Olga El

Olga El is a performance activist, writer, and director. Movement—particularly martial arts; aerial arts; and dances from North Africa, West Africa, and the Diaspora—is seamlessly interwoven into her work. In March 2011, she founded The Kandake—a dance-theatre that combines activism and community engagement with folkloric, theatrical, and experimental artistry. She has performed for HBO, BAM, PlayStation Theater, Webster Hall, House of Yes, Dixon Place, TED Med, Park Avenue Armory, The Lincoln Center, and many other venues. She wrote 1001 Nights: Love Stories on Death Row (A Rock Opera), which saw several "downtown" commissions before the full script was solicited by Off-Broadway entities The Public Theater in 2015 and MCC in 2019 (along with her new play Jaguar Woman.) These dance-heavy works form two-thirds of a trilogy of socio-political, multidisciplinary plays. She is happy to combine her love of dance and writing for Broadway World and she's particularly interested in covering works by those underepresented in mainstream theater and dance arenas.