FACULTY

 

Artis Dzērve (Latvia)“Motion Graphics and Design in Cinema 4D”

 

Attended Hamburg Art Academy of Free Arts Performing Arts graduate department with Professor Marina Abramovich and Mike Hentz to complement his 12 year experience working as a creative director in advertising. He worked in a variety of video, 2D and 3D animation-related projects. One of the Latvian founders of VJ [video DJ] movement. Still working as a VJ in creating about 30 different projects. Parallel work in advertising has acquired the TV moderator professionals working in reality shows. In his free time engaged in a variety of extreme sports: kitesurfing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, diving.  (http://www.videostafford.com/; http://artismotionworks.posterous.com/)

 

 

Mike Andrew Hentz  (Germany/ USA) “Cross-Media Technology and Integration”

 

Prof. Mike Hentz holds an impressive body of works whose nature and the synthesis of audiovisual language and experimental approbation have been featured in several international creative projects.  Born on July 2d, 1954 in New Jersey (USA), is a graphic artist, photographer, musician and performance artist, based in Berlin.  Besides his artistic work, focused mainly in new media and performance teaching worldwide.  Living in Italy, Austria and Switzerland he learned classical violin and was trained in musical theatre in Paris.  He co-founded the performance group “Deficit Delta T” publishing an album called Death Opuses. Besides, he organized the festival "Padlt Noidlt" in Zurich. With Minus Delta T he travelled world wide performing in public space, art galleries and festivals, touring around and making research about identity and culture of the diverse realities. In the 80’s Hentz had several guest professorships such us the one in the college for pedagogic arts in Hamburg. He also worked as an actor in the Frankfurt opera house. During the same years he co-founded the Broadcast radio programs "Frigo", "Radio Bellevue" and the „European Media Art Lab“ in 1989.

On the 90’s he begun with the tv projects “Van Gogh TV”, “Piazza Virtuale” and the “Univercity TV” all interactive television events shared through cable or satellite and developed in a performative basis. Later on he extended his sphere of activity to the East European countries, teaching in “The Institute of Art and Technology” in Moscow and at the University of Riga. In Poland he worked in cooperation with the Polish National Television to spread and establish a Media Art channel.

From 2003 Hentz is head of the Newmedia faculty in the Academy of arts in Stuttgart and is performing in festivals and performance venues around the World.

 

Andris Gauja (Latvia) “Film Production”

 

Andris, one of the most internationally celebrated filmmakers,studied film, theatre and television screen writing at the Latvian Academy of Culture; he has worked as a television and press journalist, and learned to play the flute at the Jazepa Medina Music School. Until now, he was engaged in documentary film making, his last doc Family Instinct has been selected for more than 20 international film festivals around the world (Best World Feature at Silverdocs, USA; Nomination for the Best Mid-Length Documentary at IDFA, Amsterdam, nomination for the Academy Award at Russian Film Academy Awards NIKE etc.). Currently Andris Gauja's “Graduation Year” has been an official selection at Chicago Film Festival and World Film Festival.

 

 

Simona Orinska (Latvia)

Dance movement

As a performing artist Simona is focused on deep understanding of body-mind as well interdisciplinarity. Simona has gained integrative educational experience – master degrees in Arts & Humanities as well Health Care. She has also studied different body techniques as in Latvia and abroad  (contemporary dance, physical theatre, dance improvisation, contact-improvisation, Butoh, Aikido, Yoga, Argentinian tango, Ci-Gun). She has very strong impression from Japanese Butoh art, what she studied with acclaimed professionals (Yoshito Ohno, Ko Murobushi, Dairakudakan Butoh Company, Yukio Waguri, Toshiharu Kasai, Tsuruyama ZULU Kinya, Ken Mai, Su-En, Anita Saij). She also studied Japanese traditional dance Nihon Buyo with masters from Hanayagi and Fujikage schools.

Her attitude as movement director, tutor and performing artist is shaped by her experience as dance movement therapist who allows to keep “therapist's eye” on individual or group processes in arts. She is turned to see dance and theatre as visual expression as her education is based on visual arts and design. She did interdisciplinary and videodance projects as “TEC-1”, 2005; “Eyes Fluttering in My Knees”, 2008; “Sacred Dances of the Night”, 2010; “ZIME. The Sign”, 2011; “skin skin you my black crow”, 2012; “Human Project”, 2013; “Saudade”, 2014; “She-Wolf”, 2015). She also collaborated with theatre and cinema directors and artists, taking part in several multidisciplinary projects, especially site-specific (www.pedvale.lv).

The structure of her creative works is based on poetry language, time and space as she used to be a poet (selection of poems “The Mirrorsteps”, 2002 and “Sacred Dances of The Night”, 2008).  Additionally she did solo exhibition of photos by Jānis Deinats “Sacred Dances of the Night” (Malaysia, 2011) and took part in group exhibition „Brave New World: On the Transformation of Central and Eastern European Cities” (IFA Gallery: Berlin and Stuttgart; Germany, 2007) with video dance project „TEC-1”.

Simona is an artistic director of association “Laboratory of Stage Arts” and interdisciplinary arts company IDEAGNOSIS, member of “Latvian Dance Movement Therapy Association” and “Latvian Professional Contemporary Dance Choreographer's Association”. She is working and performing internationally: Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Greece, Armenia, Lithuania and Estonia. Simona was awarded from Latvian Ministry of Culture with „Three Brothers” in the category „For the Cultural Society Development” (2006).  More info: www.simonaorinska.info.

 

 

Jānis Deinats (Latvia) “Photography”

 

Graduated from the J. Vitols Latvian State Conservatory of Culture and Arts Department Theatre Department.  Since 1984 he has worked in the theater (Studio 8 and Kabata), as an independent photographer and for magazine “the Park.” Since 1997 he has worked at the association “Fotocentrs” through which  his works are published in the leading Latvian newspapers and magazines, art books and catalogs (working with such as Santa, Una, Club, Lilit, a publishing daily logs). He has participated in exhibitions "People at the Museum" (Museum of Art, 2003), "Witnesses of an Age”. LMS art collection. Painting. (National Museum of Art, 2002), "Aija Paints" (Gallery "Ciris", 1998) "Forget Things" (gallery "Studio I", Boston, USA, 1996), as well as the exhibition - in the campaign "Gentle Fluctuations "(Exhibition Hall" Latvia , 1990). For twenty years, he has made the portraits of Latvia’s culture, art, business and political elite.  Janis is the staff photographer for Dailes Theater.

 

 

 

Karen Lee Street (Australia) “Screenwriting”

 

Karen Lee Street’s published works include the novel TATTOOS AND MOTORCYCLES (Gollancz/ Indigo), prize-winning poetry, the feature film screenplay HONEST (ScreenPress Books), and Writing and Selling Crime Film Screenplays (Kamera Books). She has been commissioned to write articles on screenwriting and New Writing: the International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing, published an article she co-wrote about cross-Arts collaboration. Karen is also an experienced feature film script editor and development executive with extensive experience working with both emerging and experienced film-makers throughout Europe and in North America. During her tenure as Head of Development at the European Script Fund (MEDIA programme), the largest script development fund in Europe, she created and ran the first pan-European script analysis service. She is currently on the Management Committee of Tipping Point Film Fund,a funder of documentary films about international social justice issues and continues to work as a freelance script editor and screenwriter. Karen recently completed a historical crime novel as part of her portfolio for a PhD in Writing at the University of South Wales and is developing two sequels.

 

 

Aigars Ceplitis (Latvia) “New Media and Film Editing and Aesthetics”, “Film Narratology”

 

 

Aigars holds an MFA in Film Directing from California Institute of the Arts and Bachelor’s in American Art History from Lawrence University, had studied theater directing at John Goodman School of Drama in Chicago.  Working in Los Angeles since 2001 Aigars had served as an assistant and film editor to Randal Kleiser.  Currently, he is the Creative Director at Audiovisual Media Arts Department and doing his PhD on rhizomatic narratives in 360 degree 3D cinematography at Liepaja University New Media MPLab.

 

 

John Grzinich (USA) “Advanced Soundscapes” and “Modular Synthesis in Post Production Sound”

 

John is an renown Estonia based sound-video artist, photographer, project coordinator who holds a number of workshops on soundscapes in nearby communities in order to teach them how to use the designs for composing music. His is well-known experimental sound artist, a builder of amplified piano wire instruments, who uses them to compose even more sophisticated sound sculptures. He has created impressive video and audio installations throughout Europe, and his extensive work record may be found on http://maaheli.ee/main/.

 

 

Māra Ravins (Canada) “Distribution and Niche Marketing”

 

Maea has received numerous Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council grants for film over the last 10 years, financial support from the OFDC (now OMDC), the National Film Board of Canada, The Danish Film Institute, and The Toronto Arts Council as well as two grants from the prestigious Soros Foundation in New York (now the Sundance Documentary Fund). She has served as a jury member on various arts councils and continues to work as a freelance production consultant and a mentor for young filmmakers. Her extensive experience creating development packages, financing plans, budget breakdowns, treatments and concept development have been honed while working for corporations such as Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., Instinct Films, the National Film Board of Canada, Platforma Films and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

 

 

Prof. Zilvina Lilas (Germany) “3D Game Fundamentals and Development”

 

A well-known 3D animator.  Creative and technical appointments for Walt Disney Studios, Oddworld Inhabitants, Metrolight Studios, Artist's Inc., Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education, Wexner Center for the Arts. Films, games, publications: Treasure Planet, Chicken Little, Munch's Odyssey, Siegfried and Roy and others.  Since 2004 professor at the KHM. Lectures and workshops at the festivals and academic institutions in Germany, USA, Lithuania and Sweden. Research interest: interactive art and design, simulated environments and scenarios, identity and technology.

Dr. Christopher Hales (UK) “Interactive Cinema”

has studied PhD research on Interactive Film Art at the RCA Film and TV Department, and taught as Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Art of the University of the West of England [Bristol] until 2001. His interactive films and CD-ROMs have been shown to date at film/ new media festivals in Sheffield, Perth, Melbourne, FCMM Montreal, Oberhausen, Hong Kong, Helsinki, Rotterdam, Berlin, and others. His "Interactive Cinema" installation showing selections of interactive movies has been shown in Japan, Germany, Holland, Canada, Denmark, London and South Korea.

 

Dzintars Krūmiņš

Director, Actor, Animator, Video artist  

Dzintars studied film directing at the Latvian Academy of Culture. He is lecturer of animation in Latvian Academy of Art and Jānis Rozentāls Riga Art School. Dzintars is an animation expert committee member of Latvian National Film Centre (2013-2014). He worked in animation film studio "Dauka" as animator, video artist and background artist (1992-2011).

 

Dzintars directed image clips and informative films as European Parliamentary elections, the World Hockey Championship in Riga, etc. He took part as director in “Latvijas Koncertdirekcija” musical projects as “Bastien and Bastienne”, “Pierrot Lunaire”, “Acis and Galatea”, etc.). He is video artist in multidisciplinary project as “The Nature Concert-hall" including concerts as "Devon", "Bombina Bombina" etc.;  "Latvian Concerts" (Early Music Festival, the "Great Music Award" etc.).

 

Dzintars participated as light designer and set-designer in Ansis Rutentals Movement Theatre (performances as "Hangman's Daughter", 2003; "I Will Start with the Line", 2007; "Someone Who", 2012, etc.), the Latvian National Theatre ("The Little Witch", 1999), the Latvian Puppet Theatre ("The Flight of Zanzibar", 1999), the New Riga Theatre ("The Good Man from Szechuan", 1998). He is an actor in Latvian State Television broadcast "What's Here? I am Here! ", as well company "Virus Art" Cabaret, the New Riga Theater, Daile Theatre, Ansis Rutentals Movement Theatre, as well in cinema.

 

Kristīne Vītola

Theater Director, Set-Designer, Costume Designer

 

Kristīne has Master degree in theater directing from Latvian Academy of Culture, as well in set-designing from  Latvian Academy of Art.

 

She started her creative activity as a set and costume designer in Latvian theaters (already three years she has been nominated as the costume designer for professional theater award "Spēlmaņu Nakts"). Presently, Kristīne is more focused on theater direction. Since 2012 she has created three works as director: "Woman-Goddess" in Dirty Deal Teatro; "Eaters of Potatoes" in Dirty Deal Teatro, and in the Latvian National Theatre - "Andy Warhol, it's you?" produced by Pigeon-Bridge. In her work she combines as visual and psychological theater techniques using other principles of narration based on the post-modern experience and contemporary way of thinking as well researching perception and its peculiarity.

 

 

Inese Ločmele

Psychotherapist, Somatic and Contact-improvisation, Group Leading

Inese is representing the "psycho-organic analysis" which is bodily oriented French psychotherapy approach. She is creator of dance and personality culture center "I-DEJAS MĀJA". Inese is  giving classes in somatic, contact-improvisation, therapeutic dance of nature's elements, authentic movement, long-term course of self-knowledge under the title "ID course”, also practical workshops on body/mind integration, creativity, inner freedom, improvisation and self-knowledge as well in “I-DEJAS MĀJA”, and abroad.

 

Inese is organizer of annual Contact-improvisation festival (contactimprovisation.lv). She is giving workshop of contact-improvisation in the site-specific contemporary dance festival “Vides Deja” (videsdeja.lv). She is also guest teacher of the course Somatic (self-knowledge structure, contact improvisation, therapeutic dances) in the Eastern Finland Sports and Dance Institute.

More info: http://www.i-deja.lv/inside/ineseupe/

 

Aija Uzulēna

Theater Director, Actress

Aija has a Master's degree as in Theater Direction from the Latvian Academy of Culture, as well in English Literature from the Latvian University. She is dramatic film and theater actress (Latvian State Conservatory). She did a study "Latvian Rising Directing in the Perspective of Post-dramatic Theater."

 

She made around 100 recordings (1990-2008) in Latvian Radio Theater: like "Garkājtētiņš", "Quo Vadis, "Goodbye, Susanna" etc.), working with leading directors as Arnolds Liniņš, Antonija Apele, Imants Skrastiņš. She did roles in films like "The Shoe", "Love, Death and Video", "The Son", and role in the performance "Uncle John" directing by Māra Ķimele in the New Riga Theatre (2010).  She was director of performances as "Women Dancing in the Morning", "Human Voice." Physical theater performance "The Blind", in collaboration with choreographer Agnese Bordjukova and Inga Surgunte.

 

Aija did remarkable and varied range of literary translation - more than 20 books, plays and other cultural texts. Extensive experience as a broadcast (radio - Super FM, EHR, etc.) and international events manager. She has worked with drama students of director Māra Ķimele (2009-2011). She also wrote about the repertoire as well student performances in online portal "Territory".

 

Krišjānis Sants

 

Choreographer, Dancer

 

Krišjānis Sants has had an opportunity to receive a very strong and valuable education in dance by graduating Latvian Academy of Culture in 2011, PARTS Training Cycle in 2012 and PARTS Research Cycle in 2014.

 

Now the young choreographer and dancer unfolds his ambition to work both - locally in Latvia and internationally in Europe. Previously Krišjānis worked on a series of dances under the title “Ornament” dances that resulted in 2013 with a dance for seven called “Across”. Presently in the summer of 2015 Krišjānis is working together with Erik Eriksson on their duet “Vērpete. Krišjānis also dances in Daniel Lineham’s “Un Sacre du Printemps”. He is a part of EU projects “Identity.Move!” and “Departures and Arrivals”. In the EU project “Identity.Move!” he works with a psychotherapist Andis Geste.

Krišjānis does community work in order to accumulate dance field of Latvia as a one of Artistic Directors for “Latvian Contemporary Dance Choreographers Association”.