3 minutes
Mixed Media Dance Performance
In Collaboration with Dr. Erica Majumder, Assistant Professor, Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dance is my voice, my passion, and my way of making the unseen felt. My work explores the fluid relationship between movement and water. This piece was born from my ongoing exploration of water as a collaborator and a force that shapes movement as much as movement shapes it.
Inspired by the way microplastics disrupt aquatic ecosystems, I used choreography to embody the entanglement of algae and synthetic waste. Toxic blooms form when algae wrap around microplastics, which alter delicate balances.
I approached this concept physically, beginning in my bathtub, where I explored how water clings, resists, and yields—just as algae might to plastic. My movement vocabulary developed from this sensation of wrapping, mirroring the environmental entrapment.
My dance philosophy is to embrace the complexity of emotion, the weight of ideas, and the power of movement to speak when language falls short. Through this work, I invite the viewer to feel the tension between beauty and destruction.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lilly Dempski is the owner of Inspire Dance Project and the founder of Dance for Hope which is a dance fundraiser for cancer treatment centers. She is currently going into her senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pursuing a bachelor’s degree in dance and a minor in entrepreneurship. She has choreographed for quinceaneras, pageants, high school dance tryouts, and the traditional dance stage including solos and group pieces. Along with choreography, Lilly has created two dance short films, performed in art galleries, and modeled for dance. She even had the opportunity to train in Greece in the summer of 2024 and work with artists from Japan, Greece, and Germany. She has virtually mentored with a Rockette as well as a few dance entrepreneurs.
For inquiries about dance: lillydempski05@gmail.com
YouTube- @lillydempski
ABOUT THE WATER PARTNER
The Majumder Lab studies how microorganisms and contaminants interact in different environments. Our research spans landfills, chicken microbiomes, mining-contaminated aquifers, lakes and bioproduction. Dr. Majumder is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH SUPPORT FROM
