Emily Castelli

Born in Palermo in 1996, Emily Castelli spent her childhood in Prizzi, a small town in Sicily. In 2015, she moved to Essen, where she started her studies at the Folkwang University of Arts, studying with Lutz Förster, Malou Airaudo, Stephan Brinkmann, Rodolpho Leoni and Lynne Charles, among others. Following her graduation, she directly joined the company of the Folkwang Tanzstudio. 

In her career, Emily had the opportunity to perform works by choreographers including Malou Airaudo, Carolyn Carlson, Sita Ostheimer, Julio Cesar Ungo, Won Myeong Won, Mark Sieczkarek, Michael Vandelvende, Henrietta Horn, David Hernandez and Reinhild Hoffmann. She has worked for the Pina Bausch Foundation, assisting Malou Airaudo and German Acogny with their the duet "common ground[s]".

After leaving the Folkwang Tanzstudio in 2021, she started to work with the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch as a guest dancer. She joined the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch as a full member in August 2023. In 2022, Emily was awarded the Danza&Danza Award as an “Italian dancer who has distinguished herself abroad” for her interpretation of pieces by Pina Bausch on stage.