Dance alum Eleanor Smith uses movement to explore gender norms — work that has now earned her a Guggenheim Fellowship

By Kim Catley

For more than 20 years, dancer and choreographer Eleanor Smith and her collaborator, Molly Lieber, have used choreography and improvisation to explore norms in gender, embodiment and representation.

Their next piece is among their most ambitious yet, bringing in a larger team of lighting and sound designers and fellow performers, all supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship, one of the nation's most prestigious honors for artists and scholars.

"One of the incredible things about the Guggenheim is that it's one of the few fellowships that recognizes the work you've already done as opposed to only providing funding for something new," said Smith, a Virginia Commonwealth University alum who earned a B.F.A in dance and choreography from the School of the Arts. "It's validating in that way, and a big honor."

Developing confidence

Smith's introduction to dance started early, at just 3 years old, when her parents signed her up for creative movement classes at a local studio in Raleigh, North Carolina.

"I had a lot of energy, and I wanted to do what my sister was doing," she said. "That's the dance education I got as a young child, all the way through high school. I didn't have traditional training in ballet or technique."

Instead, Smith says she developed a confidence in being creative and making her own work. She also had an early sense that there was something mysterious and empowering about using her body to express her ideas and the value of collaborating with others.

She knew she wanted to continue that practice, which led her to VCUarts.

"I thought it was interesting that the program was both dance and choreography," she said. "We were asked to make things, to be a choreographer and performer. I knew I wanted that."

Smith says she also appreciated the influence of faculty members like Chris Burnside, Melanie Richards, Judy Steel and Scott Putman. Guest artists like Gerri Houlihan and Gesel Mason made her feel connected to the professional dance community in New York City, where she landed after graduation.

"Now, the dance world is not so New York-centric," she said, "but at the time, that felt like where things were happening."

Finding a partner

Smith has been based in New York for 20 years and now lives and works in Brooklyn. It's also where she met her long-time collaborator, Molly Lieber, while working on a project with another choreographer.

The duo shares an interest in improvisation, feminist theories and investing personal histories - threads that are often present in their work. As working mothers and artists who have both experienced trauma in their lives, they often use dance and movement to explore what it means to be a femme-presenting person in today's society.

"My body of work has emerged and developed from a desire to create collaboratively and to actively dismantle patriarchy, white supremacy and bias, which comports with a feminist model of art-making," she said. "Our moniker - Molly Lieber and Eleanor Smith - sets our names next to one another to point to this equal collaborative partnership of dance-making. This is also a representation of how we situate ourselves within a lineage of feminist artists that have used their own bodies as source and text."

Some of Smith and Lieber's recent acclaimed works include "Gloria" and "Basketball," which were both performed at the Baryshnikov Arts Center and recognized by The New York Times. Their 2019 work, "Body Comes Apart," was documented and archived by the New York Public Library Jerome Robbins Dance Division and the subject of a chapter in "The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Memory."

The pair has also received several awards and residencies with a wide range of institutions, but they've long had their eye on one in particular: a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Smith and Lieber submitted their resumes, work samples and a written proposal, hoping to receive the prestigious award which recognizes both prior career achievements and exceptional promise in a range of fields.

Earlier this year, they got the email they'd been hoping for. They were among the 223 recipients, selected from nearly 5,000 applicants.

"When I got the email, I was on the subway platform on my way to rehearsal," Smith said. "I called Molly. She was in the car, and we both screamed. We couldn't believe it. We were just so happy and honored."

Exploring new concepts

While the Guggenheim Fellowship is unrestricted - meaning recipients are free to use the award however they wish with no requirements or expectation on what they produce - Smith and Lieber are using the funding in conjunction with a creative and technical residency at the Chocolate Factory Theater in Queens, New York. The work will premiere there in May 2027 and run for about two weeks.

"We are incredibly proud to see VCU dance and choreography alumna Eleanor Smith recognized as a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow," said Matt Omasta, chair of the VCUarts Department of Theatre and Dance. "Eleanor's sustained and distinctive work as a choreographer, performer and improviser reflects the kind of rigorous inquiry, artistic courage and deeply engaged practice we hope to nurture in our students.

"Her achievement is both a wonderful affirmation of the impact our alumni are making in the field and an inspiration to the artists developing their own voices here at VCU."

Smith said the yearlong fellowship provides funding for research and necessities - like childcare for her daughter and Lieber's two children during their rehearsals. In addition, the fellowship is allowing them to expand their partnership to bring in other artists, including sound and lighting designers and additional performance collaborators they've worked with in the past.