Project Manager, Big Pulse Dance Alliance

With an extensive career in Performing, Visual and Audiovisual Arts, Eduardo has founded and participated in numerous international projects and networks, and served as mentor and advisor to artists, companies, venues, festivals, foundations and public institutions. Eduardo was Project Manager at Artsadmin (1997 – 2001), Artistic and Executive Director of Festival Panorama (2004 – 2013), Director of Dança em Foco – International Festival of Video and Dance (2005 – 2020) and Artistic and Executive Director of BAC Madrid Festival in 2019.

Communications Manager, Big Pulse Dance Alliance

With a post-graduate degree in Education from the University of Cape Town, Ruth has been working in the field of communications, marketing and PR for more than a decade with a focus on the arts sector. She was part of the team that launched the inaugural Cape Town International Dance Festival in 2015 and its subsequent edition in 2016. From 2017, she has been Communications and Digital Lead for Dublin Dance Festival, and in conjunction with this role, took on the position of Communications Manager for Big Pulse Dance Alliance, a 4-year project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

Information coming soon...

Artistic Director, Tanz im August (Germany)

Beginning his studies in Biology, Ricardo soon changed to Dance and Performance Studies in Lisbon, completing his degree in 2003. He went on to work as a producer and joined the residence centre O Espaço do Tempo between 2005 – 2009. From 2010 to 2012 he worked at Alkantara Festival (Lisbon) assisting in the artistic direction and later general direction. In August 2012, Ricardo moved to Berlin, as Dance Curator of the theatre HAU Hebbel am Ufer and from September 2022, will take over the Artistic Direction of the festival Tanz im August.

Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Dance Umbrella Festival (UK)

Freddie Opoku-Addaie is Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Dance Umbrella Festival. A critically acclaimed choreographer, dancer, curator and lecturer, Freddie is the recipient of many choreographic awards and commissions. East London-born, his Ghanaian heritage has informed his artistic practices. Freddie is also founder of SystemsLAB, a platform responding to 21st century diverse artistic needs, and a regular speaker on industry panels both in the UK and internationally.

Artistic Director, Dublin Dance Festival (Ireland)

Born in Argentina and based in Ireland since 2005, Jazmin Chiodi has had a rich career as a dance artist and dance curator. Since 2021, she has been Artistic Director of Dublin Dance Festival, presenting the best of national creators and leading international dance companies in a vibrant and diverse programme each May in the unique city of Dublin. Her vision is to bring dance to the centre of the cultural agenda and to keep growing capacity for a very exciting emerging Irish dance sector.

Executive Director, Dublin Dance Festival (Ireland)

Carina has worked in a wide range of arts management, programming and producing roles in Ireland over the last 20 years. She has a degree in Contemporary Dance from De Montford University (UK) and is a graduate of the Cultural Policy and Arts Management programme at University College Dublin. She is an accredited Relational Dynamics Coach and is a co-founder and member of the Upsource Network (Ireland) – a collaborative arts network piloting leadership training and development.

Information coming soon...

Artistic Director, New Baltic Dance (Lithuania)

Gintarė Masteikaitė is a well-known Lithuanian cultural leader and producer of the performing arts and festivals. She is the Director of the Lithuanian Dance Information Centre, Artistic Director of the international contemporary dance festival New Baltic Dance and international performing arts festival ConTempo. She is one of the programme coordinators for the project Kaunas - European Capital of Culture 2022.

Head of Communications, New Baltic Dance (Lithuania)

Agne Tuskeviciute works in the field of communications and marketing, working with many different contemporary art events, international performing art festivals, and visual art biennials. As a Head of Communications, she works with one of the biggest contemporary dance festivals in the Baltic region, New Baltic Dance. She believes that being a part of Big Pulse Dance Alliance is a great opportunity for the festival and for the New Baltic Dance team to grow in this network of festivals around Europe.

Director, ONE Foundation of Culture and Arts (Bulgaria)

Assen is the Director of ONE Foundation for Culture & Arts – the organisation behind ONE DANCE WEEK festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, ONE DESIGN WEEK festival, and ONE ARCHITECTURE WEEK festival. He has a background in journalism and is the co-curator of the artistic selection for ONE DANCE WEEK.

Director, ONE DANCE WEEK (Bulgaria)

Elia graduated with a Bachelors degree in Cultural Studies (Sofia University) and Masters Degree in Arts Management (Universidad Complutense Madrid). As a member of the ONE Dance Week team since its first edition in 2008, Elia is responsible for co-curating the artistic selection and leading the technical production and realisation of the festival programme, in addition to overseeing operational, financial and technical elements of the organisation.

Communications Manager, ONE DANCE WEEK (Bulgaria)

Mila has been part of the Communication Team of ONE Foundation of Culture and Arts and ONE DANCE WEEK since 2019. She has a degree in Lettres Modernes & Linguistics (French Literature) and has been working as a freelancer in the fields of contemporary arts & music since graduating.

Artistic Director, Torinodanza Festival (Italy)

With over 25 years of experience in Performing Arts, Anna works with a particular focus on Dance, Music and Theatre. She has a deep knowledge of the international cultural environment thanks to significant collaborations and prestigious positions in both the public and private sectors, including with Teatro Due in Parma, the Biennale of Venice, Teatro Merdante in Naples, and Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. She is currently Artistic Director of Torinodanza Festival, managed by Teatro Stabile di Torino – National Theatre.

Manager of Publishing and Web Activities Office, Teatro Stabile di Torino (Italy)

Ilaria Godino has a degree in Theatre History from the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy in Turin and a Master's degree in Live Show Organisation from the Scuola Civica Paolo Grassi in Milan. She has been working in the performing arts sector for three decades, and has been a journalist since 2002. Since 2009, she has been working for the Stabile di Torino and Torinodanza festival, bringing together communication, marketing, editorial and web experiences.

Managing Director, Zodiak – Center for New Dance (Finland)

Ari Tenhula graduated with an MA in Dance in 1989 (Theatre Academy, Helsinki, Finland). He served as the Director of the Helsinki City Theater Dance Company from 2000 to 2002, and Artistic Director of the Moving in November Festival from 2006 – 2018. He held the position of Professor for Dance Art at the University of the Arts’ Theatre Academy from 2008 – 2018 and served there as Vice Dean in charge of education from 2014 – 2018. Since 2018, he has been the Managing Director of Zodiak – Center for New Dance.

Artistic Director, Zodiak – Centre for New Dance (Finland)

Harri Kuorelahti (he/him) is Artistic Director at Zodiak – Center for New Dance and Side Step Festival in Helsinki, Finland. He graduated from University of Arts in Helsinki in 1990, and has background as a dance artist and choreographer both as a freelancer and as one of the leading dancers at Helsinki Dance Company at Helsinki City Theatre from 1990 – 2006. Harri was Artistic Director at Full Moon Dance Festival (2006 – 2009) and at Zodiak, he has acted as Director of International Relations and since 2012 has been the Artistic Director.

Visual Communication Producer, Zodiak – Center for New Dance (Finland)

Sinem is a visual artist, with a keen interest in performance, and currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Contemporary Art at Aalto University. As the Visual Communication Producer at Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Sinem is responsible for the production of materials such as video teasers, press photos, and graphic media. She holds an MA degree in Filmmaking and a BA degree in Management of Performing Arts. She lectured at the university level for several years and exhibited her work internationally.

Founder and Director, TANEC PRAHA (The Czech Republic)

Yvona is founder and director of TANEC PRAHA (NGO), established in 1991. It started with TANEC PRAHA International Dance Festival, and continued with Czech Dance Platform, PONEC – dance venue (from 2001) and many projects supported by Creative Europe. From 2006 – 2008, she worked as an advisor to the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic. In 2004, she was awarded by the French President Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite National for her outstanding contribution to the development of European cultural cooperation.

Artistic Co-Director, TANEC PRAHA (The Czech Republic)

After her studies at the Prague Dance Conservatory, Markéta worked as a dancer at home and abroad between 1997-2010 with the repertory company Lyon Opéra Ballet. She holds a French state diploma in dance teaching. Since 2010, she has worked with TANEC PRAHA as a member of the Artistic Board, and in 2011 she was appointed Co-Director of TANEC PRAHA Festival, in 2015 Artistic Co-Director of TANEC PRAHA NGO and in 2021, also Artistic Director of PONEC - dance venue. She is actively involved in the development of international cooperation and is a recipient of the French award, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Financial Manager, TANEC PRAHA (The Czech Replublic)

Daniela Řeháková completed a Master’s degree in Theatre Management at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU). Already during her studies, she founded her own theatre agency and at the same time, she began her professional career as a producer for several Prague drama theatres. Since 2003, she has focused on the economic management of cultural institutions and started to collaborate with TANEC PRAHA. Between 2012 – 2015, she was the Director of the Ponec Theatre and returned to TANEC PRAHA in 2020 to take up the position of Financial Manager.

CEO/Artistic Director, CODA Oslo International Dance Festival (Norway)

Stine Nilsen trained at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Movement and Dance, London, and gained an MA from Middlesex University. She worked as a freelance dancer and teacher in London, joining Candoco Dance Company as Artistic Co-Director from 2007 – 2017. Stine is currently CEO/Artistic Director of CODA Oslo International Dance Festival since 2017.

Head of Marketing, CODA Oslo International Dance Festival (Norway)

Achy Ouafik is Head of Marketing at CODA Oslo International Dance Festival. He has a background in various aspects of Norwegian cultural life with the main emphasis over the last 6 years being in the music field, having worked for Warner Music Norway, Oslo World Music Festival and Øyafestivalen, among others. He has a degree in PR and Communication from BI School of Economics.

General Manager, Danscentrum Sverige (Sweden)

Amy has a diverse background, mainly in theatre, musicals, dance and circus as Stage and Project Manager, Producer and technician. Before joining Danscentrum, she was Head of Production at Circus Cirkör and worked 10 years as producer or head of production at Dansens Hus Stockholm. She has partnered in several EU projects and applications. Amy has an education in Stage Management Studies, RSAMD (Scotland) and Project Manager Interactive Media (Sweden).

Communications Manager, Danscentrum Sverige (Sweden)

Christina Simpson has worked in marketing and communications for over 20 years. Her current position is Communications Manager at Danscentrum Sverige, prior to which she worked as Head of Communications at Cirkus Cirkör. She has worked in both the cultural and business sector, and has participated in several EU projects, initiated sustainability platforms and membership in the UN Global Compact. Christina holds a bachelor degree in Advertising and PR.

General Manager, Danscentrum Syd (Sweden)

Since 2019 Jenny is the general manager of Danscentrum Syd in Malmö in the South of Sweden. Danscentrum Syd is a members organisation and consists of 120 professional dancers, choreographers and dance artists. Jenny has a background as producer, project leader and set designer within the performing art for 25 years.

Communications Manager, Danscentrum Syd (Sweden)

Jeanette Thuresson works as a producer of dance as performing arts in Malmö, south Sweden. At Danscentrum Syd she takes care of communications and has started an appreciated coaching programme for Swedish self-producing choreographers and groups. Jeanette is also involved in the Swedish delegation to Tanzmesse and the programme presented at Kunstpalast and on swedishdance.org.

Director, Maison de la Danse & Biennale de la Danse in Lyon (France)

Since July 2022, Tiago Guedes is the Director of the Maison de la Danse and the Biennale de la Danse in Lyon (France). He succeeded Dominique Hervieu with his project "ON(L)Y Danse - a shared future for dance in Lyon". He was dancer and choreographer before becoming the Artistic Director of the Teatro Municipal do Porto and Director of the Department of Performing Arts of the City of Porto (Portugal) in 2014. In 2009, he also created the Festival Materiais Diversos and in 2016 the Festival Dias da Dança. Tiago Guedes sees programming as an artistic, political and social act. He proposes an opening to all dances at Maison de la Dance, to all discoveries at Biennale de Lyon and to all practices at the future Ateliers de la danse (opening in 2025).

Artistic Advisor, Dancehouse and Bienniale de la Danse in Lyon (France)

After studying clinical psychology and music therapy, Béatrice achieved a Masters in Performing Arts and Live Performances at the University in Paris. Developing a taste for setting up and monitoring projects through musical production, she later created a production structure for live shows focused on transversality and contemporary writing as a production manager. After carrying out various production, numerous shows and management missions, she joined the cultural institution in 2014, as the Deputy Director of the CCN in Roubaix and in 2016, as the Cultural Attachée of the French institute of Kyoto-Japan. She is currently Artistic Advisor at the Dancehouse and Dance Biennial in Lyon since 2019.

Director, KEA

Arthur Le Gall is Director at KEA and Co-founder of the b.creative network, a global community of more than 1500 creative entrepreneurs. He is responsible for coordinating KEA’s research team and supervising studies, reports and projects. He designs and engineers support programmes and policies for the cultural and creative sectors to nurture arts, culture and creativity across territories. Arthur also delivers strategic advice to local authorities on the role of sport, culture and creative industries for local and regional development.

Arthur has worked with numerous companies and organisations in the cultural and creative industries, advising on their business models, on aligning funding and investment opportunities with strategic developments. He is the author or co-author of several research pieces on culture and creativity in Europe, and leads EU projects at the crossroads between culture, creativity and socio-economic development. Arthur co-manages a capacity building programme to support investment by banks in the Cultural and Creative Sectors as part of the Creative Europe Guarantee Facility, a programme launched by the European Commission and the European Investment Fund.

Freelance Consultant

Milica Ilic is a cultural worker specialised in transnational cooperation in contemporary performing arts. She co-initiated and coordinated RESHAPE, an experimental research and development project looking at reimagining the art sector’s organisational models in Europe and southern Mediterranean. Previously International Advisor at Onda, the French office for contemporary performing arts circulation, Communication and Administration Manager at IETM, international network for contemporary performing arts and Project Manager at the University of Arts in Belgrade. As a freelance consultant, she works on international cooperation, training, research and evaluation projects in the field of culture.