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Photos and Reviews
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Ellena's choreography is a dramatic blend of theater, traditional West African (Senegalese) and Caribbean dance while Maia's interweaves old school hip hop and West African dance. Brought together, the two choreographers create a signature vocabulary. One that is community conscious and contemporary. See thier work July 17-19 - 2008 at Southern Theater.
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When We Look Performance - Photo courtsey Margo O'dell.
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When We Look: An Artistic Collaboration is not easy to watch. The subject matter—women as victims of war and genocide—inspires feelings of discomfort and horror, but When We Look tells an important story that needs to be heard.
Detail Great Review by Sheila ReganThe performers are not so much actors as they are storytellers. Julie Kastigar Boada, Margo Abdo O’Dell, Esther Ouray, Ellena A. Schoop, and Laurie Witzkowski let the stories fall out of them with a harrowing rawness. Using dance, movement, costumes, and dialogue, they create an ensemble of voices from around the globe.
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Chicago Avenue Project (CAP) A program where a Playwright is paired up with a youth to either write a play. Or Playwright writes a play inspired by interviewing the youth. Photo is at a retreat where youth and playwright get one-on-one time work complete play.
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Celebrating Women Worldwide
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Festival of Lies performance with Congolese Choreographer Faustin Lekeya
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Writing Reviews
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Writing Reviews
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Explosive performance with choreography by Ellena, Maia and Karla.
BlackArtFusion May 2007Link for more photos.
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Panther's Pantry Reading Many Voices Showcase 10 Minute excerpts - Public Reading Performance - 6/28/2004 Panther's Pantry: Performance 6/28/2004 "A play Panthers' Pantry opened last evening..(or a parto of it).... This reviewer loved the complexitity and rapid charcter development that kept us more then engaged. While a lot to absorb, the snappy dialogue and background "atmosphere" of a march were highly effective in making us feel as though we were looking through a slit in a door...Not quite able to catch everything but pulled in the heavy charged days of the Black Panther movement and how it was lived rather then how it appeared to be lived.
Pat M.
Program Manager
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A standing Ovation given at Patrick's Cabaret Saturday 8/14 for performers of Djola Branners Performance Workshop - Among them, Ellena's debut Performance of her new original play Justabee"Riviting, Powerful....engaging" and "Full of layers.....", "Thought it was an adaptation of a novel..." a few of the comments describing both, the writing and performance of this piece. Sure to see more of Ellena....
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Dancing like nobody's watching
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