Jalil Sultani (NL) studies creative writing at ArtEZ, where he stumbled upon a dance performance that stirred him to dance himself. Ever since the stumble he's been split between dedicating himself to writing or dancing. Awkward, as he cannot do a split. He is currently exploring how to create a movement language modelled after Dari (the Afghan dialect of Persian) and researching the interfaces between embodiment in performed literature and dance. He is graduating with a novel-dance film combination. Djalil has delusional plans for the future and no past accomplishments to boast of.
Liza Weber is a writer first and foremost, whether that be in the guise of an art critic, art historian, editor or, indeed, dancer. Most recently, she has written for Tanzbüro Berlin, reviewing fortnightly performances for their online portal tanzschreiber. It was during her master’s degree in ‘Critical Writing in Art & Design’ at the Royal College of Art, however, that she became preoccupied with the relationship between writing and dance and founded a society called ‘A_CRitical Dance’. It was also during this time that she frequented The Place, as both a reviewer for ‘Resolution!’ and as an Audience Club Member. Liza also holds a PhD in art history from the Centre for German-Jewish Studies, University of Sussex, where she wrote a thesis on the founding ‘documenta’ exhibition of 1955 and its relationship to the Nazi’s “Degenerate Art” campaign.
Elsa Vinet has been practicing classical and contemporary dance since her childhood. During her studies, she developed a passion for dance history and dance theory. Her discovery of Pina Bausch's Orpheus and Eurydice was a real aesthetic shock, and she conducted extensive research on this piece. She worked in the publications department of the Paris Opera Ballet, before moving to Vienna for two years. There she conducted research about the role of women in early modern dance. In Vienna, she also discovered a new and very inventive contemporary scene thanks to ImpulsTanz, TanzQuartier and brut Wien.
Elsa is currently based in Paris. She is involved in various cultural projects throughout Europe. In March 2022, she co-founded a non-profit organisation supporting Ukrainian cultural institutions and artists.
Dom Czapski is a performer, writer and improviser with a background in theatre and contemporary dance. He trained in drama and dance in Paris then London, graduating from Laban with a Dance Theatre BA(Hons) in 2009. Since then Dom has performed and collaborated with Lost Dog, Ben Wright, Joe Moran, Jonathan Watkins, Improbable, and Dam Van Huynh, among others, and co-founded performing arts collective London Topophobia in 2010. Dom's most recent work, Waiting Music, was performed at Resolution 2022, London. He is also a regular improv performer at comedy club Hoopla / the Miller in London Bridge and likes to write short stories in his spare time.
Marie Niček graduated from Multimedia Journalism at the University of Westminster in London, also lived in Spain and Brussels. Since returning to the Czech Republic, she has been a freelance journalist in a national newspaper Lidové noviny, and other media. For her big love of dance, she has been also contributing to dance web portals OperaPlus and Dance Actualities. In her free time, she enjoys creative writing, dance and nature.
Declan Whitaker is a dancer and choreographer based in Basel. As a performer he has worked with Meg Stuart, Frédéric Gies, Isabel Lewis, Simone Aughterlony, and Martin Forsberg.
His artistic interest lies with aesthetic conventions and their effects and the border between fantasy and reality. His work has been shown at Tanzhaus Zürich, TanzPlan Ost (Switzerland), Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Den Frie Udstilling (Denmark), The Place (London) and Birmingham International Dance Festival, amongst others. Declan holds a Master's degree from London Contemporary Dance School and has completed further education courses at SKH, Stockholm.
Declan is a member of The Field, the associated dance collective at Tanzhaus Zürich, whose work ranges from stage productions, to research and dance within communities. In 2019, he received the danceWEB scholarship at Impulstanz.
Zsófia Bálint (HU) currently attends a teacher training programme as Hungarian Language and Literature - Drama and Theatre teacher at the University of Szeged Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She graduated at the University of Szeged with a BA in Hungarian Language and Literature with a specialisation in History of Theatre and Comparative Literature and Culture Studies. She is constantly working on improving her critical publications about performances and literature. Her reviews have been published in Hungarian online journals e.g. f21, art7, Revizor, Tiszatáj Online and Thealter blog websites. In her writing on performances, she aims to write in an engaging and enthusiastic way that draws as many readers as possible into the captivating world of theatre. Her current thesis and hopefully her potential PhD topic explores the analytical aspects of the joint performance of the human body and the puppet in contemporary Hungarian theatre performances. The questions of the differences and potential merging of puppet and human body are also raised in contemporary dance and movement theatre, her research therefore involves both prose and dance theatre performances.