Elena Hilgert on clothing, identity, and empowering young people in their artistic expression

What are the stories hidden behind the clothes we wear?

How does clothing shape our identity and sense of self?

How do the clothes wear us?

These are the questions at the heart of Elena Alava Hilgert’s The Clothes That Wear Us, a project designed for young minds to explore the dynamic intersections of clothing, movement, and identity. Working as Artist-in-Residence for Young People at Greenwich Dance, Elena collaborated with students at the London College of Performing Arts and artists Marleigh Layne, Tom Hobden and Sjaan van de Langenberg to craft artistic collages and movement sequences, forming characters out of clothing. 

Elena explains that this project emerged from conversations she had with young people in the local community. Dance can be intimidating and people are often interested in multiple art forms, not just one. “It was really important for me to give different access points into the project. I wanted to bring together the various projects that I do. I run monthly Queer dance workshops, inspired by my MA at Trinity Laban, and I work a lot with younger adults. I was determined to create a platform where we could discuss queer issues and talk about identity.  

“During a project session with my mentor, Tom Hobden, we started talking about clothes. I thought it was a nice idea because clothing is something that’s so personal to everyone. Even if you say that you don’t care about how you dress, that’s still a choice that you make. Reflecting on how we express the different parts of ourselves through clothing would make a relevant conversation piece. We gave young people an entry point through the visual arts, doing work with an artist to create different collages. It was really nice for the young people to explore different art forms simultaneously.”

Clothing was purchased in charity shops and the students were encouraged to think about the story of the item and its owner. The students physicalised characters from scratch, taking just a top or a jumper as inspiration. “They were incredibly innovative and it was interesting to see them adapt to a different creative practice to what they’re used to”, says Elena. “We worked with second years and they were doing their show reels to apply for Musical Theatre schools at the time. They were quite honed in on following a certain script and choreography, then filming it. We took a very open, creative approach. There were moments where they were like ‘wait, what am I doing? Where’s our song? What’s the 5,6,7, 8?’ And we explained that there was no routine, we were making it up as we went along. 

“A lot of them really enjoyed the collage making – we gave them different options of what to work with and for many, this was their favourite. They got excited about the pictures and it was nice for them to be alone and more introspective, as they’re used to being in front of a camera or mirror.” 

Elena worked with three different groups of students on this project, collaborating with each for two and a half days. The Clothes That Wear Us truly came to life when Elena, Marleigh Layne and Sjaan van de Langenberg—alongside mentor Tom Hobden—turned the school’s theatre into an installation space. An area usually reserved for performances, the studio theatre was filled with collages and film projections of student dances and interviews. 

“We were combining all these different elements and we didn’t even know what the installation was going to look like until the morning of. I think this can be challenging and I was nervous about the final result. But it was really special when the students got to celebrate their own work. Although they weren’t sure whether they were doing the right thing during the process, we edited videos of their dancing in a way that looked very slick and cool. The installation came together and elevated everything. When the videographer made the final documentation, it took the project another step up because we interviewed the students once they had seen the installation. They got to process the experience in another way. This was what the project was all about: elevating young people’s voices and amplifying their knowledge and wisdom.”

Having grown up in Germany and studied in Berlin, Elena graduated from the MA in Dance Leadership and Community Practice in 2022. She came across Trinity Laban through a workshop at the Purple Dance Festival. “I was in teacher-training for PE and politics when I was living in Berlin. One of the CPD [Continuing Professional Development] workshops at the festival was with Jo Parks, who now teaches at The Place”, she elaborates. “I’ve danced all my life, but the workshops were changing my perception of the art form – we’d start and stop moving at different intervals. We’d often be dancing without fully realising we were. I found that really inspiring because there’s so much intimidation around dance. You think you have to look and act a certain way – you’re being watched and you’re quite exposed. It was nice to have a dance class which wasn’t like that.

This was what the project was all about: elevating young people’s voices and amplifying their knowledge and wisdom.

“I went up to Jo and said that I wanted to learn what she did. I wanted to dedicate time to dance for myself and see if I could form a career out of it. Jo told me about the programme at Trinity Laban. Most of the courses in Germany were part-time, but Trinity Laban allowed me to focus on dance full-time. I had a really lovely conversation with Melanie Clarke during my interview and was able to receive a scholarship from a German governmental organisation.

“Although there are many dance pedagogy programmes, it’s never quite clear whether they focus on community work or how to teach ballet in a proper way. I wanted to learn how to work with different communities, how to make dance more accessible to people. This emphasis really came across in the course description and during my interview. I felt like Trinity Laban was the place to learn dance community practice.”

Elena elaborates on how the course has helped her launch her current career. “We learnt how we can take different factors into account when project managing in a given studio space. We had lots of conversations about access and communities: who has access to what and how we can change that when delivering a project. This is vital to my practice. The teachers were inspiring and great to work with, as they had so much practical experience. I also started to build a creative network, which was really useful as someone who’s not from London. Our classes showed me that I could do dance as a career and how I could do it.”

Elena has recently received funding confirmation for an Arts Council Project Grant for a second round of The Clothes That Wear Us, which will take place in Southeast London this autumn and winter with community groups.