Dani Niemietz is a dance instructor, performer, choreographer, special education teacher (M.A.), educational director of the Calaneya Dance Academy Hanover and board member of TaBeKu e.V..
She began her dance career at the age of two with rhythmics, classical ballet and Spanish dance. After studying jazz and modern dance as well as aikido for several years, she eventually discovered Middle Eastern dance and its numerous contemporary fusions.
She has been on stage since early childhood. In addition to national and international engagements, she can often be seen on various stages in her home town Hannover. She danced with the movement choir of the Hannover State Opera, in the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen and many others. Most recently, she performed as a solo dancer in the Herrenhausen Baroque concert series in cooperation with Alon Sariel’s ensemble “Concerto Foscari” and is currently developing an interdisciplinary concert program in cooperation with the ensemble for early music “Concierto Ibérico”.
Dani has been working as an instructor in various areas of dance and movement education since 2006. Her main focus is on teaching clean technique, a healthy posture and training attitude as well as helping her students to develop their individual artistic potential.
Since 2022 she has been a certified lecturer for FCBD®Style and Flamenco Dialect.
Elena Sapega is a dance instructor, performer, choreographer, managing director of the Calaneya Dance Academy Hanover and chairwoman of the TaBeKu e.V.
She has been actively involved in numerous international and interdisciplinary projects, including as a soloist and choreographer in a dance theater adaptation of the film classic “Nosferatu”, as a co-founder of a performance project with two classical musicians and another dancer or as a dancer and choreographer in various productions of the Hannover State Theater. The highlights of her stage career so far include her engagement as a solo dancer in the concert of the Finnish clarinetist Kari Krikku and the NDR Radio Philharmonic as well as engagements at the International Fireworks Competition, among others together with the Balkan Orchestra Fanfare Ciocarlia.
With the non-profit association TaBeKu e.V., which she founded together with her dance colleagues Dani Niemietz, Gudrun Herold and Theresa Rose in 2021, she organizes the international Dance! Global Fusion Festival and other community events.
Both in her artistic and organizational projects as well as in her dance teaching activities, Elena is strongly dedicated to creating high-quality, contemporary content, an appreciative teaching atmosphere and the greatest possible inclusivity.
Since 2022 she has been a certified instructor for FCBD®Style and Flamenco Dialect as well as a certified dancer of DanceCraft® Level 1 and 2.