VARIUM TEAM

ANNA SANCHEZ

FOUNDER AND TEACHER

With a strong formation in classical, jazz and contemporary (Limon and Graham) dance, her style combines technique, expression and energy changes to achieve greater freedom through movement. In her work, she gives the same importance to a glance, a small gesture, a complicated turn, a great jump or a fall to the ground.

“I believe in the wealth of diversity and in the creativity of people. I like to work as a team and empower new ideas. ”
Director of the Varium Espai de Moviment dance school in Barcelona, since 1987.

Director of Anna Sanchez Companyia de Dansa from 1985 to 1990 and of the “Companyia Inconnexa” from 2002 to 2005.
Artistic director of the International Dance Festival "Dansa Sant Cugat" from 2000 to 2009.

She has worked with numerous European international dance workshops, teaching contemporary dance, as well as teaching contemporary dance didactics at the higher level of the INSTITUT DEL TEATRE in Barcelona and ESART, a private university of for the performing arts.

She has collaborated as a guest teacher in professional dance training schools such as EPSEDANSE (Montpellier), CAFEDANSE (Aix-en-Provence) and JAMES CARLÈS (Tolouse).
She has worked as a guest teacher and/or rehearsal director for the companies: S.OA.P. (Rui Horta, Fankfurt), METROS (Ramón Oller Barcelona), MARTA CARRASCO (Barcelona), TRÀNSIT (Maria Rovira, Barcelona), MAR GÓMEZ (Barcelona), NORRDANSE (Sweden) BALLET PRELJOCAJ (France) CESC GELABERT (Barcelona) and BRODAS BROS (Barcelona).

Her experience and expertise as a teacher was recognized by the French Ministry of Culture who gave her the possibility to teach at the official dance conservatories throughout the Country.

ROBERT RUSSELL

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND TEACHER

After training as a classical orchestral percussionist, choir and jazz singer, Robert discovers the world of theater by performing in various musicals.

At age 15, he discovers his true passion: dance. After intensive dance training at the Cornish Institute for the Arts in Seattle, he dances with various companies and festivals in the United States and Canada.

In 1992 he was invited to join the Geneva Ballet where he stayed for six years. In 1998 he started teaching and at the same time pursued studies in psychology.

Continuing his career as a dancer he participated in various Sinopia Danse Ensemble projects, performed in La Revue Genevoise 2003, and then in 2004 at the Königsfelden Tanzspiel festival in Brugg.

After a year and a half with the Cathy Sharp Dance Ensemble in Basel and 25 years of stage, he decided, in 2006, to devote himself to teaching.

Today, a beloved professor of classical and modern dance based in Barcelona, he is also responding to requests to participate in various dance projects.

AURÉLIE VEYRAT

DIRECTION Assistant

Communication manager

A young and passionate artist with a love for movement and visual arts. Despite being self-taught, she has gained the ability to capture the energy and spirit of her subjects.

As a dancer, her background gives her another approach to photography. She also experiments with video dance and graphic design to add an extra layer of creativity and dynamism to her work.

Above all, she has a deep respect and admiration for the people she photographs and wants to capture the essence of who they are.

THE PEDAGOGICAL TEAM

JUSTINE MAROUZE

CONTEMPORARY DANCE TEACHER

After finishing her dance formation with Varium Espai de Moviment and Mondap'art, she is invited to join Fre3bodies as both dancer and assistant director.

She dances in several productions by choreographers such as Vero Cendoya, Pietro Marullo and Victoria Storgen. In 2019, she joins the In-motus company directed by Diego Sinniger.

Teacher at different international workshops: Voiron, Montpellier, Royan, Mallorca, Frankfurt, Munich. Co-director of the amateur youth Manama dance company.

A living movement marked as much by its sensuality and fluidity as by it's attacks and ruptures.

She takes great pleasure in creating a space without judgment where she can investigate individuality; a place to play with the textures of movement, challenging both body awareness and discover a surprising internal musicality.

MARTA RUIZ

ACROBATIC AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE TEACHER

From a young age connected with the world of acrobatics until she discovered contemporary dance at the age of 17.

She trained at Varium Espai de Moviment and the following year she was a member of the Fre3bodies dance program in Barcelona.

Dancer and cover in different projects with the choreographers Agnés Sales and Hector Plaza, Pietro Marullo, Lu Arroyo and acrobat in a new production of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. Choreographer and performer of the solo piece “Interna Soledad”.

She focuses on the basic work so that, once integrated into the body, it progressively deforms it and creates infinite possibilities of movement, becoming aware of the physical conditions of the body itself.

HECTOR PLAZA, BUBA

URBAN AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE TEACHER

Born in Valladolid in 1991 he began his relationship with the movement from a young age through sports and martial arts. Later at the age of 11 he turned to urban dances, more specifically Breaking.

In 2012 he began his training as a dancer of contemporary dance in the school Varium and since then has not stopped researching and training to date becoming nominated for the awards of the critic of Catalonia and the Max awards as best male dancer in 2022. He has also worked as a performer for Nadine Gerspacher, Physical Momentum Project by Francisco Córdova Azuela, Roberto Olivan, La intrusa, Guy Nader and Maria Campos.

As own projects is one of the founding members of the company Iron Skulls and also works together Agnes Sales at pedagogical and creative level.

ARAN CASADEVALL

BALLET TEACHER AND

THEORETICAL CLASSES

She began her training in musical theatre at the Aules school and gradually specialized in dance. She followed 4 years of professional training in classical dance and then entered the Mariemma Professional Dance Conservatory (Madrid) specialized in contemporary dance. Two years later, she studied at the Conservatorio Profesional de danza at the Institut del Teatro where she graduated in 2014.

She then joined the Conservatorio Superior de Danza and performed the choreography of "Los Corderos", "Sol Picó" and "Lali Ayguadé".She graduated in 2021 in dance pedagogy.

Professionally, she has performed for the companies "CaraBdanza Project", "Compañía Ion Beitia", "Voyance", and directed and choreographed the Compañía "Eqvilater".
She has also danced and choreographed in various commercials, many for TV3.

Her experience as a teacher focuses on classical, contemporary dance and pilates, as well as choreography, pedagogy and injury prevention workshops, both at the professional and amateur levels. She is currently working for the formació professional de bailarines at the Varium school and the ADansa school, which she also directed for 7 years and is a member of the education commission of the Association of Dance Professionals of Barcelona.

AGNES SALES MARTIN, AKNESS

ACROBATIC AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE TEACHER

Born in Barcelona she started her career as a gymnast. After that she began to introduce herself into the Hip Hop community as part of the breaking crew "La Cueva".

Among other awards, she become the winner of the BOTY France twice in a row in 2015 and 1016 and Open Your Mind 2018.

At the same time, Agnés acquired the university degree in physical activity and sports sciences at the INEFC in Barcelona. However, her curiosity for the performing arts led her to continue her academic education by conducting contemporary dance training at the "Varium" school leaded by Anna Sánchez.

She has worked with companies like Iron Skulls, La Intrusa, Marcel et ses Drôles des Femmes, VAYA and Chriki’Z, Spoart and Zero en Conducta. In an hybrid work between contemporary dance, circus, urban dance and theatre.

In addition she’s co-director and dancer for the company Agnés Sales & Héctor Plaza. With which they have created the pieces Ehiza, Blue Monday and Happy Everything.

NÚRIA CAPELLAS

Physiotherapist and Dancer

Mi mayor pasión es el cuerpo humano, donde baile y fisioterapia se complementan para que pueda profundizar en su totalidad.

Mi deseo de especializarme en el mundo de las artes escénicas me llevó a completar tres formaciones impartidas por Ana Velázquez: fisioterapia para la danza, fisioterapia para la voz, el canto y el teatro, y fisioterapia para músicos (2022-2023). Para enriquecer mi práctica, he buscado el conocimiento en áreas complementarias. He realizado una formación en entrenamiento funcional (2022), un curso sobre el suelo pélvico y el ejercicio en la Escuela de Movimiento y Conciencia (2022) y me he formado como instructora de Pilates MAT en Orthos (2022-2023), así como en Pilates Barre (2023).

Hoy en día me caracterizo por mi dedicación al cuerpo humano, tanto en mi como en los demás, siendo una fisioterapeuta artista con enfoque biomecánico y postural. Mi objetivo principal es la prevención y el tratamiento de lesiones, buscando optimizar el rendimiento del cuerpo sin comprometer su integridad.