Avgi Papakyriakou B.PHIL. (HONS), RTS, RAD Teach Dip
[Director & Classical Ballet Teacher]
Avgi was born in Morphou, Cyprus in 1966. She is an experienced teacher and choreographer of classical ballet and modern jazz. She studied at the Royal Academy of Dance in London and later on at the Broadway Dance Centre in New York. In 1988 she returned to Cyprus where she taught for two years in various schools. In 1990 she founded the Motion Art Studio. In 2003, Avgi acquired the Bachelor of Philosophy in Ballet and Contextual Studies of the University of Durham, in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Dance. In 2005, she trained for the method of Pilates and gained the Diploma from Pilates Coach. Avgi is a registered teacher and member of the Royal Academy of Dance and the Dance Cyprus Association. She is also one of the founding members of the Lefkosia Youth Ballet, established in 1999 with the aim to promote the young talented dancers of Nicosia and dance in general. In 2009, Avgi develops ‘Babymotion’, a movement and dance program, specially designed for children of 12 months – 3 1/2 years old.
Penelope Georghiadou
[Co-director & Classical Ballet Teacher]
Penelope was born in Nicosia in 1984. At the age of 5, she started taking lessons in classical ballet and modern jazz at the Motion Art Studio. For 2 years she worked as an assistant teacher at the school before going for further studies at the “Rallou Manou” Senior Professional School of Dance, in Athens. In 2006, she graduated with the Diploma of Dance Teacher and Dancer. In 2003, she was awarded the 2nd Prize at the “Eurovision for Young Dancers’’ contest and won a Ministry of Education and Culture grant to attend the New York Dance Experience.She has also attended numerous dance seminars in Cyprus, Greece, London and New York. Penelope has participated in a substantial number of dance performances in Cyprus, Greece and elsewhere. For 11 years she has been a permanent member of the Dance Group “Amfidromo Chorotheatro” of Elena Christodoulidou. For two years, she danced and taught dance to all ages, in Athens. In 2010 she was among the 12 professional dancers which were chosen to dance for the official 50th anniversary celebrations since the establishment of the Cyprus Republic. In 2011 she took part in an educational musical called ''Cinema Dance Box". Ιn 2012, she took part in the performance "No Lines In The Horizon" which was chosen to participate in the" Contemporary Dance Festival " in Athens. Since 2008, Penelope is part of the team of Motion Art Studio.
Rafaella Kattou
[Classical Ballet, Contemporary & Modern Jazz Teacher]
Rafaella was born in Nicosia in 1991. At the age of 6, she started taking lessons in classical ballet, modern jazz and contemporary at the Motion Art Studio. She continued her studies at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom, from where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Culture (2009-2012). In 2013 she moved to Florence, Italy, where she joined the Opus Ballet Academy, training in professional performance of contemporary and modern dance. Since January 2015, Rafaella is part of the team of Motion Art Studio.
Anastasia Georgalli CBTS
[Classical Ballet, Babymotion, Modern Jazz, Commercial Jazz, Adult Class & Contemporary Teacher]
Anastasia was born in Nicosia, in 1997. At the age of 4, she started taking lessons in classical ballet, contemporary and modern jazz at Motion Art Studio. In 2015, she went for further studies at the “Rallou Manou” Senior Professional School of Dance in Athens. In 2019, Anastasia followed a distant learning teacher’s course with the Royal Academy of Dance while training at Motion Art Studio and in 2020, she received the Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies. She is now a Registered Teacher of the Royal Academy of Dance and since 2019, she has been a member of the Motion Art Studio team.
Nefeli Tsiouti PT, MA, MSc 
[Dance Align & Hip Hop/Breakdance]
Nefeli was born in Australia. She started dance in 1995 at Motion Art Studio and danced professionally in Greece & UK (2006-16). She studied: BA French Literature (University of Athens), MA Choreography (Middlesex University), MSc Dance Science (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance), Sports Massage Therapy Diploma (Sports Therapy UK) and BSc Physiotherapy (European University Cypru)s. Currently she is Scientific Collaborator at the European University Cyprus Medical School, Physiotherapist at Advance Medical Centre in Nicosia & Manager of Project Breakalign, a prevention of injuries research project for dancers. Moreover, she is a dancer & Choreographer, Board Member of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS). Nefeli was awarded the Sports Therapist of the Year 2018 award by the International Federation of Holistic therapists. She won 1st Prize and Most Innovative idea Prize at the EUC-Peak Entrepreneurship competition for start-ups in 2018. Her dance training has spread from ballet to hip-hop/Breaking. She has taught in dance schools and Universities since 2006 in Greece, UK, Cyprus and provided guest lectures across Europe, USA, Canada & Hong-Kong. Nefeli has a mission of preventing injuries for dancers and has been awarded many scholarships to support this vision. She is the organiser of the Dance Science Conference in Cyprus since 2018.
Anastasia Paschali 
[Classical Ballet, Professional Coaching]
Anastasia was born in Pennsylvania in 1987 to Greek-Cypriot parents. She started her classical ballet training at the Motion Art Studio in Nicosia, Cyprus, while later she continued training vocationally at the Rock School for Dance Education in Pennsylvania and the English National Ballet School in London. In February 2006, at the age of 19, Anastasia signed her first contract with The Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen and became its youngest member at the time. In 2010 Anastasia chose to challenge herself on an academic level and returned to Cyprus to enroll in the University of Nicosia’s psychology program, while also teaching at the university’s dance department. She graduated in 2013 as Valedictorian with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She also studied teaching at the Royal Academy of Dance and now holds a Professional Dancer’s Teaching Diploma. In 2013, she joined the Leipzig Ballet in Germany. In 2014, Anastasia joined the Royal Ballet of Flanders as a Demi-Soloist and was promoted to Soloist in 2016. The highlight of her career to date was the famed ‘Bolero’ by Maurice Bejart, a role which is considered among the most iconic and honoring roles. After a diverse and fulfilling career abroad, Anastasia aspires to share her knowledge, experience and love for dance with the younger generation. She is currently combining her performing with teaching and coaching in her home country, Cyprus, while also creating and managing Pascali Dancewear.
Hamilton Monteiro
[Contemporary]
He graduated from the State School of Orchestral Art, in 1996. In 2001, he left for New York with a scholarship from the Alexandros Onassis Foundation, where he studied for two years, danced and collaborated with notable artists and choreographers. On his return, he worked in the choreographic team of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. From 2004 until today, he has collaborated with dance groups inside and outside Greece and Cyprus. He presented his works in New York, Greece, at the Contemporary Dance Platform institution, at the Dance Waves Festival, at the Summer Festival of New Movement Dancers and Choreographers of Cyprus. He has also collaborated with THOK, and ETHAL. Since September 2023, he is part of Motion Art Studio team.
Panikos Tembriotis
[Art Teacher]
Panikos studied at the Rome Academy of Fine Arts, Italy (1985-87), at the Perugia Academy of Fine Arts, Italy (1987-89) and at the Beijing University of Culture, China (1993-94). He worked as an Art primary and secondary school teacher. He also worked as an art director at various theatrical and movie productions. From 2001 until 2007, he was appointed at the Pedagogical Institute of Cyprus at the Department of Educational Film Productions, as a set-designer and director. Panikos is the founder of the Cultural Organization “Aeschylou Arcade”. He participated in numerous group exhibitions and has done nine personal exhibitions: 1990 “Sarapart” Perugia, Italy - 1991 Festival “Dei Due Mondi” Spoleto, Italy - 1992 Exhibition Area “Melina Mercouri”, Nicosia - 1995 Famagusta Gate - 1998 “35E – 33N”, Nicosia - 2003 “Yacht’’, Larnaca - 2005 Gallery Pantheon, Nicosia - 2006 Opus 39, Nicosia - 2010 “Tribus Hybrid’’ Aeschylou Arcade, Nicosia – 2016 “The Remix of Charm & Politics” Municipal Market of the Old Town Hall, Nicosia. Since 2010, Panikos is part of the team of Motion Art Studio.
Vasilis Michael
[Pianist accompanist]
Vasilis was born in Larnaca in 1987. His love for music appeared at the age of 15 when he was self-taught piano. In a time period of only four months, Vasilis succeeded in passing the Grade 8 piano examination of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, under the guidance of his teacher Mr. Christodoulos Vassiliadis. In 2002, he was awarded with the Certificate in Pianoforte Performance of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with High Honors. In 2004, he received the Licentiate in Performance of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with Merit. In 2006 - 2011, he studied at the Music Academy ARTE and graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Music. Vasilis was also awarded with the ‘Mary Ioannou’ Award which is given to graduating students with the highest performance in musical instrument. Since 2015, Vasilis is part of the team of Motion Art Studio.
Angela Charalambous
[Enrolment & Office Administrator]
Angela was born in Nicosia in 1991. In 2013 she graduated with honors from University of Cyprus with a BSc in Business Administration with concentration in Management. She gained valuable work experience in the field of project management as an EU Project & Financial Assistant that has broadened her skill set and made her an effective manager. Her professional interests expand into more creative areas as well, as she has recently obtained a Professional Make-up Artist Diploma. Since October 2023, Angela is part of the team of Motion Art Studio, as Enrollment and Office Administrator.