SINCLAIR OGAGA EMOGHENE
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR · CHOREOGRAPHER · RESEARCHER
My research investigates the intersections of dance, technology, and cultural memory, focusing on how embodied knowledge is archived, transmitted, and reactivated through digital, material, and affective systems. Central to my work are projects such as Global Movement Research (GMR) and The Thinking Archive, which examine the transformation of archival practice through artificial embodied intelligence (AEI), motion capture, and ethical design.
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Thesis: Nyam Chiem – Reconstructing and Performing Nightmare: A Dance Research in Performance of Sleep Paralysis
Federal University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria
Major – Dance, Theatre, Acting, Costume and Directing
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Creator, Lead Researcher & Choreographer
First full-scale performance experiment integrating soft-robotic fluidic sensors with live choreography. Cross-disciplinary collaboration with engineering and media design teams.
Principal Investigator – Lab Director
Advanced research on Artificial Embodied Intelligence (AEI) and multimodal data fusion through motion capture and haptic visualization. Institutional Affiliation: The University of Texas at Austin.
Principal Investigator – Lab Director
Data Capture, Annotation, and Experimental documentation of African and diasporic dance forms. Motion Capture Trials and Early Prototypes for the Thinking Archive (A.I. model).
The University of Texas at Austin – Lead Mobile Application Designer
First-of-its-kind mobile app containing motion-capture data from GMR, geo-spatial detailing and remote sensing information.
The University of Texas at Austin – Lead Researcher and Project Lead
Assembled over 59 dances and thousands of metadata body-point materials. Metadata used for AI training within the GMR Dance Confluence app.
Book Proposal under review – Routledge Taylor & Francis (~70,000 words)
Routledge, London, UK (viii-139 pages)
Co-authored with Kathleen Spanos, Ph.D.
Article in preparation (1-37 pages)
ESI Publications, South Africa – Book Editor (one of 4)
The University of Texas at Austin
Choreographer, Director and Writer. Canada Short Film Festival (Grand Prize Winner), LGBTQ+ Toronto & Los Angeles Film Festival, Versatility Dance Festival, Austin Dance Festival Dance on Film, ATX Film Festival (Honorable Mention), Short to the Point Film Festival, DanceFilmmaking.com.
Virginia Commonwealth University
Choreographer. Screened at VCU Dance Now (Spring 2021).
Make A Scene Media
Performer, Actor, and Dancer. Screened at major short film festivals internationally and nationally.
The Royal Art Academy, Lagos, Nigeria
Lead Choreographer. Viral Nigerian movie, box office critically acclaimed choreography.
Nigeria
Lead Choreographer. One of the most popular Nigerian music videos of the 2010s.
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre, The University of Texas at Austin
Performance and Engineering Collaboration with Dr. Lillian Chin, Cockrell School of Engineering.
Grace Street Theater, Virginia Commonwealth University
Faculty Dance Concert (VCU Dance Now).
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C.
Black History Month - Millennium Stage.
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington D.C.
Dancer and Choreographer. Director: Karen Kohn Bradley.
Dance Theater, The Clarice – University of Maryland
Reconstructing and Performing Nightmare: A Dance Research in Performance of Sleep Paralysis.
Dance Theater, The Clarice – University of Maryland
NextDANCE Alumni Commission, NextNOW Festival ($2,500 commission).
The University of Texas at Austin
Performance installation and engineering collaboration investigating haptic sensors. In progress.
Institute for Contemporary Arts (ICA), Richmond, Virginia
Director and Choreographer. Collaboration with Professor Stephen Vitiello.
Joe's Movement Emporium, The Clarice, and EduCarte (Washington D.C.)
Community Engagement Commission. Collaboration with EduCarte.
The Anderson, VCUArts, Richmond, Virginia
Week-long Installation & Exhibition.
The REACH, The John F. Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.
First dance artist to receive the Office Hours Award ($10,000). Week-long Artist Residency.
Arts and Sociology Building – University of Maryland
Self-produced dance and live-art collaboration with Pablo Salazar and Beki Bausch.
Maryland State Arts Council – Creativity Grant
$4,000
Joe's Movement Emporium & The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
$5,000
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
$5,500
The REACH at The John F. Kennedy Center – First dance artist selected
$10,000
University of Texas at Austin – College of Fine Arts Creative Research Grant
$9,845
University of Texas at Austin – Faculty Start-Up Fund
$3,000
University of Texas at Austin – Faculty Research Fund
$3,000
Virginia Commonwealth University – Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Fund
$9,883
Virginia Commonwealth University – Dean's Research Grant
$5,000
Virginia Commonwealth University – Dean's Research Grant
$4,500
Virginia Commonwealth University – Dean's Research Grant
$5,000
University of Maryland
University of Maryland – Teaching & Learning Transformation Center
University of Maryland, College Park – Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies
National Youth Service Corp, Enugu State, Nigeria
University of Benin, Department of Theatre Arts
Dance History I (TD 317M), Choreography II (TD 332N), Advanced Contemporary Dance (TD 322E), Intermediate Contemporary Dance (TD 322D), Projects in Dance Performance and Repertory (TD 232P/332P)
Dance in World Cultures (DANC 313), West African Dance (DANC 191), Modern Dance II-IV (DANC 202-401), Dance History (DANC 104), Composition (DANC 206)
West African Dance (DANC 138W / DANC 338)
American College Dance Association (ACDA) – Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
American College Dance Association (ACDA) – Meredith College, Raleigh, NC
Honors College, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy – Online Interview
University of North Carolina, Asheville, NC
Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
By Nat Levy | Nov 19, 2025
LA Dance Chronicles
By Steven Vargas | Apr 5, 2024
Fulbright Chronicles, Volume 3, Number 2
Author: Mary Anna Ball
Platform created to reach global audiences and position work in global conversation. Serves as a place for future work from the book.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The Nation Newspaper
Jan 18, 2012
International Dance Film Platform
American College Dance Association – Texas State & Meredith College
Director, Lead Instructor, Choreographer, Artistic Director & Founder – Austin, TX
Director – Benin City, Nigeria & Richmond, Virginia
Dance Studies Association (DSA) · 2019–Present
National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) · 2014–Present
National Association for Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) · 2010–2011
Dance Guild of Nigeria / International Dance Council (CID), UNESCO · 2010–2011
U.S. Library of Congress – Washington D.C. – GMR Research Support
Association for Cultural Equity – New York, New York – Alan Lomax Archive
Mount Holyoke College – South Hadley, Massachusetts
University of Maryland, College Park – Institutional Partnership