Athanasia Kanellopoulou is an Athens based choreographer, dance performing artist, researcher and pedagogue, who owns a rich history of collaborations. She is currently working as a freelance dance artist creating her own creative methods from teaching into choreographing and collaborating with various artists from different disciplines.
As a choreographer her main focus is on solo creations, collaborations with artists from different fields and the diversity of the group works. Her approach has been affected by the evolution of ideas about female identity and in general the female figure through the past decades. These works examine a wide range of issues such as individuality, duality, social-political oppression.
Her works have been presented in many important festivals all over Europe and Middle East at places like, International Festival NRW of Pina Bausch, Gdansk Dance Festival Poland, Arc for Dance Athens, International Solo Tanz Festival Bonn, Malta Arts Festival, Solo Tanz Festival Stuttgart, International Festival Burgos Spain, Lucky Trimmer Berlin, Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival Palestine, Manuel Theatre Malta, Moda Sahnesi Istanbul,Tatavla Sahne Istanbul, Tjarnabio Iceland, No_body Festival Cyprus etc. She has created works for the physical theatre postgraduate company , JV2 (Jasmin Vardimon ), the Dance Studies University of Malta, the Iceland Academy of Arts, the upcoming National Dance Company Zfinmalta and the Palestinian Dance Company( 2017). She is leading workshops in places and Academies such as, SEAD Academy Salzburg, State Dance School of Athens (KSOT), Garage 29 Brussels, Greenwich Dance Agency, Malta University, Seoul Arts Centre, Cairo Contemporary Dance Centre, Vibra Festival Ljubliana, University Mimar Sinan Performing Arts Istanbul, Iceland Academy of Arts, etc. She is also acting as rehearsal director for the Malaisian choreographer Mavin Khoo and the new upcoming National Dance Company of Malta (Zfinmalta). She was named by the German dance critics and Press as a ‘a dancer to watch’.
Athanasia Kanellopoulou moved to London in 1996 to study with a scholarship at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. In 2000 she received the ‘Scholarship for Artistic Excellence’ at Martha Graham School, New York. For over 17 years she has lived in Europe and collaborated with various contemporary companies and dance artists. Among others are: the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, where she toured with the company as a guest dancer in many festivals worldwide (2002-2008), Jasmin Vardimon Company (2006-2008), Les Ballets C de la B/ Koen Augustijnen (2008-2010), Rafaelle Giovanola- Cocoondance (2010-2013), Alexandra Waierstall (2012-2014). She has also worked with many Israeli choreographers such as Lior Lev, Guy Weissman, Roni Haver, Rami Levi, Jossi Berg and with Iker Gomez, In jung Jun., Zeynep Tanbay, etc.
She has also studied Spanish Literature and Culture at Hellenic Open University and she is currently studing lute, a Greek traditional music instrument.
vimeo.com/athanasiakanellopoulou