Eliana Stragapede & Borna Babić
Choreographer
Up & Coming Lab was a wonderful opportunity to explore our movement style within a group composition for the first time. It was a joy to work with the talented and inspiring dancers of NDT 2.”
Eliana Stragapede
Eliana Stragapede (1996, Italy) is a freelance performer, choreographer and teacher based in Brussels. She graduated from Codarts Rotterdam before working with Marina Mascarell and Club Guy & Roni. In 2018, she joined the Tanzmainz Ensemble at Staatstheater Mainz. In 2022, AMAE – created together with choreographic partner Borna Babić – won first prize in the Copenhagen International Choreography Competition, before going on to win several more awards.
Since 2020, Stragapede has been part of Belgian dance theatre company Peeping Tom and continues to work with Club Guy & Roni. Apart from working as a performer and choreographer, she’s also a passionate teacher, leading various workshops around the world.
Borna Babić
Based in Brussels, Borna Babić (Croatia, 1994) is a freelance performer, choreographer and teacher. After graduating from Codarts Rotterdam in 2018, he worked as a professional dancer with Marina Mascarell and Club Guy & Roni. He choreographed his first full-evening performance in 2021. The following year, AMAE – created together with choreographic partner Eliana Stragapede – won first prize in the Copenhagen International Choreography Competition, before going on to win several more awards.
Today, he is part of the Ultima Vez / Wim Vandekeybus company and works with Olivier de Sagazan. As a passionate teacher, Babić organizes workshops across Europe in contemporary dance, Countertechnique, partnering and improvisation, as well as the Ultima Vez repertory.
“A strong element in our work is the research of different physical qualities, textures which allow our body to speak through a variety of different colours and intensities.”