Elin is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and community builder deeply rooted in street dance culture, with a particular focus on house dance. Trained at various dance institutions, including Broadway Dance Center and Åsa Folkhögskola, her artistic journey has taken her to cities including New York, Berlin and Barcelona, where she has been an active part of local club and dance communities.
As a choreographer and performing artist, she creates original work and has been involved in multiple productions, has been a member of several dance collectives, and regularly collaborates with other artists across stage, film and events.
Community building has been an integral part of Elin’s practice for over a decade. She has organised and curated dance events and fundraisers both in Sweden and internationally, and continues to nurture the street dance community through open training sessions and initiatives.
Alongside her work as a performer and choreographer, Elin is a dance educator at Åsa Folkhögskola, where she shares her knowledge and experience while contributing to the development of the next generation of dancers.
Instagram: @elin.m.karlsson
Tell us about your artistic practice?
My artistic practice is rooted in street dance, with a particular focus on house dance and improvisation-based choreography. I draw my artistic foundation from club culture – not only as an aesthetic, but as a philosophy of life.
I explore states of life force, presence and connection between people, music and movement. A recurring interest in my work is the space between loneliness and non-loneliness in dance, between the individual and the collective. I am drawn to the social and relational dimensions of movement: the exchange of energy between bodies, the sharing of stories, experiences and moments, and the possibility of meeting one another without judgement. I am interested in what can emerge when we are given permission to inhabit different emotional states, and when the need to evaluate, control or perform is temporarily released.
My background in cheerleading has shaped a fascination with formations and the idea of many becoming one. I am interested in how bodies can assemble and build upon one another, creating forms in which the individual body becomes something almost inhuman through its extension into other bodies. This interest in form, mathematics, and structure is also reflected in my fascination with brutalist and futuristic architecture. Clarity, precision, sharp lines, and carefully conceived structures give me a sense of calm and strength, resonating with my solution-oriented way of thinking.
In my choreographic work, I want to further investigate visual and spatial elements such as colour, props, scale, height and depth. I am interested in how these elements can shape the audience’s experience and become active parts of the choreography rather than merely its surroundings.
For me, art is a way of creating context and community. It is a space for complexity, connection and shared experience, and a way of reminding us of our common humanity.
What role does a year-long residency play for your artistic career?
– A year-long residency gives me the opportunity to maintain a long-term focus, something that can be difficult to sustain in a fast-paced life where attention is easily divided. Having a dedicated space where I can direct my focus and build a foundation for my artistic practice is invaluable. It can give me the time and structure to work consistently, look at my artistic practice as a whole, develop long-term goals and strategies, and stay active in my field.
The continuity of a year-long residency also allows me to move beyond the focus of individual projects and spend time considering the bigger picture of my artistic career. I want to use the year to reflect on where I am, where I want to go, and what kind of artistic practice.