For booking inquiries, contact Larry Henry at larry@misnomer.org or 646-274-1975 ext.5 

Misnomer works closely with presenters and event planners to create multi-dimensional experiences through performances, talks, and workshops for audiences in a broad range of communities.  

Selected ways to work with Misnomer

Performances
Misnomer offers dance performances for a wide range of venue, from an 860-seat proscenium stage, to studio showings and site-specific work. Misnomer collaborates with each presenter to ensure a unique experience for all audiences, both through the performance and through engagement programs. For more information on performances, view Misnomer's touring repertory.

Guest Choreography & Teaching – Misnomer sets original work on professional repertory companies and on students at universities, offering an educational and artistically meaningful experience that is student-focused. Elam teaches extensively in a range of performance-related subjects. As part of his work with universities, Elam has facilitated several larger-scale, cross-campus and inter-departmental initiatives.  For more information view Misnomer's teaching section.

Arts & Technology Talks – Chris Elam engages students and audiences with discussions about his past interactive technology work with Apple Computers, as well as projects creating multimedia dances in Holland, working with the Sundance Channel, and choreographing for Bjork’s 3-D music video. 

Intercultural Talks – Chris is available to speak about creating choreographies in international contexts, discussing his extensive work in Indonesia, Cuba, France, Ukraine, Turkey, Brazil, Ireland, and Holland.

New Media and Consulting – Utilizing his background and experience in technology, Chris consults and teaches institutional staffs, students, and professional artists to develop field-appropriate approaches to new media, online video, and social networks. 

...And More  Curious about some of our other projects and services?

For more information on booking Misnomer Dance Theater and Chris Elam, please contact Larry Henry, Director of Partnerships and Events at larry@misnomer.org or 646-274-1975 ext.5

"A true original, Misnomer is one of the most individualistic of modern dance voices today."

        -The New York Times

CASE STUDY:  Misnomer at Summer Stages Dance

Summer Stages Dance featured Misnomer in their annual festival for young dancers across the country.  In a full-length concert, Misnomer presented Tin Man, Land Flat, and Throw People to a very receptive audience. In addition to a post-performance Q&A, Misnomer's New Media Director, Jaki Levy, set up two laptop computers in the lobby that audience members could use in order to ask questions and give feedback. Misnomer then contacted each individual, responding to their comments online as part of the Presenter Partnership Program.  Audience members glowed about the work, and truly enjoyed the opportunity to share their full experience with the company.

The Presenter Partnership Program aims to engage audiences beyond the theater, feeding their appetites for continued experiences and reflections of works online.  As part of the program, Jaki contributed five hours of strategic consulting to Summer Stages, offering dynamic and personalized content for the Summer Stages website; blogging before, during, and after the engagement; and collecting photos, testimonials, and videos for Summer Stages' continued use.

TALKS: Arts & Technology

Misnomer has discussed past interactive technology work with Apple Computers, as well as projects creating multimedia dances in Holland, working with the Sundance Channel, and choreographing for Bjork’s 3-D music video.

TALKS: Intercultural Talks

Misnomer offers a talk about creating choreographies in international contexts, during which the company discusses past work in Indonesia, Cuba, France, Ukraine, Turkey, Brazil, Ireland, Holland, and Denmark.

                                                                                               
 THEATER HIGHLIGHTS:

 au foyer Roger Panouse in France
 

Misnomer seeks to engage audiences in all aspects of our creative process, effectively blurring art, learning, and action. 

College & University Offerings 

Misnomer Dance Theater creates experimental, unexpected, and powerful ways for artists and audiences to connect and find meaning together.

Named one of the top ten dance performances of the year by The New York Times, Misnomer has performed at over 250 venues worldwide. Audience engagement is a driving force for the company, and MDT is committed to pioneering innovative programs to support that drive.

MDT offers a full range of educational experiences for students including master classes, workshops, talks & conversations, original work, company performances or a combination of offerings tailored to fit the needs of your students. 

“Absurd and poignant... wonderfully strange and unpredictable choreography.” -The New Yorker 

Take a look below at our bookable offerings tailored for Colleges & Universities. 

Guest Choreography

Misnomer sets original work on professional repertory companies and on students at universities, offering an educational and artistically meaningful experience that is student-focused. Chris Elam and Misnomer Dance Theater have been in residence at dozens of universities teaching classes, performing, setting work on students, and giving talks and demonstrations. Elam has been a guest choreographer at the University of Wisconsin, Brown University, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams College, Hofstra University, and Manhattanville College.

Artistic Director Chris Elam and/or one of the company members will work with your students to either create an original work or stage one of our repertory pieces. We will work with you to design a residency that is focused on your student’s growth as dancers and dance-makers. You can choose one of our rep pieces or commission an original work specifically for your program.

We are also available to pair additional engagement activities such as a company performance, master class, or talk with the Guest Choreography experience. Check out our full range of offerings and email us to start the conversation.

Company Performances

Misnomer's dances are delightful, unique, and accessible. Our work can be presented in theaters of all sizes, and performances can be tailored to suit your venue and audience sizes, ranging in length from a 10-minute performance to a day-long performance and workshop combination, or a full-length evening show. In addition to the creation of new work annually for our New York City Season, our Company has built a large repertoire of work over 13 years of existence.

We will customize a performance for a wide range of venues, from an 860-seat proscenium stage, to studio showings and site-specific work. Misnomer collaborates with each university to ensure a unique experience for all audiences. We also include audience engagement activities with all of our performances. Check out our Repertory listing for more information: Misnomer Repertory.

Master Classes & Workshops

Chris Elam is guided by an artistic philosophy that every individual is a powerful creative source. By coaching performance skills, choreography, improvisation, contact climbing and partnering, Elam imparts skills and perspectives that encourage students to be inventive in the creation and execution of their movement and choreography. Misnomer offers a wide range of classes in partnering, modern dance technique, improvisation, and choreography. We offer one-time Master Classes, multi-session workshops, and residencies of various lengths with Chris and/or a company member.

 

We currently offer classes and workshops in:

• Improbable Partnering and Exceptional Physical Interactions - focuses on partnering defined through movement, and serves students working in both dance and theater. Students will examine ideas, build skills and acquire tools for developing exceptional interactions and improbable partnering onstage. The aim is to build skill and confidence when creating complex movement relationships between couples and groups.
• Balinese-Modern Technique - Elam's technique incorporates his extensive training in Balinese and Modern dance. A warm-up involving modern, yoga, and imagery leads to phrasework in which dancers send sculptures through space, allow taut, angular movement to transform into spongy liquid actions, and execute complex balances.
• Improvisation - Misnomer uses improvisation in many ways including honing our performance skills as a company and creating movement for our pieces. Our improvisation classes unlock individuals creative sources and help build dynamic ensembles.

 

We will customize an educational experience that meets the needs of your students.

Lectures & Discussions

An advocate for the smart use of technology for audience engagement in the arts, Elam has been an invited speaker at many of the country’s foremost arts, business and technology conferences, including Fortune Magazine’s Brainstorm: TECH, the National Arts Marketing Project, and TEDxEast. Elam serves on the advisory board of the Americans for the Arts’ National Arts Marketing Project, and frequently participates in panels to provide advocacy for the arts. An active traveler, Elam’s contemporary choreography is informed by inter-cultural research and exploration. In 1999 Chris spent seven months with a Topeng dance master in Indonesia, training and performing in temple ceremonies. Misnomer accompanied him to Brazil in 2001 to perform and teach. The following year, Chris taught for six months at the Conservatory in Turkey; and in 2004 he spent three months in Havana choreographing on DanzAbierta, a national dance company of Cuba. In 2005 he performed in Ireland on a European Cultural City Commission, which led to a commission in Holland in 2006 with the interactive technology group Blue Noise Dept.

Chris Elam is available to present a Lecture for classes or interdisciplinary events at your campus. Current lectures available:

• Audience Engagement & Technology
• Intercultural and International Collaborations
• The Creative Process
• Making your Career in the Dance Field

 

Chris is also available to customize a lecture for your university and students.

Skype Visit

Misnomer is using Skype as a way to be in your classrooms, wherever they are! Now you can book Chris Elam for a lecture, conversation, or presentation without the cost of travel. This is a great opportunity to bring a remarkable artist to your students.  

Chris Elam is available to present a Lecture for classes or interdisciplinary events via Skype. Current lectures available:

• Audience Engagement & Technology 
• Intercultural and International Collaborations 
• The Creative Process 
• Making your Career in the Dance Field

 

Chris is also available to customize a lecture for your university and students.

CASE STUDY:

Misnomer at Towson University Towson University students and faculty warmly welcomed Chris Elam to their campus, excited, but unsure of how the week would unfold.  Elam was invited to teach the students dance technique and the choreography from Land Flat, one section from the piece that earned Misnomer a spot on The New York Times' 2006 list of “Top 10 Dance Performances."  During the week of workshops and classes, Elam empowered students to find their own creative voices while offering tangible skills to help them share their artistry with others through the web.  All classes and rehearsals were filmed, allowing students the opportunity to record their thoughts.  The experience was discussed when freshman and senior students gathered outside of normal class time for a two-hour conversation on using the web to translate artistic experiences.

In tandem, Elam brainstormed with the Director of the Department of Dance on integrating the various arts programs on campus.  When Elam left a week later, the entire program was fully engaged and connected to the Misnomer experience.  Misnomer was delighted when, almost a year later, four of the twelve Towson students from this workshop traveled to New York to audition for the company.

SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS: 

  Temple University

 University of Wisconsin

 Brown University
 Towson University
 Roger Williams University
 Skidmore College
 Hofstra University
 Manhattanville College
 Rhode Island College

For additional information on our work with Universities, visit Misnomer's teaching section.

"Our aim was to show the connections between technology and other important fields of human endeavor... Not only did [Misnomer] perform a beautiful piece, but Chris explained how his work with technology connects to his choreography. The audience was charmed, and inspired."

 -David Kirkpatrick, Senior Editor, Internet & Technology, FORTUNE Magazine

Chris Elam and Misnomer Dance Theater have served on various panels and have given keynote speeches to artists, students, academics, and executives in the United States and abroad.  Misnomer has grown to be one of the leading experts in new media, web models for economic stability, and audience engagement programs for dance.
 

 

Inspire employees and clients with a powerful performance, talk, or workshop

SALESFORCE CONFERENCE:
"Misnomer brought inspirational value to our SalesForce conference for 250 top global managers. The performance as professional, and exciting, one that triggered dynamic, new thinking relevant to our employees. Adding Misnomer's work is sure to make a smart impact to any forward-thinking conference or corporate event."
-Marc Benioff, CEO of SalesForce


FORTUNE MAGAZINE'S BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:
"Our aim was to show the connections between technology and other important fields of human endeavor... Not only did [Misnomer] perform a beautiful piece, but Chris explained how his work with technology connects to his choreography. The audience was charmed, and inspired."
-David Kirkpatrick, Senior Editor, Internet & Technology, FORTUNE Magazine

______________________________________________________
Misnomer's dances are delightful, unique, and accessible. Talks, keynote speeches, and workshops can supplement performance bookings, creating an enriching and inspiring Misnomer experience. Named in the "top ten" dances of the year by the New York Times in 2006, and a featured performer and speaker at numerous TEDx conferences, Artistic Director Chris Elam also has a background in technology and audience engagement which fuels the company's vision and offerings to attendees.

Performances can be tailored to suit your venue and audience sizes, and range in length from a 10-minute performance to a day-long performance and workshop combination.

Talks and works are available in team building, cross-cultural collaboration, technology and the arts, social entrepreneurship, and other subjects.

______________________________________________________

"I have known Chris Elam for several years and I'm continually impressed with the success of his dance company. Chris has earned a reputation as a real innovator and dance performance impresario. It's a pleasure to be able to recommend Chris and his outstanding work."
-John Sculley, Venture Partner, Rho Ventures; Former CEO, Apple

"Chris is both an outstanding individual and an extremely creative person. We share an interest in the combination of technology and artistic work, and Chris has inspired me to explore that combination for my future work. Chris is a also a role model as an individual, as he combines extreme talent with humbleness."
-Måns Hultman, Former Chairman & CEO, Qlik Technologies, Inc.