Biography
Emily is a Mexican-American dancer, dance educator, and choreographer from Lawrenceville, Georgia. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor's of Arts in Dance with a minor in Business Administration at Brenau University. She has trained in various technical styles such as classical ballet, contemporary, various forms of modern, vernacular jazz, and various Mexican social dance genres. During her time at Brenau, she has worked with guest artist such as Julio Medina, Larry Keigwin, Kevin Jenkins, Quaba Ernest, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Christopher Bloom, and faculty members Jessica Lynch-Oliver and George Wilson Berry. In September of 2024, she performed a work by Julio Medina inspired by Mexican Cosmology which included the blend of cumbia wepa, Mexican folklore, and contemporary dance. Emily’s choreography revolves around her Mexican-American identity. Influenced by Mexican culture and Mexican-American historical events. Apart from performing and choreographing, she is an experienced theater technician trained in lighting design and stage management. She also focuses on pedagogical dance practices for young dance artists. Emphasizing the importance of exploring their own identity through the artform while improving their technical abilities, expanding their understanding of dance, and curating self discipline, humility, and appreciation. Alongside her pedagogical approaches she also currently serves as the chair of mentorship for the National Honor Society Dance Association for Brenau University.
Artistic Statement
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As a Mexican-American performer, choreographer, and dance educator, I find resilience and discipline in the artform I call dance. I believe dance creates the space to connect people, bridge cultures, and understand history. It is a vessel for communication, expressing feelings, ideas, and to garnish strength to create. Dance as an artform translates into my everyday living. Performing through my Mexican-American culture is central to my identity as an artist. When I step into performance, I am not only presenting movement, but embodying stories of heritage, migration, resilience, and celebration. My body becomes a vessel where cultural memory lives, allowing me to honor my ancestors while sharing their spirit with audiences. Through this idea, performance becomes both personal and communal. A reflection of lived experience and cultural continuity. I am inspired by my Mexican culture, which strongly emphasizes the communal aspect of dance. I am drawn to Mexican social dancing and how it mirrors my own upbringing in the southern United States, where I connect with my ancestry through movement. When I create, I draw from contemporary, modern, vernacular jazz, classical ballet, and Mexican-American social dances. Within this, I discover an impulse when dancing, an impulse to survive and to move forward, which echoes the strength, resilience, and unity found in Mexican-American history. I pull from the vibrant elements of Mexican culture. Its color, its boldness, its loudness, and its celebratory nature and translate that into movement. Through this, I aim to create work that not only reflects who I am, but also invites others into a shared cultural experience rooted in joy, resistance, and community.
— Emily Alonso