Angela Conquet is a Romanian-born French-Australian dance curator, author, editor, researcher and translator living between Melbourne and Paris. Her career spans three continents (Europe, Australia, Canada) and a multiplicity of disciplines, contexts, and territories. Her specific expertise lies in connecting artists’ ideas with current social issues and diverse communities of thought. She was Artistic Director of Dancehouse in Melbourne from 2011 to 2020 and curator of Dance in Vancouver Festival in 2021, Before relocating to Australia in 2011, she was leading the dance artist in residence programs at Mains d’oeuvres in Paris. She is currently the coordinator of the Lyon Dance Biennale Forum program and is finalising her thesis at the University of Melbourne with a focus on dance-specific curatorial practices. She is the co-editor of Dancehouse Diary and of Competing Choreographies.

Miki Braniște is an Associate Professor (PhD) at the Faculty of Theatre and Film, Babeș-Bolyai University, and wrote her doctoral thesis in cultural management and policy. She is a cultural manager and curator for the performing arts and interdisciplinary projects, and president of the Colectiv A Association. She directed the TEMPS D'IMAGES Festival in Cluj for ten editions. Between 2009 and 2019 she was on the board of the Fabrica de Pensule cultural space. Starting in 2017, as curator, she created the Cultural Management Academy program at the initiative of the Goethe-Institut Bucharest. She is the author of the book Creativitatea-marfă. O perspectivă din interiorul scenei culturale independente clujene 2009–2019, co-edited by Idea Publishing House and the Cluj University Press.

Rareș Donca is a Romanian-born curator and cultural manager, born in 1979 in Baia Mare. He studied literature at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj and later specialized in art history, earning his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Geneva. He began his cultural career at the French Institute in Cluj, and after settling in Switzerland worked as a cultural mediator at MAMCO and at the International Red Cross Museum. He was producer for the dance company La Ribot, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. Since 2013 he has been part of the Pro Helvetia Foundation in Zürich, where he coordinated support programs for young artists. Since 2018 he has been the Director of L’Abri, a Swiss cultural center dedicated to research, creation, and multidisciplinary artistic production.

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Alessandra Matana, originally from Brazil, has an international career of over 15 years as a professional dancer, collaborating with prestigious companies such as DV8 Physical Theatre (UK), Grupo Corpo (Brazil), Staatsoper/Volksoper (Austria), Alias (Switzerland), and Tanja Liedtke Performing Lines (Australia). After her stage career, she dedicated herself to supporting young artists and developing emerging cultural environments. She coordinated the first university program in contemporary dance in Switzerland at La Manufacture Lausanne and was General Secretary of Danse Transition. She is currently Manager for Artistic Development and Partnerships at L’Abri Geneva, a transdisciplinary artist residency space. She holds a degree in Communication Sciences and an MBA in International Organizations. Her artistic training includes studies at ImPulsTanz, Hatha Yoga certification, and classical ballet training with the Royal Academy of Dancing.

Phillip Keir worked in theatre and performance in New York, London and Cologne before returning to Australia to join Sydney Theatre Company as Associate Director. In 1987, he developed NextMedia, which went on to become the fourth largest consumer magazine company in Australia. He established the Keir Foundation in 2005 to provide support in Visual Arts and Dance, investing particularly in commissioning new work with an international dimension. He has served on the boards of the London International Festival of Theatre, Aerowaves, the Power Institute of Sydney University and the Biennale of Sydney. He is the founder of the Keir Choreographic Award and publisher of Competing Choreographies, 10 Years of the Keir Choreographic Award.

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