AFSHIN VARJAVANDI

Choreographer and director of INC innprogress collective

20 years of experience in urban-contemporary dance and research into new body languages. Resident artist at LaMaMa (NYC), WAO Open Art Week (Tunis), and The 7th Wave (Bahrain). Choreographer and director of the INC innprogress collective, stylist and creative director of artistic advertising campaigns, and curator of site-specific events. Teacher and performance space educator at CentroDanza Perugia and DanceHaus Milan, dance instructor throughout Italy, Europe, the USA, and the Middle East.

ARBEN GIGA

Choreographer and Creative Director of "Not Just Hip Hop" London, UK

Arben is a highly versatile artist. He has worked in musicals, video games, television shows, commercials, music videos, and stage performances. As a dancer, he has performed in the film Wicked, TV shows such as "Stasera a Casa Mika" and "Amici," the musical "Romeo & Juliet – Love and Change the World" with choreography by Giuliano Peparini, as well as commercials and events for various brands (such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Puma, Citroën, Missoni – directed by Paolo Sorrentino) and concerts for international stars (Coldplay, Pharrell Williams, Fabri Fibra, Two Fingers, Snoop Dogg, Pitbull); and, as a choreographer for LA CREW, for two editions of the video game "Just Dance" (Ubisoft Studio), for "Festivalshow," "Star Akademy Albania," Giga Monkeys, and BlackOut Crew. As an organizer he is responsible for, among others, “Just Move” (Albania) and “The Week – Hip Hop Festival” (Cesenatico).

ASHLEY BROWN

Director of the Martha Graham School

A K-12 dance advisor at the Juilliard School, she previously served as the K-12 dance coordinator, high school dance instructor, and ninth-grade leader at the Prospect Schools Charter network. She collaborated with Shining Light, an organization that hosts workshops on the impact of the arts in correctional facilities. In March 2019, she choreographed and performed "BARS: You See Boundaries, I See Freedom" for TEDxColumbiaUniversity 2019, to elaborate on and share her experiences. Her other honors include artistic direction of the Off-Broadway production of "PRINZE: The One Man Show" at the Sheen Center in New York and directing BT Dance for eight seasons. In the summer of 2020, she launched her own production management company, Heartworks Productions.

CARLOS DÍAZ GANDÍA

Choreographer and dancer

A choreographer and dancer recognized for his work with renowned artists, including singer Mahmood, Will Smith, Tony Effe and Gaia, Nathy Peluso, Feid & Rema, and Lola Indigo. His unique style combines influences from hip-hop and urban dance, creating engaging and expressive choreography. With a deep passion for movement and creativity, he has made his mark on the contemporary dance and entertainment scene.

FILIP BARANKIEWICZ

Artistic Director of the Czech National Ballet

Filip Barankiewicz was born in Warsaw, where he enrolled in the Romana Turczynowicz School of Dance in 1986. In 1991, he received the Vaslav Nijinsky Medal and in 1995 won the National Ballet Competition in Poland. The first dancer to receive a scholarship from the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, he studied at the Académie de Danse Classique in Monte Carlo until 1996. A superb dancer, he is now a renowned ballet master. He has staged John Cranko's choreography in numerous companies. In 2025, he received the prestigious Pearl of Dance, Poland's highest award given to dance artists for their lifetime contribution to ballet, and also served on the judging panel of the Polish National Ballet's Young Dancer of the Year competition. Since the 2017/2018 season, he has been Artistic Director of the Czech National Ballet.

FRANCESCO ANNARUMMA

A soloist at the State Theatre in Gärtnerplatz, he has worked with choreographers such as Forsythe, Ekman, Goecke, Gat, and many others, dancing in Europe, China, and the United States. He has created works for the Teatro Petruzzelli, the Staatstheater Magdeburg, the Kiev National Opera, the Teatro San Carlo, and the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires. He directed the "R-Evolution Dance" festival and was involved in the "DNA-AND" academic project at the Accademia Nazionale di Danza. Since 2020, he has collaborated with Roberto Bolle's OnDance. He choreographed "Atto Due" and "Match!" for the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma under the direction of Eleonora Abbagnato. Recent projects include "Orizzonte" for the Philadelphia Ballet School and "Brahms Requiem" for DJKT Ballet Pilzen. His next production is "Furore" for the Junior Ballet Antwerp, debuting in February. In March, for the Rome Opera "Creature" Theatre Company and the Rome Opera Dance Academy, both under the direction of former Paris Opera star Eleonora Abbagnato.

GINA STORM-JENSEN

Renowned Norwegian-German dancer

She attended the Norwegian National Ballet School. In 2011, she won a scholarship to the Royal Ballet Upper School after being a finalist in the Prix de Lausanne, following her gold medal at the Grasse International Ballet Competition in 2009. She joined the Royal Ballet in 2013, becoming Principal Artist in 2017 and Soloist in 2021. Over the years, she has performed a wide range of roles from the classical and contemporary repertoire, including the leading roles of Diamonds and Rubies in Jewels, the Lilac Fairy (Sleeping Beauty), Myrtha (Giselle), Mistress (Manon), the Rose Fairy (The Nutcracker), the Fairy Godmother, and the Winter Fairy (Cinderella). Gina has received the Gailene Stock Prize, Norway’s Wessel Prize (2019), and the Tom Wilhelmsen Opera & Ballet Prize (2021). In 2023 she joined the Norwegian National Ballet.

JOSH SLATER

Deputy Director of Teaching at London Contemporary Dance School, The Place

Contemporary dance artist, theatre maker, and performer. He is a part-time PhD candidate at the Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE) at Coventry University. He has created and toured dance and theatre works both nationally and internationally, funded by Arts Council England. Josh's research interests focus on choreographic practices, risk-taking, dance theatre, improvisation, and collaborative practices. He is an assistant editor for the Intellect Choreographic Practices Journal and has held various teaching and leadership roles in higher education over the past 10 years.

MARIANA GIUSTINA BARAVALLE

Director of Conservatori Professional de dansa Institut del Teatre

Laureata presso il Conservatorio Superiore di Danza dell'Institut du Théâtre di Barcellona in Pedagogia del Metodo Vaganova. Insegnante accreditata presso la Royal Academy of Dance, docente di musica presso il Conservatorio Municipale di Barcellona e membro del Consiglio Internazionale della Danza (C.I.D.). Danzatrice con il Ballet Théâtre de Barcelona, ​​poi con il Kenmerk Dance Project (Barcellona) e il Dafmark Dance Theatre (Pennsylvania). Nel 1994 ha fondato la sua compagnia, Atalanta Fugiens, con la quale ha presentato diversi programmi in Catalogna e Spagna. È membro della giuria internazionale, insegnante di danza classica e attualmente direttrice del Conservatori Professional de Dansa Institut del Teatre di Barcellona.

SIMONA FERRAZZA

Teacher at the National Ballet Academy in Amsterdam

Diplomata alla prestigiosa Upper School del Royal Ballet School di Londra. Ha debuttato come ballerina professionista con l’English National Ballet, entrando nel corpo di ballo e successivamente ottenendo la promozione a Demi Solista. Dopo otto anni con la compagnia londinese, Simona si è unita al Dutch National Ballet, dove ha arricchito il proprio repertorio classico confrontandosi anche con opere neoclassiche e contemporanee, firmate da coreografi di spicco come George Balanchine, Hans Van Manen, Ted Brandsen, David Dawson e Krzysztof Pastor. Dal 2012 è docente presso l’Accademia Nazionale di Balletto di Amsterdam, dove insegna danza classica, repertorio e fa parte del programma Bachelor Degree per la formazione di insegnanti. Oggi è regolarmente invitata a tenere stage internazionali e a partecipare come giurata e talent scout in concorsi di danza di rilievo internazionale.