and located in Milwaukee, WI. She is currently a company member with Danceworks Performance Company (DPMKE), Wild Space Dance Company, and the Gina Laurenzi Dance Project (GLDP). Previously, Zoe danced as a company member with Madison Contemporary Dance, and was Nova Linea Contemporary Dance’s first company apprentice. Zoe received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Performance and Choreography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Throughout her years at UWM, Zoe worked with several guest artists and faculty members in performances and master classes including Mair Culbreth, Parijat Desai, Emma Draves, Yumelia Garcia, Marina Magalhães, Tatiana Malinkine, Dan Schuchart, and more. In 2019, with the help of the National Endowment for the Arts grant, Zoe collaborated with Joe Goode to create a dance film, “Real Words” presented at the North Central American College Dance Association (ACDA). Most recently, Zoe presented her debut evening length performance, “Uncommon Ground” held at Adventure Rock Milwaukee, as a way to blend her two passions—dance and rock climbing.
Photo by Halle Sivertson
Elisabeth Roskopf
Born in South Korea and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, Elisabeth Roskopf 이지영 is a dancer, performer, choreographer, educator, pianist, and a mother to her daughter, Alina. She is a company member of Li Chiao-Ping Dance, Danceworks Performance MKE, Wild Space Dance Company, and the Gina Laurenzi Dance Project. Elisabeth received her Bachelor of Arts in Piano and a minor in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She is currently earning her Master of Fine Arts in Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) where she is honored to be a recipient of the Graduate Student Excellence Fellowship award. Her research explores how transracial Asian American adoptees express their stories of identity and personal experiences through the realm of contemporary dance performance. At UWM, she began her career in academia as a lecturer in the Department of Dance and became a graduate teaching assistant while she is also performing and studying under the distinguished professors and guest artists such as Daniel Burkholder, Maria Gillespie, Mair Culbreth, Dan Schuchart, Dawn Springer, Deb Loewen, Mauriah Donegan Kraker, Vershawn Sanders-Ward, Jan Erkert, Alexandra Beller, Kevin Williamson, Teresa VanDenend Sorge, and Sooyeon Lee.
Elisabeth co-produced and performed in “Provenance: A Letter to My Daughter”, an award-winning screendance work created with director/choreographer Li Chiao-Ping and cinematographer/editor Christal Wagner. This dance film has been selected to be screened in various film festivals nationally and internationally, such as the 2024 Incheon International Short Film Festival (Finalist for Best Short Film), 2024 Busan New Wave Short Film Festival (Best Editing Award), 2023 Experimental, Dance & Music Film Festival (Best Direction Award), 2023 Milwaukee Film Festival, to name a few.
Elisabeth is the Founder and Creative Director of Dance For Diversity, an annual screendance project that is made explicitly for Artists of Color to share their voices and stories of identity through their dance-making and performance work. Elisabeth’s choreographic work creates a platform for Adoptees and BIPOC Dance Artists to have a place to be visible in the fullness of their identity and authenticity while fostering a sense of belonging. Her research encompasses autoethnography in movement through storytelling that creates a path for her embodied subjectivity. She links her corporeal experiences through cultural studies, post-colonial studies, and embodied cultural memory. As she explores dance as an expressive form of self-discovery, creativity, and liberation, she investigates a form of scholarship writing to define movement as the inscription of linguistic text in the body within choreographic performance. As a transracial Korean adoptee, she utilizes dance as a vehicle to unearth her embodiment and reclaim her Korean identity while bridging the space to find her place between the Eastern and Western worlds through her ongoing personal journey.
Photo by Halle Sivertson
Elisabeth Roskopf 이지영 