Yiota Peklari | Athens, Greece
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Yiota Peklari grew up in Pireas, Greece, where her dance roots have led her to be one of the most well-known flamenco performers and teachers in Greece. Her discipline covers ballet, contemporary and flamenco. As a dancer and choreographer she approaches body music by visualizing sound and rhythms.

A flamenco and contemporary dancer, she has been researching on applying and expanding flamenco body technique in contemporary creative directions; joined Kantu Korpu in 2009.

For Yiota, dance education began at age five, by the time she was a teenager she was accepted to the State School of Dance's preparatory department, in 1991 she graduated from the professional School of Dance Rallou Manou, and by 1993 she was teaching ballet and contemporary at established dance schools in Greece.

Beginning in 1995, she studied flamenco under Natasa Deka for six years and later took masterclasses and workshops in Spain & Greece with: Rafaela Cararsco, Belen Maya, Israel Galván, Mercedes Ruiz, Andres Peña, Eva Yerbabuena, Isabel Bayon, Antonio Ruiz, Juana Amaya, Pastora Galván, Javier Lattore, Rocio Molina, Leonor Leal, Olga Pericet, Concha Jareno, and many more.

1998 through 2008 had Yiota dancing and choreographing as a member of the flamenco dance group "Ronda al Alba." Following that, she was directing and producing her own projects: Nana (2008), Viva Sevilla (2009), Zaguan (2010), AQUI (2011), AQUI version 0.7 (2012).

In these years, Yiota also participated in and performed at important festivals and venues in Greece and abroad, including the: Dance Festival of the Association of Greek Choreographers, Youth Festival, Diaroes, International Festival of Patras, International Festival CROUSSIS, Festival Virona, Tapmotif, Benaki Museum, Athens Concert Hall, International Body Music Festival, Festival Musicale del Mediterraneo and she choreographed theatrical performances in Athens.

She was one of the founding members and was the artistic director of the Dance school "Estrella" from 2001-2008. In 2009 she co-founded the artistic venue, PLAYGROUND, in the center of Athens. In this role, she has the pleasure to invite many of the renowned flamenco artists she studied with to teach workshops in Athens.