From Atlanta to New York City and Beyond…

Holly Borrelli

Driven to create breathtaking contemporary dance choreography live and digitally.

A laser focus on creation and collaboration that breaks through the fourth wall.

Already an architect of The Tomorrow of Dance no matter being new on the scene.

Photo by Sophia Lutinski

From Atlanta to New York City and Beyond…

Holly Borrelli

Holly Borrelli photo by Sophia Lutinski

Driven to create breathtaking contemporary dance choreography live and digitally.

A laser focus on creation and collaboration that breaks through the fourth wall.

Already an architect of The Tomorrow of Dance no matter being new on the scene.

Holly Borrelli in her own words…

…

Movement is the most powerful storytelling device.

When I hear music, I don’t just hear. I see. I see movement, formations on stage, facial expressions embodying the story written within the melody. That is how I knew my calling is to be a choreographer.

My goal as a choreographer is to foster an immersive viewing experience both for longtime dance supporters and first-time audience members.

Holly Borrelli in NPAFE’s words…

Holly Borrelli behind the camera…and in front… © Lizzy Mineau

You’re about to meet Holly Borrelli, a young creator of dance and film embarking on a complex and challenging career path whose talents offer the potential to excite broad multi-generational audiences with her love of contemporary dance.

From Atlanta and now armed with a double degree in Finance and Dance from Florida State University, Borrelli has earned the respect and friendship of dancers and professional mentors alike, here in the US and abroad, both for her sense of choreographic purpose and her remarkable organizational and cinematic skills in translating an idea in her head into dance performance on stage or screen.

While Borrelli as choreographer is notably confident in conceiving how a dance performance might unfold, she is equally expert in collaborating with everyone to test what will work, what won’t, and then settle together on what the outcome should be. She is also among the real-life dancers to be featured in NPAFE’s Arc and Sound of Dance, working behind the scenes to help bring the production to life. That is how she first caught our eye when, during our first interview with her, she shared a personal story about her “Dans La Cour” stop-motion dance film, one which instantly had captured our attention and one which you can see below.

“I was in Paris, studying at the Centre Nationale de la Danse, tucked away in a little corner of the library, trying to absorb as much as possible in the last two hours before closing, deep in the archives, hunting for a glimmer of inspiration for my next film. I was surrounded by shelves, shelves, and more shelves, thousands of dance performances all captured on film. I had to find something. And then, suddenly, there it was: “46Bis, rue de Belleville” by Pascal Baes, a grainy 3-minute black-and-white stop-motion dance film from 1988, long since forgotten.

from Holly Borrelli’s “Dans La Cour” video, shot at the Louvre in Paris

“Baes’ stop motion brilliance captivated me, How would stop-motion dance movement appear in a video if we were just improvising spur of the moment choreography with only an iPhone and a laptop? Could we pull it off? But where to shoot? Why not right at the Louvre? We had just three hours, three dancers, one world-famous museum, and one iPhone.

“Dans La Cour” as well as the companion videos you’ll see below show how Borrelli cleverly imagineers the way dancers should move. Add in her sophisticated skills to choose and then deploy the right people and technology to make it all happen, and you’ve got a winning formula for future professional success. Check out the images and videos below and you’ll see what we mean.

Follow Holly Borrelli on her really interesting website and her Instagram. You’ll be glad you did. And you can follow these links to find out more about NPAFE, AAlchemy, and AAlchemy Online’s immersive dance videos.

Holly Borrelli in her own words…

…

Movement is the most powerful storytelling device.

When I hear music, I don’t just hear. I see. I see movement, formations on stage, facial expressions embodying the story written within the melody. That is how I knew my calling is to be a choreographer.

My goal as a choreographer is to foster an immersive viewing experience both for longtime dance supporters and first-time audience members.

Holly Borrelli in NPAFE’s words…

Holly Borrelli behind the camera…and in front… © Lizzy Mineau

You’re about to meet Holly Borrelli, a young creator of dance and film embarking on a complex and challenging career path whose talents offer the potential to excite broad multi-generational audiences with her love of contemporary dance.

From Atlanta and now armed with a double degree in Finance and Dance from Florida State University, Borrelli has earned the respect and friendship of dancers and professional mentors alike, here in the US and abroad, both for her sense of choreographic purpose and her remarkable organizational and cinematic skills in translating an idea in her head into dance performance on stage or screen.

While Borrelli as choreographer is notably confident in conceiving how a dance performance might unfold, she is equally expert in collaborating with everyone to test what will work, what won’t, and then settle together on what the outcome should be. She is also among the real-life dancers to be featured in NPAFE’s Arc and Sound of Dance, working behind the scenes to help bring the production to life. That is how she first caught our eye when, during our first interview with her, she shared a personal story about her “Dans La Cour” stop-motion dance film, one which instantly had captured our attention and one which you can see below.

“I was in Paris, studying at the Centre Nationale de la Danse, tucked away in a little corner of the library, trying to absorb as much as possible in the last two hours before closing, deep in the archives, hunting for a glimmer of inspiration for my next film. I was surrounded by shelves, shelves, and more shelves, thousands of dance performances all captured on film. I had to find something. And then, suddenly, there it was: “46Bis, rue de Belleville” by Pascal Baes, a grainy 3-minute black-and-white stop-motion dance film from 1988, long since forgotten.

from Holly Borrelli’s “Dans La Cour” video, shot at the Louvre in Paris

“Baes’ stop motion brilliance captivated me, How would stop-motion dance movement appear in a video if we were just improvising spur of the moment choreography with only an iPhone and a laptop? Could we pull it off? But where to shoot? Why not right at the Louvre? We had just three hours, three dancers, one world-famous museum, and one iPhone.

“Dans La Cour” as well as the companion videos you’ll see below show how Borrelli cleverly imagineers the way dancers should move. Add in her sophisticated skills to choose and then deploy the right people and technology to make it all happen, and you’ve got a winning formula for future professional success. Check out the images and videos below and you’ll see what we mean.

Follow Holly Borrelli on her really interesting website and her Instagram. You’ll be glad you did. And you can follow these links to find out more about NPAFE, AAlchemy, and AAlchemy Online’s immersive dance videos.