MILAN TOMÁŠIK, born in Slovakia, currently lives and works in Slovenia. He studied dance at the Conservatory J. L. Bellu in Banská Bystrica and at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. In 2004, he graduated from P.A.R.T.S, the international dance school in Brussels. Since 2006, he has started making his own work: dance solo Within, Baga-Basta in collaboration with Alexander Gottfarb, the solo Off-Beat, documentary-dance film Off-beat live in collaboration with Stanislav Dobák (2014). Milan Tomášik has collaborated with several choreographers: Eva Weissmann (2000-2005), Iztok Kova?‘s company En-Knap (2005), Maja Delak and Mala Kline (2005), Snježana Premuš (2007), Barbara Novakovi? Kolenc (2007). He is a co-founder and active member of Les SlovaKs Dance Collective, the company based in Brussels. With them, he created three dance performances (Opening Night, Journey Home and Fragments), and from 2007 performed and toured in Europe, Africa, China, America. In 2014 he founded Milan Tomášik & Co and created a dance performance for six dancers Hunting season, which is currently on tour and a piece for four dancers called Silver Blue.

The Spanish dancer IVÁN PÉREZ began making choreographies in 2002, after his studies in choreography and dramaturgy. These first efforts won him immediate success and a number of awards. Iván was till last season attached to the Nederlands Dans Theater as a dancer, where he was given opportunities to further develop his talents in choreography. For the NDT workshops, he created the successful productions A Day Minute (2009) and A Transition (2010), both of which have been performed abroad. He was asked twice by the artistic director of the NDT to create a piece for the company. Iván dedicates himself entirely to his career as a choreographer from this season on.

THE ?FINMALTA DANCE ENSEMBLE | MALTA’S REPERTORY NATIONAL DANCE COMPANY
Since its launch in September 2014, this dynamic company has crafted a wide-ranging repertoire, including new works created in Malta by up-and-coming and established local and international choreographers, as well as the re-staging of renowned works from all over the world. ?finMalta is versatile in its work, while simultaneously very connected to its Euro-Mediterranean roots. It strives to inspire, excite and, most importantly, include its audiences in its developing ideas, as well as in the advancements taking place within the contemporary arts scene internationally. ?finMalta is helping to position Malta as a cultural hub of contemporary dance in Europe and the Mediterranean. Today the company is striving to develop world-class work that can proudly represent Malta on the global stage. In fact, it has started to gain international recognition through its tours. Aside from building a repertoire of work, ?finMalta is also dedicated to reaching out and building audiences of all races, genders, backgrounds and abilities. It is achieving this through its education and outreach programmes by developing high quality work, both within and outside the traditional theatre setting. ?finMalta is building partnerships with international choreographers and creative arts professionals, while also actively developing the skills of young Maltese artists and choreographers. The company is striving to give these artists the chance to showcase their work on an international platform by creating dialogue between them and the global dance industry.