Lydia Perakis (Λυδία Περάκη) is a Greek, New York based Movement Artist, Performer, Choreographer, Educator and Entrepreneur. She was born in Nashville, Tennessee, raised in the Greek island of Crete and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Performance

She is an Artistic Associate with DanceAction led by Carmen Caceres and has performed in the production of “Welcome to Imagi*Nation” at The Center at West Park. Lydia has also worked with choreographers such as Elizabeth Dishman, Jeremy Nelson, Christina Robson, Luis Lara Malvacías, Arnie Zane (re-staged work), the Yonis and Susan Toni. Additionally, she has performed self-choreographed works in many venues around NY, in music videos for artists including Emma Holzer and NOAMS, short films, physical theater and nightlife acts. Her training includes a BFA in Dance from NYU-Tisch School of the Arts and a Minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies (2019).

Choreography

Lydia creates multi-disciplinary works that utilize movement, spoken text, visual art and multimedia. Some of her works have been presented in venues such as the Danspace Project, Gelsey Kirkland Arts Center (19th DUMBO Dance Festival), The Soho Playhouse, Green Space, Jennifer Muller/The Works Studio, SMUSH gallery, Mignolo Arts Center, Brooklyn Bridge Park (Current Showcase), Bridge for Dance, the Queens Outdoor Dance Festival, the Harvesting Performance Salon and Threes @ Franklin + Kent (The Craft NY). She is currently an artist in residency at the Salvatore LaRussa Dance Theater and has also been in residence at the Danspace Project.

ESTIA Creative Home

Lydia is the Founder and Artistic Director of ESTIA Creative Home; a creative home aspiring to create space and opportunities for artists of all mediums to share their work, amplify their storytelling, facilitate conversations and engage in educational programming. ESTIA was founded in 2022 in collaboration with Lola Selsky, is an artist-led LLC and fiscally sponsored by New York Live Arts.

Dance Education

As a Dance Educator, Lydia has taught movement classes to people of all ages and levels specializing in contemporary dance, improvisation, choreography, ballet, body work and creative movement. She has been a teacher via the educational platform of Outschool since 2020, has led Community Donation-Based classes in the NY area, privately coached students pursuing dance professionally, created Asynchronous learning content for Leotard Boutique and masterclasses in various programs including the 19th DUMBO Dance Festival.

Arts Administration

Lydia currently works as an Associate Quality Control Technician at Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution. Other work experience includes: working as an Event/House Manager and Front of House Staff at New York Live Arts, The Center for Performance Research and the Soho Playhouse (2016-2022).