Cristiana Casadio

Lecturer for Contemporary Dance, Partnering, Choreographer

Cristiana Casadio is a Berlin-based dancer, choreographer, and teacher. After a successful career in rhythmic gymnastics, where she became the Italian champion in 1993, Cristiana transitioned to ballet and contemporary dance. She was selected as a trainee for Aterballetto under Mauro Bigonzetti and received multiple grants to further her studies, including at the Merce Cunningham Studio and Peridance Center in New York, as well as with Spellbound Contemporary Ballet in Rome.
Cristiana performed, as a soloist, for Botega Dance Company (Rome), for the J.K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen (Czech Republic) and, from 2001 to 2009, with Balletto dell’Esperia (Turin,Italy) under the direction of Paolo Mohovich.

Since 2010, Cristiana has been based in Berlin, working as a freelance artist.
She has taken part in various productions and interdisciplinary collaborations, both as a performer and choreographer, including major works such as Menschen, Orte und Dinge at the Berliner Ensemble. Her works have been presented at numerous international venues and festivals, among which stand out: Parktheater Eindhoven Holland, Tanz Biennale Heidelberg, Harare International Festival of Arts Zimbabwe, Ringling International Festival of Arts (RIAF) USA, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen Germany, Fabbrica Europa Florenz Italy, Teatro Sociale Bergamo Italy, Move Festival Fabrik Heeder Krefeld Germany, Teatro Astra Turin Italy, Festival International de Danse Encore Quebec, Walton Arts Center Arkansas USA, Centro Nacional de las Artes Mexico City, International Contemporary Dance Festival Incheon South Korea.
Cristiana’s pieces have earned several awards, including first prize for performing arts at the Internationale Kulturbörse Freiburg, a shortlist nomination for the Total Theatre Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Audience Award at the SoloDuo Festival ‘25 in Cologne.

In addition to her own choreographic work, Cristiana has created pieces for institutions such as the Staatliche Schule für Ballett und Artistik Berlin, the Professional Conservatory of Dance in Valencia, and Danceworks Berlin. Her research and creative projects have been supported by Dachverband Tanz Deutschland’s Dis-Tanzen program and the Senate Department of Culture in Berlin.
She regularly teaches contemporary dance and has been a guest teacher at numerous institutions and festivals, including: Marameo Berlin, Danceworks Berlin, Tanzfabrik, Dock 11, DART (Berlin), Barker Theatre (Turku, Finland), Urban Stilez Festival (Bielefeld and Berlin), Centro Nacional de las Artes CENART (Mexico City), Japanese Dance and New Circus Festival (Japan), Festival IJA (Rochester, USA), Katapult (Berlin), Officina delle Arti (Cesenatico, Italy), Centro de Danza de Zaragoza (Spain), Professional Dance Conservatory in Valencia (Spain), Professional Dance Conservatory “Institut del Teatre” in Barcelona (Spain), among others.