Biography
Karen Eliza (b. 1983, North Carolina) is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative lineage is rooted in the rigorous and expressive worlds of contemporary dance, spatial design, and somatic presence.
The Practice of the Moving Body: New York City (2004–2014)
After earning a BFA in Contemporary Dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (2004), Karen relocated to New York City, spending a decade immersed in its vital performance landscape. She collaborated and performed with celebrated choreographers including Neta Pulvermacher, Rebecca Lazier, and Jin Ju Song-Begin, while concurrently staging her own choreographic works.
During this period, Karen began to expand into teaching and video work. She partnered with Free Arts NYC to bring movement workshops to underserved youth, and deep-dived into human anatomy and mindfulness, earning certifications as a Personal Trainer, Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and Meditation Instructor. It was here that her choreographic language shifted toward organic movement and site-specific explorations—investigating how the moving body directly converses with the environment.
Improvisation and the Internal Landscape:
Berlin & Lisbon (2014–2018)
Seeking new influences and a shift in lifestyle, Karen relocated to Berlin in 2014. A 15-month artist residency at Lake Studios Berlin allowed her to pivot completely toward the immediacy of improvisation. She led movement workshops at the university level, for both pre-professionals and amateurs while collaborating across disciplines with local dancers, artists, and musicians.
She also worked for a year as a production coordinator for an online-based international explainer video company. This role sharpened her eye for digital composition and global collaboration, expanding her understanding of visual framing.
However, the financial realities of the creative economy eventually led to a period of deep physical and mental exhaustion. At the same time, Karen became captivated by Berlin’s atmospheric interiors, sparking a desire to shape physical environments. Following a final, impactful three-month residency in Portugal to develop her solo work Underneath for Riu d’Art, Karen returned to her roots in North Carolina.
Shaping Space and Presence: (2018–Present)
The transition back to the United States marked a grounding synthesis of Karen’s dual passions: the internal landscape of the self and the external element of space. Pivoting into design, she entered the CIDA-accredited Interior Design program at Meredith College, graduating with a Bachelor of Science. While pursuing her degree, she interned and later transitioned into consulting remotely for a local commercial health and wellness interior designer, shaping environments that foster well-being.
Karen’s art is grounded in her own daily practice of presence—a continuous tuning into inner stillness that is living, breathing, and awake. In 2023, she completed a teacher training program led by Eckhart Tolle and Kim Eng, learning to share the unique tools that support her own journey.
Today, her work stands at an intersection where the kinetic memory of a dancer meets the conscious eye of a designer. Ultimately, her practice is simply an offering—a gentle invitation to pause, return to the wisdom of the body, and rest in the sanctuary of the present moment.
