Zoï Tatopoulos’ choreography will get known as quite a lot of issues, however the one label that she retains listening to is “alien.” As seen in her choreography for FKA twigs’ 2024 music video “Eusexua,” Tatopoulos’ method to bop—writhing, crawling, contorting, and completely mesmerizing—is difficult the chances of the physique in industrial choreography.
Position: Impartial choreographer, represented by McDonald/Selznick Associates
Age: 35
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Coaching: The Dance Home (previously in Los Angeles)
Accolades: 2022 MTV Video Music Award nomination for Greatest Choreography, for FKA Twigs’ “Tears within the Membership (feat. The Weeknd)”; High 4 in “So You Assume You Can Dance Greece,” Season 2
Creative upbringing: Tatopoulos credit her father, a director and manufacturing designer, with introducing her to experimental music by the likes of Aphex Twin. In her choreography, she says, “I really like enjoying with music that [doesn’t] have a typical tempo. You’re robotically compelled to do more unusual issues along with your physique.”
From Los Angeles to Greece and again: Tatopoulos’ Greek mom moved the household to Athens when Tatopoulos was 15. The teenager competed within the Greek iteration of “So You Assume You Can Dance,” making it to the High 4. Later, she created Knockturnallheads, an all-female-led firm. “I feel, culturally, it was the proper factor to form who I’m.” After growing a devoted viewers in Greece, she returned to Los Angeles in 2014. “I made a decision that it was time to start out fully contemporary. It began with choreographing for aggressive dance groups.” She’s since amassed credit choreographing for FKA twigs, 070 Shake, BANKS, Travis Scott, Cadillac, and ABC’s Thirtieth-anniversary celebration of Magnificence and the Beast.
In her nook: In terms of mentors, Tatopoulos mentions the choreographer Nina McNeely. McNeely first found Zoï’s choreography on YouTube, by way of “SICKS PHACE,” a 2014 solo that includes her dancing whereas sporting masks on the back and front of her head and on her palms. “It was so visceral and absurd, and I immediately reposted it on Instagram,” says McNeely. They related over espresso and have since supported one another’s work. “I’ve watched her aesthetic type into one thing particular and singular. Her one-of-a-kind model of athleticism and tortured contortions paired with meticulous musicality is one thing so distinctive.”
Unlocking different dancers’ potential: Some might assume solely probably the most limber dancers can sort out Tatopoulos’ type, however her grasp courses at studios within the Los Angeles space are an area for artists to find their capability for motion. “I can not emphasize what number of occasions folks have lastly had the braveness to come back to class and inform me, ‘I didn’t know my physique might try this.’ These are very fulfilling moments, when dancers say, ‘I attempted it; I did it; I’m so pleased with myself.’ ”
Reflecting on initiatives small and huge: Recalling her 2021 dance quick We Will Discover It, she says: “My most prized possessions are doing these video ideas with little to no price range, and having dancers which might be simply all the way down to do it.” For “Eusexua,” FKA twigs gave Tatopoulos full liberty to create as she happy. “Arms down, [it was] probably the most magical expertise I’ve ever had,” says Tatopoulos.
