Elijah Motley
2019 Co-MISSION Artist-in-Residence
Elijah, or Eli, Motley (Greensboro, NC) is a choreographer, dancer, teacher, and an MFA Degree of Dance and Choreography recipient from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Eli holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Theatre and a Bachelor of Science in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. After graduation, Eli relocated to Chicago to dance three seasons as a company member with Chicago Dance Crash, 2017-2020. He also had the honor to perform as a guest performer in Rennie Harris Puremovement’s Lifted. As a solo artist he choreographed and performed his works in Virginia, North Carolina, Chicago, Wisconsin, Norfolk, and Texas. In addition to performing, he taught dance in the Chicago Public Schools System, various dance studios, and high school dance festivals. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the School of Dance at Elon University and a member of Rouge Artistry Dance Crew. Artist Website
PROJECT AT LINKS HALL
Quadatic | December 2019
During his Residency, Motley explored how to create a space that chronologizes movement patterns and disassociate itself with time through an evening-length solo performance. The performer that can keep intention and hold attention is rare and the ability to do so can warp the audience's perspective of time. In order to unpack this effect, Motley explored how different ranges of movement affect the audience member’s sense of time thought moments of engagement and disengagement. With the different dance and movement styles Motley has studied, he experimented with how to control the performance time frame creating a viewership experience for each audience member that is of their own making.
Artist Credits
Sound Credit: Mr. Rogers, Ambrosia, 10cc, Frank Sinatra, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madonna, Sote, Gagu