#26 - Elke Schroeder

Elke Schroeder is a Toronto-based dance artist. A graduate of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre in 2005, she has worked with Lucy Rupert /Blue Ceiling Dance (as a dancer and artistic associate), Alias Dance Project, TILT Sound + Motion, Frog in Hand, and with choreographers Jenn Goodwin, Amanda Acorn, Susie Burpee and Andrea Nann (among others). Currently she is creating solo works for her company One Animal, just finished a creation for L'École de Danse de Québec, and is dancing in a new creation by Karen Kaeja. Elke’s diverse movement background includes dance of many styles, floorwork, acrobatics, yoga (Octopus Garden Teachers Training and Mentorship programs graduate), functional movement and martial arts. Her greatest influence is the Fighting Monkey Practice, a task-based, longevity-driven practice created by Jozef Frucek and Linda Kapetanea (RootlessRoot). A close student of Jozef and Linda, Elke is a designated FM instructor. In addition, she owes much credit to her other main teachers: David Zambrano (creator of Flying Low), Iñaki Azpillaga (Ultima Vez) and Peter Jasko (Les Slovaks). A passionate teacher, Elke has taught for organizations such as Spirit Loft (Toronto), Toronto Dance Community Love-in, L’Artère Danse, L'École de Danse de Québec, The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, the University of Calgary, Ryerson Unversity, Jane Clapp/Movement for Trauma, GMD (Toronto) and YMI Dancers (Toronto). Elke is known for her explosive performance quality and skills on the floor; she moves like, “an almost literal ball of effervescent energy, like a swiftly tilting planet falling out of orbit” (Mooney on Theatre). She is an active creator and performer and travels her work throughout Canada and abroad. During this conversation Elke and Kyle discuss embracing uncertainty, exploration, and shedding rigidity. Elke shares about her first exposure to Fighting Monkey coordinations. They ask the question, "What is a generalist?" And, they dig into the the concepts of resilience and change.