Today we’d like to introduce you to Isaac Knuteson.
Hi Isaac, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was adopted in Perm, Russia at the age of 18months. I Immediately knew when I started dancing I wanted to pursue it professionally. I was inspired by the ballet lines at water ski show & that sparked my love for movement & Creativity. I then started dancing at the age of 8 at a local studio in Wisconsin, roughly 10mins from my house, attending many regional & national dance events. After attending that studio for years I went on to get more professional training at Central Midwest Ballet in Middletown WI, & Nashville Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Miami City Ballet & More. I went to go on to dance professionally with Water Street Dance Milwaukee, Nova Linea Contemporary Dance & Regenerative Beings. Some other proud achievements in my career is being signed with Go2talent, dancing with Coldplay & judging for multiple dance competitions.
In 2026 I decided I wanted to start my own project based dance company, The Initiative. The company has been established for around 7 months now & have had the opportunity to perform all around the United States including: New Jersey Dance Festival, GreenSpace, Joel Hall Dance, Trifecta Dance Festival, Delve Dance, Richmond Dance Festival, Dance Mission Theatre, Mashup Contemporary Dance Open Mic Night, Ballet Legato, Oakland Dance Festival, Mission In The Mix, St.Louis Contemporary Dance Festival, Dance City Festival, Oklahoma International Dance festival. My work was chosen to perform at the Young Choreographer festival at New York Live Arts. The company has had the opportunity to perform roughly 20times since being announced. The company is founded by Isaac Knuteson, Co-directed by Joslynn Labak, Marketing & Events Manager Ryan Lovato & Costume Manager Caitlyn Bethke.
at makes The Initiative unique is its innovative, remote-based rehearsal process. Dancers learn choreography through professionally recorded video content and participate in virtual rehearsals led by Isaac and the Assistant Director via Zoom. This structure allows artists from different regions of the country to train, rehearse, and perform together while building meaningful artistic connections.
In addition to virtual rehearsals, The Initiative hosts in-studio workshops and intensive training opportunities, giving company members the chance to work together in person, deepen their artistic development, and strengthen the collaborative spirit of the company.
The Initiative consists of two divisions:
Main Company — Professional and pre-professional dancers ages 18 and older who are actively training, performing, and pursuing careers within the dance industry.
Apprentice Company — Dancers under the age of 18 who are continuing their training and gaining valuable performance experience through mentorship, rehearsals, workshops, and company projects.
Through innovation, collaboration, and artistic excellence, The Initiative continues to create opportunities for dancers nationwide while expanding the reach of Isaac Knuteson’s choreographic work.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road, & only being established for 7months we have faced a lot of challenges. Some of these challenges have been injuries with dancers & not being to find any cover & having to cancel performances. Some other struggles along the way have been with finances. As every business can relate to this our struggles with this have been, trying to find sponsors. As of right now the director/founder Isaac Knuteson pays everything out of his own pockets. This consists of Festival fees, which can be from $10-$100, to submit your work for it to not even be accepted. Some other costs are hotel costs & travel costs. Sometimes the festival pays the performers, once the festival has concluded which helps with costs.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work & process is very experimental. I usually always come into the space/rehearsal with nothing planned out, & get inspiration from the dancer or dancers I have in the space at that time. My choreography has a lot of layers & tactile touch. I love to teach partner work at a young age & have kids be knowledgeable in partner work & the weight sharing it involves.
The Initiative I try to use a prop in every work I choreograph. I’m very firm when it comes to prop work & being connected to it from the start to the end. I’m known for my prop work, that has been seen at dance competitions & have won multiple choreography & overall awards.
What makes me the proudest in my work is just knowing the process & the time it took to get it to the final product it is. Not every rehearsal or piece I choreography is always easy. Sometimes it can be frustrating or very still & unsure of the intention in the piece. However, the piece always gets done & I always make sure I make a work & put it on stage that I’m proud of.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I don’t really consider myself as a risk taker or don’t really believe I have taken any major risks in life. However, one that comes to my mind is starting this company The Initiative. I’ve been working on starting a project based company for roughly a year but one day I just randomly decided to just take that risk. I told myself I want to try & if all fails, at least I tried. Risks are very scary because you’re going in blind & don’t know what to expect however, in life I have tried too reassure myself that is what makes life an adventure & that is all apart of the process, is taking those risks. I believe in life you need to take those risks to be successful & also to fail. If you don’t, you can’t learn anything new or grow in life & achieve what you want to reach in life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theinitiative.company/
- Instagram: TheInitiativee
