Elly Crowther
Open Class Tutor

Elly is an Oxfordshire based Community Dance artist, teacher and choreographer. She trained at London Contemporary Dance school completing a BA Honours in Contemporary Dance 2003. She went on to study a PGCE (Post Compulsory Education) at Truro College.

She has a history working with vulnerable young people in mainstream and alternative provision schools and has extensive experience working in inclusive settings.

Elly is Artistic Director of Oxford Youth Dance (inheriting the company from founder Cecilia Macfarlane in 2018) and Slipstream/Catapult Youth Dance Groups, alongside guest teaching and performing with DugOut Adult Community Dance.

Elly has had a varied career as an Independent Dance Artist including performing and touring with Swerve Dance Theatre as well as touring as Stage manager for the Destino project throughout the UK and in Ethiopia. Elly has worked as a dance artist and facilitator with Dancin’ Oxford for many years. She also recently enjoyed performing with Caroline Horton and Rachel Gildea at The Mill, Banbury as part of ‘Mama Time’. Elly loves dancing with her two young daughters, performing together recently at Pegasus Theatre.

Elly has performed for the past 10 years at Green Man Festival in Wales in the Little Folk area, creating innovative family friendly walkabouts and bespoke stage performances.

Elly is hugely passionate about improvisation, embodiment/somatic work and storytelling and loves working in an inclusive and intergenerational way (with anyone aged 0-100!).  She wholeheartedly believes dance is for everyone and that every ‘body’ dances in their own way. Elly created her online company Every Body Dances during lockdown to provide a nurturing and transformative dance space for individuals and families online with the view to develop a supportive online dance community.

Elly is absolutely loving teaching Anjali Open classes at The Mill in Banbury having not worked with Anjali for over 10 years (she was lucky to support the wonderful Helen Parlour at The Mill all those years ago)!