Artistic team & management

Susan Quinn is founder and artistic director of BODHI PROJECT dance company.

In 1981, after graduation from New York University in Fine Arts in Dance she joined the Merce Cunningham Dance Company for seven years as a dancer. She continued her exemplary career to dance in New York City and abroad with various choreographers, while deepening her interest in the study of choreography and teaching technique and composition. After more than ten years working as a dancer and teacher in the USA and Europe, she moved to Salzburg in the early ’90s and founded SEAD – Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. From 1991 to 2006 she created pieces for her own company, the Susan Quinn Dance Company. In 2012 Susan was awarded a Merce Cunningham Fellowship by the Merce Cunningham Trust.

Susan is a founding member of the platform tanz_house Salzburg, taught Contemporary Dance and Composition at the University Mozarteum Salzburg from 1991 until 2013, and was a member of the Regional Council for the Arts in Salzburg from 2001 to 2004. In 2008, Susan founded the touring company BODHI PROJECT. In addition, she is initiator and curator of several festivals and performance series for contemporary dance. The City of Salzburg honoured Susan Quinn in 2016 with the International Award of Arts and Culture. In 2021, she founded the cultural center SQFARM. Fallbach Art Research Movement as a meeting place for artists in residence and people from the surrounding area in Anger (Upper Bavaria). Recently, Susan Quinn was awarded the Gertraud Ruckser-Giebisch-Prize of the Cultural Foundation 'Pro Salzburg' for her life's work.

Marilena Dara is BODHI PROJECT’s cultural manager.

While studying Management Science and Technology at the University of Economics And Business, Marilena studied at the Greek National School Of Dance (K.S.O.T), graduating with distinction in 2012. After graduating she participated in productions by Hellenic Dance Company both as a performer and rehearsal director and had the chance to work with famous choreographers such as Akram Khan, Jasmin Vardimon, Rootlessroot, Martha Graham Company, Jukstapoz, Tono Lachky, and others. Since 2013 she has been a close collaborator of Christine Gouzelis & Paul Blackman (Jukstapoz Co.), assisting them in their productions Vicious Cycle, Self Storage, Swoon, Folie, Echoing Woods, and The Art Of Dying. In 2012 she became a London based performer collaborating with the award-winning choreographer Jasmin Vardimon, first for one of the leading roles in Justitia, and later as the Course Leader of JV2 and JVIntensive from 2014, and today as the rehearsal director for the new productions Maze | Pinocchio and MEDUSA touring internationally. Marilena has choreographed two pieces with titles I was, minus all and Wear Your Wounds performed both by JV2 around UK as well as by Hellenic Dance Company in Athens.

Since 2019, she has been based in Salzburg to take on the role of the Academy Coordinator of SEAD - Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance as well as the Company Manager of BODHI PROJECT dance company. Marilena has been delivering workshops at several universities, studios, and festivals around the world, such as National School of Dance in Athens, Institute of the Arts Barcelona, Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, The Place, Royal Holloway University, Bristol Institute of Performing Arts, International Dance Week-Budapest, Dance Cultural Centre, Greenwich Dance, etc.

BODHI PROJECT’s rehearsal director and production manager.

After completing her degree in Fine Arts, Tatjana deepened her interest in the organizational side of the arts. She furthered her education at the Napier Academy in Milan, where she studied Music Business. She began her professional path in event management in her home country, Italy, and gradually expanded her focus toward cultural management.
Drawn to the creative process behind the scenes rather than the spotlight, she has established herself as a highly organized and imaginative production professional. With a strong talent for coordination and a deep understanding of artistic workflows, she has accompanied ensembles and dance companies on various tours across Europe.
Since 2020, she has been based in Salzburg, where she works as a production manager for local companies, performing arts festivals and video productions, contributing her expertise to the vibrant cultural landscape.