Meet the EDC Guest Choreographers

 The Fall 2026 Emory Dance Company Concert on November 18-21 features new work by faculty members Julio Medina and George Staib, guest artists Cecily Davis and LaMia Dingle, and Candler Artist Jeanine Durning

Read below to learn more about the creative processes of our EDC guest choreographers.

The Process behind Jeanine's Work: Here, Before

In Here Before, Jeanine Durning explores dance as a continuous state of shifting relationships, using a highly structured improvisational practice she calls “nonstopping.” Developed through an ongoing artistic project that Durning has pursued since 2009, nonstopping combines continuous movement and speech to investigate how the body responds to the present moment. Rather than relying on fixed choreography, the practice creates space for dancers to navigate changing thoughts, impulses, and interactions as they unfold. Originally created in 2019, the work was reconstructed with Emory dancers, bringing Durning’s established choreographic material into conversation with a new ensemble of performers. 

The Process behind Cecily's Work

In her new work for EDC, Atlanta-based choreographer Cecily Davis explores the relationship between human emotion and the natural world, drawing inspiration from the rhythms and patterns that shape our everyday lives. Rooted in her classical ballet training and evolving through neoclassical and contemporary movement, Davis’s choreography brings together technical precision, athleticism, and an interest in the ways we express and experience emotion. Growing up in the Southern United States, Davis has long found inspiration in nature and the connections between our daily rhythms and shared emotional experiences. Through this work, she considers what happens when the inner world of human feeling meets the larger, ever-changing world around us.

The Process behind LaMia's Work

In her EDC work, LaMia Dingle brings together the movement traditions of House and contemporary dance, exploring how these forms can create space for community and personal reflection. Drawing on her background in hip-hop and her experience dancing with a traveling crew in Philadelphia, Dingle developed a deep appreciation for House dance as both an art form and an important part of Black American cultural history. Inspired by artists like Rennie Harris and his ability to express spirituality through movement, Dingle approaches this work as a kind of collective therapy session - a space where dancers can process personal experiences and find grounding through movement. The collaborative process has introduced EDC dancers, many of whom have little prior experience with House, to its foundational movements and improvisational practices. Through House classes, cyphers, and jam sessions, dancers were invited to develop their own phrases, weaving together House and contemporary movement.

Thank you Cecily, LaMia and George! Click here to purchase tickets for the EDC Fall Spring Concert.

Meet the EDC Faculty Choreographers

The Fall 2026 Emory Dance Company Concert on November 18-21 features new work by faculty members Julio Medina and George Staib, guest artists Cecily Davis and LaMia Dingle, and Candler Artist Jeanine Durning

Read below to learn more about Julio and George's creative process.

 

The Process behind Julio's Work: Remnants

In Remnants, Julio Medina explores ideas of connection, absorption, and the ways we move through space, drawing inspiration from astronomy and the relationship between Earth and the universe. In particular, Medina is interested in Jupiter’s orbit and its role in protecting Earth from comets, considering how forces beyond our immediate understanding can influence our existence. Originally created in 2018 for students at California State University, Long Beach, this work reflects Medina’s ongoing research into Mesoamerican cosmology and questions surrounding the universe and our place within it. For this restaging, Medina revisited the original choreography through archival video, inviting his cast to engage with movement material first developed alongside the original cast.

The Process behind George's Work: les grenades

In George Staib's new work, les grenades, French pomegranates, he explores ideas of fleeting imagery. With a title that refers to a highly explosive object in English, les Grenades promotes imagery of something wispy that appears before your eyes. Staib's piece relates to the effort of reaching for things that always seem to pull away from you the moment you try to grasp them with connections to another human being that feel fragmented and/or imaginary. Beginning with a long phrase and then manipulating material, the collaborative environment of Staib's rehearsals is seen through dancers who take charge of maneuvering through the thematic movement of ideas to suit their own bodies and interests. Ideas of the ongoing investigation of music are also present in this piece. Shifting sounds, aural landscapes, and incorporating the voice create a difficult, yet provocative, challenge. Les Grenades has a lineage in an older staibdance work titled wishdust. Staib and the Emory Dance Company are bringing that material forward while also working through ideas of letting go to create space for something new.

Thank you Julio and George! Click here to purchase tickets for the EDC Fall Spring Concert.