Elytra
Elytra is a solo dance-work created for live-performance and film — conceptualized, choreographed, costumed and performed by Melissa Younker with original music by Insurgent Beat Machine. Corseted in a plastic exoskeleton, this performance delves into witnessed transformations. The configurations between body and object inspire unique predicaments that dissect ideas of power. Inside the work there is an unabashed crave to overcome containment and find new ways to harness change.
Performance & Screening Adaptations
4-Hour Durational Performance
12-Minute Short Performance
33-Minute Silent Film
5-Minute Screendance Short Film
Creative Director: Melissa Younker
Original Music: Insurgent Beat Machine
Film Director: Shelby Taylor
Choreographer & Performer: Melissa Younker
Directors of Photography: Bree Robles & Shelby Taylor
Cinematographers: Bree Robles & Shelby Taylor
Costume Designer: Melissa Younker
Lighting Designer: Shelby Taylor
Film Editor: Melissa Younker
Special Thanks: Florian Alberge, Rachel Andes, Rae Luebbert, Tori Meyer & Aaron Nelson
Performance Videography: Cayden Turnbow
Rehearsal Photographer: Florian Alberge
Performance Photographer: Hailey Mae
Documentary Film
Dancing in Duration: a documentary about "Albeit Liminal" by Rae Luebbert, Tori Meyer & Cayden Turnbow
Performances & Screenings
Premiere, April 2023
4-Hour Durational Performance
Albiet Liminal
@ Sugar Space Arts Warehouse, Salt Lake City, Utah
February 2024
Short Performance
12 Minutes Max
@ Main Library Auditorium, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
March 2024
Short Performance
Midwest RAD Fest
@ Epic Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan
April 2024
Short Film Screening
June 2024
7-hour Durational Performance & Installation
Noori Screendance Festival
@ Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) Auditorium, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Chashama Gala
@ 42nd Street, New York, New York, USA
