Meet the Jury

Meet the jury of this year’s International Student Competition:

Hillary Blake Firestone (USA) studied Contemporary Dance and Literature at SUNY-Purchase in New York and as a guest student at the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten. Her choreographic works, spanning stage performances, location works and film (including the Cinedans/Point Taken production What’s Unfolding), have been shown throughout Europe, North America and the Middle East. Since ‘08, Hillary has been a core member of Nicole Beutler Projects, and since ‘10, she has been on the faculty of the BA Dance program at ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten.

Judith Carina Knubben (NL) finished her Master’s degree in Film & Culture at the University of Amsterdam. Over the past few years she started bringing her experience of directing to the screen.
The strength and beauty of the human body inspires her to use motion, movement and dance for her storytelling. Her short films and commercials have garnered international nominations and awards, including a Diamond Award Hollywood Film competition, a nomination for Depth of Field Festival LA, and have been screened at festivals such as Middlesbrough Dance Filmfestival and Cinedans FEST.

Tycho Hupperets (NL) danced with Dutch National Ballet for four years after graduating in ’07 at the Ballet Akademie München. He continued his dance career at ICK Amsterdam and with choreographer Nacera Belaza (FR). Additionally, he studied photography at the Royal Academy for Visual Arts in The Hague, and is currently studying at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. His short film Multidentity premiered at the Cinedans FEST ’16 after which various international screenings followed.