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.