Ballet & Dance
Emily's ballet journey began as an energetic child who loved to dance to the scores of Swan Lake and Le Corsaire in her bedroom. This slowly progressed into a young teen training 7 hours a day under full-scholarship at Gelsey Kirkland Academy and later at Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program (Manhattan.) These thorough foundations led to dancing full-time as a company member with Ballet West in 2016, becoming the cover star for Pointe Magazine the Summer of 2019, and subsequently being honored a promotion to Soloist in 2020, as well as being nominated for a Princess Grace Award the same year.
The desire to seek a more artistically aligned and sustainable lifestyle led to her retirement from Ballet West in 2021, and a new chapter of aspirations unfolded. Emily currently approaches dance with a vision to collaborate with artists from different professional backgrounds. From an interview with Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet’s blog: “I … would love to lend a hand in the rise of consciousness within the arts and society at large.” (Read the entire interview here.)
Stepping away from the traditional world of ballet stemmed from Emily’s natural longing for artistic freedom and faith in the unknown. Having extensive training in classical Vaganova technique, she has since branched out into other forms of contemporary movement, utilizing her skills and personal taste to navigate the art sphere as a freelancer.
Inspired by the captivating affect of performance artists like The Talking Heads, Solange, Stereolab, Mazzy Star, and the Velvet Underground (amongst many others,) Emily has bridged her experiential knowledge of dance and music with musicians of various genres. She has served as a collaborative choreographer, dancer, and performer with Chicago music groups Grapetooth and Hazel City. She can be seen dancing in the music video for “Rain.”
In the Winter of 2023, Emily was invited by multidisciplinary virtuosos Nereida Patricia and Lileana Pryde Davis Moore to dance for Nereida’s work TRAP DOOR, at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre.
Emily also performs as the dance double for actress Gemma Chan in the movie Josephine, directed by Beth de Araújo. It premiered at Sundance Film festival in 2026, winning two major awards; both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for the Dramatic film category.U.S.
