LAKE Studios Berlin is an artist-run dance center — here is an overview of the team:

MARCELA GIESCHE

Artistic Direction and Production Management since 2013

Marcela Giesche (1983 – Mainz, Germany): Marcela graduated in 2006 with a BFA in Dance from Ohio State University and Codarts, Rotterdam. She has since been a freelance dancer and choreographer working with diverse dance companies and directors across Europe such as Neuer Tanz (VA Wölfl), Thomas Ostermeier, and Deja Donne, amongst others. Some of her own work includes “Sacre” (premiered at HAU, Berlin), “left I – right I” (w. Sonya Levin), “Selfportrait 24”, and “exFolia” (w. Andy Moor/Yannis Kyriakides). She continues her research of movement and choreographic forms through her creation, performance, and teaching practices in Berlin and internationally. She has participated in Danceweb Impulstanz 2009 and has been awarded the Caroline Plummer Fellowship in community dance at the University of Otago. She also founded and is the artistic director of the dance research and residency venue LAKE Studios Berlin, where she has received funding to facilitate numerous festivals, forums, events, and residencies as well as collaborated with Marlon Barrios Solano and Mark Coniglio to create a dance-technology residency program. 

NAÏMA MAZIC

2024: Artistic Direction, Production Management, SUBMERGE Festival

Naïma Mazic is based between Vienna and Berlin. She founded the n ï m company and association more2rhythm in 2016. She has been resident choreographer at K3 Tanzplan Hamburg/Kampnagel, has an MA in Performance Studies from NYU TISCH and studied at P.A.R.T.S., the Reykjavik Academy of Arts, at MUK/ Conservatory Vienna (+dance pedagogy). She was part of the HipHop Continuum at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival USA and ImPulstanz DanceWeb15 & 22. Her recent works have been shown at Judson Church NYC, Vienna Art Week, brut Vienna, DOCK 11 Berlin, Tanzfaktur Cologne, LAB Frankfurt and Leipziger Jazztage. Her latest pieces are ALBUM, the muse at work and PoLy-Mirrors. Her commissioned work 2022 for the ensemble uBu has been touring in Germany. Naïma is also performing in her own works and works of others. With a background in house dance, Bgirling and swing dance, Naïma concentrates on the communication between dancers of different backgrounds and (jazz) musicians. Her work is based on tools of jazz music, replenished by sensuality. Currently Naïma is conducting research on femininity of/ in jazzmusic and directing music videos for musicians, such as Golnar Shahyar.Naïma regularly is teaching her workshop OF(F) RHYTHM and once a month she is leading the HEAR & NOW* Jamsession for dancers and musicians in different cities. 2024 she is artistic director at LAKE Studios Berlin and is curating the 6. edition of the summer festival SUBMERGE – getting into the work, examining choreographic works related to rhythm and groove.

Web:  www.more2rhythm.com Instagram: @nimcompany

Mark Grunow

Design & Image

Mark’s work moves between graphic, interior and product design. Simplicity and reduced function define his projects, underlined by craftsmanship, methodology and a pure aesthetic. His carpentry ‘Gesellenstück’ with folded paper structures, was honored with ‘Die Gute Form’ at the federal level in 2015. In 2018 he graduated from the Akademie für Gestaltung Münster where two works were nominated for DesignTalente NRW.  Mark is a 2020 German Design Award Nominee. At LAKE, Mark designs and builds functional and aesthetic working, living and performance spaces, and creates images, concepts and interiors, as well as stage sets and props.   

JESSY TUDDENHAM

Texts & Editing, Associate Director 2025, Co-Artistic Director SUBMERGE Festival 2025

Jessy is a dancer, writer and performer with over twenty years’ experience performing in Europe and the Americas. She is the host of Landscaping, a recurring broadcast of contemplative fiction, on Cashmere Radio Berlin. She also performs regularly – and forces people to dance, awkwardly –  in her solo series, ‘Standing Up’. In 2020, Jessy was awarded a 2 month long LAKE Reconnect Residency where she developed a solo work for stage and radio. In 2022 she returned as an ON DISPLAY Resident. Since 2021, Jessy provides production support and editorial strategy for LAKE Studios Berlin. She will also be joining the artistic direction team of LAKE Studios in 2025 as well as co-directing the SUBMERGE Festival 2025.

www.jessytuddenham.com

SASHA AMAYA

Associate Director 2025 & Co-Artistic Director SUBMERGE Festival 2025

Sasha Amaya is a dancer, choreographer, and installation artist. Sasha Amaya’s work as a performer and creator has been exhibited and supported by numerous institutions in Europe, Canada and the USA. In addition to her dance education in Canada, Germany, and France, Amaya holds an MPhil in Architecture and Urban Studies from the University of Cambridge, and a Post-Masters diploma from the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm. Next to and as part of her artistic work, Amaya writes regularly on dance and art for publications including Stream, Tanzschreiber, Tanzarchiv, TanzZeit, and Tanzfabrik Berlin. Amaya has presented her work at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Leiden; she teaches workshops and intensive courses, and provides lectures, critiques, and feedback sessions, for the University of Cambridge Festival of Ideas, the University of Ghent, Freie Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, the University of Manitoba, LAKE Studios Berlin, and Tanzfabrik Berlin. She is a regular host and moderator of the UNFINISHED FRIDAYS, the in-progress choreographic evening series at LAKE Studios Berlin. She will also be joining the artistic direction Team at LAKE Studios in 2025 as well as curating and hosting SUBMERGE 2025.

http://sasha-amaya.com

MARIA KOUSI

Production Manager, Stage Manager, Photography

Maria studied Greek Philology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Modern Greek Literature & Culture (MFA) at Freie Universität Berlin. Her interests travel between literature and theatre. She has been active in theater-acting workshops (with Familie Flöz, Rimini Protokoll, Grotowski Institute, with Michael Sionas, Simos Kakalas, Dimitris Katalefos among others), movement research and the Unfold Movement Method with Valentina Bordenave. Since 2020, she is a member of LAKE Studios Berlin, providing Artistic & Production support.

OLGA RAMIREZ OFERIL

Administration & Finance

Olga is a dancer/performer and production manager/financial supervisor. She studied Classical Philology in Barcelona and worked as a high school teacher before turning to dance full-time. As a dancer, she has performed on stage with Grupo Oito, with the solo “Federlicht” by Caroline Alves and with “fragil” by Clébio Oliveira/Theater o.N., among others. Since moving to Berlin in 2011, she has worked at various dance and theater festivals and since 2015 as an ensemble member and in the production department at Theater o. N. Since 2014 she has completed extensive further training in cultural management and financial processing and has supervised projects by artists such as Grupo Oito, Katharina Kummer, Claudia Hill, Jared Gradinger, inback company, and others. She has been working with LAKE Studios in this area since 2019.  

MARLON BARRIOS SOLANO

Dance-tech Partner & Artist in Residence

Marlon Barrios Solano is an international interdisciplinary artist and researcher working at the intersection of software engineering, generative AI, creative coding, dance improvisation, and mindfulness. His work is expressed through creative web apps, interactive and participatory installations, multimedia performances, education, and digital therapeutics.Marlon’s consulting, software development, and teaching extend from concept to deployment of AI-powered apps and guide individuals and organizations in applying AI across a range of domains.His work with Sati-AI, an AI-driven Buddhist meditation coach, reflects his ability to apply AI/deep learning to the field of mindfulness, demonstrating the potential of Generative AI technology for the transmission of embodied knowledge.While his focus is broad, spanning from digital therapeutics to synthetic cognition and creativity, Marlon maintains a grounded, pragmatic approach to his work, guiding clients and students through the complexities of combining traditional practices with cutting-edge AI technology. Marlon is a researcher in residence at Lake Studios Berlin and a Generative AI Researcher for Wisdom Labs in San Francisco, USA.

https://marlonbarrios.github.io/