YáYa
I am a visionary multi-artist and a teacher of movement improvisation. My gender is nonbinary and my pronoun is ‘it’. I have worked in and I’m a part of multiple creative communities around the world with a special connection to New York, Tilburg, Netherlands, and Thessaloniki, Greece. I have performed in prestigious theaters, black boxes, street corners, and other installation spaces. Some of the established artists and companies I have worked with include Elton John, GAP, Banana Republic, Crystal Pite, American Modern Company, Bobbi Jene Smith, Boaz Yakin, Andrea Miller, Daria Fain, and Bonnie Cohen. Some of the disciplines in which I’m recognized as a professional include dance, qigong, and somatics.
In my works, all of my knowledge comes alive and the different disciplines emerge and merge together in the meditative improvisational process of creation. I collaborate with other visionary artivists, that seek liberation and glimpses of the otherwise, who believe in the immensity of a love language that breaks open the heart and is not afraid to face the pain and abuse happening in the world, with a profound understanding that the need for honest and genuine communion is required to navigate through it all. I celebrate the virtue of the body and the power of the heart through my passion for music, dance, literature, decolonization, continuous exploration of my inner being, dismantling anything that obstructs my creative and authentic self and most importantly through valiantly overcoming my own self-healing journeys.
Following my dance studies in New York, I joined the cast of the award-winning production of Sleep No More NYC by Punchdrunk International for a year, where I connected with other artists that were doing their own explorations. My love for connecting people through dance and music, led me to co-find the Warrior Poets in 2017, a team of artists that creates and produces work seeking to connect people through live dance and music performances, parties, and workshops all around the world.
Born in Seattle, Washington, raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, I have acquired professional dance training in contemporary, hip hop, popping, house, ballet, modern, ballroom and standard dance, greek folklore, contact improvisation, and argentine tango. I’m currently in the process of a new multi-platformed solo work called “MONADA” that will be traveling around the world starting in 2024.