Georgia Paliogianni

Contemporary

Georgia Paliogianni

Georgia, a diverse Greek artist and physical theatre actress and clown, combines music, dance, and theatre in her classes, fostering a safe space for expression and learning. Her teaching emphasizes joy even in challenging exercises, and she loves finding innovative ways to merge dance and theatre. 
With a background in music education, including classical piano lessons for 12 years, and being a member of the Thessaloniki (GR) youth band for over 14 years, playing melodic percussion, she simultaneously underwent extensive dance training in ballet, contemporary, jazz, and musical theatre in Greece (Diagonal Dance School), the UK (PineApple studios), Berlin (Mime centrum Berlin, TanzFabrik), Spain, and Switzerland. 
Georgia has worked as a dancer at the main music hall of Thessaloniki with the state orchestra in 2018 for the piece ‘The Firebird’ and participated in a dance project in Berlin with Thomas Pliscke and Deufert Kattrin. As a performer, she played in the piece ‘Apolis’ at the theatre Avlaia in 2014, the interactive performance ‘Fake Time’ in 2013, and in 2022 at Katapult Festival with her own piece ‘Dear Anna.’ Since the age of 18, she has been creating her solo interactive non-verbal comic piece ‘Avanti maestro!’ and toured in Greece, participating in small festivals and dance school shows for the next 3 years, finishing with a gold medal in Bulgaria at the international competition Plovdiv. As a volunteer, she joined 'Clown without Borders,' organizing clowning workshops for refugee families in Ticino during her BA studies. 
Her artistic journey includes performances in Thessaloniki, Berlin, the UK, and Spain, creating solos, and being part of different projects as a dancer or performer. From 2014-2017, she was an active member of the musical Korais choir, participating in international musical theatre festivals as a performer. In 2016, she became a certified Stretching and Balleting instructor from Nissim Zoares techniques and a MAT Pilates instructor from the UK company Michael King. Since then, she has been teaching Pilates and Dance at YMCA (Youth Leadership Training School) and in 5-star hotels in Tenerife, Crete, Santorini, and Thessaloniki. 
A pivotal experience in her career was her residency with the famous and her favorite physical theatre company, Gecko UK, in Ipswich in January 2024, influencing her life and teaching philosophy. Georgia also works as a theatre creator and director. One of her duo pieces, 'Dear Anna,' presented in Thalwil in 2023, is currently in development. 
Encountering influential figures like Amit Lahav, Andres Velasquez, Nadia Koutziabasi, Nikos Chrysohoou, Alexander Neader, and Wolfram Von Bodecker (Germany, pantomime), Sita Ostheimer (Hofesch), Cedric Charron (Jan Fabre Teaching group), etc., and participating in various workshops and festivals, she constantly evolves, like the summer musical theatre school at London Studio Center 2015, International Mime Festival in Warsaw 2018, physical theatre improv 2022 in Ticino CH with Jean Martin Roy, International brass band Festival in Poland 2018, clowning workshop with Les Diptik 2020, 2021, etc. 
Today, you can find Georgia teaching Disney dance at CET Zurich, creating a nurturing environment for young artists, focusing on rhythm, storytelling, and improvisation. She also provides ballet basics and barre à terre at Ballet Body Sculpture for adults and kids. Last but not least, she gives a contemporary group choreography class at Tanzwerk for adults. 
Georgia is driven by a passion for collaboration, humor, and fostering a sense of belonging. Her artistic journey is marked by diverse encounters and experiences, shaping an inspiring path. She loves creating with other people and considers herself a group person rather than a soloist. She believes that together we can achieve more than everyone alone. 
Georgia finds herself today holding a MAT Pilates certification from MK Pilates company (2016, UK), a BA in Physical theatre from Accademia Teatro Dimitri CH (2022), and currently pursuing her Master in Dance at Zhdk in Teaching.

 

Class description
"We start together, we finish together." 
This class focuses on collective choreography rather than on individual dancing. We use space across various dimensions to create diverse shapes as a group. In every piece we explore and blend different dance styles such as contemporary, jazz, modern ballet, hip-hop, folklore, etc. The warm-up session includes guided exercises, stretching, isolations, and cardio to enhance flexibility, strength, endurance, and occasional improvisation in movement. The core of the class involves learning a group choreographic piece. An explanation about the style, theme, or concept precedes the choreography. We break down the choreography into short sections to support memorization. You will be taught the steps, transitions, and formations, with a focus on timing, spatial awareness, musicality, and synchronization. Throughout the class, there is an emphasis on artistic expression and storytelling through movement. You are encouraged to convey emotions and narratives in your performance, adding a personal touch to the choreography.


Georgia Paliogianni
Georgia Paliogianni