Katia Engel based in Berlin and Indonesia, is a choreographer and documentary filmmaker. Trained at Laban Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS, NYC), her works originate from the observation and analysis of movement of all kinds: everyday movement, sound and form, which she translates into works of choreography and film.
Her art is presented in film festivals, dance platforms and exhibitions in Europe, Asia and the U.S., i.e., Hong Kong Art Festival, International Dance Festival Indonesia, Kunstforum Köln/Germany, Art Center Nairs/Switzerland, Chashama Art Space New York, Documentary Film Festival Taipei.
Since 2012, she has developed dance pieces in collaboration with Indonesian artists. As choreographer and artistic director, she developed with former members of the renowned Dance Company Gumarang Sakti the two dance works TANAH AIR and IN BETWEEN. In collaboration with traditional Javanese master mask caver and Choreographer Artist Ari Ersandi, she created FROM STARTING TO CUT THE WOOD, which premiered at Helatari Dance Festival 2017 at Theater Salihara, Jakarta, and is now touring outside of Indonesia.
Another focus of Katia Engel’s activity in Indonesia is to foster the heritage of the performing arts in Indonesia. Commissioned by Indonesian Dance Festival, she produced in 2016 the film BARABAH, a creative documentary about Indonesian choreographer Hoerijah Adam (1936 – 1970), a pioneering force for the contemporary dance movement in the 1960s. In 2017, Katia launched a film portrait about the Indonesian poet and playwright Leon Agusta (1938 – 2015).
