Andrew Lester
2025 DANCER FELLOW
Photo credit: V. Paul Virtucio
Andrew Lester is an award-winning artist who has been a staple in Twin Cities dance since 2003.
A passionate performer, educator, and arts advocate, his body of work bridges ballet and contemporary dance. A BFA graduate of the University of Minnesota, Andrew’s background includes training with American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Adriatico of Italy, and an esteemed roster of master instructors.
Since 2009, Andrew has proudly called Shapiro & Smith Dance his artistic home, where his performance in their work Family was recognized with a MN SAGE Award for Outstanding Performance in 2012. He has also been a company member with Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater, Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota, and James Sewell Ballet, while guesting with Metropolitan Ballet, Ethnic Dance Theatre, Eclectic Edge Ensemble, The Minnesota Opera, and many other celebrated companies. His work extends beyond Minnesota, with performances in New York City and internationally at the Toronto International Film Festival and Festival de Danse in Cannes, France.
A dynamic collaborator, he has worked with renowned choreographers such as Joanie Smith, Joseph Morrisey, Yuki Tokuda, Gabrielle Lamb, Myron Johnson, and Darrius Strong. Also a dedicated educator, he has taught throughout the Twin Cities and beyond, helping to expand access to dance in rural and underserved communities.
In 2023, Andrew co-founded Alchemy Arts. That same year, he choreographed and starred in When You Hear the Chime, the company’s world premiere at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. This multi-genre production marked a new chapter in his expansive career, reflecting his commitment to innovative storytelling through movement.
Eva Mohn
2025 DANCER FELLOW
Photo courtesy of Cullberg Ballet
Eva Mohn works as a dancer, choreographer, composer, and bodyworker. Eva has her BA in Dance from the University of Minnesota. Starting in 2001, she began working locally with various companies and artists including TU Dance, Morgan Thorson, Carl Flink, Robin Stiem, Sarah Baumert, and Maggie
Bergeron.
In 2008, Eva went to Martha’s Vineyard, NYC and subsequently moved to Kassel, Germany, to work with German choreographer Johannes Wieland. In 2012, Eva relocated to Stockholm, Sweden, to begin her work with the Cullberg Ballet. In 2018, Eva became a Swedish Citizen, and in 2021, she received her MFA in New Performative Practices from Stockholm University for the Arts. Shortly thereafter, she gave birth to her first child and returned to Minnesota. Her second child was born in 2023. Eva has worked as a baker, barista, house painter, musician, song-writer, farm manager, farmers market vendor, mother, dancer, choreographer and teacher, and sees the choreographic nature in all these various types of work and labor.
Cecil Neal
2025 DANCER FELLOW
Photo credit: Laura Sukowatey
Cecil Neal, professionally known as Virgo: The Final Warning, is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and mentor specializing in krump.
Based in the Twin Cities, his dance journey began with a passion for performing, which he first experienced at his mom’s fundraising event in 2010. By 12, he was performing at venues like Stepping Stone Theater and Intermedia Arts, setting the stage for his artistic growth.
Cecil refined his craft at the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, completing four years of intensive training. There, he discovered his passion for choreography, debuting his creative vision in a standout senior piece.
Since then, he has performed with esteemed companies such as Breakfast Dance Company and Meridian Movement Company, gracing stages like the Michael Kohler Arts Center and the Red Eye Theater. In 2024, he won House of Dance’s 10th Anniversary All-Styles Battle at The Fillmore.
As an educator, Cecil has taught at the University of Minnesota and Macalester College, fostering the next generation of dancers. His mentorship extends beyond movement—he is passionate about using dance as a tool for self-discovery, resilience, and connection. Whether in the classroom, on stage, or in battle, Cecil’s mission is to inspire others to embrace their potential and tell their unique stories through movement.
Pamela Gleason
2025 Choreography FELLOW
Photo credit: Edward Bock
Pamela Gleason has been creating, teaching and performing modern dance for over 40 years. From the mid-1980s to 2011, she was involved with the Nancy Hauser Dance Company/Hauser Dance as an apprentice, company member, teacher, and choreographer.
She has taught, performed, and presented her work in many Twin Cities venues, several US cities, in Taiwan, Japan, Russia, and Ireland. She has choreographed over 50 pieces, 8 theater productions, and has received support from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Jerome Foundation, and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Commission.
Her body of work includes solos, group pieces, several evening-length dance concerts, and films. Pam is the director of MotionArt (founded in 2013), an organization dedicated to making dance and the joy of movement accessible to people of all ages and abilities. MotionArt ‘s recent evening-length shows, Space Encounters (2017), Games People Play (2018), and Collabulous (2019) were staged at the Conn Theater in Minneapolis, and Reel Imaginings (2024), a production of four short dance films, was presented at Center for Performing Arts and Parkway Theater in Minneapolis.
Originally from St. Paul, Pam taught in the University of Minnesota Dance Department for 15 years and continues to teach modern dance and host monthly improv gatherings through MotionArt. She is committed to enhancing the mental and physical well-being of others through her classes, choreography, and film work.
https://motionartmn.org/
Emily Michaels King
2025 Choreography FELLOW
Photo credit: Dan Norman
Emily Michaels King is an interdisciplinary performing artist based in St. Paul, Minnesota, exploring authentic expression and human depth through movement, multimedia, and visual compositions for the stage. Emily is known for her fearless personal work, provocative style, and collaged evening-length solo performances, including: her award winning show MAGIC GIRL, multimedia online work DIGITAL; IN PERSON, a companion to DIGITAL; the raucous CHICKEN WING, which was featured in Red Eye Theater’s 2023 New Works 4 Weeks Festival, and STAR KEEPER. An in-progress version of her piece, ELECTRIC, was performed at Arena Dance’s 2022 CandyBox Festival. Additionally, her work has been presented at the Walker Art Center, the Guthrie Theater, and Movement Research, among others.
Pairing minimalism and subtlety with cacophony and bared irreverence, Emily’s works employ the lush landscape of the inner world and the power of unapologetic vulnerability. They combine movement with text, graphics, sound, and technology to focus on themes of self discovery and reclamation, womanhood, and bold expressions of personal truth.
www.emilymichaelsking.com
Kayla Schiltgen
2025 Choreography FELLOW
Photo credit: CC Boyle Photography
Kayla Schiltgen is an interdisciplinary dance artist based in rural Two Harbors, Minnesota. Blending dance and film, she is hands-on in all aspects of her work as choreographer/editor, dancer, and cinematographer creating screendance, installation, and performance as a way to cope with and communicate her existence. Her work is deeply personal, visceral, curious, and cathartic, driven by the belief that subjectivity and vulnerability serve as an echo palette for others, offering a tender exchange affirming, affecting, and inspiring artist and audience.
Her work has been presented at the Walker Art Center, the International Meeting on Video-Dance and Video-Performance (Spain & France), North Dakota Environmental Rights Film Festival, InShadow Screendance Festival (Portugal), Duluth Superior Film Festival, DanceBARN Screendance Festival, Wolf Tree Film Festival (MI), Arena Dance’s CandyBox Festival, RAD Fest, The Lab at NorShor Theatre, and the Minnesota Fringe Festival, among others. Her work is supported by multiple Minnesota State Arts Board and Arrowhead Regional Arts Council awards.
Kayla is an Upstream Artist Fellow and has been recognized as a Creative Rural Leader in the Upper Midwest by Springboard for the Arts. Rooted in her rural lineage, Kayla’s practice is shaped by the belief that the well-being of all begins with the well-being of rural communities – seeing art as a pathway to this vision.
www.kaylaschiltgen.com