Misnomer Bloggers

Chris Elam, (Artistic Director and Choreographer) graduated from Brown University and received his MFA in Dance from NYU Tisch. He has been on faculty at Brown University and The State Conservatory for the Arts in Turkey, and a guest choreographer at 8 universities. Elam is often booked to lecture, most recently at Brown University's speaker series, as a social entrepreneur in the arts. Approaching his work from the viewpoint of an ethnographer as well as a choreographer, Elam's study of traditional dances informs the technical and conceptual complexity of his contemporary choreography. In 1999 Elam spent 7 months with a Topeng dance master in Indonesia, training and performing in temple ceremonies. In 2001 he brought Misnomer to perform and teach in the Amazon of Brazil. In 2002 he spent 6 months on faculty in Turkey. In 2004 he spent 3 months in Havana choreographing on DanzAbierta, a national dance company of Cuba, presented at the National Theater and televised in 40 countries. In 2005 Elam performed in Ireland on a European Cultural City Commission, which led to a commission in Holland in 2006 for with the interactive technology group Blue Noise Dept. Elam hasn't stopped choreographing for more than a 6-month period in 17 years. He graduated in public policy, focused on federal involvement in the arts, and computer science.

Dorian Nuskind-Oder is a New York City-based artist working in the fields of dance and video. Since 2001, she has regularly produced dances with recent presentations at Joyce Soho, Dixon Place, Dancenow/nyc, and The Hatch.

Inspired by the ability of video to manipulate the accepted boundaries of time and space in performance, Dorian began to study video art under the mentorship of Peter Campus. She has now overseen the creation of projections for live dance performances by POW! Arts Collective and Alethea Adsitt and Company. These collaborations have been presented at the Connelly Theater (NYC), Galapagos (NYC), Cool NYC Festival at White Wave, and the Goose Route Dance Festival (WV). Dorian also worked as an assistant editor on the independent film, "Four Eyed Monsters", which was nominated for two 2006 Spirit Awards and won the Indiewire "Hidden Gems" Showcase.

An ongoing interest in international collaboration has led Dorian to a choreographic residency at Springboard Montreal in Quebec (2006) where she created a new group work with a cast of Canadian, Mexican and Dutch dancersj and to an invitation to the Dance OMI International Dancers Collective (2005) where she collaborated with dance artists from many countries including India, Finland, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago.

Dorian is also active as a performer. A member of Chris Elam/Misnomer Dance Theater for three seasons, she has appeared in New York at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, PS 122, and DTW, and on tour across the states and abroad. Additionally, she has appeared in works by Jose Navas, Larry Keigwin, Alan Good, Alison Clancy, Jim Martin and Deborah Jowitt.

Dorian earned her BFA in Dance (with honors) from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She has also studied at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (Austria), and at The Place (London). She is currently a merit scholarship student at the Merce Cunningham Studio.

Jaki Levy is an online developer and new media enthusiast. He acts as an online marketing consultant for individuals and small businesses. Currently, he is the resident technologist and online coordinator at Misnomer Dance Theater. His interests in interactive media, technology, and the arts led him to work with Misnomer. Together, Misnomer and Jaki have put together an active blog, which functions as the hub of online activities and initiatives.

Jaki holds a Masters Degree from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. He has a background in theater and video production. In his past lives, he has worked as a lighting designer in Williamstown Theater Festival, a segment producer at NYU-TV, and a concessions worker for Playwrights Horizons Theater. He also toured the Dirty South working for Verizon Wireless. Jaki is an avid cyclist and yogi. You can occasionally find him sweating at Bikram Yoga Union Square or at jakilevy [dot] com.