Short biography CACTUS was founded in 2012 by Thais Mennsitieri (Brazil), Dafne Louzioti (Greece) and Noora Baker (Palestine). The collective explores how performance can poetically engage audiences with issues that are relevant to today’s world. Cactus develops co-llaborative work seeking co-motion based on connectivity across spaces and disciplines. Built on the meshing of practices in dance, theatre and the visual arts, Cactus seeks to innovate, challenge the given, remain politically potent and still manage to entertain [from Old French entretenir, from entre- mutually + tenir to hold, from Latin tenēre]. Cactus uses the body as language, language as landscape and the landscape as motion. Cactus is the interface where audience and performer reimagine their roles. It is ideas made palpable through the body. Cactus is where possibility becomes possible. http://cactuspac.com
Thais Mennsitieri
Performance maker, actor and presenter, I think and create performance actions to transform. I started training theatre in Brazil and went into academic studies in Acting at the Federal University of Bahia before moving to the UK in 2011 to complete an MA in Performance Making at Goldsmiths, University of London. My work stands between theatre, dance, action and game; it explores the body and the space as essential tools in creating meaning and playing with perspective. The core of my work is the encounter with the audience; through a set of rules I propose an active interplay that leaves space for observation and personal interpretation.Noora Baker
Dance choreographer and trainer at El-Funoun Dance Troupe since the year 2001. A performance maker, producing work that is relevant to today’s reality and that leaves space for observation and different interpretation. Over the years I have worked with international artist such as Helena Waldman, Yoshiko Chuma and Andre, Gingras.Dafne Louzioti
Interdisciplinary performance artist whose work always involves the body and its limits. Dafne is fascinated by games, pranks and trickery and finding of what there is beyond the known, always however, beginning from the given, that cluster of unstable elements which me be called fact, or the palpable, or reality. Located between dance, theatre, martial and visual arts her practice is collaborative (amongst others Athletes of The Heart, Tanya Cottingham, Katharince Fry, Goossun Art-Illery, Marie Gabrielle Rotie, and Metod Blejec) and has been manifesting itself since 2004.
