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.

Subin Cho

Born in 2000, South Korea 
Subin Cho began her dancing career at the age of 6 with belly dance and later expanded her repertoire to include various dance styles such as hip-hop and jazz. From 2018 to 2022, she studied at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul and graduated with a BA in Contemporary Dance, topping her year. She then completed a Master’s degree in Dance Composition, specialising in interpretation, at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen from 2022 to 2024. 
During her studies, she collaborated with renowned choreographers such as Henrietta Horn, Heidi Vierthaler and Boris Charmatz, and developed her own choreographic works. 
In 2024, she was awarded the 1st Prize for Choreography at the ‘International Solo Tanz Theater Festival Stuttgart’, the DAF International Award (Italy) and the ‘Bridges over the Waves’ Residency Prize (Cyprus). In the same year, she received the ‘Josef and Else Classen Foundation Dance Prize’ at the Folkwang University of the Arts. 
Subin Cho has been a member of the Folkwang Dance Studio since September 2025.

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.

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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Emmi Osenberg

Born in 2000, Germany

Emmi Osenberg began her dance training at the Folkwang University of the Arts, where she received a thorough and interdisciplinary education in contemporary dance. After completing her BA, she continued her artistic development with an MA in Dance Composition, specialising in interpretation.
Whilst still a student, she gained a wide range of experience working with choreographers and artists such as Tilman O’Donnell, deufert&plischke, Henrietta Horn, Thusnelda Mercy, Pascal Merighi and Richard Siegal. In 2025, she took part in Richard Siegal’s long-durational performance *Lunar Cycle*. During the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, she has been performing in the production ‘Freibad oder shut up and swim’ at the LUTZ Hagen Theatre.
Since September 2025, she has been a member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio ensemble.

Harrison Rodrigues Gomes dos Santos

Geboren 1993, Brasilien

Harrison Rodrigues Gomes dos Santos begann seine tänzerische Ausbildung in São Paulo am ETEC de Artes und am Institut Núcleo Luz. Nach seinem Abschluss in 2013 entwickelte er eigene Projekte, die von staatlicher und privater Seite Unterstützungen erhielten. Von 2017 bis 2022 absolvierte er sein B.A. Tanz-Studium an der Folkwang Universität der Künste und Essen. Während seiner Studienzeit arbeitete er mit unterschiedlichen Choreographen*innen zusammen, u.a. Jill Crovisier, Hakan Sonakalan, Rodolpho Leoni und entwickelt und beteiligt sich an Projekten als freiberuflicher Tänzer. In der Spielzeit 2022/23 war er Tänzer am Nordharzer Städtebundtheater, wo er in verschiedenen Produktionen zu sehen war.
Seit September 2023 ist er Mitglied des Folkwang Tanzstudios.