Elise Dahan (she/her) is an artist born and raised in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of NYC. She received her BFA in Combined Media from Hunter College in 2016. Elise also holds a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from the University of California at Santa Cruz and is a Master Composter. In 2017 Elise was introduced to clowning by a friend and has been lucky to study clowning with some wonderful teachers/clowns- Donna Oblongata, Jenny Hazelton, John Turner, Michelle Matlock and Karen Hines. In 2022, Elise was born as a baby clown in a small town in Canada where she passed through her teacher's legs to the other side. Prior to coming to the University of Iowa, Elise has held many jobs including- working in waste (compost, e-waste, building waste), farming, gardening and working in early childhood education.