What’s this all about?
Brianna Shahin is an Egyptian-Australian mixed movement artist based in nipaluna/Hobart. Her work spans contemporary dance, facilitation, and bodywork, threading together physical intelligence, intuition, and deep curiosity about human connection. Born in warrane/Sydney, Brianna moved to lutruwita/Tasmania—a decision that radically reshaped her life and artistic direction. The shift away from familiarity gave her the space to push beyond comfort, build new creative networks, and trust her body to lead the way.
Her background in dance is anchored by formal training with Ev & Bow and Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year, paired with a Bachelor of Anthropology from Western Sydney University. This combination grounds her work in both embodied and cultural knowledge. She recently graduated with a Diploma of Remedial Massage, expanding her understanding of anatomy and care through bodywork. Her practice is shaped by interests in contact improvisation, soft acrobatics, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, and David Zambrano’s Flying Low and Passing Through technique.
Brianna has steadily grown with DRILL Performance Company since 2022—performing at Ten Days on the Island, stepping into leadership as Associate Choreographer for their 2025 Major Show, and leading their Horizons school engagement program across five Glenorchy region schools. She also performs with Silikil, a multidisciplinary band known for improvised, durational works. Together, they’ve shown work at MONA FOMA, The Long Gallery, Penny Contemporary, and will premiere 1000 Strikes at Dark Mofo 2025.
Alongside performing and creating, Brianna has taught at MADE, Second Echo Ensemble, and Eternal Performing Arts. Her movement has been featured at various MONA events and in music video projects with Cathy Diver and Electrolyte Orchestra. Each role she takes on—be it movement director, performer, teacher or massage therapist—is filtered through a lens of presence, purpose, and listening.
Her aesthetic is agile, layered, and rooted in trust—trust in her training, in the body’s capacity to adapt, and in the power of movement to open up dialogue. She sees dance as a bridge: between people, ideas, and possibilities. Through her work, she’s interested in how movement can restore agency, challenge assumptions, and offer new ways of being in the world—without needing to say too much.
