CHRISTINE & PAUL - Jukstapoz

ABOUT
- JUKSTA Company was founded in 2010 by choreographers Christine Gouzelis and Paul Blackman. What began as a creative partnership has since evolved into an internationally recognised company, known for its bold choreographic language and multidisciplinary collaborations.
  Working as both a choreographic duo and stage directors, Christine and Paul are united by a shared philosophy: that juxtaposition is a powerful lens through which to explore the diversity, conflict, and beauty of human experience.
  At the heart of their work are motion-driven states, where body, light, and scenography are not passive backdrops but active, interconnected systems—metaphors for societal, existential, and archetypal themes. These elements generate a sense of urgency and internal transformation, all breathing and performing in sync with the body. They shape behaviour, disrupt habitual patterns, and reflect social and psychological dynamics. Rather than supporting the choreography, these components operate within it, allowing space and movement to evolve together in real time.
  JUKSTA's choreographic worlds live between the visible and the invisible—sensed but not always seen. Their highly physical works provoke subtle yet poignant shifts in perception, confronting both performers and audiences with questions that linger beneath the surface. They ignite direct engagement with the intangible—an emotional force that transcends logic and speaks to vulnerability, catharsis, and collective truth. Paul and Christine are known for crafting multilayered, atmospheric environments where chaos and harmony coexist. Their staging is visually arresting, emotionally resonant, and open to interpretation. Offering audiences infinite ways to perceive their work, yet reaching towards something deeply human—a shared reality, imperfect yet searching.
  As creators, they continually pursue innovation through risk, refinement, and reinvention. Each project is a fresh inquiry, shaped by new strategies, codes, languages or context. Embracing both minimalism and maximalism, they embody the duality of "less is more and more is more."
  Their artistic reach extends beyond dance into opera, theatre, film, fashion and other cross-disciplinary fields— wherever movement holds meaning. As directors, Christine and Paul are adept at bringing together diverse voices, uniting performers and collaborators through a shared physical language and mutual trust.
  JUKSTA's work has been commissioned and presented by many of the world's leading institutions and festivals, including GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Teatro alla Scala, Sadler's Wells, Salzburg Festspiele, Wiener Staatsoper, Onassis Cultural Centre Athens, Athens Epidaurus Festival, St. Gallen Theatre, National Theatre Mannheim, among others.
  Christine and Paul are committed to accessibility and the investment in nurturing future generations. Through mentorships, workshops, residencies, and seminars, they share their choreographic practice and support emerging artists across international festivals, academies, and companies. JUKSTA continues to build a lasting foundation for contemporary dance theatre—one that values imperfections, encourages reflection, and invites an ever-evolving exploration of movement and meaning.
PHOTO

CHRISTINE & PAUL

Christine Gouzelis is of Greek-Canadian descent and is one of the leaders of the Jukstapoz Company. After studying at the National Greek Academy of Dance, she received the DanceWeb scholarship for Impulstanz - Vienna in 2004. That same year, Christine began a long-term collaboration with choreographer, improviser and artist David Zambrano. After becoming a member of the Hellenic Dance Company, she came to dance for choreographers such as Wim Vandekeybus, Anton Lachky, Rootlessroot, Athina Vahla and Pascal Rioult. Christine has also worked with the Jasmin Vardimon's Company, affiliated with Sadlers Wells, and toured with works internationally until she was appointed rehearsal leader for the company in 2012. She has also been rehearsal leader for Anton Lachky Company and Athina Vahla. Since 2010, with the formation of Jukstapoz Company,
Christine leads workshops in dance and seminars for institutions and festivals such as the Venice Biennale, Greenwich Dance, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Beijing BNU, Salzburg Experimental Dance Academy, B12 Berlin, 203Y Guangzhou, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Dance Center Jette Brussels and Sadlers Wells. She was one of the lecturers at the National Greek Academy of Dance from 2011–2018. In 2014, Christine was invited as a guest choreographer at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts for two years. She has created works such as Fragile Matter, Echoing Woods, Savage Symphony and Perplexed Harmony and was nominated by the Hong Kong Dance Alliance for Best Choreography and Best Ensemble for the work Fragile Matter.

Paul Blackman is one of the founding members of the Jukstapoz Company and is originally from Perth, West Australia. At a young age, Paul was literally thrown headfirst into the performing arts world by his acrobatic and circus trained mother. After graduating from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, he worked with the West Australian Ballet and then Buzz Dance Theatre touring interstate and regional Australia. Awarded 'best male dancer' in the Ausdance Awards 2006 and nominated for 'best dancer' Helpmann Award 2006. In 2007 was awarded 'best male performer' by Article19. He was invited to New York with Battery Dance Company to begin work and touring internationally, he was also one of the original members of the Dancing to Connect℠ programme which has now reached over 52 countries worldwide. Consecutively he joined the Jasmin Vardimon Company in the United Kingdom, creatively working and touring internationally until 2010. In this last decade and previously, he has encountered and worked with a diverse group of renowned Artists, such as Jan Lauwers, David Zambrano, Matthias Hartmann, Jasmin Vardimon, Alexandra Liedtke, Jozef Frucek and Linda Kapetanea, Jonathan Hollander, Susan Quinn, Athena Vahla, Felicity Bott, Chrissie Parrott and Simon Dow. He is also a choreographer and movement coach for contemporary and traditional operas working with an array of notable conductors, singers and musicians at the Salzburg Festspiele, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Wiener Staatsoper, Theater Kiel, Salzburger Landestheater, Athens Megaron Mousikis, Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater. Currently, his main focus is the co-artistic directorship of Jukstapoz Company. Based in Athens - Greece and choreographing for multi-scaled commissioned works for international coordination. Paul continues to share his enthusiasm for the Arts by teaching & coaching dance/choreographic workshops throughout the world in various notable festivals, institutions and companies.