Artistic Director
Jacqui Hinkson is the founder and artistic director of EXCAVATE BODY. She is a dancer, multidisciplinary artist, and choreographer currently based in ATL. She attended the Savannah College of Art and Design from 2016-2018 before shifting gears to dig into movement practices and pursue further training. In 2018, she became a certified 200 YTT Yoga Instructor and taught in Savannah, GA before moving to ATL. Since making the move to Atlanta in 2020, Jacqui spent a season as a movement artist with ImmerseATL, and had the great pleasure of working with and performing works by George Staib, Sarah Hillmer, and Anna Bracewell Crowder. In the Summer of 2022, she spent a month at Oriantheatre’s Paris Summer Academy where she had the honor of learning from, and performing works by, Miguel Pereira, Toula Limnaios, Volmir Cordeiro, Olivier Gemser, and Mehdi Farajpour. In the Fall of 2022, Jacqui debuted her first duet, Inner-Soil: TILL/HARVEST at the Fall for Fall Dance Festival. Jacqui was the recipient of Rise City Dance’s Atlanta Rising Artists' Residency for the Summer 2023 term. Following her residency, she premiered AVALANCHE, her debut evening length work at the Windmill Arts Center — thus officially forming EXCAVATE BODY.
Jacqui reflects on her journey with surprise, delight, and reverence for the unexpected. She views her current endeavors as a culmination of the various facets of her interests and experiences — a way to bring together insights from visual arts, yoga, athletics, and dance. Jacqui believes her non-traditional path has aided in her ability to reject established structures and lead with something akin to intuition.
Jacqui considers her artistic practice a punching bag, a container, and a place to push understanding. She is currently interested in crash test dummies, armor, the penetrability of the stomach, disjointed movement, and slowing down.
Jacqui Hinkson
Assistant Director
Andie Knudson is a dancer, maker, videographer, educator, and arts administrator currently based in Atlanta, GA. Andie's dance career has been marked by a diverse range of experiences, such as performing the iconic works of Bill T. Jones and José Limon and growing under the mentorship of esteemed improvisation artist, Nancy Stark Smith. Since moving to Atlanta in 2020, Andie spent a season working as an ImmerseATL Artist under the mentorship of George Staib, Sarah Hillmer, and Anna Bracewell Crowder. Andie continues to deepen her movement experiences with organizations such as Doug Verone and Dancers, Fly On a Wall, Gibney Dance, staibdance, among others. Her dedication to the art form has taken her to various corners of the world, including training with Dafi Altabeb (Dafi Dance Company), Elita Cannata (Countertechnique), Oliver Robertson (James Wilton Dance), and Gavriel Spitzer (Batsheva Ensemble) during her time with staibdance in Sorrento, Italy. Andie also spent a summer with Oriantheatre’s Paris Summer Academy working with artists such as Toula Limnaios, Volmir Cordeiro, Olivier Gemser, and Mehdi Farajpour. In addition to her performance and training endeavors, Andie has crafted compelling works for productions like Fly On A Wall's 2023 production of "Excuse The Art," the Fall for Fall Dance Festival, AM Collab, and Rise City Dance.
Andie's journey is a testament to her unwavering dedication to the art of dance and her ever-evolving artistic exploration. She is a dynamic presence in the world of contemporary dance and continues to leave her mark on the Atlanta arts scene and beyond. Andie is honored to embark on this new chapter as Assistant Director and Company Member with EXCAVATE BODY and looks forward to stretching her artistic depth alongside a remarkable group of artists and friends!
Andie Knudson
Composer & Sound Designer
Zubin Isaac is a composer and sound designer currently based in Toronto, Canada. At one time Isaac divides focus among many areas, including solo projects: ‘Four Quarters’ & ‘Cache & Release’, composing, cutting FX and mixing for commercial projects as well as post-sound work for various films and games.
Clients include: Adidas, Audemars Piguet, Burberry, Black Tailor, Doctors Without Borders, Esprit, Jackson Wang, Louis Vuitton, Meta, Playstation, Sony, The North Face, Wilson
Zubin looks forward to working with artists that are specialists in mediums he’s unfamiliar with, and being able to create sound for live movers which he considers a rare opportunity and presents new challenges that he’s very excited to take on.
Zubin Isaac
Movement Artist
Henry Koskoff is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Atlanta. In 2023 he graduated from Emory University, where he studied dance and writing, and was one of two graduating students to receive the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts. As a member of Emory Dance Company, he had the privilege to work with Israeli choreographer Dafi Altabeb and attend the American College Dance Association’s Southeast Conference. In August, he joined Atlanta contemporary dance company Staibdance as an entry-level artist. His poetry has been awarded by university contests including the Agnes Scott Writers’ Festival and published in nationwide literary magazines. He is ecstatic to get working with this collective of young like minds.
Henry is looking forward to honing in on both delicacy and effort while making use of his multidisciplinary focus.
Henry Koskoff
Movement Artist
Mercy Matthews began her training at a small studio in Roseburg, Oregon, where she was born and raised! She moved away from home at 16 years of age to pursue professional ballet training, but soon recognized her potential and love for dance lay elsewhere. Since moving to Atlanta in Fall of 2021, Mercy has had the opportunity to join ImmerseATL's program for a season, dance alongside Bandaloop, participate in Excuse the Art, A Time for Isadora, the Meli Kaye Residency with Patsy Collins & Charlotte Angermeier, dance for Jordan Ryder of Ryderdance & Dayhun Kim in Fall for Fall Dance Festival; among many other things.
Currently, Mercy is a company member of VIA UNI for it's 2nd Season under Xavier Lewis, as well as EXCAVATE BODY under the incredible Jacqui Hinkson! For her day jobs, Mercy can be found managing one of Neighborhood Ballet's studio locations, teaching the growing community there, and assisting with their social media, as well as assisting Catherine Messina of Fall for Fall!
Mercy Matthews
Movement Artist
Madison Lee is a senior at Emory University studying Dance and Marketing. Since coming to Atlanta, they have gotten the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Jacque Pritz, Jacqui Hinkson, Leo Briggs, Julio Medina, George Staib, Lyrric Jackson, Annalee Traylor, and others. They feel extremely lucky to be a part of the Atlanta dance community, and hope to continue performing and choreographing work in the area after graduating.
Madison is most looking forward to working alongside such talented artists and to find new strength, both physical and mental.
Madison Lee
Movement Artist
Leah Behm (she/her) is a dance artist who is inspired by the connections and relationships between people and how that can shape the self. Working in the event and marketing industry during the day, being involved in Excavate Body is very meaningful to her. As a 2021 graduate from Emory, Leah cherishes being a part of the ever flourishing dance community in ATL and all of the amazing artists and humans she has the pleasure of knowing because of it.
Leah Behm
Movement Artist
Charlotte Angermeier (she/her) is a freelance dance artist based in Atlanta, Georgia. She holds her B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) under the direction of Susan Jaffe and Brenda Daniels. While at UNCSA, Charlotte fell in love with Gaga, release techniques, Countertechnique, improvisation, devised theater, and Qigong. To further pursue these interests, she attended several intensives including the American Dance Festival, the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and multiple Gaga intensives in both NYC and Tel Aviv with the help of grants and scholarships. After graduating in 2020, she participated in ImmerseATL under the incredible direction of Sarah Hillmer, Anna Bracewell Crowder, and George Staib. Charlotte has since participated in Fall for Fall Dance Festival, several Dance Canvas productions, A Time With Isadora, laid waste, Excuse the Art, and Avalanche. Last spring, Charlotte was the Director’s Choice from Fall For Fall and was a recipient of the Meli Kaye Artist Residency at Decatur School of Ballet where she choreographed “no phones at the dinner table”. She is thrilled to be dancing with Excavate Body for their first season as artists in residence at The Windmill Arts Center. Charlotte is inspired by food, love, delicacy of movement, problem solving, and the complexities of the human experience. Check out Charlotte’s website charlotteangermeierdance.com or her instagram @charlotteangermeier to stay up to date on her upcoming projects.
Charlotte Angermeier