In this blog we meet Vivian, one of our dance artists who works on our NRgDance programme. Vivian has been locked down in Greece since March but is looking forward to getting back to London to teach some classes in person. Vivian is all set to teach at St Mary Magdalene’s CofE Secondary School once this third lockdown is lifted. As she can’t meet you in person, we thought we would introduce her to you here!
Tell us about yourself…
Hi, I’m Vivian Triantafyllopoulou, I come from Greece (did you guess from the long Greek surname?) and I am a freelance dancer, teacher and choreographer based in London.
I studied contemporary dance at Trinity Laban in London, and I have been working with Greenwich Dance for about 8 years!
What styles of dance do you teach, and do you have a favourite?
I teach a variety of styles! This keeps my practice fresh and challenges me physically! I teach Contemporary, Contemporary Hip Hop, Physical Theatre, Improvisation and Contemporary Ballet. I think my favourite is contemporary as I love floor work (moving in and out of the floor) and the flow and breath of it and I feel I can really express through it!
Photo: Valeria Famularo
Do you do anything else outside of teaching?
I am an active performer, so I perform as part of different companies, I also have my own dance company and join dance classes to train! I also occasionally work as a rehearsal director. Currently, I am also a trainer for a presence training called Towards Vivencia, which is working with the neuroscience of performance.I also write a lot and cook new recipes, but these are more hobbies, I guess!!
What inspired you to start dancing?
I was always making up choreography with my best friends in our houses since I was 6 years old! You know, the Britney Spears ones, and then we were showing them to our families! I also did traditional Greek dance at school which is the first dance class I ever had! So, I am not sure what exactly started the spark when I was 6, but when I was 10 it definitely became a fire and I signed up to a dance school as I realised, I want to do this every day for the rest of my life ?
Photo: Linda Telek
What can our young people expect when they come along to one of your NRgDance sessions?
First thing to expect is learning new and exciting things and having fun! Without fun, why would we even dance? Also, in my classes we work a lot with each person’s needs and personality, so my aim is for young people to be able to express themselves, be creative, learn, build confidence, and have a group of people that support them and create a dance family!
Photo: Apertura
