Imperfectly Perfect #2: Elliott Mumm

Perfectly Imperfect for Art School Teenagers

Artsy kids like artsy things, which is why I asked my friend Elliott to share a taste of his taste on Imperfectly Perfect.

​Elliott Mumm (A.K.A. Smelliott) is probably one of the best ballet dancers in my immidiate vicinity of UNCSA. Most of his attention is sustained by a great desire to become a better dancer, and by food. Like most kids his age he loves hiphop and fashion and had a trascendant experience while watching Taxi Driver. His greatest accomplishment has been learning how to learn, and because of it he’s been able to study at Ballet West and the prestigious Ellison Ballet School. Right now he’s performing the principal role of Cavalier at the UNCSA Nutcracker. Luckily, he’s here with us to share what he’s been digging.

Without Further Ado

Smelliott (twitter, instagram)

🕺Good Contemporary Ballet

Petit Mort

Apollo

In the Middle Somewhat Elevated

Ninjisky

I think I haven’t really dove into contemporary or modern works because I don’t think a lot of the time it doesn’t capture the full potential of the dancers as athletes or artists. Of course it can look pretty but I really want to see things that push the envelope while still being undoubtedly beautiful and exciting. The pieces that I’ve linked are ones I feel do that really well and are all ballets I wish to perform one day.

PSA. If you’re a UNCSA student, you can find a lot more on these works and others though the library streaming services.

💰 Westside Gunn

Griselda is my absolute favorite rap group right now and I think Westside Gunn is a seriously overlooked rapper. There’s not much I can say about his music that you cant pick up just by listening to it. He pairs best with a good soul sample.

🚶 Walking

I’ve been writing up a project on access to walkability in our cities and neighborhoods. It’s always been something I find super interesting and doing this project and really diving into the research has only strengthened that. A concept I love is a 15 minute city, where a city is zoned so that all your needs can be met within a safe 15 minute walk. As we continue to live in neighborhoods and cities I just want us to assess how comfortable we feel walking and living in our environments. Research! Advocate for change! And realize that how you live effects every part of your life.

😋 Butterfingers!!!

🙇 Niche Ballet Social Media

Sunhee Kim’s Insta

John Clifford’s Insta

Oliver Matz’ Insta

Kent G Becker (the Goat)’s Youtube

Ballet Focus.com’s Insta

Yung Lois’ Insta

Kenny (also the Goat)’s Insta

Whenever I see a new post from these guys on my feed it absolutely makse my day. Something I’m really interested in is the modern culture around ballet internationally. Each of these accounts comes from a different sphere of Ballet culture from almost every corner of the world.

🎮 Vids on Speedrunning

I don’t even play video games that often but speedrunning is something that really interests me for some reason. These are some of my favorite vids in this “genre”

Blue Yourself

Mario Odyssey Without Cappy

🪓 Barbarian

I’m not even one for horror movies but this movie totally took me by surprise, I highly recommend giving it a watch with absolutely zero information going in. It’s on HBO max right now !!!

🛀 Having a Long-ass Bedtime Routine

I feel like my bedtime routine concludes my day really nicely. My whole skincare routine and everything can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes depending on how long I wait in between steps but I’ll usually clean up my room or drink a bottle of water in between steps and by the time I go to sleep I feel nice and ready for the next day. Highly recommend.