Dancers of the Folkwang Dance Studio (FTS)

Mateusz Bogdanowicz

Born 1994, Poland

Mateusz Bogdanowicz began his dance career with hip-hop and learning martial arts. From 2014-2019 he studied at the “National Academy of Theater Arts” in Krakow and graduated with an M.A. in dance with distinction. During this time he worked with various choreographers and dance teachers, including Jacek Łumiński, Jacek Przybyłowicz, Anke Hauerstein, Sylwia Hefczyńska-Lewandowska and participated in many interdisciplinary projects, including with Jerzy Stuhr, John Jack Gallagher, Shi Bo and Błażej Peszek.
Mateusz is the co-founder of the dance association "Imagination Space Center"; in 2019 he was awarded in his hometown Gorzów Wielkopolski for his dance work and commitment to the local community.
From 2019-2021 he completed the M.A. degree in Dance Composition/Choreography at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. During this time he created his own dance pieces, developed dance projects and collaborated with choreographers such as Rodolpho Leoni and Henrietta Horn.
He has been an ensemble member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio since March 2022.

Jennifer Boultbee

Born 1994, Great Britain

Jennie Boultbee completed her B.A. in Contemporary Dance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in 2019 and subsequently completed her M.A. Dance Composition/Interpretation at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen from 2019 - 21.
She has worked with choreographers such as Henrietta Horn, Rodolpho Leoni, Julie Cunningham, Leah Marojevic, Hagit Yakira and as a performer for visual artists such as Anna Perach and Roxy Herve.
Jennie Boultbee is a member of the women's collective "MassHysteria, which creates and performs live and digital works for "The Place" and "Dampfzentrale Bern", among others. Furthermore, she holds a dance pedagogy diploma in Cecchetti Ballet and has experience in visual arts, including graphic and costume design.
Since September 2021 she has been an ensemble member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio.

Tullia Francischiello

Born 1998, Italy

Tullia Francischiello began her training at the dance school "Studio danza 2" in Palermo. After graduating from high school, she went to the "Civica Scuola di teatro Paolo Grassi" in Milan for one year. Afterwards she successfully completed her B.A. dance studies at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen.

During her studies she worked with various choreographers, including: Malou Airaudo, Carolyn Carlson, Yohan Stegli, Jan Broeckx, Mario Camacho, Dominique Merci, David Hernandez.
In 2022 she choreographed her first piece, "It was there", which was shown as part of the "Young Choreographers" event in Essen.
She has been a member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio since September 2022.

Gabriel Gaudray-Donnio

Born 1999, France

Gabriel Gaudray Donnio started his ballet training in 2009 at “L’Atelier Du Mouvement” in Nantes, France. In 2010, he began his training in ballet and contemporary dance at the “Conservatoire de Nantes” where he obtained his "Diplôme d'Etudes Chorégraphiques (DEC)" in 2017. In 2021, he graduated with a B.A. in dance at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen.
During his studies he created his own choreographies and worked with various choreographers such as Rodolfo Araya, Anne Carrie, Ambra Senatore, Dominique Mercy. He was a guest dancer in "Roméo & Juliette" by Hervé Maigret with the Cie NGC25 and in "Boléro" by Maurice Béjart with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne. In 2020, he performed in "Wandering Dunes" by Daphnis Kokkinos in Nida, Lithuania.
Since September 2021 he has been an ensemble member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio.

Gordan Gigout

Born 1993, France

Jordan Gigout began his dance training at the Folkwang University of the Arts. After completing his B.A. degree, he went on to study for an M.A. in Dance Composition - Movement Notation/Analysis. During his studies, he worked with choreographers such as Malou Airaudo, Giorgia Maddamma and Evangelos Poulinas and danced as a guest both at the FTS and at the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch.
Jordan is a founding member of the Fakers Club (2015), a "live-cinema public performance experiment" initiated in 2015 by Stephanie Miracle, worked with Samir Akika and Unusual Symptoms at Theater Bremen and was subsequently a permanent ensemble member with Johannes Wieland at Staatstheater Kassel. As a freelance artist, he lived in Cologne and worked with various choreographers and artists from the independent scene in NRW, including Céline Bellut, Marie-Lena Kaiser and Carla Jordão.
Since September 2024 he has been studying Labanotation at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris and is a member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio.

EN: Yun-Ru Lee

Yun-Ru Lee

Born 1998, Taiwan

Yun-Ru Lee started her education at Wen-Hua Senior High School in Taiwan and studied at the "National Taiwan University of the Arts" in New Taipei City from 2017 -2018. Afterwards she completed her B.A. dance studies at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen.During her studies, she worked with various choreographers, including David Hernandez, Heid Weiss and Stephan Brinkmann, and presented her own piece in 2020 as part of the "Young Choreographers" event format.
She has been a member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio since September 2022.

Tzu-Chun Liou

Born 2000, Taiwan

Tzu Chun Liou studied dance at Chu-Pei Senior High School in Taiwan from 2015-2018. Afterwards she completed her B.A. dance studies at the Folkwang University of the Arts. During her studies, she worked with various choreographers, including Heidi Weiss, David Hernandez and Stephan Brinkmann.
She is co-founder and choreographer of the project "4 a.m.", which was performed in Taiwan in 2020.
She has been a member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio since September 2022.

Chen-Yi Lou

Born 2002, Taiwan

Chen-Yi Lou began her dance training at the age of 12 at Miaoli Junior High School. After graduating, she studied at Chu-Pei Senior High School from 2017 to 2019. During these two years, she participated in dance competitions and won prizes. In 2023, she completed her B.A. Dance degree at Folkwang University of the Arts. During her studies at the Folkwang University, she worked with various choreographers, including Tilman O'Donnell, Jason Jacobs and Deufert&Plischke.
She has been a member of the Folkwang Tanz Studio ensemble since September 2024.

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Érika Polifroni Martín

Born 2000, Spain/Italy

Erika Polifroni Martin began her dance training in Spain at the age of 8; she attended the ‘Conservatorio Profesional de Danza Antonio Ruiz Soler’ from 2008-2018 and the ‘IES Murillo’ in Seville from 2016-18. She then took part in the training programme at the ‘Centro Andaluz de Danza’ for 2 years before studying ‘Contemporary Dance’ at the ‘Conservatorio Superior de Danza María de Ávila’ in Madrid from 2020-24. As part of the Erasmus exchange programme, she studied at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen from 2022-23.
During her studies, she was active as a dancer in music video clips and worked with various choreographers, including the Antonia Ruz Company, Mette Ingvartsen and in 2024 in the ‘Laboratorio danza’ project in Ulm.
She has been a member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio ensemble since October 2024.

Harrison Rodrigues Gomes dos Santos

Born 1993, Brazil

Harrison Rodrigues Gomes dos Santos began his dance training in São Paulo at the ETEC de Artes and the Institut Núcleo Luz. After graduating in 2013 he developed his own projects, which received state and private funding. From 2017 to 2022, he completed his B.A. Dance studies at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. During his studies, he worked with various choreographers, including Jill Crovisier, Hakan Sonakalan and Rodolpho Leoni, and developed and participated in projects as a freelance dancer. In the 2022/23 season, he was a dancer at the Nordharzer Städtebundtheater, where he performed in various productions.
He has been a member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio since September 2023.