Sarah Elsworth is a New Zealand based interdisciplinary movement artist, performer, & educator, from Ōtautahi, Christchurch.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts, Major: Contemporary dance, from Unitec, Auckland, 2012 and has since performed & presented work, as an independent artist throughout New Zealand, Australia & India.
Sarah’s creative practice traverses freely between contemporary dance, choreographic methodology, interdisciplinary collaborations & site-specific performative art. Recurring motivations in her work, is a desire to create immersive experiences for an audience, challenging the conventional audience/performer relationship. She works within a postmodern framework, inspired by ecological practices, sociologically, nature, colour and the intricate relationships between movement and music.
She has a background as a musician, playing the saxophone and clarinet. This underpins her love for experimenting with sound design & collaborating with musicians and composers. Recent & notable, has been with Anita Clark/MOTTE on multiple projects throughout 2023.
As choreographer and director, she creates in response to the contextual environment required of the project. She has been commissioned to create site-specific work, graduation pieces on tertiary dance students in the conventional theatre setting & presented solo work, at Otautahi Tiny Fest (2019) & group work at Melbourne Fringe Festival (2016).
As a performer, she has created with and toured works by leading New Zealand artists, including Julia Harvie, Alexa Wilson/ Footnote New Zealand Dance & Jessie McCall. She equally enjoys experimental performance encounters, like improvising on a train in Mumbai to performing as part of NOW HEAR THIS! experimental music festival Ōtautahi.
As movement educator & mentor, She is a frequent teaching artist, for Movement Art Practice (NZ) & Kalakeli Movement Arts (IN) sharing an accumulation of contemporary dance techniques & creative practice containers.
Sarah is dedicated to a philosophy of sharing inclusive movement experience. She has a frequent engagement of teaching workshops within community arts settings & outreach initiatives, including creating with youth at Kaiti School, for Chamber Music New Zealand outreach programme & facilitating movement workshops for Many Hats, a theatre Company comprising of adults with intellectual and learning disabilities.
In India, she initiated a project performance.LAB with Prashant More & Somya Kautia a workshop series combining physical training with interdisciplinary performance. With a wider value of nurturing artists and providing platforms for extermination and collaboration.
C.V
CHOREOGRAPHIC WORKS & COLLABORATIONS.
2023 GREEN SILENCE, Site-specific performance Hansen Park, commission by Movement Art Practice, Christchurch.
LILAC, solo performance in development.
PITHU, Nritya Shakti Studio, Mumbai in collaboration with Prashant More & Somya Kautia
2022 FRACTURES/ Of women and cloth, AGA Ballet Academy Graduation.
YUJIR, In collaboration with Aman Gupta, Jungle Dance, Goa, India.
2021. LOST FUTURE. Moksha Arts Space, Bangalore, India.
2020 BONES OF HEART, Dance Film presented Tempo Dance Festival, The Putiputi, digital season. Aotearoa.
82 CHAMBERS OF HEART. Performance Tour, Sensistan Art and Technology Museum, Goa, India.
ROSE. Collaboration with Dominique Baker, Performed at Double Dutch & Jungle Dance, Goa, India.
2019 MY KIN BLUE. Solo performance work, Ōtautahi Tiny Performance Festival, CoCA Gallery, Christchurch.
2016 UPSTREAM. Presented as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival. Melbourne, Australia.
2014 KASISA. Anneliese Gilberd Ballet Academy, graduation showcase, Christchurch.
2012- 15 GRAD SEASON. Hagley Dance Company, multiple commissioned short works. Christchurch.
PERFORMANCE.
2023. WATER.AIR.SMOKE. In collaboration with Anita Clark/MOTTE & Rory Dalley (IRD). Lyttelton Arts Festival.
LILAC (solo) Lyttelton Arts Factory, solo as part of Sheryl Robinson tribute show.
NOW HEAR THIS! festival of urgent sound & adventurous music. dance response to musicians Anita Clark/MOTTE, I.E Crazy & Roy Montgomory.
2019 HIVE. Julia Harvie and Stuart Lloyd-Harris, Tē Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre. Christchurch.
2017 THE DARK LIGHT. Alexa Wilson for Footnote Dance Company ChoreoCo, Wellington Fringe Festival, Circa Theatre.
2016 THE RING CYCLE. Neil Armfield and Kate Champion, Opera Australia, Arts Centre Melbourne.
2015 LUCID. Fleur De Tier and Megan Platt, Llew Summers private sculpture garden.
2014 APT Y IDOS. Natalie Maria, Black Sheep productions, Q Theatre, Auckland.
THE WAY WE FALL. Jessie McCall, toured nationwide, Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin Fringe Festivals.
2013 THE WAY WE FALL. Jessie McCall, Tempo Dance Festival, Auckland.
SHIFTING LINES. Fleur De Thier and Julia McKerrow, Christchurch Art gallery Commission
ANTIPODES CREATURE. Fleur De Thier and Julia McKerrow, Body Festival, Christchurch.
HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND STILL APPEAR NORMAL, Natalie Maria, Toured to Wellington and Dunedin Fringe
Festival.
TEACHING AND COMMUNITY WORK
2023 Many Hats Theatre Company, Creative Movement tutor, stage manager, directors assistant, choreographer.
Movement Art Practice, Christchurch.Teaching Artist.
performance.LAB workshop intensive, and performance initiative in collaboration with
Prashant More & Somya Kautia (Mumbai) & Prashant More, Abhilash Ningappa. Play Practice (Bangalore)
Kalakeli Movement Arts, Goa India, International residency, workshop facilitator, multidisciplinary artistic practice.
Play Practice Apprenticeship Program, (Bangalore)
2022 Teaching Artist, Movement Art Practice, Christchurch.
Kaiti Primary School Arts Outreach programme, Chamber Music New Zealand.
Grounded Pilates, Reformer Instructor.
Kalakeli Movement Arts, Goa India, International residency, workshop facilitator.
2020-22 Pilates, online class series & community classes in real life.
2020 Contemporary Dance Classes, Adult beginners, Dancehouse, Melbourne
2019 Good Times Pilates, Reformer Pilates Instructor (June 2016-2020), Melbourne.
2018 Transit Dance, Pilates trainer/ somatic practices, Melbourne.
White Dog Studio, Reformer Pilates, Melbourne.
2016 Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, twice commissioned choreographer, educational outreach in school’s residency.
2017 Alice Can Dance, youth dance performance project in Alice Springs, Australia.
2012 -15 Movement Art Practice, contemporary technique advanced and beginners, Christchurch.
Anneliese Gilberd Ballet Academy, Contemporary technique, partnering, choreography, Christchurch.
Hagley Dance Company, Contemporary technique, choreographic workshops, Christchurch.
Cashmere High School, choreographic master classes, Christchurch.
EDUCATION.
2021 Hatha Yoga & Pranayama, 200hour Yoga TTC, Rishikesh, India
2018 Certificate IV in Pilates, Breathe Education, Melbourne
2009-11 Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts, Major Contemporary Dance, Unitec.
2008 Hagley Dance Company with Excellence, Christchurch.
2007 Royal Academy of Dance, Ballet Intermediate R.A.D.
1997-08 Trinity School of London Music Examinations, Saxophone/Clarinet Grades 5- 8.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH
2020 Goa Dance Residency. One month training intensive, Goa, India.
2019 Research and development with Lilian Steiner, Lucy Guerin Inc studio residency.
2018 Make at Tasdance. Choreographic and improvisation workshop with Jo Llyod.
Meg Stuart Improvisation workshop, Dancehouse, Melbourne.
2017 Choreolab, Footnote New Zealand Dance, Wellington.
2017 Solo performance research & development. Ausdance funded residency with Melbourne City Ballet.
2016 Dancehouse Room to Move programme. Development and industry feedback showing of Upstream, Melbourne.
2015 Movement Art Practice choreographic research series. Invited artist in residence for one month. Christchurch
European workshop and training intensive four months, enabled by the Eileen May Norris Scholarship.
ImPulsTanz, Vienna, month intensive including workshops with David Zambrano, Mark Lorimer, Eroca Nicols.
Company intensives with: Les Ballet C De La B and Ultima Vez, Belgium,
In residence at: Ponderosa, Berlin. Performing Arts Forum, P.A.F France.
AWARDS
2014 Recipient of the Eileen May Norris Scholarship.
2013 Winner ‘Best Dance’ NZ Fringe Festival (Wellington) How to Make Friend’s and still Appear Normal.