Neila-Ann Ebanks

Neila-Ann Ebanks

'Neila Ebanks' - Jamaica

Neila Ebanks [she/her] (b. 1976, Kingston, Jamaica) is a dance, video, and textual artist who lives and works in Kingston, Jamaica. She holds an MA in Physical Theatre from Royal Holloway University of London and the University of Surrey [UK], a BSc. in Sociology from the University of the West Indies, [JM] and a Certificate in Dance Theatre and Production from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts [EMCVPA]. Founder of Jamaican dance aggregation eNKompan.E™, her diverse Caribbean connections include her present work with the EMCVPA School of Dance as Director of Studies [Acting] and with eNKompan.E™, as well as past work with Continuum Dance Project [TT], The Stella Maris Young Adult Dance Ensemble [JM], The University Dance Society [JM], L’ACADCO United Caribbean Dance Force [JM], Dance Theatre Xaymaca [JM], ASHE Performing Arts Company [JM], Movements Dance Company [JM], The Company Dance Theatre [JM] and the NDTC of Jamaica. She has also represented Jamaica in the Bienal de Danza del Caribe [CU], Caribbean Educative Arts Festival (BB), Tobago Contemporary Dance Festival [TT], Skjoldungefestival [DK], COCO Dance Festival [TT], CARIFESTA XIII [BB] and OUTBURST Queer Arts Festival [IE].

The main subject of ebanks' work is self-inquiry which blossoms into larger questions of identities, social concerns and elemental beingness, Her immersive art-making process consists of ideating and percolating while completing 'mundane' tasks; copious amounts of improvisation [movement, text, musical]; gathering of sounds, information, research; making of props and costumes by hand and rough documentation of process. For ebanks, making work is a multi-hyphenate experience and she dances her physical works, learns the editing skills for her film-based ones and records the sounds used to create soundtracks.

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