CALA Festival

Ingeborg Meier Andersen (DK/NL) is a performer, dancer, choreographer and student in the second year of The School for New Dance Development – SNDO in Amsterdam. Currently her research focuses on the phenomena of being “offbeat”. This theme developed as a contradiction to her many-year practice of conventional dance in both Copenhagen and London.

Lucia Di Pietro (IT) is a choreographer and performance artist whose works explore the ambiguity of perception between reality and fiction, aiming to generate alternative ways of seeing and inhabiting spaces. She studied Choreography and Performance Art in Turin, Lisbon and Vienna. She lives and works between Palermo, Terni and sometimes New York City, collaborating with several independent cultural centers. Lucia has been creating work independently in dance, performance and visual installation since 2011. www.luciadipietro.com

Sofia Bucci (IT) is a photographer and a bookbinder working with self-publishing and DIY books. After graduating from high school she studied at the Roman School of Photography, where she obtained the Third Master. Her photography is neither difficult nor easy, but instead : terrestrial and earthly. Her groundedness is the seat of her reality, as she talks about herself – vain enough to re-read herself; and the people she loves : those present and those internal. She talks on about those things which are true for her, but with a willing flexibility to give the benefit of doubt. www.sofiabucci.com

Giuseppe Vincent Giampino (IT) was born in Rome. After finishing high school he attended courses in philosophy at the University La Sapienza bringing forward, in the meantime, his interest on physical theater and dance. He studied choreography in Amsterdam at the SNDO, learning how to use the choreographic tools to structure his artistic practice. He studied, among others, with Deborah Hay, Benoit Lachambre, Martin Spangberg Katie Duck, Kristie Simson, Igor Dobricic, Trajal Harrell, Ria Higler, Matej Kejzar, Kenzo Kusuda, Keren Levi, Bruno Listopad, Martin Nachbar and Vincent Riebeek. In 2018 his work has been selected for the Italian venue Vetrina XL.

Fenia Kotsopoulou (GR/UK) is a cross-disciplinary artist whose practice encompasses performance (art), dance, video and photography. She holds a MFA in Choreographing Live Art, and a BA in Dance studies. Pivotal topics of her rhizomatic practice include: the body as a site of transformation and repository of emotions; personal and collective memory; performing documentation and alternative uses of archives; formation and deconstruction of female identity. In search of a holistic way to express her vision she collaborates with artists from different fields/cultural backgrounds. www.feniakotsopoulou.wixsite.com

Moreno Perna (IT/NL) is a performer, maker and image manipulator, bridging the world of night cabaret and theater through the use of movement, fashion and strong images.
His aesthetics could be defined as “Post Modern Pop Baroque”, and his work is a multi-media delight immersed in symbology and visual artistry; provoking, hypnotizing and seducing the audience. His research rotates around the concept of Identity as a cultural and fictional construct. He questions preconceived notions of Identity with the ultimate purpose of exposing what is human. Moreno also works as a dancer and collaborator with artist Jan Fabre, performing main roles in “Mount Olympus – to Glorify the Cult of Tragedy” and “The Power of Theatrical Madness”. Since 2017, Moreno Perna is resident choreographer at Dansamkers Amsterdam. www.morenoperna.com

Martino Antocchi (IT) is a ceramist and sculptor. He specialized in art at High school, then studied at Scuola di Alta Specializzazione d’Arte della Medaglia – Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (Roma). He attended continuing education courses in drawing and life drawing at Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma and at Galleria degli Uffizi di Firenze. He is a versatile artist, using a wide range of materials (wood, tuff, metals, plaster and more). Artisan and sculptor Juan Brito (ES)  introduced him to the “mojon” modeling technique: an aboriginal technique, mainly used in North Africa to realize daily life objects. Martino’s fascination for this craft, his use of different clay mixtures and natural tools (shells, stones and bones), translated into a very personal research on ceramics: bridging past and present by looking at the “sculpture vase” as a common object, but also as an archetype of civilization.

Daz Disley (UK) is a freelance, mostly digital artist based in the UK. With a background in audio-production and software design, Daz’s visual work often takes a musical approach to exploring temporality as much as more traditional compositional elements such as space and colour. When not behind the camera (working mostly in video-dance), in the studio editing, or helping someone deliver some crazy multichannel surround-sound installation, he plays in the darkroom making images using DIY techniques of home-brewed chemistry and cobbled-together cameras. www.dazdisley.co.uk

Paula Chaves (CO/NL) started her studies in dance and circus in New York, Berlin and Bogota- Colombia, where she was born and raised. In 2015 she obtained her degree (BA) in Choreography at S.N.D.O. School for New Dance Development, in Amsterdam. Currently she is part of the Queeristan collective. Together they organize a D.I.Y. Festival in Amsterdam as a platform to explore and counter the normative workings of gender, sexuality and identity. Paula works as an independent performance artist and is part of the performance and social circus collective Blixem.

Jija Sohn (J/NL) is an Amsterdam based artist working in performance and choreography. She started her studies in dance and performance in Japan. She continued her artistic research in the USA and Europe. In 2015 she obtained her BA at S.N.D.O. School for New Dance Development, in Amsterdam. She has collaborated as a performer with artists such as Ivo Dimchev, Matanicola and Fernando Belfiore. In 2016 she received the award Moving Forward for her performance work. She is currently supported by the production house Dansmakers od Amsterdam. www.jijasohn.com

Riccardo Guratti (IT/NL) started his studies in contemporary dance, improvisation, contact improvisation and theater in Italy. He graduated from Accademia di Danza Nazionale di Roma with a thesis in dance anthropology, and then moved to Palermo to collaborate with choreographer Alessandra Luberti. He went on to attend the physical theater intensive “K.I.M. Kosmos in Movement”, in Berlin and continued his artistic research in Amsterdam, at S.N.D.O School for new dance development , where he received his second BA. He creates his own works since 2010: they are often very different from each other, but all of them share a strong physical, emotional and ritualistic impact. Since 2016 Riccardo has worked as a performer with choreographer Matej Keizar. He teaches dance and movement research. www.riccardoguratti.wordpress.com

Davide De Lillis (IT/DE) is a choreographer, dancer and performer. He started his studies in contemporary dance and theater in Italy, where he collaborates with choreographer Alessandra Luberti and director Claudio Collovà. In 2011 he moved to Berlin to continue his studies at “K.I.M. Kosmos In Movement”. He founded the performing arts formations 77 Stolen Fish and ¿Che.Ne.So?, whose works have been shown in Europa, USA, India and Vietnam. Since 2012 he has collaborated regularly as an interpreter with artist Tino Seghal, having performed in several productions for European festivals and museums. In 2016 he received his Master in Live Art at University of Lincoln (UK). He teaches Yoga, collaborative creations, improvisation and movement. www.davidedelillis.wordpress.com