Artistic Direction and Administration

Born in Athens, in 1973. She holds a degree from the department of French Language and Philology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, a master’s degree in Linguistics of the Southeastern Mediterranean from the Department of Mediterranean Studies of the University of the Aegean, and a PhD in Arabic Dialectology from the Department of Mediterranean Studies of the University of the Aegean. She studied the Arabic language in Greece, Egypt, and Jordan. She also studied acting at the “ARCHI” Drama School in Athens. She has attended various theatre and dance classes and seminars in Greece and abroad. In 2004, she founded the Akropoditi Dancetheatre in Hermoupolis, Syros. Since then, she has directed and choreographed all the performances of Akropoditi. In January 2013, she founded Akropoditi Dance and Performing Arts Centre in Hermoupolis, Syros. She has published two poetic compilations and her poems have been translated to English, French, German, Turkish and Arabic. She has translated and published literature and poetry works from French and Arabic. She lives in Syros, where she has taken over the artistic direction of Akropoditi Dance & Performing Arts Centre. She is a member of the artistic board for the administration and the management of the International Dance & Performing Arts Festival Akropoditi DanceFest. She works as a choreographer and translator, while at the same time she is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of the Aegean – Department of Mediterranean Studies.

Artistic Direction and Administration

Born in Patras, in 1985. She studied Psychology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She has completed postgraduate studies at ILS College (Poona, India) on the subject of “Legal and Human Rights in Mental Health” and she is a member of the Greek Observatory for the Rights in Mental Health and the Greek Network for supporting people who decide to quit psychiatric drugs.
She graduated from the Greek State School of Dance in 2012 and worked as a teacher of classical and contemporary dance at various dance schools in Chalkidiki. She has also worked as a facilitator in camps for disabled people, children’s camps, a clinical guidance centre for children, and she has been engaged in creative home-based work for children with autism.
Since 2012 she has been a member of the Akropoditi Dance Theatre. As a dancer-performer, she has participated in all the performances of the Akropoditi Dancetheatre since 2012. She also worked with the choreographer Anmar Taha and his company, Iraqi Bodies.
She lives in Syros. Since January 2013 she has been teaching at the Akropoditi Dance & Performing Arts Centre, while at the same time being responsible for the artistic management of the Centre. She is a member of the artistic board for the administration and the management of the International Dance & Performing Arts Festival Akropoditi DanceFest.
In 2019, she coordinated the action “Madness: Living in”, a body-centred mental health action that was presented in Syros and Naxos.
She was one of the choreographers at the performance “Once upon a port…”

Born in Athens, in 1966. She graduated from the University of Athens, faculty Physical Education and she is a certificated teacher of Music and Dance education (Carl Orff system- Moraitis School Athens).
She has worked in private nursery schools, cultural and sports clubs, teaching children and adults music and dance, physical education, swimming and Greek traditional dances.
Since 1996 she has been working in Primary and Secondary Education schools as a physical education teacher, while implementing cultural projects and projects on Creative Movement-Modern Dance and Greek Traditional Dance.
Since 2002 she lives in Syros where she works as a physical educator in public secondary schools. In addition, she also works as a teacher of Creative Dance and Swimming in children and adults and as a personal trainer, implementing fitness programs in and out of the water.
She teaches «Orthosomiki» and Creative Dance at the Akropoditi Dance Centre.
She has attended courses in flauto dolce (Blockfloete), Greek traditional percussion, classical dance, flamengo, Jazz and Contemporary dance. She has also attended seminars in Rhythmic, mimetic, theatre movement and improvisation as well as seminars in different contemporary dance techniques and performance art (release, contact improvisation, partnering, acrobatics in dance, Creative dance, Butoh, Flying low and Passing through, Dance in water, Axis Syllabus.
She is member of the Akropoditi Dancetheatre since 2005. In the performance “Once upon a port…” apart from being a performer, she also participated as a choreographer ( 8ο Akropoditi Dancefest, Syros, 9 & 19 July 20121).

She was born in Naoussa in 1995. She is a graduate of the Department of Chemical Engineering, AUTh. She also graduated from the Higher Professional Dance School of the Municipality of Thessaloniki in 2022. She has worked as a ballet and contemporary dance teacher in Naoussa and Thessaloniki. From 2020 onwards, she explores the combination of contemporary and traditional dance through teaching. She was a member of the company “L.Reducta dance project” from 2014 to 2019, taking part in various performances, at the Dimitria festival and at the festival of Greek choreographers in Thessaloniki. She directed and choreographed the TreeβιαL and No.39-41 video dance projects which have been screened at international festivals. She is the youngest member of the Akropoditi team joining it in 2022.

She was born in Rhodes in 1993 and grew up in Thessaloniki. She is a graduate from the Department of Products & Systems Design Engineering of the University of Aegean and in 2022 she also obtained her diploma from the Professional Dance School of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
She has collaborated as a performer with various choreographers such as Angeliki Sigourou, Anmar Taha, Stella Mastorosteriou, Alexandros Anastasiadis ‘Greco’, Calero Durán Clara, Rósa Ómarsdóttir etc. in various performances and video dance projects in Greece and abroad. She has attended seminars and courses on contemporary dance techniques, choreography, improvisation, physical and dance theatre, singing, Axis Syllabus, Skinner Releasing Technique and continues to do so.
She is particularly interested in choreography and in June ‘23 she presented at Akropoditi Dance and Performing Arts Centre the progress of her choreographic research on attention and intention entitled “I would prefer not to.”
She currently lives in Syros, teaching contemporary dance and classical ballet to children at Akropoditi Dance and Performing Arts Centre and she is a member of Akropoditi Dancetheatre Company, having performed in the productions ‘Punishment’ (2017) and ‘glossa [γlósa]’ (2018).

Niki Stergiou has born and raised in Athens. She studied at the Higher School of Dance “Niki Kontaxaki” attending ballet and contemporary dance classes.
In 2010, she meets Contact Improvisation, and she starts studying and practicing this dance form that has change her life. At the same time, she also studied somatics, authentic movement, instant composition, and improvisation. She attended a series of Axis Syllabus workshops with Frey Faust, Francesca Pedulla, Antoine Ragot. She has taken part in Contact Improvisation workshops and courses in Greece and abroad with Nancy Stark Smith, Nita Little, Ray Chung, Martin Keogh Angela Doniy, Benno Voorham, Yaniv Mintzer and others great teachers and has participated in many Contact Improvisation festivals in Germany, Ukraine, Italy, Spain, and Greece.
In 2012, she took part to the performance “Mind the walls” (Brighton Fringe Festival, UK) and the performance “Present bodies in Contact” (co-creation of the choreographers Ch. Klissiouni and T. Nikolopoulou). Since then, she started performing in formal and informal contexts dedicated to Contact Improvisation and Instant Composition and she had a permanent collaboration with the choreographer Teti Nikolopoulou and her dancing group “Enniamorfo”.
Since 2014 she started offering classes and workshops of Contact Improvisation and organizing jams and workshops with teachers from abroad. In September 2015 she participated in the 1st Meeting of Greek Teachers of Contact Improvisation. The summer of 2022, she was trained and certified in ContaKids method by the founder, Itay Iatuv, in Belgrade (Serbia). She lives in Syros Island and is a mother of two children.

Born in 1968 in Athens, she studied internal design and advertising and dealt with the making of handcrafted gifts. After years of practice, she decided to pursue a professional career in Yoga. In 2012, she completed the teaching program in Hatha Yoga, the fundamental and primary form of yoga, at Yoga Studio, Maroussi, with the Master of Yoga Olga Alexiou and in 2013 she completed her training in Yoga for children, at Rainbow Yoga Kids Certified. Since 2012, she has been working as a Yoga instructor in Athens from which the last seven years at Syros. She also teaches exercises to adults over 60 years of age. With her experience, beyond the classic yoga system, she emphasizes on physical and mental wellness and mixes her technique with fitness exercises and pilates.

Born in 1982 in Athens. After completing her studies in Social Anthropology in 2005, she travelled abroad attending seminars and courses in contemporary dance and improvisation. Returning to Athens, she completed the BA in Dance Performance (collaboration of IEK Akmi with Roehampton University). Since 2010, she has taught contemporary dance in various studios in Athens as well as at Scoop Move, a pilates and dance studio which she co-managed from 2014 to 2020. She has participated in dance performances (Michaels Kakoyannis Foundation, Rabbithole Theater, Roes, etc.) Due to an injury in 2012-13, she began attending Iyengar Yoga classes with Xenia Themeli. She appreciated this practice immensely and systematically implemented it in her life. Since 2019-20, she has been attending Ali Dashti’s zoom classes and seminars and is in her second year of mentorship (Iyengar yoga-level 1) with him.

She was born in Syros, in 1990. Graduated from the professional dance school Anna Petrova & Maro Marmarinou in 2015. During her studies, she did hip hop and took classes and seminars on popping, locking, house, heels, twerk, dancehall, commercial and new style. Also had other seminars on contemporary dance and all the classes of modern theatre ISTD.

She was born in Athens. She studied dance at the D. Grigoriadou School of Dance, at the preparatory program of the State School of Dance (K.S.O.T.) and graduated from the Centre for Performing Arts. Her dedication to the exploration of the human body led her to further studies in the Feldenkrais Method. Since 1990, her career in dance has expanded through her participation in international productions and her teaching of contemporary dance. Her first choreographic work, NightMirror (2003), was presented at the Kalamata International Dance Festival and the Athens Dance Festival. In 2004, together with lighting designer Tasos Palaioroutas, she founded the dance theatre company Dalika. Her works Digono, Fyllo kai Ftero, Pouthena, Noble Escapes, Maria Goes to the River, Pythonos 36, and Flutter have been presented at international dance festivals in Greece and abroad. She was part of the choreographic team for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and for the Opening Ceremony of the Baku 2015 European Games, under the artistic direction of Dimitris Papaioannou. She was also a founding member of the Dance Association, with which she carried out a wide range of activities, choreographic workshops, and performances at the Kalamata International Dance Festival, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, as well as in theatres and cultural events across Greece. She has directed movement in theatre productions with directors including D. Xanthopoulos, D. Olbrychski, G. Mavraganis, N. Foskolou, among others. She is a certified Feldenkrais practitioner and regularly teaches both group and individual Feldenkrais lessons in Syros and Athens. She has led workshops in Zurich, Nafplio, Tinos, Heraklion (Crete), Aegina, Larissa, Patras, and Chios, as well as at the professional dance schools Aktina and the Greek National Opera.
vassogiannakopoulou.gr

Design, Promotion & Communication

Born in Athens, in 1988. She graduated from the Department of Products and Systems Design Engineering at the University of the Aegean.
She is a member of the Akropoditi Dancetheatre since 2007 and works for Akropoditi Design Team since 2011.
She has been attending dance courses and workshops since 2006. As a dancer-performer she has participated in all the performances of Akropoditi Dancetheatre since 2008. She has also worked with various choreographers as Calero Durán Clara, Rósa Ómarsdóttir, Panayiotis Tofi, etc.
She lives in Syros where she works in collaboration with Akropoditi Dance & Performing Arts Centre as designer and in parallel she is responsible for the advertising and the visual & web promotion.

Born in Karditsa in 1982. He holds a degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering. Ηis current research, as a PhD Candidate at the University of the Aegean, Products & Systems Design Engineering, is focusing on Interactive Dance Performances. His postgraduate studies include the fields of Interactive Media, Lighting Design and Digital Arts. Since 2005, he has studied contemporary dance in studios in Athens and London. He has also participated in workshops and seminars on acting. In 2014 he started training on aerial acrobatics. He has participated in performances as an actor, dancer, and acrobat. Since 2019 he is teaching aerial acrobatics in various studios in Athens. In May 2019, he presented his first choreography on aerial rope, Working Class, for the 1^st Summer Circus Cabaret, Roes Theater, Athens. He has presented video and installations in festivals in Greece and abroad. He has been awarded for the co-creation of the video dance project Please Don’t Tell at the Faggio Doc Festival 2020. As a lighting designer, he has designed and curated the lighting for theater, dance performances and art installations for the National Theater, M. Cacoyannis Foundation etc. He is a member of the Apparatus group of artists. Since 2021, he is based in Syros.

Alexandros Dimitropoulos (also known as Alezaider, Website: www.alezaider.gr) is a musician living and working on the island of Syros, Greece. He is active in composition, classical singing, performance, and audio production. His studies cover three main areas: Composition, Classical Singing (Monody), and Sound Engineering/Music Production. He plays classical and electric guitar, as well as the euphonium.
Since 2014, he has been working as a professor of Advanced Music Theory and Monody at conservatories in Athens. Since 2022, he has been permanently based in Syros, where he collaborates with the Cyclades Orchestra as an arranger and soloist, and serves as the conductor of the Choir of the Syros Music Association (MOS).
In the field of composition and creation, he holds diplomas in Harmony, Counterpoint, Fugue, and Composition. His musical works are characterized by an experimental approach, with strong influences from avant-garde, musique concrète, and spectral music. He has composed and produced music for theatrical performances, films, and music ensembles, including: “Mana” by Stamatis Pakakis (Faust Theater), “Antonis’ Voice” by Christos Kapatos (Thessaloniki Festival), “Ladies’ Hairdresser / The Three Empty Chairs” by L. Papageorgiou (Vafeio Theater), “Voiceless” by Antonis Tolakis (documentary), “The Word Tailor” by Antonis Papatheodoulou (Atheneum Saxophone Quartet), “The Argument” with text by William Blake (Mind the Heels), and “Odysseus” by Lysandros Spetsieris (Mikro Gloria Theater).
Since 2016, he has been involved in video art as a personal project, combining visual imagery with musical experimentation. His most recent creation is the feature-length film “Eidimones oi Daimones” (Experts the Demons), a music/video poetry work inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy.
He is a founding member of the composers’ collective Independent Association for Music Development (A.S.M.A.), which is active in contemporary music concerts and educational composition seminars.
In the field of Classical Singing and Choral Music, he holds a diploma in Monody and has been a member of professional choral ensembles such as the ERT Mixed Choir, the Athens Municipal Mixed Choir, and the Choir of the Greek National Opera.
As a member of T.I.M.E. (The Improvisation Modal Ensemble), he has participated in free improvisation performances at major cultural venues in Athens, such as the performance “Talo’ talalo” at the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron Mousikis) and the Silent Film Festival at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation. He has also contributed to organizing improvisation festivals at the Embros Theater (2014) and Triannon Multipurpose Venue (2015).
Finally, in the field of Sound Engineering and Music Production, he holds a diploma from Ant1 School and has produced nearly all of his own works.

Nabil el Barrage was born in Athens, Greece in 1982.  He made his first contact with sports at the age of five, including gymnastics and basketball. For many years he played football on a semi-professional level.
In 2009 he followed his passion for dance. Classical ballet, contemporary, improvisation and Japanese butoh technique are the dancing fields where he has been trained. Since 2010 he is a member of Akropoditi dancetheater team. He has participated in a variety of workshops and seminars in Aerial Yoga, Acro Yoga, Shiatsu massage, Tibetan Medicine, Vipassana meditation, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Capoeira, Non – Violence Communication and acting.
Apart from dancing in 2009 he was introduced into Yoga and the holistic therapy world. After years of practice in 2013 he got certified as a yoga teacher, from Anna Zorzou in YogaWorks system and stayed next to senior instructor Timo Himenez for three years. Teaching still intrigued him therefore in 2018 he completed the 1^st level of training program Yoga for kids at Flower Kids Yoga. He constantly studies, attends courses and seminars around yoga.
He is grateful that traditional Thai massage enriched his life and that he had the opportunity to get trained under Sunshine House’s guidance.
Since 2013, he lives and works in Syros island as a Yoga instructor, Thai massage therapist and football coach while teaching and offering seminars all over Greece.

She was born in Athens in 1993. She studied in the Department of Education and Early Childhood Education at the University of Patras. She graduated from the Greek National School of Dance in 2016 and since then she has worked as a classical and contemporary dance teacher at various dance schools in Athens.
She has also worked as an animator in creative activities for children, as well as a teacher in children’s camps and a yoga teacher for children.
Since 2014 she has collaborated with the Hellenic Dance Company under various performances presented at the Concert Hall, the Athens Epidaurus Festival, and has participated in performances at the Benaki Museum and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.
She lives in Syros. She works as a kindergarten teacher and since 2021 is a member of the Akropoditi group and teaches classical and contemporary dance at the Akropoditi Dance and Performing Arts Centre.

Anthoula Chairopoulou was born in Thessaloniki in 1988 and at a very young age started competing as a professional athlete in artistic gymnastics. She participated in the Olympic games of Athens 2004. She is a graduate with honors of the Drama School of the Athens Conservatory, a graduate of the School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences with specialization in Orchestral art, and a student of the postgraduate program “Theatre in Education” of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She has attended modern dance seminars and classes and has been taught acrobatics and balance technique in Moscow with Leonidi Arkaef. Since 2009 she has been working as a teacher/gymnast of acrobatics and artistic gymnastics for children and adults. She has also been giving dancing classes for children and adults teaching dances from all over the world. Since 2016 she has been working as an actress. She is a member of the self-organized music-theatre group Adespotes Skyles (Stray Bitches) with which has presented performances and plays in Greece and abroad. Since 2016 she has also been organizing theater workshops and teaching for amateur actors. Her first writing and directing work was presented at the Apollon theater of Syros in 2019 under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Sports. From 2019 to the present day, she has also been working as a director and a choreographer in theatrical plays.

She was born in Athens, in 1985.  From the age of three she started playing music and dancing. She studied classical guitar and piano and after many years of exposure in classical, contemporary and traditional dance, she shifted her music interests in traditional instruments studying turkish saz, kanun, greek baglama and bendir.
She has been teaching music to children for over 15 years and has also specialized in Music Therapy and Music Education in United Kingdom. Since 2004, she sings and plays music professionally while continues to attend seminars on movement, Holistic therapy, sound development and music techniques.

Born in 1985, in Patras. In 2003 she moved to Syros, she graduated from the Department of product and systems Design engineering, of the Aegean University, and then she started to work as a freelancer graphic designer.
Her interest in a more artistic and practical approach to the design process, as well as her involvement with theater and cinema, led her to study stage and costume Design at the Vakalo College in 2015-16, under the guidance of Andreas Sarantopoulos.
Meanwhile, in 2012 she started practicing Yoga and in 2014 she attended seminars for trainers in Vinyasa Flow and she taught for a year in a small Partner and Vinyasa Yoga classes in Patras.
Since then she has been participated in lessons and seminars of Ashtanga, Iyengar and aerial acrobatics (aerial hoop, silks). In April 2019, she completed the 200 hours teacher training of Yoga Works.
Since 2018 she has been living again in Syros.