ARTS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE!

Katerina is a multidisciplinary artist, flamenco dancer, choreographer, writer and director of Greek origin living in Cologne, Germany. She is founder of the institution “ARTS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE!” – connecting with international artists, filmmakers, associations and organizations with the aim of creating innovative performances and films that deal critically with socially relevant topics, raise awareness, and inform society about them over the long term.

She is also well recognized as “Katerina la Greca” – founder and member of the ensemble “Los Amores del Brujo” & part of the “Flamenco Zentrum Köln” Community since 1998. She works as a solist, performer, choreographer, coach or director with ” Oper Köln”, “La Fura dels Baus”, “Schauspiel Köln”, “Javid Afsari Rad Ensemble” & “Zarbang Ensemble”. 

Her latest project is “ONLY HUMAN” (2020-2023), a documentary series showcasing the process by which Katerina is working in collaboration with the non profit association “music4everybody! e.V.” challenges stereotypes, and facilitates a learning and healing process grounded in dancing, singing and creating music theater projects. When Germany opened its borders 2015, Katerina started to focus to realize her integrative art music project HOME?! in cooperation with arrival centers & schools with the aim of making it easier for young people with a refugee and migration background to arrive in Germany. She realized since then more than 100 music theatre or film projects as a choreographer, lecturer, or director around the topics of ONLY HUMAN. Hand in hand with the participants, new partners & the film production company cineMars, they launched a focused campaign against racism in promotion of tolerance and diversity with “ONLY HUMAN.”

“PANDEMIA” (2020), was Katerina’s debut directorial, and multiple award-winning experimental music film, was her first solo project which she directed, acted, danced in, and produced. “PANDEMIA” is a dark and poignant cautionary tale on the topic of global warning from the perspective of Mother Nature as the protagonist.

“The Tragedy of Domna Visvizi” (2020), her interdisciplinary production staring Katerina in the main role as Domna Visvizi, was honoured under the auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organization. Her collaboration with Mixalis Iliaskos started in 2016 with their first music video “To Filaxto” and the project “Greek Natural Videos” created to showcase their beautiful home country of Greece and share its rich culture and history by combining poetry, music, dance and acting in a more modern and cinematically impressionistic documentary format.

The short film, Als die Welle brach… (As the Wave broke…) 2019, directed by Alexandra Bekiou with Katerina playing “Julia” in the leading role, tells the Epic Story of a woman searching for a better life after suffering profound mental and physical abuse. Als die Welle brach is the compact, and uniquely powerful existential odyssey of an autobiographical character in all her depth, resilience and complexity.