life - breath - soul
ELIANA SAKIN
Dancer & Choreographer in Life
Business Administration/Finance Team
Eliana Sakin is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. She is a senior pursuing a B.F.A in Dance Performance & Choreography and a B.A in Arts Administration with minors in Leadership Studies and Business Administration. Eliana performed in mainstage productions at Elon in choreography by Renay Aumiller, Jen Guy Metcalf, Jason Aryeh, Clarice Young, and Amy Beasley. She performed internationally with Africa Alive Dance Company in Ghana and in original site-specific works by Lauren Kearns in Florence, Italy. Her choreographic work has been presented in Florence, Italy and at Elon. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in dance. She is so thankful for all her experiences at Elon!
A Note from the Artist:
At its core dance is about community. Humans are social beings, and thrive off relationships and connections. As dancers, we need connections and relationships not just with other people, but with ourselves and our space. In building these relationships we create a community of more than just people. Being in a dance space alone allows dancers to connect to the space, themselves, and the audience. This builds a community made up of more than just people.
When I think of movement, I think of two words: empathy and gratitude. We build connections and relationships on empathy, and dance relies heavily on our ability to feel and experience empathy. When I am moving, I also feel immense gratitude for the ability to move and for the connections I create.
My choreography explores and emphasizes those relationships. I explore relationships through movement, and at this time I am specifically exploring the relationships close to me that I have observed throughout my life. I am not a perfectionist, and my work reflects that. Imperfections are what make us human. My goal as a choreographer is to create a connection among the dancers, the audience, the space, and myself that builds a sense of trust and vulnerability.
We all have a connection to everyone and everything. No matter how different we seem, there is something that connects us—some common ground to build from. Relationships don’t have to be positive, but they always exist. My choreography is based on my lived experiences of these relationships. Whether it is something I personally lived through or observed from the outside. I want to create my experiences into something that can be applied to and impact all audiences.