Somewhere between the kitchen table and the rehearsal room - sit with me a while, there is space for you.
Eleni Mylona
Katzenbachstrasse 101, 8052, Zürich
+41 767 872400
Eleni Mylona is a dance artist who has been living in Zurich for the last 15 years. For many of those years, she was a stay-at-home mother. While her artistic thinking continued, her ability to produce work, participate in public discourse, and build professional networks was significantly delayed. That long period of invisibility continues to shape her practice - she now moves through the field with urgency, care, and a deep awareness of what it means to rebuild a career from the margins, as an immigrant woman and a mother.
Her work explores the synthesis of language and movement, with an emphasis on the relationship between language and imagination. Through an interdisciplinary approach, she explores how movement, writing and dialogue can create intimate spaces of coexistence. In recent years, she has focused on collective experience, developing methods for reading, writing, sharing, moving and imagining together.
Her performances often emerge from artistic research or unfold in public spaces, taking shape in festivals, theatres and research centres in Athens, Thessaloniki, Zurich, Basel, Berlin and London. She has collaborated with institutions such as Tanzhaus Zurich, RoteFabrik Theater, Maxim Theater, MerumAtelier, Chania Dance Days, Elefsina European Capital of Culture 2023 and Ticino in Danza Festival, among others, and this year (2025) she has been invited to take part in the ChoreoLab of TanzPlanOst in Switzerland.
Since 2019, she has been creating and co-creating long-term artistic processes that interweave dance, writing and dialogue, treating them as tools for composition and research. Since 2023, she is the choreographer and coordinator of KATINES Zurich, a dance community and a space to gather, that carries a feminist ethos. She is also a member of Bona Dance, a community of movement practitioner teachers, and was recently invited to join X-group, a long-term research collective exploring instant composition as performance in Zurich.
Academically, she holds a Master's degree in Performance Practices (artistic research)
from Artez University of the Arts and trained at the State School of Dance in Greece
(K.S.O.T.), and the Leonidas de Pian School, obtaining a diploma as a dance teacher from
the Morianova-Trassa Higher Professional School.
She has collaborated as a performer and/or been invited to participate in research projects
with Vera Mantero, Juan Dominguez, Danae Theodoridou, Ana Sanchez and others.
Born and raised in Athens, she is always looking for ways to sustain and cultivate
her practice in the periphery of large institutions.
Artistic Work/ Research/ Modes of togetherness
2025:
-Choreography Lab: 8 women, 8 different research questions, 8 diverse
movement practices. Open sharing September '25
- SHORT PIECES by X-group, Sunday May 18th. at18:00 BIENNE/BIEL,
Couronne-Krone, Obergasse 1, as part of Au Joli Mois de Mai 2025
Angela Stoecklin, Angeliki-Dafni Stefanou, Eleni Mylona, Susanna Grob
-About Us Festival , KATINES 'What if this dance is about emancipation?'
Sunday, June 29, 2025,at 11.30-12.-00 , at Münsterhof as part of
Das Transkulturelle Festival der Stadt Zürich (26 - 29 June 2025)
https://about-us.ch/projects/community-day-2025?orgn=projects
-TanzplanOst Choreo Lab – Public Sharing in Rüdlingen, July 4th
https://www.tanzplan-ost.ch/choreolab
2024:
-What if this dance is about emancipation?
- performance by KATINES_zurich,
@Zentralwäscherei Zürich, 16. &18. July, Queer House December '24
- Stegi Radio, Athens -“Radio (non-)Conference”, Performance : Three Orange Trees, In the future. Broadcasting live on stegi.radio (Athens) and reboot.fm (Berlin & Potsdam), June 1st: https://stegi.radio/show/transpersonal-voices-2024-06-01
2023:
-Tanzmehr Bühne Festival - Practice group 'KATINES' improvisation with live music on movement tasks, 25th-28th October 2023, Kulturmarkt Zürich
-Stockholm Fringe Festival - 'Garden Silent Walks' research and performance, 29.8-3.9
-Ticino in Danza Festival '23- invited after open call - residency and creation of work, 3-9 July
-Athens and Epidaurus Athens Festival- Artistic collaborator on the work 'A dance for pain' by choreographer Androniki Marathaki
-Invited to participate at the project 'Common Actions' by visual artist Olivia Wiederkehr.- Book publication and performative event at the Aargauer Kunsthaus (October'23)
-Performance 'Eleusina: Three small steps obliquely forward and two obliquely backward' at L200 Zurich, 10th & 11th of March.-
2022:
-Dance Days Chania Festival: 'Silent Walk' and Workshop for professional dancers together with Steriani Tsinziloni.
-Elevsis European Capital of Culture: Selected after open call application, to the artist- in-residency program: Mystery '19- Initiation as methodology, to create a small/medium scale project in the public space. May-June '22
-MAXIM Theater: Movement and Dance Project in Seebach Zurich: Together we develop a 'performative walk' to be shown at the Storytelling Festival Seebach in April. Thursdays 19.00-21.00 @GZ Seebach, January to April
-Kunstahaus Steffisburg: 'Communitas: What remains? Dokumentation in the form of a Performance', 29.01.2022 @ 16.00
-Tanzhaus Zürich: Improvisation & contemporary dance workshop -based on methods and tasks created during artistic research.(ongoing)
2021:
-Communitas II: Körper und Bewegung 2021// Kunsthaus Steffisburg: A participatory silent walk and a workshop in the public space led by the artist. Moving together, living together http://kunsthaus-steffisburg.ch/
-Reconnect Festival: Selected to perform the online version of 'Three Orange Trees. In the future' https://www.reconnectfestival.com/event-details/three-orange-trees-in-the-future
-Practice Sharing Research Group-An online presentation of expanded approach to language-based practice in Artistic Research
https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/835089/1019934/8736?fbclid=IwAR0RXswGAiH_6jHz9-OmMIkODKMsPgvnaexh1HOIdQ9pE7RBLnadjBf6T4I
-Harvard University, Center for Hellenic Studies: Round table Talk - Performance as Re-Enactment in Epos and Dance: Invited by fellow of CHS, Dr. Steriani Tsinziloni (Dance theorist, curator, researcher, historian ) to talk on the topic, together with other artists and theorists.
-Virtual WORKSPACES- Co-Organization: Theatr Studio & Onassis Stegi:
Selected to participate with eleven transdisciplinary artists https://www.onassis.org/open-calls/open-call-virtual-workspaces-wojtek-ziemilski
- Artistic Research in Dance in Greece: Symposium & Lectures
Invited by Τwixtlab (art, anthropology& the everyday), the Duncan Dance Research Center Athens, and Dr. Steriani Tsinztiloni, together with nine choreographers to make a series of online lectures and take part in a one day symposium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV0mx8eg8gs (in Greek)
-Αthens School of Fine Arts, 'Anthropology and Modern Art', May, Invited by Elpida Rikou (teacher, anthropologist and visual artist), together with the choreographer Medie Megas, into a discussion about our artistic research and a dialogue between us.
-Tanzhaus Zurich Improvisation group based on methods and tasks created during artistic research.(ongoing)
-Parks in Zurich, part of the series: Dance together,in the public space (since March 2020)
2020:
-INVITATION to a storytelling performance by the lake, part of the series: Dance together, Perform together in the public space, June.Performed 8 times during two days in different spots in the city center (Zurich).
-'Three Orange Trees. In the future.' performance & workshop
-9th International Digital Storytelling Conference, Loughborough University//1. April
- October : Duncan Dance Research Center Athens
-Artistic Research Presentation and Workshop on professional artists
-Tanz+Zwicky Tanzschule Zurich: Invited for a week Workshop on improvisation tasks and how language relates to the body.
-OFF Dance Tanzschule: Improvisation dance Affairs// Workshop for professional dancers and people with experience in Improvisation
-Tanzhaus Zurich, Teaching Improvisation group (10 participants) based on methods and tasks created during artistic research. October-November (studios closed due to covid)
-Facilitating Improvisation group in parks in Zurich, part of the series: Dance together, in the public space
2019:
-Three orange trees. In the future' performance
-Volumes '19 December- Kunsthalle Zurich.
-Theater aan de Rijn, Arnhem, NL, - February
-Publication : Do you believe in God, my Dear Institution? Auto fiction letters: a public space for an engagement with imagination' -Volumes '19, Kunsthalle Zürich
-9th Storytelling Festival Athens- 'Letter to Frau D.'
-7 to the 7th' Arnhem: International Project by Anna Sanchez. Mylona Eleni, Leading artist for Arnhem. https://anasanchezcolberg.com/seven-to-the-seventh
-Performed at 'An imaginary Symposium' by Danae Theodoridou. kunstencentrum BUDA, Belgium, February https://vimeo.com/294730197
2018:
-Conference KNOW/HOW - The Young 2018, Selected to present the lecture performance 'Me and a fly in an empty studio'.
-Tanzhaus Zürich – Reading group Initiator: Living in a time of crisis and insecurity? How to imagine the future?
-Performed at 'An Imaginary Symposium' Veem Theater Amsterdam
-Performance: 'I see the woman in the blue pullover and the ponytail making brilliant arguments' part of the research 'Language Choreography'
-Posttheater Arnhem, June, 2018
-Benaki Museum /Athens and Epidaurus Festival, 'the Patio' July.
Choreographer for the TheaterKollectiv 'Terrasse Ensemble' Zurich// Performance HouseKeys
-June, Theater Stok Zurich,
-November, Athens, Kinitiras
-Tanzhaus Zurich / Festival Zurich moves! 2018-Reading Group: 'Living in a time of crisis and insecurity? How to imagine the future?'
-Performance: KONTά or how we get together (part of the research Language Choreography)
-January, ArtEZ University of the Arts,
-January, Stillpointspaces Zurich (Psychoanalytically curated space)
2017:
-"Greece A Cry" sketches for a Gallery, Zurich Tanzt '17, May. Holzke Kollektiv
-"A look in the consulting room: people-spaces-objects", Site- specific Performance, March StillpointSpaces London
-KONTά Group Research - The practice of waiting Jan.- April, Presentation, July in Stillpointspaces Zurich https://www.mylonaeleni.com/it-itself-is-not
-Movement and Language Expert at the performance "Teach me to dance"- Kollectiv Tropchertoshare, Bern CH.
2016:
-Creation Performance 'ALATI' Festival 'Die Kunst der Integration',
-MAXIM Theater Zurich - 21. Oktober
-Rote Fabrik Theater Zurich- 3.&4. Juni
-"greece a cry I mutatis mutandis" Manifesta 11, Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich.
-"Greece - A Cry or from personal to collective'.
-February, Booze Cooperativa, Athens
-April, GZ Basel, International Fair of Contemporary Art '16
2015:
Zürich Tanzt 2015!: Workshop
Greece -A Cry, or from personal to collective
-April, Stillpoint Spaces Berlin
-October MAXIM Theater, Zurich
-October, Athen Video Dance Project/50th Dimitria Festival, Thessaloniki
Collaborated as a performer and/or taken part in research projects after invitation with/by the following artists: Michael Klein, Vera Mantero, Juan Dominguez, Danae Theodoridou, Anna Sanchez, Jean-Paul Jaccarini, and others.
Education
2017-19: MA Theatre (Performance) Practices, a practice-based artistic research MA. ArtEZ University of the Arts, Holland, Arnheim.
2004-2007: “Professional school of higher education 'Morianova-Trasta Dance School' in Athens', Dance and Dance teacher diploma.
1994-1999: Deree College, The American College of Greece (took classes)
1987-1989 and 1990-91:The Greek National School of Dance- State School of Dance (Κ.Σ.Ο.Τ.)
1980-1987: Leonidas de Pian Dance school
Somatics & other movement Trainings
Klein Technique- Barbara Mahler, Hanna Hegenscheidt, Susan Klein
Hatha Yoga (took classes for 15 years): Different Teachers.
Authentic Movement: workshops with Dr.Peter Mai.
Dance Therapy introduction seminar: Tanztherapie-am-See,CH.
Languages spoken: Greek(mother language), English (fluent), German (intermediate) French(basic)
Photo: Lea Waser