Choreography Award 2020 Holder: Elinor Lewis

What does this opportunity mean to you and what do you expect to develop during this period of time at dx?

I am delighted to receive DanceXchange’s Choreography Award. Over the next year, I will work closely with DanceXchange to resolve my current work-in-progress TIMBER, ready for touring in late 2020/early 2021. Throughout my Choreography Award I am eager to secure tour dates that expose my creative practice to new areas of the Midlands.

Furthermore, DanceXchange’s Choreography Award will provide me with a consistent structure of creative & professional support and offer my creative practice a home. The past two years have seen a rapid acceleration of my career. I have quickly transitioned from new MA graduate to self-producing artist with an established professional profile, performing my work throughout London & Europe. However, I am conscious that I am a relative newcomer to the dance scene. Because of this I will greatly benefit from the guidance of an experienced dance organisation to help me reflect on the trajectory of my career so far & traverse some of the more ambitious plans I have in mind.

Tell us about you and your company

Elinor Lewis is British-based artist whose work sits on the intersection between dance and installation. She is interested in how animate & inanimate forms interact & move through space. Her work is architectural, including large, sculptural set designs that the performers navigate through. A focus of Elinor’s practice is how the relationship between human, object & gravity can be hijacked to generate new ways of moving. She is passionate about creating work that challenges audiences to expand their understanding of what is dance, whilst offering unexpected moments of tension, relief, humour & intrigue.

If you could collaborate with any artist in the world right now who would it be?

Zimoun – Swiss artist, best known for his sound sculptures.

Paul Harrison & John Wood – Bristol-based performance/visual art duo best known for their video art work.

Your first dance experience?

My Mum took me to my first ballet class when I was four. I’d seen ‘Swan Lake’ on tv and taken a shine to the white tutus. Apparently, I was quite concerned that I be properly dressed for class. I’d didn’t have a leotard, so I wore an orange swimming costume instead.