Today we’d like to introduce you to Ella Pitman
Hi Ella, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My first loves were always art, language and music. I’ve been a prolific writer and voracious reader since I could form words. My mother plays piano so there was always a tune drifting through our house, and by age 5 I was taking lessons. My gateway into movement was gymnastics but I had transitioned my training to dance by about age 10, which is a relatively late age to start. However, I knew I had some catch-up to do and was determined that my delayed beginnings would never hinder my ability to keep up with other dancers my age – and it never did. I was homeschooled from 2nd – 9th grade and involved in many other artistic extracurriculars across North Alabama (visual art, speech & debate, choir, creative writing, theatre) but continued to train daily in ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary, and musical theatre. I also earned awards at piano and dance festivals/competitions through high school. In 2014, I auditioned for the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, AL and was accepted, but that same year my family and I moved over 7,000 miles away to Abu Dhabi, UAE where finding pockets of commited young dancers proved difficult. Despite this, I co-founded a dance troupe at my International high school which participated in regional competitions and raised money for children in need. In 2015, I re-auditioned for ASFA’s Dance Department where I lived and trained through 2016. After graduating high school, I attended Troy University as a Dance major from 2017 – 2021 where I trained and performed with some of the Southeast’s most esteemed dance instructors. I received a wealth of experience in that time, including opportunities like receiving a scholarship to the DAP Festival in Pietrasanta, Italy, dancing as a featured performer for Ballet and the Beasts at Montgomery Zoo, attending the Alabama Dance Festival, and instructing dancers of all ages in classes and summer camps. In September of 2021, I was cast in a dance film being shot in Atlanta. I was captivated by the city “too busy to hate” and my loving partner, Noah, so I made my big move from AL to GA (unexpectedly and with just a duffle bag) in December of that year. In the three years since, I have worked tirelessly to curate a skill set I fondly refer to as “Creative Operations”, and I’ve been lucky enough to offer this service to some of the most inspiring, boundary-breaking creatives in West End ATL and beyond! While I still dance, train and perform frequently, I feel blessed to have found my knack for balance between artistry and logistics.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I let out a small chuckle at this one – no smooth roads here! My biggest mountain to climb has always been balancing my health. I am a late-diagnosed Autistic woman with many other comorbidities so much of my life up to this point has felt like a game I wasn’t given the instructions to. Add an eating disorder, several periods of prolonged abuse, and a PCOS diagnosis at 24, and you’ve got exposure to trauma that inevitably changes how you function and process as an adult. I used to refer to myself as “the guinea pig” because I’ve tried it all: SSRI’s that don’t work or make things worse, going through an entire rehabilitation process just to feel like you’re back at step one, taking test after test and praying for a diagnosis, making appointments with doctors, psychologists and therapists whose only conclusion is “We don’t know.” Retrospectively, the dance culture of the 2000s (especially when played out in high-control environments) absolutely contributed to my history with psychological disability and I am mortified at how much cruelty and covert manipulation I experienced in what were supposed to be safe, constructive learning environments for children and young adults. I’m so grateful that I now have an amazing support system of friends, family, mentors and specialists who have lifted me to higher ground since I moved to Atlanta. I truly did not believe I would live to see 18 years, so I get pretty weepy that I’ve somehow arrived at 26 and cherish the gift of life more than ever. I will continue to be a vocal advocate for accurate, unbiased mental health education, accessible therapeudic resources, and more extensive healthcare research for women.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
When I first came to Atlanta, I quickly saw a need for artistic professionals to have more organized, efficient operations and administration. I am proud to have filled this need for ATL’s creative spaces for the last three years and I feel incredibly fortunate for my “day jobs” having one foot in creative logistics and the other in artistry! I am currently a Community Manager for CreateATL (a community collaboration space) and Operations Coordinator for Pink Dance and Aerial Studio. At Create, my days consist of serving the communities of Adair Park and West End Atlanta. We have quite a diverse co-working membership including entrepreneurs, students, remote employees, small business owners, artists, nonprofits, and community organizations, so it’s neat to see what unexpected connections can happen inside the space! Create is doing an incredible job of serving the local community by hosting and sponsoring neighborhood events, donating and distributing community aid resources, and providing opportunities for creatives and professionals to work or play! At the Pink, you can find me designing our monthly newsletter, creating flyers for a new series, writing informational bites for advertisements, or making sure our app stays up to date with all our latest offerings. I also have the privilege of continuing my dance training at the Pink’s many, MANY aerial and pole fitness classes! In both spaces, I am known for my ability to bring accuracy, clarity, and refinement to a process, a procedure, or a space. My concert dance background and experience in dance education gifted me with a pretty uncanny ability to edit, to clean. If something is off, even a tiny something, I will know – but most importantly, I can also provide a variety of innovative, effective solutions to the problem with the resources on hand. My favorite part of any day is curating creative details that a passerby might appreciate: a magnet placement here, an instant photo there, a quote over there – artistic, aesthetic choices that could make a person’s day!
What’s next?
This question is always brutal for me because I’m such a “the world is your oyster” type these days – what do I NOT want to try?? Learning American Sign Language, crochet, and herbal medicine are all on the list! In the coming months and years, a large goal I have for myself is to set my choreography on film. I have always had a unique and captivating storytelling style across mediums and a passion for the conversations our society is scared to have, but I’m curious how my technical background, current artistic choices, and even working environment preferences would translate through my dancers and onto a screen. Many of my closest friends in the city work in film production and each one of them are rockstars at what they do. It would be the honor of a lifetime to collaborate with the same people I’ve been looking up to for years in the city’s production spaces. I would maintain a focus on prioritizing the health and wellbeing of my cast and crew throughout the process as a way to heal what was hurt in me through unethical, inhumane practices in entertainment and production. It still frustrates me when I see it happening to other artists, which is still far too often. So, I’d like to start being the change.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellapitmancreative/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CY0W8jWjvS6/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
Image Credits
Paul McPherson, Mark Mosely, KVC Photography, Alexander Mccurdy, Noah Clement
