Biography

Collective Dope is a contemporary dance and performing arts collective founded and led by Jenna Jalonen and Nóra Hotváth, who invite and collaborate with other artists from different backgrounds and art forms.

Jenna Jalonen (FI) aka triplejay was born in Finland, educated in Hungary and currently based in Belgium and Hungary. After her studies in classical ballet at the Finnish National Opera Ballet School and Hungarian Dance Academy in Budapest, she changed to the field of contemporary dance and performing arts. She has danced and collaborated with several international companies and choreographers since 2010 such as Eva Duda Dance Co., Central Europe Dance Theater, Kubilai Khan Investigations, Kwaad bloed/Ugo Dehaes, fABULEUS, Thierry de Mey, Theater Bremen, Máté Mészáros, Untamed Productions, Notch Company/Oriane Varak and HODWORKS. Together with Beatrix Simkó their production Long time no see! was part of the official program at Festival d’Avignon 2018 and was one of the selected productions at Aerowaves Twenty19 Spring Forward. She teaches and is developing triplewave, a movement practice inviting the dancer to go on a trip –a meditative and physical journey– using the mechanics of a wave in the body through different dance styles and dynamics in the body. In her artistic work she is continuously researching the extreme physicality of the conscious and unconscious body, the “dead body’ in movement. Outside of studio and stage, Jenna is the co-founder and driver of Collective Dope.

Jonas Garrido Verwerft (BE) started breakdancing when he was 10 years old. Always interested in all kinds of dance, he has mastered a variety of movement styles like floor work, house dance, tricking and loopkicks over the years. He started performing when he joined Let’s go urban, where he worked with Minhee Bervoets, Ish Ait Hamoud, Yves Ruth and Mohammed Boujara. Meanwhile he finished a masters degree in Sport Science and decided to focus more on dance and movement. As a freelancer he has worked on productions for Franco Dragone, Wanp, Fabuleus & Moldavië, Straatrijk and Musichall, and he has collaborated with choreographers such as Randi De Vlieghe, Drosha Grekhov, Thomas Steylaert (Nordin The Wiz). He is one of the founders of Antwerp based urban dance, music and fashion crew Osei Bantu. Currently, he is taking part in the creation of ADHD with Cirk La Putyka, directed by Rosta Novak.

Adrien Newgent (NL) aka Modern Errors  is a music and sound designer from Holland. After graduating in music and music production in Rotterdam, he worked as a sound engineer for three years at MediaWerkPlaats Rotterdam. During these years he started to work in the film industry as a composer. So far has composed music for seven different films and he won ’The best music’ award for a 48 hour film project. Apart from composing for films, he has been collaborating in contemporary dance productions. He worked with Éva Duda Dance Co., Radioballet, Zoltán Grecsó, Jenna Jalonen and Ugo Dehaes. He also often plays at music festivals like Ozora Festival, SUN Festival, Mo:Dem Festival.

Adrian is a versatile emerging artist, whose approach to sound is generally from a non traditional viewpoint. Compositions include sound experiments, unique recordings, atmospheres/sound beds, hybrid styles and self-made instruments. The goal is always to find the most personal and unique approach which fits best with the atmosphere of the project, the feelings of the director, interpretation of the composer and the experience of the audience.

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