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International Festivals Credits

Tapmotif (Lefkada, Greece): Producer, Artistic Director, Teacher & Performer
MadTap (Madrid, Spain): Teaching & Performance
TapOn Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain): Teaching & Performance
London Tap Jam (London, UK): Teaching & Performance
Kompitus Rhythm (Helsinki, Finland): Teaching & Performance
TRI Toronto Rhythm Initiative (Toronto, Canada): Teaching & Performance with Heather Cornell
Tap Breizh (Rennes, France): Teaching & Performance
Habra CaTap Art (Paris, France): Teaching & Performance
Walk to the Beat (Nyack, New York): Collaboration with Making Music Dance
International Body Music Festivals (USA, Turkey, France, Italy, Greece): Performance with multiple groups
Angers Tap Festival (France): Teaching & Performance
Percussive Dance Festival PDF (Paris, France): Teaching & Performance
Festival Circular (São Paulo, Brazil): Teaching & Performance
Tap in Rio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): Teaching & Performance

EDUCATION AND WORK

His education began in Greece with music, guided by his pianist grandmother, Fani Daskalopoulou, and continued with dance at the school of Ntiana Theodoridou, studying ballet, contemporary dance, and tap with Cindy Trent and Zelina Kilimi. At the same time, he completed his studies in 2002 at the National Technical University of Athens as a Surveying Engineer.

After gaining significant experience at tap festivals in New York in 2001, he decided to dedicate himself to the form, placing emphasis on its improvisational dimension. His main mentor became Heather Cornell, a pioneering figure in the field with important collaborations in her career, including with the legendary jazz double bassist Ray Brown. His relationship with Heather evolved into a strong friendship and long-term professional collaboration that continues to this day.

Through his early work as a tap dancer, he expanded his expressive vocabulary by encountering Keith Terry and his approach to creating music through the entire body—what Keith himself defined since the 1980s as body music. Keith became his mentor in this field, forming another defining relationship and ongoing collaboration.

CONTEMPORARY AUDIBLE DANCER

Today, Thanos’ personal work explores the embodied coexistence of music and dance, blurring the boundaries between the two in both solo and group contexts. In his approach, while maintaining attention to detail in the musical articulation of the body, he also places particular emphasis on movement, informed by his exposure to contemporary dance techniques and related collaborations.

The year 2024 marks his engagement with creating original works, beginning with the short film “shunt” directed by Giorgos Athanasiou. In 2025, he presented the interdisciplinary performance “Way We Parade” with dancers and musicians, and in 2026 he initiated the project “PACE,” combining acoustic dance and electronic music, in collaboration with Mario Valinakis and Petros Stamelos.

AS A PERFORMER

In Greece, Thanos has collaborated with leading figures of the jazz scene and has performed as an improvising tap dancer at the Megaron Concert Hall, festivals, and major music venues. He co-founded the first Greek body music group, Kantu Korpu, together with Simone Mongelli, alongside contemporary flamenco dancer and choreographer Giota Peklari and singer Maria Alatsatianou.

He was a long-time member of the collective Funkollectiv and is currently part of Wolfy Funk Project as a singer and tap dancer. He has participated in various theatre and contemporary dance productions and is currently performing in B(L)ALLOON, choreographed by Giota Peklari and Vasia Zormpali.

Internationally, he joined the Spanish music and dance company Cambuyón, making his debut Off-Broadway at the New Victory Theater in 2015. He has also toured internationally with Body Music: See Music, Hear Dance, directed by Keith Terry and Jep Meléndez. In parallel, he has appeared in numerous international festivals, presenting his personal artistic identity on stages around the world.

AS A COLLABORATOR

He has worked with theatre and dance productions as a movement and rhythm coach, combining his expertise in body music and tap dance. His collaborations include:

Room Service, directed by Hector Lygizos (2014, Onassis Stegi)
The Other Side of the Storm, directed by Yannis Houvardas (2022, Athens Festival)
MOS, by choreographer Ioanna Paraskevopoulou (2022)
A House Bright as Day, directed by Yannis Moschos (2023, National Theatre of Greece)

He currently holds the same role in the new production “Marx” by Antonis Antonopoulos and Panagiotis Melidis (Larry Gus).

AS A PRODUCER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

From 2007 to 2015, he organized Tapmotif, an intensive 10-day improvisation festival for musicians and tap dancers on the Greek island of Lefkada. In addition to co-curating the artistic program with Heather Cornell and Max Pollak, Thanos taught, performed, and played a key role in building a strong international community.

Since 2024, he has been a member of the production and artistic direction team of the International Body Music Festival, where he has also participated as a performer since 2011.

AS A TEACHER

Thanos regularly teaches tap dance and body music at PLAYGROUND for the Arts, a creative space he co-founded with Giota Peklari and Petros Kourtis. He has also been a faculty member of the Carl Orff-Schulwerk music and movement education program in Athens for the past 15 years.
Since 2018, he collaborates annually with the jazz improvisation workshop Improjazzworkshop and frequently travels internationally to teach in countries such as the USA, Canada, Spain, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Brazil.

THANOS DASKALOPOULOS

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DASKALOPOULOS

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