The subconscious labels bodies. Movement shatters preconceptions. I dance as an embodied voice in society. I value process as my research and performance is my scholarly work. I create art that does not last but inspires audience discourse. I find my identity in the context of how I move. Choreography is a form of action with which I alter the contour of the world.
– E.B. Martin, Artistic Director
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Erika Martin is a Minneapolis based dancer, choreographer, teacher and engaged citizen. Originally from North Carolina, Erika received a BA in Dance and American Studies at Connecticut College. Their research investigates identity performance and how experience is manifested in movement.
Erika has had the privilege to study abroad at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Dance in London and perform works by Kyle Abraham, Ronald K. Brown, David Dorfman, Elm City Dance Collective, Ori Floman, Ohad Naharin, Paula Mann, Doug Varone and Shen Wei. They are the 2015 recipient of the Martha Myers Prize and the 2017 recipient of the Joan Connell Memorial Award.
From 2012-2015, Erika taught Ballroom Dance at Carolina Ballroom of Cary (NC) and from 2017-2019 returned to ballroom as an instructor and then manager for Dance With Me USA (NJ/NY). Since moving to MN in 2019, Erika has taught at Zenon Dance School, The Cowles Center, and DanceBARN. To date, Erika’s professional works have been shown in museums, theaters, and public spaces in Connecticut, New York, Maine and Minnesota: notably at the Lyman Art Museum (CT), Schaefer Theatre Box, Bates Dance Festival (ME), Melrose Ballroom (NY), Praxis Gallery, the Cowles Center for Dance and Performing Arts, Barbara Barker Center for Dance, DanceBARN, Dances by the Lake Festival, The Southern Theater, and Soiled Dance Series (MN).
Erika is the Artistic Director of eMartin Dance, co-founder of Dance Projects by ME home of the Minnesota International Dance Festival, and serves as School Coordinator for Zenon Dance School.
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Nieya Amezquita is a Minnesota-based artist working with Threads Dance Project, Rhythmically Speaking, Elayna Waxse and eMartin Dance. She has performed with Concerto Dance, Yuki Tokuda, Off-Leash Area and Alexandra Bodnarchuk Dance Projects. Nieya earned a BFA in Dance from the University of Georgia. There she had the opportunity to perform nationally and internationally with founding company CADE:NCE before studying in Portugal with the Addo Platform. Most recently, Nieya has been a featured artist in the Blackness Is Arts festival produced by the Guthrie Theater, choreographed for Threads Dance Project and Alternative Motion Project, and her own dance company, Amez Dance.
Shannon Hartle Dolan is a Twin Cities dancer from Des Moines, Iowa where she graduated from UI in 2019 with a BFA in Dance, Minor in Communication Studies, and Certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship. While there, she worked with Monica Bill Barnes, Jennifer Kayle, Christopher Rasheem-McMillan, Eloy Barragan, Armando Duarte, and performed at ACDA, the American Dance Guild, and Hollins University. Shannon is a company member with Threads Dance Project and actively participates in project based work and teaches throughout the cities.
Olivia Geffre is a Twin Cities based dancer and choreographer. She attended the Saint Paul Conservatory for Preforming Artists. In 2022, she became a certified yoga teacher, furthering her kinesthetic knowledge and fascination with movement. She is currently teaching dance at Emerge Preforming Arts, hoping to inspire the next generation to see the beauty and importance of art. She recently preformed in Migration Stories by Dance Projects by ME at the Southern Theatre. She is exploring the sensation of movement the use of the breath.
Zoë Koenig is a Minneapolis-based dancer and choreographer. She graduated from Beloit College in 2018, awarded for outstanding performance. Zoë has worked with Knobby Dance Company II, Sarah Abdel-Jelil, Nieya Amezquita, Noelle and Leila Awadalla, Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Joanna Lees, Erika Martin, Brenna Mosser, Gabriel Rodreick, and Gina T’ai; and performed at DUMBO Dance Festival, Queerly Contemporary Festival (NY), and World Dance Alliance Global Summit (St. John’s, NL). Her work has been shown locally at the Cowles Center, the Southern Theater, Squirrel Haus Arts, Praxis Gallery, and Off-Leash Art Box.
Lauren Reed Lauren Reed is St. Paul based Black-American dancer, creative, and scholar, born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dance is where she spiritually feels most connected to God, her ancestors, and herself. She is a 2023 graduate of Bates College with a BA in Dance and Africana Studies. Her thesis entitled “Rest & Resistance: Dance as Protest, Pearl Primus, and Black Women Claiming Our Deserved Rest” investigates Black women using rest as a form of resistance against racist, capitalist, patriarchal structures. Lauren is currently researching different Afro-Diasporic movement styles and how dance heals the human heart.
CONTACT US
emartindance@gmail.com
Minneapolis, MN
STAY CONNECTED
@emartindance