KATMA

Azzam Mohamed (Shazam) is a dancer, performer, and educator from Sudan. In 2019, he and his crew Riddim Nation were invited by choreographer Nick Power to develop and perform Two Crews (Sydney and Adelaide Festivals, 2020) with Paris crew Lady Rocks. He has co-created and premiered works–Katma (PYT, Sydney Festival 2025), The Risk of Hyperbole (Phoenix Gallery, 2021), and Echo Mapping (Art Gallery of NSW 2024, North Australian Festival of the Arts 2025) and often collaborates with composer Jack Prest. In 2022, he performed in the Monumental program at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Gabriela Green Olea is a Western Sydney-based dance artist and creative producer. Of Chilean refugee heritage, her work explores cross-cultural identity and art as activism. As a producer at PYT Fairfield since 2021, she champions culturally diverse, emerging artists and inclusive environments. Her producing portfolio includes major works like Dorre Dari (Sydney Opera House), Pioneers (Art & About), The Hen House (regional NSW tour), and KATMA (Sydney Festival). Her own creative practice includes cross-cultural, collaborative, participatory projects such as 'Mystery Call' with the MindsEye Collective in Sydney and Teatro Sur in Chile, reflecting her commitment to pushing artistic and social boundaries.

Adelash Parsons is a multifaceted sculptor of textile art and costume designer, who’s works include fashion photography, theatre, film, television and music videos. She has exhibited as a soloist and has been in numerous group exhibitions around Sydney. She has won the Environmental Art and Design Prize with the Northern Beaches Council for her category in Wearable art in 2023. Playing with fibres of all types as a child and having a family all within Theatre and Art’s in Australia has made her the artist she is today. She maintains this upbringing throughout every project.

Specialising in leveraging technology to create and operate lighting/visual systems, André Vanderwert has extensive experience in the performance, art, music and events industry. Taking the intersection of design, new media, and technology as the grounds for artistic experimentation, Vanderwert’s work emphasises the importance, and generative power, of collaboration. Through the delivery of bold, minimal designs his innovative approach centres light and sculptural objects to enhance performance, purpose and practice.

Angelica Osuji (Chika) is a Sydney-based artist and creative visionary. Born in Brazil and raised there and in New Zealand, her work is rooted in the Black experience, history, andculture. As dance chose her, she chose music. Drawing lifelong inspiration from 90s hip-hop, R&B, Michael Jackson, Brazilian Funk, and the African Diaspora, she naturally turned to DJing in 2019. This next step spread joy, art, love, fun, and worship. She has since performed at Afrojam, Redrattler, Can You Afro?, a Burna Boy pre-party, Stage of Origins, and more, and hasn’t looked back since.

Charemaine Seet is a dance artist straddling post-modern dance and street dance practice. She has been a principal dancer in companies in London and New York and has collaborated with choreographer Doug Elkins since 1996. In 2025, she performed at the Public Theater in New York City for DANCENOW’s final evening at Joe’s Pub. Charemaine has mentored emerging dance artists such as Azzam Mohamed and has recently lectured at the Juilliard School in New York City and Wesleyan University. Charemaine is currently leading workshop series at the Sydney Opera House in dance and architecture and choreography.

Elyse is a skilled technician and production manager from Western Sydney. They began their career working on concerts and large-scale productions across Sydney before moving into corporate events as an in-house technician at the Four Seasons Hotel. Elyse later shifted to theatre, serving as Production and Technical Manager for Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and later PYT Fairfield. They have managed major events including the National Awards for Women in Construction, VIVID, and the Mardi Gras Gala 2026. Elyse also works freelance as a lighting designer and technician on theatre projects, including PYT’s The Hen House, Pickled, and various other projects.

Genifer Navuzi is a Belgian dancer, performer, and educator from Congo. Her 15 years dance journey is built on a lifelong Afro-foundation rooted in traditional Ndombolo. She blends this with other influences from Reggae, Dancehall, Hip Hop, and House. She has taught across Europe in Belgium, Italy, France, and more, constantly studying movement to improve and share her passion. In Sydney, she has facilitated an Afro community for seven years. Geny is co-founder of Belgium's Afrokultur festival, promoting African culture, and Sydney's Can You Afro? workshops. She has choreographed for artists like Omah Lay and recently toured with Sampa The Great.

Isabella Solisa, known as “Ms. Kandy Divine,” is a dance visionary with eight years of teaching expertise. Specializing in Waacking, a form deeply rooted in LA’s LGBTQ+ scene, she instructs at universities and studios, including regular classes at Studio IX in Sydney.

A featured performer at the Sydney Art Festival, Kandy also showcases dynamic choreography in music videos. Committed to her craft, she fosters creativity and dynamism within a vibrant community, aiming to inspire the next generation of dancers and dreamers through her unwavering dedication to the art.

Jack Prest is an interdisciplinary artist, composer, and sound engineer. His practice, focused on experimental electronic music, traverses ambient, hip-hop, musique concrète, and club

beats. Treating the studio as his main instrument, he prioritizes pushing sonic boundaries over genre. His work is supported by institutions like the Art Gallery of NSW and Create NSW. He has composed scores for performances at Sadler's Wells and Sydney Opera House. As a senior engineer at Studios 301, he is a leading figure in Australia's independent music scene, with credits for Godtet, Stones Throw, and Sampa The Great.

Matthew Prest is a performance maker, producer and teacher, living and working on Bidjigal land in Sydney, working across theatre, live art and online contexts. He approaches theatre as an event in which audiences encounter and experience performance in ways that are unique to the live medium. As well as black box theatre spaces, he has made work in an underground carpark, the top floor of a skyscraper, a tent in an abandoned lot, a shopping mall, a taxi, a hotel room and in online contexts. Recently, he has been researching liveness and authenticity in the digital age through projects that bleed across live, online, and real-world contexts.

Molonai Makalio is a founding member of Riddim Nation, a collective bringing the social aspect of dance culture to the Sydney dance scene since 2015. They practice all styles in street dance culture (Popping, Locking to Waacking, Breaking to Afro fusion, Hip-hop freestyle & House/Club dance), and bring elements of traditional culture into their dance practice. With Riddim Nation, Nai has taken part in exchanges, battles and cyphers as well sharing styles through clubs and parties.

Naethiel Lumbera, known as Tango, is a passionate breakdancer of 14 years. His journey across various styles has honed his movement and musicality, forging a versatile, adaptive skillset. Deeply inspired by Bruce Lee, Tango embodies the philosophy of being like water - fluid and powerful in execution. He champions self-expression, discipline, and

profound audience connection through dance. This dedication is evident in his dynamic, captivating performances, where precise execution meets emotional depth, leaving a lasting impression.

Robin Chen is a versatile dancer with a focus on house music, culture, dance and experience in breaking. He has an authentic upbringing in street styles learned locally and internationally with over a decade of experience invested and with learning from key figures. For the last two years, he has dedicated enormous effort to learning the nuances of club culture, past, present and future-hoping to bridge the gap between the younger generation’s experience of a club-made dance-culture with their realistic experience of learning in other contexts and expanding into new forms of expression such as performances like KATMA.

George Sheridan is a composer, musician and sound engineer based in Northern Rivers, NSW. With formal training in audio technology and traditional composition, his work sits at the intersection of electronic and live acoustic music. His solo work and collaborative projects have seen releases on La Sape Records.

His studio and live engineering credits include work with a broad range of local and international artists including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Godtet, The Three Seas and many more.