Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Morris.
Emma, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story started in Auckland, New Zealand, where I discovered my love for dance at a studio in Takanini called Stewart Dance Studios. As a kid, I was very involved in competition dance, winning many national titles before diving into the professional dance world that Auckland City has to offer. In New Zealand, I danced as a dancer on the SkyCity Cheer Team and was on Dancing with the Stars New Zealand before making the move in 2018 to Los Angeles to attend AMDA College of the Performing Arts. After graduating AMDA in 2020 with my Associates in Dance Theatre, I made the move to Dallas, TX, where I danced for Zion Dance Project, Urban Performing company, and The RevCrew. I also started teaching and choreographing at Studio B Dallas and Frisco Dance Studio. At the end of last year, I made the move to New York City to train and audition more in the dance world; however, I now basically live between New York City and Dallas as I come back once a month to choreograph and teach for Studio B Dallas as well as to perform at events throughout the year.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My road hasn’t been that smooth, but it also hasn’t been too difficult either. I would say my biggest struggle would be juggling my teaching/choreographing with my life as a dancer. I love to dance, and I love to teach, and although these seem to go hand in hand, there can also be many conflicts so I am constantly trying to juggle what one I want to prioritize more. At this stage in my life, I would like to first dance more than choreograph and teach as my body is not young forever. However, teaching and choreographing can tend to pay more than dance gigs, so that can be a big factor to my decisions as well.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a dancer, choreographer, and teacher trained in Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Ballet. I would say as a dancer and performer, the main styles that I specialize in would be Hip Hop and Jazz. As a teacher and choreographer, I mainly teach Jazz, Contemporary, and Hip Hop but mainly choreograph Jazz and Contemporary. As a dancer, what sets me apart is that I am very committed to any role given me, and I love to rise above challenges that may seem impossible. As a teacher, I believe that repetition is important; I will quite often give my students various exercises that we will work on each week so that they can master certain skills and really get a good foundation of each style. As a choreographer, I feel like I can cater my choreography to any level of dancer to best showcase their talents and abilities whilst also giving them a challenge to help them grow as a dancer. When I am choreographing group dances, I also love to play around with formation changes, and any of my students could tell you that they are never in one formation for too long. As a Choreographer, I am proud of all the pieces that I have choreographed for Studio B Dallas, and as a dancer, one highlight would be my recent work dancing with Metropolis Productions for the Mary Kay Seminar that was just in Dallas, celebrating 60 years.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
I’m always interested in working with new people! You can email me – emma.noelle.m@gmail.com, follow me on Instagram @emma.morris, and honestly, a simple like, save, or share of my profile or dance videos goes a long way!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emma-morris.webflow.io/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma.morris/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@emmamorris4332
Image Credits
Cameron Butryn Dawyne
Taylor Photography
