Fellow Year: 2021

Pavlina Andriopoulou was born in Patras, Greece, in 1982. She trained as a dancer and dance teacher at the Higher Private Professional & Amateur Dance School Niki Kontaxaki in Athens. Following her graduation, she continued training and developing her skills by studying alongside several accomplished choreographers and tutors, including Frey Faust, David Zambrano, Daniel Lepkoff and Wim Vandekeybus. Ever since 2004, she has performed with various dance and acrobatic companies in Greece, for example Vaso Giannakopoulou’s dance company, ki omOs kineitai, Fingersix, Choreftes, etc. She has been collaborating with the Greek director and choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou since 2011, as a performer (The Great Tamer, Still Life, The Garden, Inside) and assistant director/choreographer (Primal Matter, Still Life, Origins, The Garden, The Great Tamer, Transverse Orientation). In 2014, she had her choreographic debut at the National Theatre of Greece. She has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021).

Georgia Paizi is a dance-artist based in Athens/Greece, where she makes, teaches and writes on dance and the moving body. Georgia’s current dance practice explores the concepts of language, lexicon and vocabulary as common ground between movement and spoken word practices, tracing the dance in the absence of dance, as well as the contemporary rituals of social dancing in the era of social distancing and the shrinking of public space. Georgia works as a choreographer with the collective COCHLEA res, through which she also organises the programme SynAski/14. COCHLEA res has been receiving funding from the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports since 2020. Georgia teaches movement, improvisation strategies and the Alexander technique since 2014 in Greece, London and Berlin. She studied dance in London, Amsterdam and New York (MA Creative Practice – Dance Professional delivered by the organisation Independent Dance at Trinity Laban in London; Alexander technique 3-year training at London Centre for Alexander Technique and Teacher Training), and social sciences and humanities in Greece (MA in Design – Space – Cultural Studies jointly offered by the School of Architecture and the School of Applied Mathematics and Physical Sciences of the National and Technical University of Athens; BA in Theatre Studies, University of Patras). She has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021).

Andrea Rama graduated from the National School of Dance in Athens. In 2010 he cofounded @Porson’s Khashoggi, a contemporary dance company that works with the dimension of time as a fundamental element of movement. His goal is for the choreographic research to become an open process that will involve the public, the artists, the dancers and the non-dancers. His works have been presented in Germany (Berlin, Bonn, Karlsruhe, Reutlingen), France (Paris, Creteil, Metz, Annonay), the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam), Luxembourg, Italy, Finland, Poland, China and Greece (Athens, Patras, Corfu, Chania). In the last eight years, Rama has been developing and teaching the programme Opening Possibilities to dance companies and institutions for professional dancers, professional dance companies and dance houses around the world, including: Henny Jurriens (Amsterdam), Marameo and Tanzfabrik (Berlin), Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, National Institute of Music & Dance (Warsaw), La Ménagerie De Verre (Paris), Heidelberg Dance Company, Pforzheim Balet (Finland), and the Minsheng Museum in Shanghai. He also works as a movement coach in theatrical productions in Berlin and Athens.
In 2011-2012, he curated five different editions of the festival New Creators’ Fest, which was dedicated exclusively to new choreographers from the Greek dance scene. For two consecutive years, he has been acting as Artistic Director for the Tirana International Music Dance Theater Festival. He has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021).

Alexis Tsiamoglou holds a BA in Geology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and is a dance teacher accredited by the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports. Currently, he is attending the Master’s programme Art and Public Sphere at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, offered jointly by the Faculty of Political Science and the Faculty of Fine Arts. In 2013, he was awarded a fellowship by the International Choreographic Arts Centre (ICK) in Amsterdam (Emio Greco). He has also been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021). In 2019 he was commissioned by MOMus – Εxperimental Centre for the Arts to create the choreographic installation Possi(ball)ities for the 7th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art. His latest work, entitled Requiem – a choreographed portrait, was presented in Athens, Thessaloniki and Larisa. In 2013 he featured in Miki Ambrozy’s award-winning film Fabric of Time, which was screened during the Leuven International Short Film Festival. He has collaborated with several choreographers and dance companies, including Christos Papadopoulos, Margarita Trikka, Artemis Lampiri, Sinequanon, Default, Robyn Schulkowsky and Lia Tsolaki. Since 2008 he has been coaching groups of young people on how to create their own dance projects and performances, as part the EU’s Youth in Action and Erasmus+ programmes. The resulting works have been presented in public spaces, prisons, senior homes and cultural centres in Italy, Turkey, Hungary, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Bulgaria and Greece.

Alexis Fousekis is a dancer and performer based in Greece. He studied contemporary dance at the Greek National School of Dance in Athens, obtaining a scholarship for the Martha Graham School in New York upon his graduation. He has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021). He was part of Robert Wilson’s artistic team for the production, Oedipus Rex (Bach 6 Solo) and for Messiah (soloist at the Mozartwoche 2020 presentation, Haus Für Mozart, Salzburg). He is also a member of the director’s team at the Watermill Center in New York. He has collaborated with several artists, including Linda Kapetanea and Jozef Fruček in Europium; Dionysis Savopoulos and Ermis Malkotsis in Plutus; Konstantinos Rigos in Arkadia; Marianna Kavallieratos in the performances Stream, Death and They; Giannis Kakleas in the plays Acharnes, Killing Game and Cyrano de Bergerac; Thomas Moschopoulos in Mojo; Euripides Laskaridis in Ridicule and Transformation and The Walk; Stella Fotiadi in Hands/Χέρια and Seeking Bliss; Giannis Antoniou in Memoirs of a Sailor for the National Opera of Kuwait; Athanasia Kanellopoulou in Exodus for the 2019 Ramallah Dance Festival; and Michalis Theophanous in Sans Word.

Born in 1988, Nadi Gogoulou is a dancer, performer and dancemaker. She studied dance and economics and holds a Master’s in New Performative Practices by the Stockholm University of the Arts. She has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021). She has worked with Greek choreographers in dance and site-specific performances and creates projects of her own. In addition, she has directed short films which have been screened in various international film festivals and worked as a choreographer in a number of theatre productions. She also gives classes of improvisation based on a style of movement she is developing herself (“Join the Fun”). Rhythm, pattern, repetition, iteration, musicality, virtuosity, playfulness, game, rules and +1-ness are fundamental key words in Nadi’s artistic practice and work. In her latest works —The cooking-with-Nadi show at Onassis New Choreographer’s Festival 8 and B.A.W.L. at Hallen/CCap project space in Stockholm— she has been engaging with the idea of developing a hand-making” methodology, and investigating the thought of methodology being a tool. These explorations are indicative of the keen interest she maintains in methodical questions and of her desire to discover methods that can generate, maintain, inspect and transform. To set formulas for opening up a space which will be hospitable to different perceptions.

Daphne is a dancer based in Athens. She was born and raised in Heraklion, Crete. She graduated with distinction from the Greek National School of Dance (2017) and the Department of Communication and Media Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (2018). In 2019 she was admitted to the Drama School of the Athens Conservatoire, where she is currently pursuing her studies in theatre. As a member of the Hellenic Dance Company (2015-2017), she performed in pieces and repertoires by Martha Graham, Markela Manoliadi and Andonis Foniadakis. She has collaborated, among others, with Persa Stamatopoulou, Millicent Hodson & Kenneth Archer, Jacqueline Fischer, Christos Papadopoulos, Patricia Apergi, Xenia Koghilaki, Nefeli Gioti and Nadi Gogoulou. In 2019 she participated in the educational program entitled Return Trip (jointly organised by the Athens and Epidaurus Festival 2019 and the Italian Fondazione Nationale della Danza/Aterballetto). in Reggio Emilia, Italy, after securing a scholarship from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. . She has also been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021). She has participated in many dance workshops and seminars both in Greece and abroad.

Born in Heraklion, Crete, in 1988. He graduated with distinction from the Professional Dance School of Rallou Manou in Athens and from the Amsterdam School of Arts (Modern Theatre Dance program). In 2008, he was admitted to study at P.A.R.T.S. international dance school in Brussels, while in 2010 he received a scholarship from the Greek State Scholarship Foundation. He is currently studying at the International and European Studies Department of the University of Piraeus in Greece. As a dancer, he has collaborated with many companies and artists in Greece and abroad, including: DV8, RAMBERT, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jan Fabre, the Royal Ballet of Flanders, Dimitris Papaioannou, Andonis Foniadakis, Christos Papadopoulos, Iris Karayan, Lenio Kaklea, the National Theatre of Greece, the Greek National Opera (William Forsythe), the State Theatre of Northern Greece, the National Dance Centre Bucharest, Konstantinos Rigos, Nanine Linning, Alexandra Waierstall, Sinequanon, TedX Brussels, Nigel Charnock and others. He has performed in several international festivals, including: Adelaide Festival (Australia, 2020), Julidans festival (Netherlands, 2019, 2018 & 2017),  Aerowaves Spring Forward festival (2019, 2018 & 2016), 16th Dance Biennale in Lyon (2014), Cervantino International Festival (Mexico, 2014), Belgrade Dance Festival (Serbia, 2014), Festival of Avignon (France, 2013), International Festival of Buenos Aires (FIBA, Argentine, 2013), Sesc Pinheiros São Paulo festival (Brazil, 2012), Athens & Epidaurus Festival, Impulstanz Festival (Austria, 2012), Rovereto Contemporary Dance Festival (Italy, 2011), Kuopio Dance Festival (Finland, 2011), and World Expo 2010 Shanghai. Under the artistic direction of Dimitris Papaioannou, he performed at the opening ceremony of the 2015 European Games, which took place in Baku, Azerbaijan. In addition, he has participated in the short film Liebestod by Stathis Athanasiou andattended seminars and workshops led by Dafnis Kokkinos (Pina Bausch), Emio Greco, Lauren Potter, Thomas McManus, Milan Herich and Hildegard De Vuyst. He has also been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021).

Katerina Liontou is a graduate of the National School of Dance (KSOT). Αs a dancer, she has collaborated with the companies of Dimitris Papaioannou, Konstantinos Rigos, Fotis Nikolaou, Harris Mantafounis, Sinequanon, Aggeliki Stellatou, Alexandra Waierstall, Affari Esteri, Lia Tsolaki, Iris Karagian, Cecil Mikroutsikou, Yiannis Nikolaidis, Agni Papadeli Rossetou, Iro Apostolelli, Christos Papadopoulos and Maria Koliopoulou. As a choreographer, she has worked with the directors Michalis Gigintis, Maria Vardaka and Efthimis Christou. She has attended several contemporary dance seminars, studying under teachers such as: Jeremy Nelson, Paul Douglas, Ted Stofer, Ignacio ‘Inaki’ Azpillaga, Antonis Foniadakis, Linda Kapetanea, Josef Frucek, Juan Cruz, Chryssa Parkinson, Martin Kilvady, Tono Lackhy, etc. She has previously taught at the Greek National School of Dance (KSOT) and is currently a teacher at the Superior Professional Dance School Anna Petrova-Maro Marmarinou. She has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021).

Born in Heraklion, Crete (1993). He graduated from the Greek National School of Dance (Athens, 2015) and is currently studying at the Department of Theatre Studies of the School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He has collaborated with the following companies and choreographers: MiR Dance Company from Gelsenkirchen in Germany (for the projects Adam & Eve by Roy Assaf, Les noches by Mauro Bigonzetti, Sacre by Ivgi & Greben, L’Orfeo, Notre Dame de Paris and Momo by Giuseppe Spota, Lead me by Fabio Liberti, and Shoot me into the green screen 1 by Antonin Comestaz and Erion Kruja); Athanasia Kanellopoulou (X-odus, 2019); Sharon Fridman Company (Free Fall, 2018); Patricia Apergi /Aerites Dance Company (Cementary and Planites, 2017-2019); Hikaru Fujii (The Primary Fact, 2018); and Anastasia Valsamaki, (Sync, 2016-2017). In theatre, he has participated in performances directed by Fanny Ardant (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Greek National Opera, 2019), Thomas Moschopoulos, (Manon, Greek National Opera, 2018), Stavros Litinas (Salome, Greek National Theatre, 2018), and Michael Marmarinos, (An endless journey, Pantheon Theatre, 2016). He was the choreographer in Manos Vavadakis’ staging of Ubu Roi (Greek National Theatre 2018). He has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021).

Alexandros Nouskas Varelas was born in Athens, where he is currently based. He graduated from the National School of Dance (KSOT) in 2018 and the Faculty of Spanish Language and Literature of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. As a dancer, he has worked with the Hellenic Dance Company, Christos Papadopoulos, and the dance companies Ki omOs Kineitai and Griffón Dance Company, in performances presented in theatres and festivals both in Greece and abroad, including: Athens & Epidaurus Festival, theatre VIDY (Switzerland), Theatre de la Ville (Paris, France), Les Halles (Avignon, France), International Theater Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Le Lieu Unique (Nantes, France), Dampfzentrale (Bern, Switzerland), I Teatri Reggio Emilia, Le Quartz (Brest, France), and the Culturgest cultural centre in Lisbon. Several samples of his work (MaErD, corridor, Guido, LiVing room and safe sLEEPING) combine the movements of the human body and the connotations these give rise to with the narrative tools employed in cinematography, editing and dramaturgy. His work has been screened in various festivals across Greece and Europe, such as the Athens Video Dance Project, the ScreenDance Festival in Stockholm,the SzólóDuó festival -Ork_Kota_Platform in Budapest and the International Dance Film Festival in Brussels. He has collaborated with Costa-Gavras as assistant choreographer in the film Adults in the room and has worked as assistant director in Elpiniki Voutsa Reνtzepopoulou’s film Who will be eaten. He has been awarded a scholarship for the Return Trip Project, organized jointly by the Athens & Epidaurus Festival and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. He has also been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021).

Konstantinos was born in Athens, in 1994 and grew up in a small town in Northern Greece. He is a graduate of the Athens University of Economics and Business. Dancing aside, he has also studied theatre and music. His main dance style is hip hop but he practices lots of other styles as well. As he says, “dance is one” and he doesn’t like to feel confined. He holds a number of national distinctions in what the hip hop scene terms ‘freestyle battles’. He is also a choreographer and holds multiple international distinctions obtained in various dance film festivals around the world, for example in France, the USA, Canada and Greece. He has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021). He loves creating and tries his best to serve dance with respect and value it deserves.

Konstantinos Papanikolaou holds a postgraduate degree in dance from University Paris 8 | Vincennes – Saint-Denis and has studied psychology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Ηe has collaborated with Gerard & Kelly and Olivier Marguerit and has taken part in the Biennale of Munich, Lyon and Birmingham. He has performed in various venues across Europe, including the Centre Pompidou (Paris), Hellerau (Dresden), The Place (London), Mercat des Flors (Barcelona), etc. In Greece, he has collaborated with the choreographers Patricia Apergi, Mariela Nestora, Jenny Argyriou and in the theatre with Argyris Pantazaras, Kirki Karali, Eleni Efthimiou, Lilly Meleme, Lefteris Veniadis, etc. In 2020 he choreographed and performed the solo Tonight and every night, presented at the ARC FOR DANCE Festival; and in 2021 he presented The diving horse and other mythologies at the New Choreographers Festival in Onassis Stegi. He has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021).

Maro Stavrinou was born and raised in Volos, Greece. In 2014 she graduated from the Greek National School of Dance and in 2018 from the Department of Theatre Studies of the School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. As a dancer, her professional training was followed by intensive seminars and workshops on contemporary dance technique, choreographic tools and improvisation led by Ohad Naharin in Tel-Aviv; Emanuel Gat in Rome; and Russell Maliphant in London. Since her graduation she has worked with several choreographers both in Greece and abroad, including Andonis Foniadakis, Konstantinos Rigos, Shahar Binyamini, Lenio Kaklea, Jai Gonzales (UnterWegsTheater Heidelberg), Fotis Nikolaou, Evi Souli, Maria Papadopoulou, Anastasia Valsamaki, Manaho Shimokawa, Christos Xyrafakis, Markella Manoliadi; and performed in repertories by Ohad Naharin, Pascal Rioult and Martha Graham. She has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021).

Alexandros was born in Patras (1991). Ηe graduated from the Greek National School of Dance in 2014. In 2015 he attended the Martha Graham School Summer Intensive in New York and in 2016 he received his Master’s degree from the London Contemporary Dance School The Place. He has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2021). He has collaborated with several choreographers, including Russell Maliphant, Jasmin Vardimon, Koen Augustijnen, Rosalba Torres Guerrero, Hannes Langolf, Andonis Foniadakis, Anton Lachky, Ermira Goro, Alexis Vasiliou, Patricia Apergi, Fenia Apostolou, Evi Souli, and Fotis Nikolaou. In 2020 he made his first choreographic work entitled Cinderella’s, which premiered at the 13th Arc for Dance Festival and was subsequently selected for the 2021 Aerowaves Festival.