Jury, prizes and scholarships - Expression International Dance Competition

Jury preview 2024

Expression International Dance Competition Jury is made up of teachers, choreographers, dancers and international dance schools and associations, who will evaluate technique, dance composition, choreography and ability showed on stage, discovering talented dancers.

The list of jurors is being updated…

ADRIA FERRALI

Artistic Director - DAP Festival Danza in Arte in Pietrasanta International dance festival
A renowned figure in the world of contemporary dance, she has performed iconic solo roles in Graham's repertoire and has been mentored by illustrious mentors such as Martha Graham herself, Pearl Lang and Yuriko Kikuchi. He has collaborated with internationally renowned institutions, including the Dutch National Ballet, the Boston Conservatory, the Royal Danish Ballet School, the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the University College of Dance Stockholm, the Montgomery Ballet, the Alabama River Region Ballet and Troy University. She was awarded the Nijinsky Prize as best dancer and choreographer at the Kiev National Opera. Since 2017 she has founded and directed the DAP Festival Danza in Arte in Pietrasanta, an event that highlights the connection between contemporary dance and the Visual Arts, hosted in theaters and artistic venues in the city.

Italy

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ALESSANDRO VACCA

Choreographer and principal dancer of Oniin Dance Company
He plays the role of soloist in the temples of Italian opera in works such as Turandot, Mefistofele, Barbiere di Siviglia. In 1999 he joined, as a solo dancer, the "Compagnia Zappalà Danza" - ex Balletto di Sicilia, a company that enjoys its own contemporary dance repertoire and its own style, so much so that it is considered one of the most important realities on the scene italian dance. In 2012 he was called to collaborate by the artistic direction of the dance section Daniela Rapisarda as choreographer and principal dancer of the stable contemporary dance company Oniin Dance Company. He currently works in New York at the Peridance Center and the White Wave Dance Company.

New York, United States

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DANIELA RAPISARDA

Artistic director and choreographer of the Oniin Dance Company
She specializes in contemporary after having obtained a diploma in classical dance at the D.A.I. in London. (Dance Art International). From 2012 to 2014 he held the position of artistic director of dance at the "Teatro delle Celebrazioni" in Bologna (Italy) where he established: Binario 234 2012 International contemporary dance festival, Celebrations in Dance 2012/2013 international dance competition, Oniin Dance Company 2012 contemporary dance company of which she is artistic director and choreographer. Her company becomes one of the most innovative contemporary European realities for national and international critics. She currently works in New York at the Peridance Center and the White Wave Dance Company.

New York, United States

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JAY ASOLO

Professional dancer and choreographer - RETRO KINGS&QUEENS COMPANY of Dublin.
In Ireland he specializes in Hip Hop Afro Dance A highly regarded dancer, choreographer and teacher, he coaches hip-hop competition crews and artists such as Boyzone’s Ronan Keating and Mikey Graham, as well as choreographing for the “Ryan Tubridy TV Show”.

Dublin, Ireland

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LALA BLHITE

Laura Ferretti is mainly known for having worked on the production of the international video game "Just Dance" by Ubisoft as a choreographer and dancer, a profession that she still carries out in parallel with her work in the audiovisual and cinematographic fields as an author, screenwriter, actress, director and producer. You have worked for various artists, brands and companies, including: LMFAO, Amii Stewart, Fedez, Fabri Fibra, Lodovica Comello, Samuel Heron, Amscat; Citroen, BMW, Coca Cola, Crodino, Tezenis, RDS tour “Step Up 4” Flashmob, Game Stop, Lucca Comics, Games Week, The Week, Dance Plus, Macron, etc… Among the television programmes: La Pista - Rai 1 - Dance Show MTV - Do you want to dance with me - Rai 1 - “JUST DANCE World Tour” - MTV & Nickleodeon.

Italy

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MANUELA ANGIOI

Senior Lecturer in Sports and Exercise Medicine at Queen Mary University of London. Head of the iBSC Sports and Exercise Medicine Program.
Dr. Manuela Angioi, MSc PhD FHEA FIADMS is a senior lecturer in Sports and Exercise Medicine at the Center for Sports and Activity Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, where she is Program Leader of the IBSc degree in Sports Medicine and of physical exercise. You have worked with professional and non-professional dancers and circus performers, studying the effects of increased fitness levels on performance and injury epidemiology. Manuela provides research consultancy and support to professional dance schools, including the Royal Ballet School and the English National Ballet School. She has been part of the IADMS research committee since 2014 and was recently awarded the prestigious title of Fellow of the IADMS. She sits on the IADMS Board of Directors (2023-25).

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MASSIMILIANO VOLPINI

Choreographer, video maker and director. Director of Dance at the National Opera in Zagreb.
Massimiliano Volpini began his career as a dancer working for the Venice Ballet, the Arena of Verona, the Comunale of Florence, the Massimo of Palermo, the Ljubljana Opera and the Teatro alla Scala. He has created choreographies for the Teatro alla Scala, the Tulsa Ballet, the Zagreb Opera, the New York Choreographic Institute, the Rome Ballet, the Regio di Torino and the Rome Opera. In 2000 he began a long and intense collaboration with Roberto Bolle for whom he created many ballets staged all over the world. He created the dances for the New Year's Eve concerts at the Fenice in Venice in 2015 and 2016 and in 2018 he choreographed the mega-concert of the Notte della Taranta, in front of an audience of over 150,000 people. He creates the choreographies of some operas directed by Marco Bellocchio (Andrea Chenier), Peter Stein (Aida and Don Carlos), Valentina Carrasco (Carmen, La Muta di Portici, I Vespri Siciliani, Aida, La favorite).

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MASSIMO GERARDI

Currently rehearsal director at the Vienna State Opera Ballet School.
She began her dance training in Udine and Reggio Emilia. She then received her first engagements in Italy at the Balletto Comunale di Firenze, Teatro la Fenice in Venice, ATERballetto, as well as Balletto di Venezia and later in Germany at the Stadttheater Augsburg. He worked as a solo dancer at the Nuremberg Ballet, the Dortmund Ballet, the Landestheater Linz and the Staatstheater Oldenburg. He has danced in pieces by renowned choreographers such as Birgit Cullberg, William Forsythe, Rui Horta, Amanda Miller, Jacopo Godani, Jean Renshaw, Robert Poole, Martin Stiefermann, Jenny Coogan, Gregor Zöllig, Antonio Gomes, David Sutherland, Amedeo Amodio, and others.

VIENNA The Ballettakademie der Wiener Staatsoper, the ballet school of the Vienna State Opera.

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OFELIA OMOYELE BALOGUN

Movement Artist, Choreographer and Educator
Ofelia Balogun graduated in Social Sciences with a focus in Anthropology, Sociology and Theatre, she furthers her studies at Irie! Dance Theater | Roehampton University of London obtaining a First Class BA (Hons) Degree in Diverse Dance Styles.
Present as Youth ambassador at the International Culture Summit in Edinburgh (2022) for culture education, her practice supports refugee women organizations, institutes for education and training based on psycho-corporeal practices and the deconstruction of introjected prejudice. You currently hold the role of Artistic Direction Assistant at the IRIE company! Dance Theater of London.

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Jurors of past editions

ALEN BOTTAINI

Director and founder Bavaria Ballet Academy

ALESSIO CARBONE

Principal Dancer of Opera Des Paris and director Company Les Italiens De L'Opera

ALESSIO NATALE

Director of The place dance studio in Madrid.

ANDY LEMOND

Choreographer of the Dance Academy in Toronto and for many companies. Founder of the Broadway Academy of Dance and organizer of the International Dance Camp Festival in Germany

ARBEN GIGA

Choreographer and Creative Director of “Not Just Hip Hop”

BRUNO CAPRIOLI

Director at "Horizons" company, Dance Modern Jazz teacher and Director of professional training of dancers at Millenium Dance Center

CARLOS KAMIZELE

Internationally renowned hip hop dancer, teacher and choreographer

CHRISTIANE BORG MANCHÉ

Founder and Director of Living Dance; Incite Motion School of Dance Director; RAD teacher , CPD's mentor and ambassador

DANIEL AGESILAS

Famed international Dancer and choreographer and former director of choreographic studies at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris.

DANIELE BALDI

Hip Hop Choreographer. Hip Hop Teacher in popular tv show and dance school "Amici", Director of Eschilo1 Dance in Rome

ELIZABETH TABERNER

Co-director of Valencia Dancing Forward

EMANUELA TAGLIAVIA

Dancer and choreographer, teacher of contemporary dance.

GALI KALEF HAYUN

Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company

GEORGINA RIGOLA PEÑA

Teacher and choreographer, founder and artistic director of Barcelona Dance Center, BCN CITY BALLET and of Certamen Internacional de Danza Ciutat de Barcelona

ILENJA ROSSI

Guest dancer in the Black Clubs in Italy and abroad. Teacher and choreographer.

INNA YURENEVA

Teacher at Greenwich Conservatory Ballet

JAN ÅSTRÖM

Director of Balettakademien Stockholm

JEAN NUNES

Dancer, choreographer and artistic director of Studio Vibes

JP OMARI

Hip Hop teacher and choreographer, founder of the school Streetfunk in Brighton.

JUAN POLO COBOS

Teacher for Real Conservatorio Profesional De Danza Mariemma and teacher for Adams Valencia

KATEŘINA KRAČMANOVÁ

Director DANCE WITHOUT LIMIT, Czech Republic.

KATHRYN BRADNEY

Director of Prix de Lausanne

KLEDI KADIU

Popular dancer on italian TV and in theatres, teacher and founder of the School Kledi Dance.

LOTTE SIGH

Choreographer and artistic director of Copenhagen Dance Arts, Copenhagen Contemporary Dance School and affiliated with the Royal Danish Ballet since 2005.

LUKA MARIE FRITSCH

Choreographer of PAN.OPTIKUM, that connect Urban Dance with Theatrical Performance

MACIA DEL PRETE

Danzatrice di fama internazionale e insegnante.

MARCO CHIODO

Dancer, choreographer, director and ballet leader for Notre Dame de Paris

MARIE CHRISTINE MAIGRET DE PRICHES

Director of Dance Area di Ginevra.

MARIE PISKOŘOVÁ VESELÁ

Choreographer and artistic director of the workshop Tanec Bez Hranic - Praga

MICHAL RYNIA

Artistic director MN Dance Company, Slovenia

MOMO

Professional dancer of HipHop and African dances

MORTEN INNSTRAND

Choreographer and artistic director of Copenhagen Dance Arts, Copenhagen Contemporary Dance School and artistic director od Royal Danish Ballet School- Odense

NAIKE NEGRETTI

Choreographer and Broadway Dance Center's official italian referent, teacher and talent scout for Dance Theatre USA International.

NANCY KADEL

President of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS)

NASTJA BREMEC RYNIA

Artistic director MN Dance Company, Slovenia

NICOLA MONACO

Danzatore, insegnante e maestro ripetitore per Akram Khan Company Ballet

PAULA FONSECA

Director of the Centro Cultural de Belém, Portugal

PETER LEWTON-BRAIN

Scientific director and professor at the Pôle National Supérieur de Danse Rosella Hightower (PNSD) in Cannes.

RICHARD D’ALTON

International teacher and choreographer. Teacher at Ent'artes escola de dança, Portugal.

RICK TJIA

Talent Scout, Choreographer, Coach (Cirque du Soleil, Choreography Online, I-Path)

ROBERTA FONTANA

International modern teacher and choreographer

SANCHEZ ARANXA

Choreographer at Balet Nacional de España and Director of Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza “Mariemma”

STEFANO SIMMACO

Composer, musician and performer

SUSAN QUINN

Director of SEAD - Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance

TASHA BERTRAM

Teacher, examiner and trustee of Russian Ballet Society.

THELMA FLORES

International Director Joffrey Ballet School

TRACY INMAN

Co-director of The Ailey School in New York and a choreographer and consultant for the television series Pose.

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