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Ela Mesma Company

Our Values

Diversity in stories matters.

Growing up in a small town in England, I didn’t see many superheroes that looked like Ella’s mixed family (I am white British and Black Nigerian).

I wanted to create a diverse company that celebrates dance styles from the diaspora and challenges aspects of our society and its beliefs. 

It was from this space that Ela Mesma Company was born.

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” Maya Angelou

We strive to create beautiful, inspiring diaspora dance theatre to allow transformation through the honouring of our values and the telling of personal and global stories. This supports us to connect to our truest selves and to create powerful, personal and political work that also is in resonance with Mother Earth works in harmony with the planet. Where possible we try to use recycled materials and minimise our carbon footprint.

There are five values at the heart of the work:

  • Expression:
    Expression is about creativity, about speaking our truth, and having all voices heard.
  • Balance:
    Balance for us is also connected to the concept gender roles and role playing. It is about finding our own inner balance. It is about our cup being full up. It is about working in harmony with the planet. It is about unlearning concepts (often taught in dance) that do no listen to our body needs or honour the human in the dance experience. It is about promoting and creating the freedom to be all sides of ourselves regardless of gender, background or heritage. It is about supporting neuro diversity within company members and striving to honour the access needs of all. It is about stepping into our own wholeness, ultimately is it about living in line with our truth.
  • Movement:
    Movement is of course present in all our works. It is our expression and it keeps us healthy, happy and alive.
  • Self Love:
    Self Love is about how we can heal the world when we know and love ourselves and when our ‘cup is full up’. Self love is when we give ourselves permission to express that love to others, to be ourselves unapologetically.
  • Equality:
    Equality for us is about respect and acceptance of all. It is an opportunity to celebrate our uniqueness and the diversity of the universe, creating opportunities for connection and community, evolution and vulnerability. We believe unlearning is a core element of creating equality.We believe this is one of the superpowers of art.

About Ella

It’s great to meet you here!

My name is Ella and my pronouns are she or they.

I created Ella Mesma Company to produce work by the superheroes that I wanted to see on stage.

I love to work with the dances of the Orishas and contemporary and Hip-Hop styles to create collaborative theatre with my company

“Dancers are the athletes of God.” Albert Einstein

I am super inspired by dance as a healing ritual and a gateway to transformation and positive change! 

Can art be activism? 

Can we use it, like a hammer, to shape the world we want to see? 

BECAUSE THE EARTH WITHOUT ART IS JUST EH!

I have a holistic approach to creativity, creating and crafting from a space that is  connected to self. A space that is full of bravery, enquiry and purpose.

As I came to dance later in life, having not had access to it previously, it is important to me to reach those who don’t necessarily have a background in theatre. 

As a person of mixed heritage (I am mixed Black Nigerian & white British), I also strive for my cast and the stories we tell, to be told by super-hero(ine) voices who are often under-represented onstage.

I also love to connect with my audience through discussion and play (though making sure the audience never feel pressured to join in!)

“Art is not a mirror to reflect reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” Bertolt Brecht

Read OUR EMC timeline BELOW

ELA MESMA COMPANY TIMELINE

  • Our journey began in 2011 with a premiere at Breakin’ Convention (Sadler’s Wells): a solo called Evol (Love backwards).
  • In 2012, Ella was selected as a future Dance Leader for the ABLE leadership program.
  • In 2013, Ella made a solo; Ecdysis with Anthony Egea of Compagnie Revolution
  • The company officially formed as Ela Mesma Company in 2014 with a piece called Orixás which premiered at The Place.
  • In 2015, Ella was awarded a Bench fellowship for emerging choreographers.
  • Ela Mesma Company were residents with Casa Latin American Festival in 2015
  • Ella was Associate Artist at Dance City (2017)​
  • EMC first performed their own evening of work at Sadler’s Wells with a Wildcard in 2017 (Guerreras)
  • Ela Mesma Company were comissioned by the National Circus Centre (2018) to create Papyllon
  • Ella & Hsing Ya Wu travelled for the Women’s International Leadership Conference, New York City in 2017 to perform Ladylike
  • Ella travelled to the ICA Festival, Capetown South Africa (2018) to perform Papyllon
  • Ella was Associate Artist at Trinity Centre Bristol (2018)​
  • The company were runners up for the ‘Best Dance Production of The Year’ by the Latino Life LUKAS Awards 2018.​
  • Ela Mesma Company were commissioned at the IETM in Hull (2019) to perform Ladylike
  • Ella was commissioned as a Slate World Artist (2019)
  • Ella became a Pervasive Media Studio Resident (2020)
  • Ela Mesma Company became Company in Residence for 2020-21 at Pavillion Dance South West (where we are now a Supported Artist)
  • Ella was Commissioned by The Place as part of Choreodrome with Akeim Toussaint (New Collaborations) in 2022
  • Ella was commissioned to choreograph on various UK companies and academic institutions
  • The company received ACE funding for The Rainbow Butterfly to be realised as a 55 minute show and for outdoor work
  • Ella was commissioned to choreograph on various UK companies and academic institutions
  • The company received ACE funding for Okan a duet by Ella Mesma and Akeim Toussaint in 2023

Testimonials

Unabashedly emotional
Sanjoy RoyThe Guardian
Amazing, powerful energy in abundance
Dr Nathalie TeitlerDancing Words
She really pushes the form beyond battles and bravado
William DrewExeunt Magazine
Ella Mesma has a holistic approach to creativity, creating from a space of connectivity to self and purpose
Elsabet Yonas Dance Artist
Carrying that vital spark of originality
Graham Watts Chairman of Critics’ Circle Dance Section UK
The students really enjoyed both workshop and performance and found it interesting and inspiring
Antonio BorielloPhoenix Youth Academy Coordinator
The students really enjoyed both workshop and performance and found it interesting and inspiring
Antonio BorielloPhoenix Youth Academy Coordinator
Ladylike should be compulsory watching for the world
Chris Megginson Yorkshire Dance
F***ing brilliant. Very moving
Audience MemberOffbeat Festival
An absurd, comical, and emotionally charged ritual of dance theatre
Bristol 24/7
Totally swept away by the powerful performances of the four women! They do represent a diaspora of desires, fears and heroism
Casa Festival 2019South Social Film Fest
The MMMM classes were an absolute tonic during lockdown and beyond
It has improved my basic technique and gotten me back into dancing and feeling rhythms again and moving in a way that works for me.
I love the openness of the class as well as the structured exercises that we add our own flavour too. Looking forward to more!
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Ela Mesma Company

We create magic experiences using a diverse range of folkloric dance styles & aerial silks to bring the stories that we would love to have seen growing up to life

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