ΕΡΓΑΣΤΗΡΙΑ // ΣΕΜΙΝΑΡΙA

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

http://www.nicholas-spanos.com

NICHOLAS SPANOS studied with Aris Christofellis in Greece. He furthered his studies at the University of Maryland School of Music (U.S.A.) in the studio of Linda Mabbs, as a scholar of the “Friends of Music” society of Athens; he also held an assistantship from the University. He graduated with a Master’s Degree on Voice / Opera Performance. His higher education includes a Postgraduate Course in Lied & Oratorio with Charles Spencer in the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna. He has participated actively in many Vocal masterclasses taught by prominent teachers, such as Kurt Equiluz, Delores Ziegler, Anna Tomowa - Sintow and Michael Chance. He has been acclaimed for his appearance in opera, oratorio and recital. Both Greek and international Press has commented on his vocal and stage presence very favorably. He has collaborated often with the National Opera of Greece, Opera Lorraine, Athens and Thessaloniki Megaron Concert Hall, Athens State Orchestra, Thessaloniki State Orchestra, National Theatre of Greece, Orchestra of Colours, Bach Sinfonia (U.S.A.), Denmark Radio Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Stuttgart, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Les Talens Lyriques, Armonia Atenea, Ensemble Alraune, in Greece as well as worldwide. For many years he has been a regular collaborator of the “Ex Silentio”, “Latinitas nostra” and “Pandolfis Consort Wien” Early Music Ensembles. He was been awarded the “Best Young Artist of the Year” award by the Association of Theater and Music Critics of Greece, for his interpretation of the role of Arsamene in Händel’s “Serse” in the National Opera of Greece, First Prize at the “TECHNI” National Competition for Lyric Singers, held in Thessaloniki, as well as a few more awards for his participation in recordings, which include the CD recording of Händel’s “Oreste” (2004) and “Tamerlano” (2006) by the German label MDG as well as a CD based on Metastasio's “Olimpiade” libretto, with the Venice Baroque Orchestra (V.B.O., 2011) for NAÏVE Records. In 2014 he was the first to revive the role of Ruggiero in Ristori's "Le Fate" with Ensemble Alraune, a production that was made into DVD.

He lives in Vienna, Austria.-

Manuel Ronda

Manuel Ronda was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1977.
He studied Industrial Design at the University of Architecture of Genoa and later pursued modern dance and theatre at the Amsterdam University of the Arts in 1999. As an actor, he became involved with the children's theatre group "Teatro del Piccione" in Genoa, where he performed in productions such as BFG, Chisciotte, and I Eat the Moon. He additionally worked with Lindsay Kemp in Rome.
In 2000, Manuel met André Gingras in Amsterdam, which led to the creation of his dance solo titled CYP17. This solo piece was performed for a decade at a wide range of venues worldwide, including the Venice Dance Biennale, the Sydney Opera House, and The Hague / Amsterdam's “Lindenmayer System”. He then joined Charleroi / Danses Plan-K / Frederic Flamand and appeared in Zeropoint with Angelique Wilkie.
In 2005, Manuel joined UltimaVez / Wim Vandekeybus, participating in and touring the creations Puur, Spiegel, Menske, Talk to the Demon, as well as taking part in the feature film HereAfter, based in Brussels. As a playwright, he assisted choreographer / director Elena Fokina with productions like Pristan in Mexico, and Bielovodie and Between Sky and Earth in Moscow. He also worked with Klaus Jurgens in Asa Nisi Masa and collaborated with Kenneth Flak on the creation of 2Halves at The Hague / CaDance Festival.
In 2012, Manuel began collaborating with RootLessRoot / Linda Kapetanea & Jozef Fruček, participating in productions such as Kireru, Europium, and When the Dogs Assailed Their Masters in Athens. He made his acting debut in 2013 in German Jauregui's Confession in Zurich. In 2015, he took part in Tornar, a creation made with and for children by Seppe Bayens in Brussels.
During the 2017-2018 season, Manuel played a vital role in the restaging of Puur, both performing in the piece and assisting Wim Vandekeybus for the Swedish Royal Ballet at the Stockholm Opera. In 2018, he participated in Last Meal Café, an art exhibition curated by Tasya Krougovykh of Pussy Riot, held in Moscow and Space W139 in Amsterdam. Additionally, he has been teaching contemporary dance and theatre workshops internationally while creating his own production works.
Manuel currently resides in Brussels.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Manuel has extensive experience as a teacher, regularly conducting contemporary dance and theatre workshops for organisations such as the Cullberg Ballet, the Swedish Royal Ballet and the DansCentrum in Stockholm, Norrdans in Sweden, the Xie Xin Dance Company in Shanghai, the Ballet de Marseille led by Frederic Flamand, and Dance Works Rotterdam with André Gingras. He has also been a regular teacher at the SEAD experimental dance school in Salzburg and in Amsterdam, where he taught at Theaterschool and the HJF. He has shared his expertise at the TanzHaus in Zurich and conducted workshops for the Kalamata Dance Festival, collaborating with Jozef Fruček and Linda Kapetanea of RootlessRoot - Fighting Monkey, as well as for International Workshops across the globe.

 

Jozef Frucek

Jozef is a founding member of RootlessRoot. He graduated from the Academy of Music and Theater of Bratislava, completing his PhD Thesis in 2002. During 2002-2005 Frucek was a member of Wim Vandekeybus’ Ultima Vez, creating Blush (stage and film versions) and, Sonic Boom. During 2005-2006 he collaborated with the Royal Flemish Theater in Brussels (KVS) on his own work. In 2006 he and Linda Kapetanea formed RootlessRoot as a vehicle for their own productions, research and teaching (see below). Together with Kapetanea Frucek is developing the research program of Fighting Μonkey - an applied methodology of martial arts in the education of dancers, actors and movement practitioners. They regularly give workshops at international festivals and in vocational schools. From 2006 - 2011 both Frucek and Kapetanea were on the teaching faculty at the Athens State School for Dance. Since 2012 Frucek is member of the teaching personnel of the University Ludwik Solski State Drama School of Krakow in Poland.

ROOTLESSROOT

Website: http://www.rootlessroot.com

Η Λίντα Καπετανέα και ο Jozef Frucek δημιούργησαν τη χορευτική πλατφόρμα των RootlessRoot το 2006. Έχοντας εμφανιστεί σε σημαντικά φεστιβάλ ανά τον κόσμο (Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο, Τσεχία, Βέλγιο, Ισπανία, Σουηδία, Πολωνία, Γερμανία, Φινλανδία, Σλοβακία, Ιταλία, Γαλλία, Πορτογαλία, Ολλανδία, Ρουμανία, Κύπρο, Νότια Κορέα και Καναδά), οι RootlessRoot αυτοπροσδιορίζονται ως «εξασκητές της κίνησης με πρωταρχικό ενδιαφέρον το ανθρώπινο συναίσθημα και την καλλιτεχνική έκφραση». Τα ακατέργαστα χορευτικά τοπία τους εστιάζουν με ειλικρίνεια στο ανθρώπινο σώμα, προβάλλοντας πάνω του την κοινωνική πραγματικότητα σε όλο το ανθρώπινο μεγαλείο της. Τα υλικά που συνθέτουν τη δραματολογία τους αναμειγνύονται και διαχωρίζονται ενστικτωδώς από το χορευτικό δίδυμο, συνθέτοντας μια ασυμβίβαστη και άκρως ενδιαφέρουσα έκφραση του σύγχρονου χορού, με διεθνή αναγνώριση.



RootlessRoot is a structure that supports our vision and creative ideas.
We could describe it as a white cloud always changing, disappearing, appearing and flowing, as it needs. It is a movement driven, reflective platform that we have established in order to develop an artistic language that is accessible, primal, creative and playful.
We are movement practitioners that are fundamentally interested in human emotion and cultural expression.
It’s a structure through which we realize our practical philosophy in order to further expand and discover our artistic capacities and desires to dive into the emotional landscapes of the human being.
RootlessRoot is a meeting point, an intersection and a threshold where conflicting ideas transform into a journey of sculpturing events inserted with risk and unpredictability.
We have had the honor of collaborating with great artists such as John Parish, Miso Kascak, Vasilis Mantzoukis, Isabelle Lhoas, Jukka Huitilla, Hildegard de Vuyst, Ivan Archer, Martha Frintzila, Paris Mexis and Akram Kahn amongst others.

Jozef Frucek - Linda Kapetanea

RootLessRoot Company was founded by dancers Linda Kapetanea (1973) and Jozef Fruček (1975) in 2006 in Athens. Their works are characterized by a chaotic and raw movement and heroic themes; the performances often reflect current sociopolitical events. Since its founding, the group has presented numerous projects ad dance festivals in most European countries, and also in Korea. They often appear alongside current stars such as Pina Bausch and Sasha Waltz, and also give dance workshops.