Ricarda Ciontos, born in 1968 in Hermannstadt, Romania, came to Heidelberg in 1978. After finishing high school she studied for three years at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Saarbrücken. Ciontos has lived and worked as an actress in Vienna, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Bochum and Bucharest. Since 2002 she has been based in Berlin. In 2006, she established the Nordwind Festival, which soon became one of the major platforms for the Nordic Performing Arts in Europe.
Katharina Bischoff studied Applied Theatre Studies at Giessen University. In 2004 she and Anna K. Becker formed the directing team bigNOTWENDIGKEIT and have staged projects at such venues as Sophiensaelen and Theaterdiscounter, Berlin, Rote Fabrik and Gessnerallee Zürich, PACT Zollverein, Essen and Kontrapunkt, Stettin. Alongside her own artistic work, she worked for many years as assistant director and tour assistant for Nico and the Navigators. She was part of the management team for diskurs 05 in Giessen and was assistant artistic director for the Impulse theatre festival in 2007 and 2009. She has also worked in dramaturgy and production for Benedikt von Peter and the Lautten Compagney, Berlin. Since October 2013 she has taken on the directorship of NORDWIND.
Lea Jürß, born 1983 in Berlin, studied Theatre Studies, Art History and Cultural Management in Germany and Denmark. She has primarily worked for a range of theatre festivals and projects, including the Schauspielhaus Bochum, Maxim Gorki Theatre, Neuköllner Oper and the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation in Berlin. For the past five years she has been part of the Theatertreffen team of the Berliner Festspiele, most recently working as assistant to the festival management. She has been the dramaturge and artistic collaborator of the Nordwind Festival since July 2013.
Dagny Kleber, born 1976 in Bendorf/Rhein, studied media sciences at FU Berlin. She worked as manager and curator at several film festivals, eg. britspotting, International Comedy Film Festival and Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival. Since 2010 she has been working as press coordinator for the Berlinale section Generation. She joined NORDWIND festival in July 2013 and will be responsible for the festival’s social media activities.