A fan of pop culture parody and blurring the lines among styles, Elle is a performance artist emphasizing the strange, the satirical, and the sensual. She blends burlesque, modern dance, ballet, vocals, and sometimes puppetry in her unique acts.
My Story
I began my dance journey as a young girl, and it wasn’t long before I got bitten by the theatre bug. I adore the process of telling stories in a dramatic fashion, blending costumes, movement, and characterization to make something meaningful.
I then discovered a new love for burlesque as a way to tell stories and scintillate the audience through clever couture. But that was just the beginning of my creative evolution. After years of being confined to the ground, I’ve taken to the skies, learning and teaching aerial acrobatics on trapeze, lyra (aerial hoop), silks, and aerial sling (aka hammock).
Now, I am on my true path as an aerial ecdysiast and consummate circus artist. I love sharing these art forms with others as a performer and instructor.
As an avid storyteller and major nerd, I eventually turned my love of sci-fi and fantasy into a passion for cosplay and costume design. Many of my acts are a bit geeky, whether that’s my obsession with Broadway musicals or an extraordinary character I want to bring to life — often with a burlesque or circus twist!
Putting the “Eclectic” in “Eclectica”
I am an eager student of aerial theory, performance modes, interdisciplinary dance, and visual storytelling.
Fusion Dancer and Movement Artist
I began taking ballet and tap classes as a young child, and I’ve never gone long without a movement class. My education encompasses ballet, jazz dance, modern and contemporary, West African dance, belly dance, samba, and of course, aerial dance. But to me, the style doesn’t matter as much as the message: what I can communicate with my body and how I can tell meaningful stories through movement. In any of my acts, you may see a mix of Fosse-inspired chair dance, samba strutting, or ballet en pointe.
Acroburly Fitness Coach and Trauma-Informed Movement Instructor
As a survivor of intimate partner violence living with body dysmorphia, OCD, and PTSD, I have found both catharsis and healing in the cabaret arts. While burlesque allowed me to reconnect with her body, aerial dance gave me an opportunity to unlearn the toxicity of many ballet and musical theatre programs. Blending my background in anthropology with her love of fitness, I founded Elevate With Elle, an acroburly fitness brand dedicated to helping all movement artists train safely and confidently.
Circus and Cabaret Costume Designer
I make almost all of my burlesque and aerial costumes from scratch. Thanks to my background in theatrical costume design, I’ve mastered the arts of quick-rigging and stretch-stitching — so costume pieces come off when you want them to and stay on when you don’t!
In 2022, I launched Elle’s Cabaret Couture, which features unique wearable art: both the Ecdysiast Elements for burlesque artists and Circus Creations for aerial and acrobatic performers.