Spotlighting Wisconsin - Isthmus Dance Collective

The Isthmus Dance Collective is a cooperatively organized non-profit corporation. Our collective is modeled on a hybrid of several types of cooperative or collective organizational structures, primarily a consumer and a worker cooperative. IDC members contribute to the operations of the organization, monetarily and through service work.The pooling of our resources allows us to provide our member artists with better access to rehearsal space, physical training, continued education, music, insurance, and more. It also creates a space for dance artists in our community to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and push the art of dance to develop in ways that serve the betterment of ourselves, the community, and the world.

As a democratically-run collective, all of our members have an equal say and an equal vote. We are dedicated to listening and to a mindset for continually re-evaluating whether all of our members are being seen and heard. This micro-culture is an important part of our decision-making, our commitment to diversity, and our desire to collaborate.

The Isthmus Dance Collective hosts several events each year including two annual productions that are considered to be Madison dance staples. The Shifting Gears Bike Path Dance Festival is an outdoor dance festival that is set at a string of different parks along the bike paths. It is held on Labor Day every year, and the festival is a platform for local dance artists of all backgrounds to perform and connect with each other. There are typically around 20 different dance groups that audience members/festival attendees can observe as the stop along the bike paths. The second annual production is called D.E.L.V.E. (Dance Experience Lab for Vibrant Exchange) which is held every spring. With approximately 6 choreographers and 40 dancers, D.E.L.V.E. is our largest production. The idea for D.E.L.V.E. is for dancers and choreographers to work with dance styles that they might not be familiar with, delving into an incubator that promotes growth for all parties involved.

Interested in Participating in D.E.L.V.E.?

Attend our casting workshop!

Saturday, January 31st, 11:30am-3pm

Dozens of local professional and pre-professional dancers perform in these new works, bridging aesthetic, demographic, and geographic divides by working outside their comfort zones in new forms. IDC’s DELVE Incubator provides an opportunity for dancers and choreographers to create and explore artistically, while making new connections and performing for local audiences.

This is the Isthmus Dance Collective's newest move in its mission to nurture dance in the Madison area this May. Come through and be part of this beautiful cross-pollination of Madison Community through DANCE.

D.E.L.V.E. 2026 Choreographers: Molly Johnson, Anupama Bhattacharya, Guy Thorne, Alyssa Ayen, Pa Ying Gia Thao, and Katrina Atkin