Elisa Macauley
School of Arts and Media
Current positions
Programme Leader BA Dance
Biography
Elisa has over twenty-five years of experience as a professional dance artist, maker, performer, facilitator, director and lecturer.
In her time as a performer, Elisa worked intensively with companies such as Attic Dance Company, Trip Switch and Ludus Dance Company touring work throughout the UK and internationally including working in France, Italy, South East Asia, Kosova and Columbia.
As a free-lance dancer and dance maker, she has also been commissioned in roles including: Choreographer / Dancer in the documentary ‘Josephine Baker: Americas First Black Super Star’ for BBC; Dancer in ‘Sunny Spells A Game for Optimists’ choreographed by Frances Newman and Pedro Sandiford for The South Bank show, BBC and in the Bailey’s Irish Cream commercial Dance choreographed by Liam Steel and Rob Tanion.
As part of the WW1 centenary year in 2014, Elisa was co-commissioned along with North West dance artist and co-worker Debbie Milner to create an outdoor dance theatre piece ‘Battle Field Boy’ performed by 12 Degrees North Graduate dance company at venues including (IWM North) Imperial War Museum in Manchester.
Elisa has taught on Dance degree programmes in Higher Education including tutoring on the MA in Dance Research for Professional Practitioners (MADRPP) course at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary dance; and previously as lecturer in Dance at Edge Hill University.
Elisa avidly supports the expansion dance within the community sector and values inclusive dance opportunities for all people of all abilities, ages and backgrounds.
Her community-based work has been ongoing throughout her career and she has worked extensively with numerous local community dance groups and arts organisations - more recently in association with Rubicon Dance in Cardiff, Y Dance in Glasgow and with LPM dance theatre in Lancaster as part of their Dance for Parkinson’s Oop North team.
Elisa currently teaches across the undergraduate and postgraduate dance curricula at in: Contemporary dance techniques; Choreography; Improvisation; African Dance; Dance Research Analysis; History and Cultural Theory.
- Social and Cultural Research - Related to Arts and Society
- Arts and Identity
- Sociological perspectives - Access, Agency and Class.
Qualifications
- MA Degree in Sociology and Global Change from Manchester Metropolitan University.
- BA Degree in Contemporary dance Theatre - Trinity Laban, London (Then Laban Centre for Movement and Dance).