Jianna Georgiou was one of the four emerging directors for Restless’ Debut 2 project (2009), collaborating with Katrina Lazaroff and dancers from the Youth Ensemble and the Adelaide College of the Arts to direct her first work, Dancing Dragons. In 2010 she joined the Touring Company’s all-female cast for Beauty, which premiered at the Adelaide Festival Centre. She joined the Restless Education Team for the Brothers, Sisters project at Christies Beach High School led by Sally Chance and was short-listed for a Young Achievers Award in 2010.

In 2011 she worked on Restless Central as a co-tutor and led warm-up sessions for Adriano Cortese’s The Lure and Blur of The Real residency. As part of the Junction Artist Exchange Program, Jianna participated in a 4-week professional placement at ADT and Restless with Tobiah Booth-Remmers’ I Am Me project. Jianna directed her second work Superhero Island with mentor Tim Rodgers, casting dancers from the Youth Ensemble, Restless Central and Adelaide College of the Arts (AC Arts) for the Debut 3 program.

In 2012 she collaborated and performed with six AC Arts students in Philip Channells’ inPerspective #1 research project for the Australian Dance Theatre’s Rough Draft program and Ausdance SA’s Choreolab in Theatre season at the Adelaide College of the Arts. Jianna is a current recipient of the 2013 JUMP Mentoring Program through the Australia Council and attends contemporary technique and composition classes at the Adelaide College of the Arts with her mentor Lisa Heaven and PA, Philip Channells. Jianna choreographed The Gardens with AC Arts 2^nd year dancers and will further develop this work for her Debut 4 season at Restless Dance Theatre.

Jianna became an Associate Artist of Dance Integrated Australia in 2013. She has since traveled to Perth to work with Paige Gordon and Tracksuit where she performed in Enter & Exit and assisted in the Beyond Technique workshop/master classes as part of Dance Week WA. Jianna was artist is residence at the Bundanon Trust’s Boyd Education Centre (BEC), which is situated on the Riversdale property on the NSW south coast. During this period she worked with Philip Channells on the Movements in the Landscape project and was one of only five artists selected to work with Elizabeth Ryan on developing her new solo, Sound Effects in Nature (working title) during the Beyond Technique Residency.

Joining the Education Team of Dance Integrated Australia, Jianna has continued to develop her workshop and choreographic skills on projects including, Creative Arts in the Special Needs Classroom (Sydney Opera House) and for Ausdance Queensland; the Dance Integrated Workshop series (Judith Wright Centre for Contemporary Arts).

Photo: Philip Channells