life - breath - soul
LAUREN MITCHELL
Dancer & Choreographer in Soul
Company Outreach
Lauren Mitchell, from Sparta, New Jersey, is a senior at Elon pursuing a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography and B.S. in Dance Science. She has worked with various faculty and student choreographers in performances throughout the years, both on film and stage. During the summer of 2019 she had the incredible opportunity to travel and study abroad in Florence, Italy, training at the Florence Dance Center with Lauren Kearns’ The Kearns Dance Project. This year she is honored to be performing a solo in her last Spring Dance Concert. Simultaneously, she is working towards her goals of becoming a pediatric occupational therapist and dance teacher, where she will get to work with kids while continuing her passion for dance!
A Note from the Artist:
Movement is healing. I move to find joy and positivity through a therapeutic art form. As I have grown and matured as a mover, I have learned the importance of the relationship between mind and body. Dance eases my mind which in turn eases and releases my body as well. I utilize my personal human experiences and relationships as inspiration to move authentically as a dancer and as a choreographer.
My choreographic process begins with improvisation tasks that aim to capture genuine material from my body or the bodies of my dancers. I manipulate this spontaneous dancing to draw from my creative toolbox and utilize the language of movement to speak to myself, the dancers, and the viewers. I create work that is designed to be raw, liberating, and expressive both physically and mentally. I am inspired by the choreographic work of Crystal Pite, Talia Favia, and Mia Michaels as they take risks with their movement and produce fascinating art. Whether I am creating work for a concert performance, film, or studio setting, I use movement that is grounded, specific, continuous, and expansive. When I choreograph, I focus on creating strong connections between the performers but I am also interested in using dance to create community between performers and audience. The community I create is a safe space for individuals to escape the outside world and enter their own world through a natural emotional response to my work. I aspire to share my love of dance through teaching and choreography in order to spark passion, positivity, and bliss to others.