Uri Shafir
My name is Uri Shafir, a dancer, choreographer, and performance artist. I live and work in France, dividing my time between these two countries.
Ambiguity has always fascinated me, and my works often revolve around it: between form and content, between performance and existence, between knowing and not knowing. I am interested
in dance and performances as celebration spaces for vitality, passion, freedom, as well as fragility, doubt, insecurity, and nothingness.
Having engaged with music, dance, and theater since my childhood, I have been performing since a very young age.
As a professional dancer, I have collaborated with various Israeli choreographers, including Batsheva Dance Company, Yasmeen Godder Company, Niv Sheinfeld & Oren Laor, Dana
Ruttenberg, Guy Guttman, Dafi Eltabeb, Renana Raz, and others.
I have presented my works in festivals both in Israel and internationally since 2009, participating in events such as Zirat Mahol, Curtain Up, Macholohet, International Exposure (Israel), Lucky Trimmer, Dock11, Off-Europa (Germany), Mouvements Sur La Ville (France), Tanec Praha (Czech Republic), L1DanceFest (Hungary), Antistatic (Bulgaria), Danzad Danzed Malditos (Spain), Out of Israel (USA), Dancewaves (Cyprus), and more.
In 2019, I completed the choreography master program - master Exerce - at ICI-CCN in Montpellier, France. Currently, I reside in Paris, France, at Cité International Des Arts since 2020. Additionally, I have been teaching Gaga (Ohad Naharin's movement language) since 2010 and am a certified practitioner of the Ilan Lev Method.
Mehdi Dahkan
Mehdi made his initial breakthrough at a very young age by exploring hip-hop and other urban practices. Joining the breakdance group "99flow" at the age of 12, Mehdi expanded his stage
experiences nationally and internationally with the group. His curiosity for different styles led him to explore Bollywood and later Contemporary dance. As an artist, he has collaborated with
various dance companies and choreographers in Morocco and Europe, including Khalid Benghrib, Sylvain Groud, Cristina Santucci, Emmanuel Milan, Wajdi Guagi, and Ahlam el Morsli.
Being passionate about transmission, Mehdi teaches at various cultural centers in Morocco, such as the Tangier Conservatory, Positive School, Darna Theater, Living Room, and Kampus
Casa. In 2019, he founded the Jil Z company and began developing his own works as a choreographer with "MAKAN" in 2020, followed by "2M.2" and "Bni Makada." Currently, he is working
on a trilogy titled "Subject to Only 14 Kms of Chaabi."
Gun Lund
Gun Lund (born in 1943) is a choreographer and dancer based in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. She is a pioneer in Swedish contemporary dance, having produced and showcased over fifty
original works since 1978. In 1987, she co-founded the Atalante dance theater alongside two other choreographers, Eva Ingemarsson and Gunilla Witt.
As the director of the dance group E=mc2 Dance, Gun Lund creates productions that blend dance with the natural sciences. She holds a master's degree in art and technology from the
Chalmers Institute of Technology in Gothenburg. Additionally, she is the founder and artistic director of 24kvadrat, a space with a 24-square-meter stage (approximately 258.3 square feet) and
seating for 15 people. Gun Lund has been actively involved in the international Dance Across Borders project for several years.
Cansu Ergin
She completed the foundational ballet training at the MEB National Private School of Aesthetics and Ballet, earning the MEB-approved instructor certificate after a 10-year program from 1989
to 1999. Following the completion of education at Izmir Bornova Anatolian High School and the Microbiology Main Sub-Branch of the Biology Department at Ege University, she pursued further
education in dance. She received scholarships for training at Danceworks in Berlin, the Duncan Centre for Contemporary Dance State Conservatory in Prague, and the Lisbon Forum Danca-
PEPCC Program (Choreographic Creation and Dance Research). In 2017, she obtained a master's degree in MODERN DANCE in the PERFORMING ARTS MAIN DEPARTMENT at Mimar
Sinan Fine Arts University's Fine Arts Institute. In 2022, she successfully completed the institute's doctoral program in modern dance art.
Since 2006, she has been dancing in festivals and providing dance education in Turkey and Europe, both through individual projects and collective endeavors.
Her solo performance 'Süzülme' in 2010 earned them the "Best Performance and Choreography" award at the 2011 Solo Duo Budapest International Dance Festival. The same solo was preserved as a 'work' by Jardin d'EUROPE in 2012. In 2017, she won the 3rd prize at The NewEurope Dance Festival and Jarmila Jerabkova Awards Choreographic Competition in Prague with their choreographed performances, The Well and Everlasting.
She is currently a member of DEPARTS, one of Europe's most significant contemporary dance networks. In the 2017-2018 period, she served as the Dance Project Coordinator for PORTİZMİR | NEFES International Izmir Contemporary Art Triennial. Besides teaching contemporary dance at Istanbul Technical University's Contemporary Dance Department and 9 Eylül University State Conservatory's Ballet Department, Ergin currently conducts contemporary dance classes at Collective Studio.
Yağmur Kutlar
For over 20 years, I have been dedicated to exploring and sharing within the realm of movement. Alongside yoga and body-focused practices, I create space for movement and learning with
various communities, striving for a sustainable life and the pursuit of shared experiences. Since embarking on a journey with a desire for a simple life in nature, I first cultivated curiosity towards
myself and the nature of the body. With an unending sense of being a student, I continue to engage in and learn from yoga, meditation, and mindfulness in movement.
Since 2020, as a collaborative partner, I have been actively involved with İda Dojo, where I regularly conduct classes and workshops in various locations. I organize movement-focused events
for different groups, contributing to a shared journey of exploration and growth.
Yoshiko Chuma
In 1977, Yoshiko Chuma arrived in the United States from Japan, settling in Manhattan, and later emerged as a leader in modern American dance. The New York Times noted in 2007 that
Chuma was part of "one of the greatest populist moments in New York dance" when she staged a participatory performance art swimming dance at the Astoria pools in Queens in 1988. Among
her avant-garde works is "Sundown," a seven-hour exploration of cubism exhibited at Issue Project Space in 2006.
In addition to directing The School of Hard Knocks, Chuma also led Ireland's Daghdha Dance Company from 2000 to 2004.
Yoshiko Chuma is a dancer, choreographer, and the director of the Bessie Award-winning performance art group, The School of Hard Knocks. Bloomberg described her in 2007 as a "stalwart
of downtown New York's scene for more than a quarter of a century." Chuma's works span from early "absurdist joy" to more recent serious reflections, yet they consistently represent the artist's distinctive "eccentric imagination and wild multimedia experiments." Dance critics find it challenging to classify Chuma's works; a 2006 article in Dance Magazine suggested that she could be described as a "postmodern choreographer, a movement designer, or a visual artist whose primary medium is people - dancers, musicians, pedestrians." In 2007, Chuma received the Bessie Award, honoring her sustained achievements as a choreographer.
Sofia Casprini
Sofia Casprini is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher, born in Florence in 1994. In 2016, she earned her undergraduate degree from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and in
2018, she obtained a Master's degree in Performing Arts from the London Contemporary Dance School. She began working for the British Edge dance company under the direction of Jeanne
Yasko. Simultaneously, she collaborates with companies such as Scottish Dance Theatre and Danish Dance Theatre, and has worked with choreographers Dam Van Huynh, Shobana
Jeyasingh, Karen and Allen Kaeja, and Tony Adigun.
Currently, Sofia Casprini continues her work in Italy, contributing to projects for international artists such as Sanpapié Dance and Physical Theatre of Lara Guidetti, Ariella Vidach AiEP, and
Jonathan Burrows and Martin Talaga.
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