Sinclair Ogaga Emoghene

Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance · University of Texas at Austin

sinclair@sinclair.dance · sinclair.dance

Education

2016
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Dance, Choreography and Performance
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Thesis: "Nyam Chiem – Reconstructing and Performing Nightmare"
2007
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) with Honors in Theatre Arts
Federal University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

University appointments

Aug 2024 – present
Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance (Tenure-Track)
Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Aug 2019 – May 2024
Assistant Professor of Dance and Choreography (Tenure-Track)
Department of Dance and Choreography, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Creative and scholarly works

Creative labs

2025 – present
The Sensorium Project – Integrated Lab, Phase I & II
Creator, Lead Researcher & Choreographer · University of Texas at Austin
2024 – present
Global Movement Research (GMR) Laboratory – Phase II
Project Principal Investigator – Lab Director · University of Texas at Austin
2023 – 2024
Global Movement Research (GMR) Laboratory – Phase I
Project Principal Investigator – Lab Director · Virginia Commonwealth University
2026 – present
SEE Lab – Research Platform for Embodied Movement Scholarship
Founder, Principal Investigator · University of Texas at Austin
Public scholarly platform for the Global Movement Research corpus and the Movement Language Model
2026 – present
TheMLM (The Movement Language Model)
Creator, Principal Investigator · University of Texas at Austin
A computational AI system for dance that reads continuous motion and tokenizes it into sequences of discrete movement codes, guided by canonical frameworks for body design, spatial organization, ecosomatic reading and cross-cultural comparison

Books

2023
Dancing in the World: Revealing Cultural Confluences
Emoghene, S. & Spanos, K. · Routledge, London

Articles under review

2026
The Sensorium Project: Affective Computation and Embodied Feedback in Performance (Me Duniya Case Study)
Emoghene, S. · Revision under review, submitted July 2026

Choreography – Film (selected)

2026
Rooted in Motion: The Ten Poem Project (Auntie)
Choreographer, Director, Writer · University of Texas at Austin
2021
Therapy
Choreographer · Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
2011
Feature Film: I'll Take My Chances
Lead Choreographer · The Royal Art Academy, Lagos, Nigeria
First feature-length dance film in Nigeria (Nollywood)

Festival awards

2025
Canada Shorts, Canadian & International Short Film Festival
Award Winner · Grand Prize; Best Experimental; Best Director; Best Cinematography; Best Score; Best International Short; Documentary
2026
Paris Short Film Festival
Award Winner, Best LGBTQ Short · Paris, France
2026
Stockholm City Film Festival
Award Winner, Best Experimental Film · Stockholm, Sweden
2026
LGBTQ+ Toronto & Los Angeles Film Festival
Award Winner, Best Experimental Short · Toronto and Los Angeles

Honorable mention

2025
ATX Short Film Showcase
Honorable Mention · Austin, TX

Nomination and finalist

2026
Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF)
Nominee and Finalist, 10th Anniversary Edition · Toronto, Canada

Official selections

2026
Austin Dance Festival presents DANCE ON FILM
Official Selection · Austin, TX
2026
Versatility Dance Festival
Official Selection · USA
2026
SHORT to the Point
Official Selection, Dance Film · International
2026
Liminal Dance Film Festival
Official Selection · International

Choreography – Stage (selected)

2020
Kaleidoscope of Tuts · Parts I & II · Commission
Choreographer · Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Washington D.C. · VCU Dance Now
2017
Peace Ball · Invitational
Dancer, Choreographer · National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington D.C.
2016
Love + Peace = Bad Names
Dancer, Choreographer · Dance Theater, The Clarice, University of Maryland

Choreography – Site-specific, installations and community engagement (selected)

2026
The Sensorium Project: Mé Duniya Part II · Research Performance · October 2026
Creator, Lead Researcher & Choreographer · The LIM, University of Texas at Austin
In collaboration with AET faculty Michael Baker, Kyle Evans, and Brandon LeJueane, and Engineering faculty Dr. Lillian Chin
2024
Experimental Collaboration and Live Performance
Director, Choreographer · Institute for Contemporary Arts (ICA), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA · Spring 2024
Original sound design by Stephen Vitiello · Director of photography Evan McNair · Dancers and tumblers Addison Harksen and Robert Parietti · Location manager Alexandre Jones · Supported by the School of the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University
2019 – 20
Facets of Esoterics · Installation and Residency
Director, Choreographer · The REACH, Kennedy Center and The Anderson, VCUArts
First dance artist to receive the Office Hours Award
2016
Rooted on a Moving Spot (ROAMS)
Choreographer · University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Grant activities

External funding

2026 – 29
The Movement Language Model: Culturally-Conditioned AI for Embodied Cultural Heritage (PI, with Co-PI Dr. Lillian Chin)
Humanities and AI Virtual Institute (HAVI) · Schmidt Sciences · Grant ID HAVI_RFP_2026-0000000381 · Award period September 1, 2026 – August 31, 2029 · The University of Texas at Austin
Supports corpus expansion and international motion-capture fieldwork, haptic sensor engineering, graduate research assistantships in Dance Studies and Electrical and Computer Engineering, and community collaborator honoraria.
2022
Dancing in the World: Revealing Cultural Confluences (co-PI)
Creativity Grant · Maryland State Arts Council
2021
Ainihi e Alteridade: Performing Otherness (co-PI)
NextLOOK Residency · Joe's Movement Emporium & The Clarice · with Pablo Regis de Oliveira and Kathleen A. Spanos
2020
Kaleidoscope of Tuts (PI)
Performance Support Award · John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2019
Facets of Esoterics (PI)
Office Hours Award · The REACH, John F. Kennedy Center

Internal funding

2024 – 25
The Ten Poem Project (PI)
College of Fine Arts Creative Research Grant · University of Texas at Austin
2024 – present
Global Movement Research (GMR) (PI)
Faculty Start-Up Fund · University of Texas at Austin
2024 – present
Faculty Fellowship – Research Fund (PI)
Theatre and Dance Chair Fellowship · University of Texas at Austin
2022 – 23
Living Archive: Analysis, Description, and Assemblages of African Dance (PI)
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Fund · Virginia Commonwealth University
2022
Dancing in the World: Revealing Cultural Confluences (co-PI)
Dean's Research Grant · Virginia Commonwealth University
2021
Living Archives Research (co-PI)
Dean's Research Grant · Virginia Commonwealth University
2020
Kaleidoscope of Tuts (PI)
Dean's Research Grant · Virginia Commonwealth University

Selected honors and awards

2016
NextLOOK Alumni Award
University of Maryland Distinguished Award for Alumni of the Year
2015
International Teaching Fellowship
Teaching & Learning Transformation Center, University of Maryland
2013
Dean Fellowship
Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies, University of Maryland
2008
Service Excellence Award
National Youth Service Corps, Enugu State, Nigeria
2005
Best Dancer Award
Department of Theatre Arts, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria

Guest lectures and presentations

2025
West African Dance Masterclass
ACDA · Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
2024
Contemporary West African Dance Masterclass
ACDA · Meredith College, Raleigh, NC
2023
Book Talk: Dancing in the World: Revealing Cultural Confluences
Honors College, Dept. of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies, University of Maryland
2023
Conversations in the Atlantic Theory: Dancing in the World
Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy · Online Interview

Service to the profession

Editorial and society service

2026 – present
Founder, The Movement Journal · Global Movement Research
University of Texas at Austin
Peer-reviewed venue publishing individual movement works as citable scholarship with the performer as author; first thirty-eight works published July 2026, registered with Crossref under the prefix 10.66420
2024 – present
Co-editor, Shaping Southern Shifts: Provocations in/through Laban Bartenieff Movement Studies
ESI Publications, South Africa
2023 – present
Curator, Dance Film Organization
dancefilmmaking.com
2025
Faculty Representative, American College Dance Association (ACDA)
Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
2024
Faculty Representative, American College Dance Association (ACDA)
Meredith College, North Carolina

Teaching

Course development

2024 – present
Dance History I · TD 317M, 3 credits
The University of Texas at Austin
2016
West African Dance · DANC 138W / DANC 338
University of Maryland, College Park

Courses taught

2026 (Spring)
Choreography II · TD 332N, 3 credits · Intermediate Contemporary Dance · TD 322D, 2 credits
The University of Texas at Austin
2025 (Fall)
Dance History I · TD 317M, 3 credits · Projects in Dance Performance and Repertory · TD 232P/332P, 2 credits
The University of Texas at Austin
2025 (Spring)
Choreography II · TD 322N, 3 credits · Projects in Dance Performance and Repertory · TD 232P/332P, 2 credits
The University of Texas at Austin
2024 (Fall)
Advanced Contemporary Dance · TD 322E, 3 credits · Projects in Dance Performance and Repertory · TD 232P/332P, 2 credits
The University of Texas at Austin
2008
Teaching, from 2008
University Preparatory Secondary School, Benin City, Nigeria

Thesis, capstone and advising

2025 – 2026
MFA Thesis First Reader
Department of Theatre and Dance, The University of Texas at Austin
2024 – present
Advising
The University of Texas at Austin · one graduate and seventeen undergraduate advisees per academic year

Service to the university

The University of Texas at Austin

2026
Auditions, applicant interviews and recruitment, dance program
Department of Theatre and Dance · Spring 2026
2025
Creative Research Fund Grant Reviewer
College of Fine Arts
2025
Choreographer and Archival Team Contact, Dance Repertory Theatre (Rooted in Motion, Fall Concert) · Choreographer and Co-Director (Equinox, Spring Concert)
2025
Mé Duniya Part I · Performance and Engineering Collaboration
Choreographer · Oscar G. Brockett Theatre, University of Texas at Austin
2024 – present
Community Engagement Committee Member
Department of Theatre and Dance
2024 – 2025
Recruitment and masterclasses
Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston, TX

Service to the university, Virginia Commonwealth University

2019 – 2024
Department Lead for Tours and Recruitment
VCUArts Open House
2022
Faculty Adjudicator
American College Dance Association
2020
Dean's Grant Committee Member
2019 – 2020
Dance History and Theory Curriculum Committee Member

Memberships

2019 – present
Dance Studies Association (DSA)
2014 – present
National Dance Education Organization (NDEO)
2010 – 2011
National Association for Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP)
Chapter Secretary, Edo State, 2011
2010 – 2011
Dance Guild of Nigeria · International Dance Council (CID), UNESCO

Press and media

2025
Wired for Rhythm
Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, by Nat Levy, 19 November 2025
2024
Dance Filmmaking Prepares to Crown the Inaugural Dance Film of the Year
LA Dance Chronicle, by Steven Vargas, 5 April 2024
2020
The Kennedy Center Announces Millennium Stage Schedule for February 2020
2011
Dance is My Life
The Nation Newspaper, 18 January 2012