Lilly Dempski

Lilly Dempski is part of the UW-Madison Dance Program pursuing a BS in dance and a certificate in entrepreneurship. She has been able to continue training at the collegiate level with Aj Juraz, Chell Parkins, Liz Sexe, Lisa Thurrell, Karen Mcshane-Hellenbrand, Kate Corby, Michelle Ramos, Chris Walker, Anna Peretz Rogovoy, and Jin Wen Yu thus far.  She is from Kenosha, Wisconsin and has trained in contemporary, jazz, tap, and ballet throughout her years of competitive dance. She created her own dance program called “Inspire Dance Project” in her hometown in 2022. Lilly also runs biennial cancer fundraisers called “Dance for Hope” and an event called “Inspire Winter Fest” annually, where she raises money for those in foster care systems. Lilly has also curated two screendance films with the assistance of Pa Ying Gia Tao and Omari Carter. She was also a participant in the Flow Project in 2024 where she performed in an art gallery. Lilly has also worked with local high schools in her hometown to choreograph tryout routines, judge tryouts, and has completed many works of choreography through Bradford High School dance program with the mentorship of Kelli Griffin. She intends to continue her exploration of screen dance, non-profit work, and dance as both an entrepreneurial option as well as a safe space for dancers. 

In my work, I explore the meeting point between the arts and the sciences, two ideas often regarded as opposites yet deeply capable of informing one another. Through varied artistic media and shifting scientific frameworks, I seek the space where these modes intersect, collide, and reshape one another. I draw inspiration from the scientific principle of manipulation, incorporating props and investigating the dynamics of partner work to shift, disrupt, and reconfigure the viewer’s expectations. My creative practice is equally grounded in awareness. I invite audiences to step behind the eyes of the subjects within each piece, to inhabit their experiences, and then to return to themselves with a new lens, one that offers both empathy and individual interpretation.