Co-Artistic Directors

Elon "The Wandering Spirit" Höglund

Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Elon discovered his passion for dance through breaking and hip hop at the age of seven. Alongside his early engagement with hip hop culture, he developed a deep and sustained interest in martial arts, training extensively in kung fu, capoeira, and taekwondo. This dual foundation in dance and combat disciplines shaped his understanding of movement as both expressive and purposeful.

Drawn to a wide range of physical languages, Elon expanded his practice to include other street styles, theatre, and contemporary dance, ultimately developing his own distinct movement approach. Since 2001, he has performed and choreographed fusion-based contemporary works for theatre, dance, and contemporary circus productions.

In 2005, he joined Cirque du Soleil as part of the original creation of The Beatles LOVE in Las Vegas, where he performed and choreographed his own solo. As a performer, Elon has toured extensively across North America, Europe, and Asia, performing with companies such as Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Éloize, Bboyizm, and RUBBERBANDance Group. He has collaborated with renowned choreographers including Dave St-Pierre, Daniel Ezralow, Mourad Merzouki, Victor Quijada, and Koen Augustijnen.

In 2012, he co-founded Tentacle Tribe with choreographer Emmanuelle Lê Phan. Together, they have created internationally acclaimed works including Nobody Likes a Pixelated Squid, Ghost, Prism and Threesixnine, presented in over 45 cities worldwide. Their dance films—Elon & Emmanuelle, Vanishing Points, and Crack the Cypher—have received numerous awards at international film festivals.

Deeply invested in pedagogy, Elon has taught his movement approach at institutions such as Arizona State University, York University, DOCH (University of Dance and Circus, Stockholm), and the École nationale de cirque in Montréal, in addition to leading workshops internationally. He regularly sets works and mentors choreographers and companies across the globe.

In 2025, Höglund created Dirt, co-produced by Agora de la danse.  He was also artistic director and choreographer for the remake ID-Evolution by Cirque Éloize.

A multidisciplinary artist, Elon has also been producing music since 2020 and has composed the scores for the full-length works Prism and Dirt, as well as numerous short films. He is a member of Montréal’s Fresh Format B-boy crew and Stockholm’s Concrete Kingz.

Emmanuelle "Cleopatra" Lê Phan

Québeco-vietnamese and raised in Ottawa, B-girl known as Cleopatra and co-founder of dance company Tentacle Tribe, Emmanuelle Lê Phan has forged a singular career path intermingling breaking and contemporary dance.  Her dance's virtuosity brought her to Cirque du Soleil stages (The Beatles LOVE Show in Las Vegas), Cirque Éloize stages (ID) and other international special events.

In essence, what draws her in is movement invention and choreographic finesse.  In her body, a varied array of forms: breaking, popping, capoeira, parkour, house, modern and a desire to bond them into her own freestyle language.  This versatility is the result of a varied training spectrum: from completing a BFA in contemporary dance at Concordia University in 2003, to battling in breaking and all-style categories since 1999.  Her past collaborations include co-founding Solid State Breakdance Collective and dancing for Out Innerspace Dance Theatre, Rubberbandance, Marta Marta House of Pride and Bboyizm.

In 2012, the decision to create with Swedish choreographer Elon Höglund steers them into their new Tentacle Tribe universe.  Since then, the company has created many works that have toured internationally.

As a solo choreographer, Emmanuelle has created a female trio, Origami Mami that has toured in many international Hip Hop festivals as well as commissioned pieces: a sextet for Dansens Hus' Urban Moves featuring some of Oslo's best street dancers, a sextet for Festival 100Lux entitled Fil Rouge and many group pieces for L'École de Danse de Québec. 

Since moving to Quebec City, Emmanuelle has created the site-specific Miroir Boudoir, which has toured in seven cities across the province. By engaging with the dance communities in Quebec City, she is committed to the development of street dancers by organizing battles, classes, open practices, and soon, the Coro Casse Festival at the Grand Théâtre de Québec.

Today, Emmanuelle is fully dedicated to Tentacle Tribe as the artistic director and administrative manager.

B-girl Cleopatra reps with the all-female breaking crew Legendary Crew and is now a certified WDSF judge for Breaking.