TEACHERS 2022

Maltese- based freelance artist and dancer, Zoe Camilleri, started her dance training with the College of Dance. She later went into full- time training at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London. After graduating she returned to her home island to join the first ensemble of dancers of Żfin Malta, the national dance company of Malta. First she joined as an apprentice and for the next three years as a full-time dancer. Throughout her career she has worked with choreographers such as Iván Pérez, Jose Agudo, Mavin Khoo, Tânia Carvalho, Athanasia kanellopoulou, Francesca Tranter, Lucia Piquero, Paolo Mangiola amongst many others, and performed on stages in many countries around the world.

Now as a freelancer, Zoe wears the hat of a performer, educator and choreographer. She is currently a guest teacher at the University of Malta, choreographing a solo performance and focusing on growing Zowij.Makes, her small, handmade and upcycled clothing business. Zoe finds inspiration in things that she loves, like the sea, trees, the breaking down of patriarchy, and her dog Julius. 

Since graduating from Turku Arts Academy (1993–1997) and training at Rotterdamse Dansacademie, Samuli Roininen has performed in over twenty countries. In the Netherlands, he danced in choreographies by Josette Baïz, Martin Butler, Nils Christe, Nacho Duato, Hans van Manen, Jiří Kylián and Piet Rogie among others. Samuli has been working as a dancer-choreographer for MD since 2003, collaborating with choreographers Helena Franzén, Tommi Kitti, Jyrki Karttunen and Liisa Pentti, among others. He has worked frequently as a guest choreographer and teacher for many theatre and dance companies and institutes, including the Finnish National Opera Ballet School and Tampere Conservatoire. Samuli’s works have been performed in the US, Sweden, Germany, Japan and China. Samuli also serves on the artistic board of directors for Dance Theatre MD and the Tampere Dance Current Festival.

Dance Theatre MD

From 1997 Dance Theatre MD has become known for its high-class choreography and versatile performers. The broad repertoire features shows from classic fairy tales for children to contemporary dance pieces for adults. MD also provides tailored tour performances suited for various events. Most of Dance Theatre MD’s performances are suitable for non-Finnish-speaking audience. Dance Theatre MD celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2022.

Read more about the performance: http://www.tanssiteatterimd.fi/en/ghost-drafts/

Russell Adamson is an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer and teacher. He has studied in London (London School of Contemporary Dance and Central School of Ballet London).

Adamson's works has been seen on national ballet stages, festivals, theaters, television and fashion shows. He has taught e.g. conservatories, universities, the National Ballet (Helsinki, Tallinn, St. Petersburg) and festivals (e.g. Kuopio Tanssii ja Soi, Impulstanz). 

Kristina is a Tampere-born dance artist. She studied to be a dancer in Berlin, majoring in Contemporary Dance. After graduation, Kristina has worked extensively in the dance field. She has worked as a dancer in various contemporary dance groups and productions, danced in operas, operettas and musicals, taught dance to enthusiasts and professionals of all ages, participated in community art projects and worked as a choreographer in various work groups. Kristina's style has been influenced by her work all over Europe and the world, and her important and educational stages in her life have been studying and working in Berlin, including dancing in Tanzcompagnie Giessen (Germany) and Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company's internship program in Israel.

Now Kristina has settled in Helsinki and works from there. Kristina's most recent work includes the full-length work "(In) sanity" for Kielo Dance Company, and the work "BODIES" for three dancers currently under construction. Kristina also works regularly in dance teaching and student choreographies, and her choreographies have been selected and awarded in several reviews and competitions (eg Arctic Steps, Kuopio Dances and Soi, FDO competitions). He has taught professionals in Contemp. together with dance artist Eerika Kraft. In recent years, Kristina has worked as a dancer in her own works, as well as e.g. In the ranks of Kielo Dance Company and in the operetta of the National Opera through Ballet Finland.

Maria Concetta Cariello is a freelance dance practitioner, performer, and contemporary dance  educator. 

Her creative interest falls on the body wisdom as the source of every creative process, organically  drawing from within by tuning into the elements of breath, vocalization, movement, and stillness. 

In recent years, she has embraced a nomadic path that leads her to travel to different geographic  and interior places, and that initiated her into a deeper exploration of the self, of personal  development through the connection with nature, meditative and somatic practices, and Contact  Improvisation. 

As dancer, Concetta has performed various works by Gil Kerer, Willi Dorner, Kiori-Kawai, Marie  Keiser-Nielsen, Azul Teatro Company, La Fura dels Baus Company, Contact Dance Company, and  others. 

As an emerging dance creator, she choreographed ‘I Cannot Walk Around My Body, I Cannot Leave  It Behind’ for 5 dancers (2018); her own solo research ‘PRIMA MATERIA: A Study On My Bodies’ (2019-20); the solo ‘Non-Linear Body/ies’ for the company ZfinMalta Dance Ensemble (2020); and  co-created with the Lentua Collective ’21 ‘A Nature Corner’ commissioned by Joutsentanssi  Festival, Finland (2021). 

In 2021, she directed and produced her first independent short dance film ‘GIRGENTI – Timeless  Dances On The Hill’ for and with 3 dancers, presented in Malta, Italy, and Finland. 

Originally stemming from a ballet background, Concetta has realigned her focus training in  contemporary dance and obtained a BA in Dance Studies at the School of Performing Arts,  University of Malta, jointly with an Erasmus program at the BCDA – Budapest Contemporary  Dance Academy. 

Her previous background in Building Engineering-Architecture has provided her with a passion for  architecture and design, which also enriches her approach to dance and space composition.  Drawing from this, in 2018, she started ‘Archi-Humans Go Public’, a research project that puts in  conversation dance and public spaces, funded by Arts Council Malta. 

She is co-founder of Sirius Dance Collective (2019) and Nomadic Dance Collective (2021). She is  part of the Co-Creation Center, a multidisciplinary research group aiming to develop a  methodology and a model of Conscious Co-Creation to accompany teams towards the  manifestation from the source by accessing the unified field. 

As a dance educator, she has held contemporary dance classes and creative workshops in various  countries mainly Italy, Malta, Turkey, Georgia and Finland. She is currently working closely with  Nomadic Dance Collective: a collective of dance/theatre/voice facilitators – with co-founders Adam Koan (USA) and Kiori Kawai (Japan) - that organizes workshops and retreats in nature,  completely dedicated to the research and refinement of the performative act, of a hybrid matrix  combining the different fields of work of the collaborators: mainly butoh, improvisation and CI,  and contemporary dance. 

She is certified Reiki of I and II level; and LIFE AWARENESSTM certified breathwork instructor.

Saara Elina Kilpinen is a dancer, actress and dance teacher originally from Tampere, Finland. She has worked as a ballet teacher for over a decade as well as a dancer for example at the Finnish National Opera and Savonlinna Opera Festival. She studied acting in New York and happily shares her working hours between teaching and acting. 

Laura Kuukkanen is one of the founders of Nytke Festival. She is a dancer, as well as a yoga teacher. Laura has been dancing various styles  since she was little, in 2015 she made a full turn when she left her engineering career and moved to Malta to study dance. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the University of Malta in 2019. Since then, she has worked on various theater productions (including WTC / Stephen Oliver, Manuel Theater, Nature Corner / Lentua Collective, Swan Dance Festival). She is a founding member of the Sirius Collective, as well as a member of the Co-Creation Group. With these collectives, Laura has made several works in the role of both a dancer and a facilitator, e.g. Connection, We are Golden, and Spirited.

Dance has taken Laura to the world and to various courses, for example in 2020 Laura spent 5 weeks at the GOA Dance residence together with Sirius Collective. Here she also got a spark for daily yoga practice. In 2020, she studied to be a yoga instructor and has since given actively yoga classes, e.g. In Malta.

Laura’s lessons focus on presence, as well as the joy of moving, not forgetting somatic work and technique.