Zephyr Dance
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collaborating artists

Michael Caskey
Composer

Michael hails from rural Southwestern Michigan. Graduating Magna Cum Laude from Western Michigan University's school of music in 1999, Michael has performed with artists as diverse as Chuck Mangione, Toni Tenille, Danilo Perez, Marvin Hamlisch, and John Sinclair. Currently, Michael is a part of Eastern Blok, a pan-cultural ensemble that performs and presents master classes throughout the United States. A DownBeat jazz magazine award winner and five-time Detroit Music Award recipient, Michael has performed for audiences throughout the United States, Canada, Poland, France, Germany, Denmark, and Belgium.

Andy Hasenpflug
Composer

Andy has amassed an impressive list of credits in theater, dance, jazz, rock, classical, patriotic and commercial venues, including everything from the Air Force Band to Rosanna Gamson/Worldwide to Chicago Shakespeare Theater to Krogers food stores. As an accompanist for modern dance, he has worked at many colleges, universities and studios nationwide, including the Dance Center of Columbia College and Lou Conte Dance Studio/Hubbard Street in Chicago. He has received commissions to write music for choreographers in New York, Chicago and Cincinnati, and has taught widely at such schools as SUNY Purchase and the Dance Center of Columbia College. Recording credits include the US Air Force Band, Rick Lisak Band, Sylvain Archer and Fabien, Hasenproject and Divide by Pi. Divide by Pi, his duo with keyboardist/synthesist Aaron Johnson, released their second CD, Ice Ritual in late 2005, and their first album won the Unsigned Artist of the Month in Keyboard Magazine (June 2004). Mr. Hasenpflug recently moved from Chicago, where he worked as a composer, freelance percussionist and music teacher, to Pennsylvania where he accepted a position in the dance department at Slippery Rock University.

 

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Heidi Dakter
Costume Designer

Heidi is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she trained in Wearables, Print Media, Spectacle and Puppet Performance. Heidi has worked extensively in design and construction collaborations with Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, Blair Thomas and Co. Robin Richman and Holly Hunt. She was a guest professor at Thammasat University, Bangkok, teaching body extension shadow puppetry. Heidi is currently working as head assistant designer to the Istanbul based fashion label, Umit Unal. Her passion for wearables is rooted in narrative storytelling and the conceptualization of language. The pieces shown in Just Left of Remote are inspired by our forever changing identities, illusion of image and unrecognizable former and later selves.

Richard Norwood
Light Designer

Richard has been the resident lighting designer for Zephyr Dance for the past 9 years. His designs for Michelle Kranicke include Chewing, The Rhythm of Irreversible Direction, Broken Time, Wanderthrough, Frozen Straight On and Do Us Part. Richard is a proud recipient of the 2006 After Dark Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for his design of Old Clown Wanted at Trap Door Theatre. Other recent awards include the 2007 Angie Award for Best Lighting Design (International Mystery Writers Theatre Owensboro KY). Richard has just been nominated for a 2007 Ovation award for best lighting design: Monsieur Chopin at The Geffen, LA. Recent designs include Monsieur Chopin at The Old Globe Theatre, San Diego; Hartford Stage, Hartford CT; and American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, MA. Monsieur Chopin originated at the Royal George Theatre, Chicago and stars Hershey Felder with direction by Joel Zwick. Other recent designs include An Intimate Evening with Lynda Carter Apollo Theatre, Chicago, Mother Courage for Vitalists Theatre, The Real Thing and The Best Man for Remy Bumppo. Richard has designed over 50 shows for Trap Door Theatre, including: Petra Van Kamp, Katzelmacher, Quills, Morocco, Baal, Lebensraum, Polaroid Stories, Orpheus Descending, and Squat!; and over 20 shows for Defiant Theatre including A Clockwork Orange, Titus Andronicus, Dope!, Cleansed, Godbaby, Action Movie; The Play, and Red Dragon. Richard holds the position of Performance Coordinator at the Museum of Contemporary Art.