Sofia Engelman + Em Papineau

Sofia Engelman + Em Papineau are educators, organizers, and choreographic collaborators based in Lenapehoking // Brooklyn, NY. Their current research focuses on structural transparency (in performance and institutions alike), accessibility, advocating for young people, and archiving. Their first collaborative project, Where the air is light and clear, was presented at the National College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts while they were students at Smith College. Since then, they have held choreographic residencies at The Living Room, Ponderosa (Germany), The Dance Complex, MOtiVE Brooklyn, The Floor on Atlantic, and The School for Contemporary Dance & Thought. In addition to presenting their work at these spaces, the pair have performed at festivals including FRESH Festival, EstroGenius Festival, AS220’s Providence Movement Festival, Queer Spectra, Post/Future Performance Festival, and Dancing Queerly Boston; music/DIY venues such as 10 Forward and Flywheel; and other spaces they love dearly including Judson Church, Green Street Studios, freeskewl, and Smith College. Their work has been supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and the Northampton Arts Council. They have both been teaching contemporary forms, creative movement, dance-making, and more for over a decade. Sofia and Em are co-initiators of freeskewl, an experimental platform for pedagogy, performance, conversation, and community.