Team & Short Biographies

Aly Khamees

Artistic Director, Choreographer & Performer
Born in Cairo, Aly Khamees is a choreographer, dancer, and actor, and co-founder of Below the Skin. His work draws from contemporary dance, power movement, and Egyptian street dance, forming his distinctive movement language “Bullet and Knife.” He has collaborated with numerous international artists and institutions and is an associated artist at Tanzhaus Zürich.

Jelena Mair

Creative Director, Concept & Production
Jelena Mair co-directs Below the Skin and develops its artistic concepts. With a background in dance, art therapy, and conflict transformation, her work connects artistic practice with questions of social change, resilience, and collective processes. She works at the School of Commons (ZHdK) and integrates interdisciplinary approaches into her artistic research.

Romain Guion

Outside Eye, Artistic & Dramaturgical Advisor
Romain Guion is a choreographer, dramaturg, and cultural manager with more than 25 years of international experience. His work spans dance, theatre, opera, education, and artistic mentorship, with a strong interest in collaborative creation and dramaturgical development. He currently leads professional training programmes at Tanzhaus Zürich and K3 Hamburg. As an artistic and dramaturgical advisor, he supports the creative, dramaturgical, and strategic development of Below the Skin.

Chien Ching Ying

Co-Creation & Performance
Chien Ching Ying is a dancer and choreographer whose work bridges contemporary dance, performance, and intercultural collaboration. A long-time collaborator of the Akram Khan Company, she received the UK National Dance Award for Outstanding Female Performance. Her artistic practice combines strong physicality with nuanced presence and has been presented internationally. Since 2024, she has been contributing to the creative research and performance development of Below the Skin.

Maureen Zollinger

Co-Creation & Performance
Maureen Zollinger is a Swiss performer working across stage, site-specific, and interdisciplinary formats. Her practice combines ecological somatics, voice, and movement research, exploring relationships between bodies, environments, and collective systems. She is interested in artistic processes that cultivate connection, attentiveness, and shared responsibility.

Yvonne Sieber

Co-Creation & Performance
Yvonne Sieber is a Zurich-based dancer and choreographer working between contemporary and urban dance practices. She collaborates with artists across dance, music, and theatre, creating interdisciplinary performance projects in Switzerland and abroad. Her work is driven by curiosity about rhythm, embodiment, and collective experience.

Alessandra Hitz

Originally from Graubünden, Alessandra is a dance artist working between street and contemporary dance practices. Since 2017, she has been a member of LaFam Crew, developing her movement language through Hip Hop, House, and Waacking, which she also teaches. Her training in Berlin deepened her engagement with improvisation, Gaga, and contemporary dance. Since 2023, she has been performing and touring with the dance collective Moving Mountains and their dance short film IN VIADI.

Amrei Wolfers

Amrei studies Sociology and Political Science and is particularly interested in the role of art within society. Alongside her focus on feminist, postcolonial, and decolonial theories, she explores how artistic practices shape and transform social relations. Since 2025, she has been participating in the workshops and research processes of Below the Skin, including the research and sharing Loverage. She values collective exploration through movement, artistic practice, and collaborative creative processes.

Martha Gjikolaj

Martha was raised in Greece and is currently based in Zurich, Switzerland. Trained in Biology in Crete, she moved to Zurich in 2022 to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience. Movement has been a constant thread throughout her life and work, informing her curiosity about bodies, perception, and connection. Since 2024, she has been participating in the open format workshops and research processes of Below the Skin, including the sharing Rhythm of Reverence 2024, and Loverage 2026.

Antonia Orfanou

Co-Creation & Performance
Antonia Orfanou was born in Athens, Greece, and is currently based in Zurich, Switzerland. She is an interdisciplinary interaction designer with a background in mechanical engineering, working across research, technology, and creative practice. Her work explores the intersections of science, art, and embodiment through experimental and collaborative processes. Since 2025, she has been participating in the open format workshops and contributing to the research and co-creation activities of Below the Skin.

Amélia Graber

Co-Creation & Performance
Amélia explores movement through diverse, spontaneous, and collective practices alongside her PhD research on human-environment systems. She is interested in the relationships between bodies, environments, and forms of shared experience. Since 2024, she has collaborated with Below the Skin through the open format workshops, sharings, and as been part of the production Empty City. She values artistic processes that foster exchange, curiosity, and collective imagination.

Lélia Brigatti

Co-Creation & Performance
Lélia graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Vienna in 2019 and completed a BA in Music and Movement in 2023, followed by advanced contemporary dance training in Bologna. Alongside teaching ballet and contemporary dance, they have worked across interdisciplinary projects in dance, performance, theater, and film. Their artistic practice is guided by questions of care, community, and collective resistance. Through collaboration and movement, they explore ways of creating and sustaining shared spaces. Since 2025 she has been participating in the open format workshops and has been contributing to the research and co-creation activities of Below the Skin.

Mohamed Shafik

Music Composition
Mohamed Shafik is a composer, choreographer, and performer from Cairo whose work moves fluidly between music, movement, and theatre. Drawing on both contemporary and traditional forms, he creates interdisciplinary works that engage with cultural memory, identity, and storytelling. His artistic practice spans international collaborations across performance and education contexts. For Below the Skin, he contributes the musical composition and sonic landscape of the project.

Iris Rohr

Set & Lighting Design
Iris Rohr is a Zurich-based scenographer and lighting designer working across dance, theatre, and performance. Her designs are characterized by clarity, spatial sensitivity, and a careful attention to the relationship between body, light, and environment. She is committed to sustainable production practices and collaborative creative processes. For Below the Skin, she develops the project's scenographic and lighting concept.