Peter Stathas Dance presents THE BARN PROJECT 5 featuring DANCEWORKS, MKE
Friday, June 12 | 6:00PM - 7:30PM
The Sugar Creek Barn
5907 Pierce Rd, Elkhorn, WI 53121

Peter Stathas Dance returns to Elkhorn, Wisconsin for The Barn Project 5, an annual residency and performance set inside the intimate Sugar Creek Barn. Started in 2021 as a way to safely create during the pandemic, the project has grown into an annual opportunity for the NYC-based company to step away from the pace of the city to reconnect, collaborate, and develop new work away from the demands of city life. Over the course of a week, the dancers live and create together, transforming the barn into a working studio where new ideas take shape.

What makes the Barn Project especially unique is the connection it builds between Milwaukee and New York City. Led by Peter Stathas, a former Limón Dance Company dancer with roots in both cities, the project brings professional New York-based dancers to southeastern Wisconsin not just to create, but to connect. For the artists, the residency offers a rare chance to slow down, reconnect, and focus deeply on their craft. For the community, it opens a direct line to that world. Through a collaboration with Danceworks Milwaukee, a longtime cornerstone of Milwaukee’s dance community, young dancers and local artists have the opportunity to learn from, work alongside, and share space with these visiting professionals. Together, the two organizations are building a meaningful exchange and a lasting bridge between the Milwaukee and New York dance communities.

This year’s project centers on the idea of “home” and the often complicated act of “coming home.” That theme extends beyond the work itself, reflecting Peter’s own ties to Milwaukee and the opportunity to return, collaborate, and create in a place that continues to shape his artistic voice. Through new works set to music by David Byrne, Roberta Flack, and John Prine, the company explores the tension between comfort and vulnerability, asking what it really means to belong, not just to a place, but within yourself. These pieces are not presented as finished works, but as part of an active, unfolding creative process.

The Barn Project 5

Peter Stathas Dance featuring DANCEWORKS, MKE