Team
Ben J. Riepe is a choreographer and visual artist as well as artistic director of both Ben. J. Riepe Company with its eight-person back-office team and production-related four to ten performers, as well as of the FREIRAUM, which he conceived in 2018 (opening in 2020) as an interdisciplinary, collaborative conceptual and working space for the arts and sciences. Ben works on live productions and (digital) projects in Düsseldorf, nation-wide as well as internationally and has been awarded for his work multiple times .
Ben’s detailed bio with all contexts and artistic focuses can be found here
Nassrah-Alexia Denif studied communication and media sciences as well as English and linguistics at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. During her studies, she worked in PR for various music and cultural festivals, and as a press officer and assistant ballet dramaturg at the Oper am Rhein, where she subsequently took over the communications of the Friends of the Opera during her studies. After graduating (M.A.), she completed a traineeship as PR editor at a cultural PR agency and then took over as head of the press and public relations department at the Heilbronn Theatre. In 2008, she started working at PACT Zollverein in Essen, Choreographisches Zentrum NRW, as head of the communications department for over a decade. In summer 2019, Nassrah took over as Head of Communications and Strategic Management for Ben J. Riepe and the Ben J. Riepe Company, and also serves in these capacities for FREIRAUM, which has been operated by the Ben J. Riepe Company since 2020. In 2014, Nassrah was named by the media portal newsroom.de as one of “The 500” – relevant makers in the media industry and regularly gives workshops and lectures on PR and communication topics in the cultural sector, e.g. for the Goethe-Institut or the tanzmesse nrw. Together with Ben, she conceived the “School of Experience”, first implemented in 2021, a mediation format by and for students from various faculties and universities in NRW.
Management und Kommunikation
nassrah@benjriepe.com
+49 (0)211 980 77 141
Izaskun Abrego danced for over two decades in V.A. Wölfl’s company “Neuer Tanz” (New Dance) and toured worldwide with it before she took over the administration at the BJRK in 2012. Since then she has continued to develop and expand the company together with Ben. Since 2020, in addition to her administrative duties, she has also been responsible for the overall coordination of all projects and productions of the BJR team and, with her extensive experience in the production field, provides organizational and coordinating support not only to the company’s project leaders in the various fields of work, but often also to FREIRAUM’s guests.
In addition, Izaskun occasionally appears on stage as a performer herself in Ben’s work, such as in the production CREATURE (2020).
Artistic Office and Administration
izaskun@benjriepe.com
+49 (0)211 980 77 141
Jessica Prestipino joined the Ben J. Riepe team in 2019, as a project manager as well as working in press and public relations together with Nassrah. Her focus is production management of all Ben J. Riepe artistic processes and productions. Jessica has recently completed her master’s degree in media cultural analysis with a thesis on the topic of leisure and decelerated ways of working using the example of FREIRAUM. She also takes on more logistic tasks within the BJR team structure from 2023. In addition to her work in the BJR team, Jessica is co-organizer of the feminist concert series fem_pop in Düsseldorf, which regularly takes place at zakk, among other venues.
Project Manager – Ben J. Riepe
jessica@benjriepe.com
+49 (0)211 158 461 02
Anja Kunz studied Comparative Studies of Culture and Religions and European Ethnology at Philipps University Marburg and is trained in the methods of Augusto Boals’ theater (Theater of the Oppressed). After her masters’ degree she started working in different socio-cultural contexts. She was part of the Wort&Bühne team at zakk Düsseldorf and responsible for dance, theater and cultural education at börse in Wuppertal until 2022. There she initiated the production camp „SchnittStelle“ (2021) on participation in art projects. Her interest in individual and collective change processes and human-nature-relationship led her to train in Initiatic Process Facilitation®, in which she has been giving regular seminars ever since. She is also involved in various productions of the independent scene as a performer and dramaturge. Since May 2023 she has taken over the project management of FREIRAUM, collaborative conceptual and working space for the arts and sciences.
Project Manager – FREIRAUM
freiraum@benjriepe.com
+49 (0)211 158 155 83
