UW-Whitewater opened its 2025 annual addition of DanceScapes Wednesday, April 4. The two-hour artistic showcase not only hosted students and dancers but also guest artist Joseph Raven. DanceScapes is an audition-based yearly performance that spotlights an array of students who hold a passion for dance. These students come from the Department of Theatre and Dance and any other department on campus. Within this array of students is also an array of different dance styles such as jazz, tap dance, outgoing dance and more.
The opening performance “Moon’s Filled with Honey and Bees,” which incorporated the song “Somebody to Love” by Queen, was choreographed by the only senior in DanceScapes this year: Nicole Kuhnz.
“DanceScapes is to be part of a new beginning for a lot of dancers. It is a new way to impress themselves and show UW-W why they love to dance and their ability,” Kuhnz said.
Kuhnz has been a part of DanceScapes 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 and has gone through the process many times. The audition process for performers, which is open to anyone who wants to be part of DanceScapes regardless of major or minor, starts in September. From there, choreographers choose who will perform. Rehearsal times are chosen individually for all performers from October to opening night of DanceScapes. This year’s DanceScapes in particular is a closing of a chapter not just for Kuhnz but for another prominent roleplayer on the UW-W dance scene: Barbara Grubel.
“The fact that we are leaving together means something to me. We are closing the chapter together,” Kuhnz said, “Barbara would be doing this for another 20 years if she could. I love her and so do the dancers.”
Grubel is a dancer, UW-W professor and choreographer who has announced her retirement after a good 22 years at Whitewater. Before UW-W, Grubel was a Henry Datson visiting professor at the UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee dance programs.
“There is such joy in watching students discover their individuality and creativity as both choreographers and dancers,” Grubel said. “Watching them understand their artistry. It fills my heart, it fills my soul to watch the growth.”
Upon coming to Whitewater she was quickly seen as a valuable member of the community through her passion for dance and her students.
“Each and every chancellor has been incredibly supportive of my endeavors here on campus, thank you UW-W,” Grubel said.
In 2008, Grubel tripled the numbers of the dance program, resulting in former chancellor Richard Telfer proposing to build an entire dance studio. Alongside designing this dance studio, she also wrote the official 18-page DanceScapes handbook.
“The UW-W program gave me a home to practice my craft. I had just gone through 9/11 in New York City when I was asked to interview at UW-W,” Grubel said. “Many people across the campus mean a lot to me; they have allowed me to be myself here.”
Grubel looks back fondly on her years at the university and the memories with her past and current students. She tells a story of a time she was working on a research project for a dance film. One night she had all the dancers outside and it was a full moon. The football stadium lights were on and the mosquitoes were miserable. Grubel remembered running around with a can of Off! spray, but her students stayed dedicated to dance and her research.
“Every single alumni I can remember a moment with. Every single one of them. My favorite memories are the students. Their passion and want to learn kept me going,” Grubel said.
DanceScapes ‘25 is a closing of a chapter for Kuhnz and Grubel, but both expressed how truly bright this chapter was for them.
“For me, DanceScapes is a thing I look forward to every year and has become a part of my everyday life. DanceScapes are so natural to me, I never get bored of them.”
As Grubel enters into her new life chapter there is a piece of advice she wanted to remind previous students and leave current students with.
“The question is not if you’re gonna hit the wall, the question is what are you gonna do when it’s there. You can bang your head on the wall or you can use the tools I gave you to get around it,” Grubel said. “Please don’t bang your head on that wall, you got this and I’m just a phone call away.”
