Special Thanks
My wonderful family Christina, Leia, & Halle. Mark Hackman. Todd Fisher. Creative Greensboro. 808 Production Team. GoFundMe Donors. Everyone reading this.
Your support means the world to me. Thank you.
Eli Motley
Program notes
Café 808 run time is about 75 minutes. Who is called on stage is random. If you are not able to be seated in the Café but want to try a drink, there will be an opportunity at the end of the performance.
WARNING There will be moments of violence and gunshot noises. Please talk to one of the staff if you would like more information or an accommodation.
Reminder Flash Photography is no allowed but if you take pictures/videos please share to em4colts@gmail.com. We would love to see them.
Production Notes
Choreographer
Eli Motley
Dancers
Joshua “Link” Lanning, Emma J Little, Gigi “Miss Gigi” Lugo, Zoi “Spida” Thigpen, Brandon “BTD” Williams, Tay “KT Network” Williams, & Annie Young
Lighting Designer
Fia goudes
Sound Designer
Stephen Davis
Graphic Designer
Emilio Marz
Music
Breakestra, Stelvio Cipriani, Daft Punk, Marvin Gaye, Saya Gray, Mike Klubnika, FKJ, George Kranz, Maxwell, Sergio Ortiz, Pastor T.L. Barret and the Youth for Christ Choir,Promo, Nina Simone
The Cast
Eli Motley
Elijah, or Eli, Motley (Greensboro, NC) is a choreographer, dancer, teacher, and MFA in Dance and Choreography recipient from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Eli also holds a BFA in Dance and Theatre and a BS in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Old Dominion University. Situating his artistry within the frame of Hip-Hop Theater and Immersive theater by connecting hip hop, house, breaking, funk styles, and various contemporary modern forms.
His performing resume includes Chicago Dance Crash, Rennie Harris Puremovement, Caroline Calouche & Co, and others. His choreography has been presented in Virginia, North Carolina, New York City, Chicago, Wisconsin, Edinburgh (UK), and Texas. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Elon University in North Carolina.
Joshua “link” Lanning
Art head, music explorer, painter within certain visual art styles and all about staying steezy with a dose of high energy spice within my breakin. Highly appreciative of any other movement dealing with self expression since I come from backgrounds of martial art tricking, and parkour. I'm one of Greensboro's local Breaking teachers with Dance Project. Then later on became a teacher in Burlington with BADA. In my early days as a B-Boy gaining experience with my original crew Endo Fx and going forwards with collaborating with The BBoyBallet and other local bboy crews like Raleigh Rockers I have traveled across the surrounding states of North Carolina and within North Carolina for battles, events, performances, festival performances, half time performances for local athletic teams. Within all those moments I did manage to direct and choreograph a few performances under the name rogue artistry with some very talented fellow movement artists as well. My rooted dance style is breaking , but also influenced by other funk styles like locking, house, and popping here and there. I was born San Diego California, so I stay true to that energy within my dance as well stay and ride the flow keep moving forwards either over or under in between the tide to flow into the next moment
Emma j. Little
Emma was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, and pays homage to the dance programs at Arts Together and Enloe High School that raised her. Emma graduated in 2022 with their BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Ohio University.
She has spent most of her short life thus far balancing a commitment to her training in dance with a tendency to disappear into the woods for weeks at a time to study avian ecology. When it comes to movement, Emma continues to make work, perform, teach, and most importantly, learn. She is currently a member of the Triangle-based contemporary dance company Nine Movement Collective, and on-staff with Durham‘s Living Arts Collective as a teacher of the dance-sport form Contact Improvisation.
Moving is an essential part of her life, and Emma continues to broaden her repertoire of expression. She is incredibly grateful to all of the bboys, bgirls, and others who have extended their time and expertise to welcome her into the fold over the last two years. A special shoutout is due to Emilio Noriega aka Mister E aka Bboy Miles aka Big E of Phoenix, AZ and Alex Stroup aka Stash of Columbus, OH for their initial cheerleading and generosity.
Gigi Lugo
Gigi, known as Miss Gigi, is a proud Puerto Rican dancer and vibrant presence in Greensboro's artistic community. At 24 years old, she embarked on her dance journey at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in 2019, majoring in dance while immersing herself in the world of street dance.
As a passionate battler, instructor, and perpetual student, Gigi is dedicated to honing her craft and inspiring others through movement. Her expertise in whacking and voguing showcases her unique style and creativity, allowing her to express the beauty of dance in compelling ways.
Gigi also serves as a host, engaging with audiences and bringing a dynamic energy to events in the dance scene. Her commitment to growth and exploration—both as an artist and a community member—fuels her mission to uplift and connect with fellow dancers.
Zoi “Spida” thigpen
Growing up, dancing has always been a part of my life or rather something that fascinated me. From watching videos of various artists, like Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake,Chris Brown, to learning choreography/dance fundamentals via YouTube , I started to develop into my own dancer and find my own “style”. As a result, I dance in public now more than ever. My dance journey has opened doors for me and allowed me to be a part of a dance group “Rogue Artistry" and participated in various events locally which led to traveling to places like Charlotte, Raleigh and Virginia. Though I am still “new to the game,” being able to freely express myself how I see fit while understanding different styles and creating different stories/interpretations helped to show my versatility, adaptability and uniqueness which created the dance name “Spida”.
Brandon “BTD” Williams
Hailing from Louisburg, NC, BTD (BranTheDancer) has been captivating audiences with his dynamic style since the age of 13. Currently residing in Greensboro, NC, he skillfully blends elements of Hip Hop Bounce, Litefeet, Breakin’, Bruk Up, and Memphis Jookin’ to forge a unique dance style of his own. His journey into the world of street dance began with inspiration from his older brother and as a member of his dance crew NME (Nightmare Entertainment), a crew that represented the vibrant street dance culture in their hometown.
BTD’s passion for movement flourished in high school when he joined the Hip Hop Warriors during the 2011/2012 season. His artistic journey progressed when he transferred from community college to North Carolina A&T in 2017, where he developed his choreography skills with Couture Productions, Gispsi Parker, and DaBoyz and competed in organized battles. Currently, he is a part of the art collective GSOul, which activates the underground arts scene in Greensboro, NC.
With a strong desire to elevate the visibility of street dance, BTD is dedicated to making a lasting impact on the dance community in North Carolina and beyond.
tay “KT NEtwork” Williams
Tay “KT Network” Williams, was born in Portsmouth, VA, on June 22, 1999. Ever since he was a little kid, he would mimic dance moves that would be shown on TV. In fact, he did a Michael Jackson tribute for his grandmother in his backyard at the age of 10.
He later moved to Greensboro, NC at the age of 12. KT taught himself his first style of dance, popping/animation by watching dancers on YouTube such as Popping John, Fik-Shun, Nonstop, etc. Throughout his time in Ben L. Smith High School, he would take dance classes to learn contemporary as well as how to perform on stage from his teacher, Samatha Coran. Of course, he didn’t take dance seriously at the time, but he loved it.
KT didn’t take dance seriously until he was 22 where he met other dancers in Greensboro such as BTD, Miss Gigi, Punchline, Gipsi, etc. By the end of the year 2022, They convinced him to battle for the first time in Charlotte, NC, at Carolina Dance Committee’s Break the Ice. He didn’t make it pass prelims, but he loved it. It made him want to dance more. So he continues to learn other styles such as Hip-Hop & Litefeet from BTD, as well as Breaking from Link. KT also has been continuing battling. Lately, in 2025 he won Raleigh Rockers’ Shamrock’s cypher king, as well as won CDC’s Get Down Vol. 2 1v1. He also made the top 16 spot for Redbull’s Dance Your Style event.
KT wants to continue learning more about the culture of street dance. While KT still has a long way to go, he will not stop dancing.
Annie Young
Annie Young is a dance artist and comprehensively trained Pilates instructor based in Greensboro, North Carolina. She is a dedicated instructor at Dance Project, the nonprofit dance organization where she first fell in love with movement.
Young teaches Classical and Contemporary Pilates in private, semi-private, and group settings while continuing to perform as a modern-based dancer. Now in her third season with JOYEMOVEMENT, she has performed in the original works A Wicked Silence and Love Notes and collaborates on freelance projects throughout the Triad.
In 2023, Annie returned to Appalachian State University—her alma mater—to complete her Classical Pilates Teacher Training certification. That same year, Young completed a residency with the Appalachian State University Dance, teaching and performing as a guest artist.
Passionate about movement in all its forms, Annie continues to explore the intersections of dance, Pilates, and somatic practices in her teaching, creative work, and personal practice.
