Dr. Nora Amin hails from Cairo, Egypt and holds a PhD in cultural policies from Hildesheim University (Germany). Her artistic work focuses on dance as activism and resistance, decolonisation of dance practice, choreographies of transformation, performance as a live archive of memory, interactive documentary dance performances, contemporary participatory rituals, transcultural knowledge, and trauma healing. Amin is a performer, choreographer, author and scholar. Some of her productions include, Earthport, Tracings, HAARE, Migrating the Feminine, Rite of Revival, Reinventing Memories, WOUND, HEALING and GRIEF. Her latest books are Migrating the Feminine, on sexual violence as a political weapon (2018) and Dance of the Persecuted (2021), a feminist perspective on the history of Baladi dance in Egypt linking coloniality with patriarchy and capitalism (MSB Matthes & Seitz, Berlin). She is a fellow of the centre for Theatre of the Oppressed (Brazil, 2003), founder of Lamusica Independent Theatre group (Egypt, 2000). Founder of The Nation-wide Egyptian Project for Theatre of the Oppressed and its Arab network (Lebanon, Sudan & Morocco), a fellow of International Research Centre for Interweaving Performance Cultures (FU, 2015-2016), Valeska-Gert guest professor for dance sciences (FU, 2018), and has been a visiting lecturer at the Köln Centre for Contemporary Dance (2020/2023/2024).
Foundation’s fellowship in 2021 in Cassis, France. She was curator for performance in public spaces at the Serendipity Festival, Goa in 2024. In India, she was awarded the Bismillah Khan award for her choreographic contribution by the Ministry of Culture, India. Her work has been featured in forums such as the Szene Salzburg, Impulstanz Vienna, the South Bank Centre London, the Esplanade theatre in Singapore and JOMBA, Durban, South Africa, among others.
Hannah Ma is an international performer, choreographer, curator, and producer with roots in Hong Kong/Southeast Asia and Berchtesgaden/Europe. Her work engages ritual, emptiness, and intersectional storytelling through queer feminist and decolonial perspectives. She works with the body as soul and food as home, memory, and archive, co-creating experiences that move through thresholds, grief, transformation and aura weaving. She is also trained as a death doula.
Ondiege Matthew is a dancer, choreographer, and DANCE INTO SPACE founder, a group of contemporary dancers, socially engaged performance artists, and the only mixed ability contemporary dance company in East Africa. Through exploring personal stories and employing participatory methods, the company under Ondiege creates touring productions, teaches dance, empowers people with different abilities, raises awareness on human rights issues, and strengthens self-advocacy. DANCE INTO SPACE works with other civil society members, creatives and government agencies, carries out civic education, constitutional education and human rights awareness among citizens in Kenya through the creative arts. As a leading contemporary dance choreographer as well as an activist, Ondiege has been using the mixed ability dance projects as a creative approach to inclusiveness since 2005. The projects address stigma while tackling punitive cultural practices that promote discrimination and basic human rights violations among people with disability. He continues to produce new and original works with his team.