Beth McKee Elliott – Beth Elliott Dance Group

Beth McKee Elliott, a lifelong dancer, holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (UHM), and is a Certified Movement Analyst (CMA). She has studied, taught, performed, choreographed, and presented dance all over the United States for over 25 years. Beth has been recognized for excellence in choreography by Regional Dance America, having been selected as a Project Tier choreographer, as well as having received the the Carl Wolz Award for Choreography while attending UHM. Beth currently teaches dance and yoga at Northern Virginia Community College where she is the advisor for the NOVA Dance Program, and the director of the NOVA’s Favorite Dancer competition. Dedicated to creating opportunities for dancers and choreographers to present their creative work through teaching, mentoring, and producing concerts and events that showcase emerging and established choreographic work, Beth created the Small Plates Choreography Festival in Northern Virginia in 2012. Beth created the Mosaic choreographic process, and Mise en Dance, an innovative open-workshop choreographic event. She has directed her namesake performing ensemble, Beth Elliott Dance Group, since 1998, and has developed an extensive repertoire of works that have been performed at notable venues locally and nationally, including Triskelion Arts in Brooklyn, NY, and Jack Guidone Theater and Harmon Hall in Washington DC.

BEDG’s motto, “more than just dancing” reflects a desire to nurture a holistic experience for all participants in the art of dance, and an aspiration to advance the understanding of dance as a meaningful arts experience that encompasses dancers, choreographers, and their audiences.

Beth McKee Elliott – Artistic Statement:
Choreography is my personal expressive process of creating movement statements.  My purpose in making dance is to articulate the essence of self and the myriad ways it is evidenced within the context of community.  My creative process is intentionally fluid; the casting off of prior creative conventions enables the actualization of visual and kinetic modes specific to the meaning of each dance I make.  I present my discoveries as powerful solos and dynamic group works that examine relationship, identity, and the form and shape of the human body in the environment of space.