Damian gives his past instructors credit for instilling an appreciation of the art of dance and in particular his past hip-hop instructors Tony Bellissimo, Kooy Buie, Anze Skrube, and Asher Walker. He joined the Tremaine Performance Company in 8th grade and stayed on until his Junior year of high school. Damian at times found it difficult to continue dancing due to bullying from school and extracurricular sports but dance was his passion so he turned the other cheek and continued with his dance training throughout High School. Eventually Damian fell in love with hip-hop dancing which led to exploring other styles of dance including, tap, ballet, jazz and contemporary. degree in Dance Arts Administration from Butler University.ĭamian Keilhauer was introduced to dance at a young age by his mother Vicki Keilhauer but wasn’t that interested in it until he was introduced to hip-hop. Hammer has additionally performed in Swan Lake, Giselle, The Rite of Spring, Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations, and numerous original works. In less than three weeks the dancer-run project commissioned nine new works, raised over $14,000, and was performed to sold-out audiences. In 2016, Hammer choreographed, and danced in Encore!, an independent production and choreographer’s showcase performed at The Overture Center for the Arts.
September 2018, she had the special opportunity to perform with Andrew Erickson, in his staging of Arnold Schoenberg’s Book of the Hanging Gardens in collaboration with Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano and the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago. Hammer has performed across the nation as a guest artist with many notable organizations including Deos Contemporary Ballet, Chicago Repertory Ballet, Capital City Theater, and for Marlene Skog of the UW Dance Department. Hammer performed in Balanchine’s Serenade, in numerous collaborations with Cirque du Soliel, as well as performing in her own choreography. Previously, at Nevada Ballet Theatre, Ms. Earle Smith, as well as many world premieres including Grit and Grace by Jacquline Stewart, and both Spring and Winter by Sara Stewart Schumann. She has been featured in several contemporary works such as Stabat Mater by Mariana Oliveira and Dracula by W. Earle Smith, as well as neoclassical roles including First Theme in The Four Temperaments and in Elegie, both by George Balanchine. She has enjoyed dancing classical roles including Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker and Spring Fairy in Cinderella by W. KRISTEN HAMMER has been a company dancer with Madison Ballet since 2014. She is so happy that the next chapter in her dance career still includes the studio that taught her so much. Lilly has been teaching at Synergy since she was a Junior in high school and also choreographs for our various teams.
She hopes to pursue a career in Dance Theater specializing in dancing for Broadway shows. In the fall of 2019 Lilly moved to New York City to attend college at the American Music and Dramatic Academy. Lilly won many awards for Poms including two overall high score duets, two top 10 solos, and a Disney All Star qualification. She graduated from Madison Memorial High School in 2019 and was a member of their Poms team for four years and was their captain for two of them. Lilly is currently an Alumni Member for the Tremaine Performance Company after being a member for 3 years. She was the lead in Synergy’s ballet productions of Cinderella and Swan Lake. She competed on their dance teams for many years and won numerous scholarships and overall high scores for her solos. She is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, contemporary, pointe, musical theater, and poms. Lilly began dancing when she was three years old and was trained at WSPA and Synergy.