PROGRAM – artists

The French-American Emilie is a dancer and creator, based in Sweden with GöteborgsOperans Danskompani. During her time with the company she has originated roles in new works by Yoann Bourgeois, Paul and Christine Blackman, Sharon Eyal, Club Guy and Roni, Roy Assaf, Marina Mascarell, and Damien Jalet. Her career has traveled her many places and built her many homes.

Leriche began her career dancing with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago; after two years in their second company, she spent another four dancing in the main company prior to moving to Sweden. Over her years at GöteborgsOperan, she has felt herself drawn towards creation, towards the tender place we go as artists when we decide to build and explore something new. She has created work for Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, and generated her own research alongside her colleagues at GöteborgsOperan. In 2021 her project, On Mending (a collaboration with Shawn Fitzgerald Ahern), was selected as a part of Orsolina 28’s “Call for Creation” fellowship and residency initiative. With the support of the Princess Grace Foundation, in 2022 the work will continue its development in residency at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City.

From ballet training in his native Belgium, Olivier learned the beauty, passion and discipline of the art. On coming to North America at age 19, he discovered the exhilaration of many new dance forms. As a principal dancer, first with Royal Winnipeg Ballet and later, for most of his dancing career, with Pacific Northwest Ballet, he acquired his strong conviction that dancers are the heart and soul of a company. As such they, and artists in general, must live at the very center of the process, their dignity, psychological and creative growth and safety deemed just as essential as their technical accomplishments.

During his years of performing in classical and contemporary works by choreographers from around the world, Olivier also discovered the thrill of making dances and how imaginative story-telling and movement exploration connect to caring about individuality and physicality. Creating dances fed his perennial curiosity. It became “my way to express myself and, during the process, to be able to learn more about the human condition, start dialogues, touch people and share ideas, reflecting on our times and our humanity.”

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Rauf is a Los Angeles based choreographer, director, dancer, and visual artist who was born and raised in Germany aka Rubberlegz. When he was a child his father, who was a folklore-dance teacher, taught him traditional folk dances. It didn’t take long for him to discover his passion for Breaking. As a self-taught B-Boy, he began perfecting his skills and growing his passion in 1998. Not long after, he was aptly dubbed “RubberLegz” by his mentor Maxim for his ability to miraculously contort his body into unthinkable shapes and positions. He gained international respect for his unique style. For years, he competed in and judged competitions worldwide. To this day, he continues to perform and teach workshops all around the globe.

By 2007 his repertoire evolved to include performing in contemporary dance productions. It was inevitable, with his endless hours of training, that he would transform his movement skills from a childhood dream into his life’s work and passion. Rubberlegz was recently awarded ‘Best Dancer 2019’ by Danza&Danza Magazine for his ‘original language’ that breaks down barriers between dance genres.

He has worked with William Forsythe, National Opera of Paris, USC, CalArts, LACMA, Malou Airaudo, MuDA, Nike RT, Burberry, GAP, Arashi, Puma, Replay, Sadlers Wells, Flying Steps, Red Bull, Muscle Milk, Moderat, Sony, Sonos, Fiat, WAD MAG, Tumi, HP, Pandora, Pfadfinderei, PACT Zoll Verein, ArtFactory International, CNDC Angers, LMU, Bodytraffic, Jacob Jonas The Company, Renegade Theatre Herne, Andy Hines, Jessica Young, Justin Daashur Hopkins, Elliott Sellers, OURO Collective, Modus Operandi and more.
RubberLegz is an Associate Producer of Films. Dance a the global platform for dance.

He is a multi-disciplined tour de force and his talents are not limited to dance. While pursuing his dance passion, he received his diploma in 3D-Vizualization and Animation. He worked for several years with professional design agencies as a visual artist before moving to Berlin and working as a freelance artist in both design and dance. In Los Angeles, RubberLegz is busy focusing on his many projects and utilizing his photography, design, and dance skills.