Elana D. Anderson

Elana D. Anderson is a dance educator and choreographer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in African American Studies with minors in both English Literature and French.  She is an adjunct member of the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater Ensemble and the Corps de Ballet of the Lyric Opera of Chicago.  Ms. Anderson became a member of the artistic team of Deeply Rooted Productions in 1998, and currently serves as a consultant, narrator, rehearsal coach, and instructor.  Ms. Anderson is a graduate of Chicago State University and the Dance Department of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington , D.C.   Ms. Anderson joined the Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco) in 1981, where she continued to study while also attending the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts.  Ms. Anderson began teaching in Washington , D.C. in 1990.  A devoted mother, craftsperson, and consummate artist, Ms. Anderson is one of the country’s few instructors of the modern technique of Lester Horton. An instructor in the basics of classical ballet as well, she has taught master classes, given lectures, and choreographed for the LINES Contemporary Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program Summer Intensive in San Francisco, CA, the Studio One Dance Conservatory in Chicago, IL, the Joel Hall Dance Center, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, and the Lou Conte Dance Studio, home of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, among others.  Through her work, Ms. Anderson has explored script writing, grant writing narration, residency programming, curriculum development, and rehearsal/artistic/stage direction.  Her future goals include graduate/doctoral study and the founding and publication of JOY (An International Quarterly Magazine of Enlightenment).