About
Liliana Cattaneo is Founder and Artistic Director of contACT ARTS; a California 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Arts Organization since 2003. At the age of 17, Cattaneo began to earn her Associate Arts Degree from Mesa College while she produced her art in unconventional landscapes in her hometown of Ocean Beach, CA. From creating her art in her living room and backyard to her first performances in coffee shops to presenting work in parking lots, road medians, alleys, bars, hotels and gas stations, Cattaneo’s art is progressive. With an honest movement vocabulary, she explores dance as a medium for social change with an emphasis on making art an accessible value, not a commodity. In 2008, Cattaneo founded the International Dance Exchange Alliance (IDEA); a free service assisting disadvantaged artists. In theatres, her work has been presented at La Alborada (Tijuana), California Center for the Arts (San Diego), Highways (Los Angeles), Triskelion (New York City), Centro Cultural Los Talleres (Mexico City), Dance Mission (San Francisco), Centro Estatal de las Artes (Mexicali), Museum of the Living Artist (San Diego), Ivar (Los Angeles), Kulas Stage (Cleveland), Sushi (San Diego), Electric Lodge (Los Angeles), World Beat Center (San Diego), Ortspace (Tucson), N4th (Albuquerque) and CounterPULSE (San Francisco) among others.
Cattaneo grew up as a competitive gymnast until the age of 10 where at the Children’s Creative Performing Arts Academy in San Diego, she took her first dance classes. Shortly thereafter, Cattaneo left the competitive world and began her professional dance studies at Stage 7 with Kathryn Irey. At 12, she joined the Al Germani Dance Theatre, until a dance injury sent her back to training. Two years later, she became a founding member of Eveoke Dance Theatre, directed by Gina Angelique. At 17, Cattaneo struck out on her own. She has worked as a lighting intern at Sushi Performance & Visual Art, assisting notable artists such as Jacques Heim and Karen Finley. Cattaneo has also performed in works created by her mentors; independent choreographers, Elizabeth Swallow and Tanya Blood Hinkel. In 2005, Cattaneo and Hinkel co-directed Off the Grid; a site-specific production company. Together, they presented “The Transmission Project” which transformed an abandoned parking garage in downtown San Diego into a three stage multi-disciplinary art event.
To sustain her independent status and artistic integrity, Cattaneo has worked odd jobs to foot the bills including but not limited to: painting walls, transporting goods, slinging drinks, selling records, making jewelry & coffee, collecting signatures on petitions, character suit worker, teaching children how to sway like trees, teaching ladies how to swank around poles, and cleaning toilets and windows in dance studios/theatres.
At 18, Cattaneo garnered a Tommy Award for “Emerging Choreographer” from the San Diego Dance Alliance. In order to share her work, she has given many personal interviews and shown her work for media coverage in both the U.S. and in Mexico. Coronado School of the Arts has also commissioned Cattaneo for her repertoire. Past residency was granted from the Academy of Performing Arts in San Diego and Sunset Movement Arts in San Francisco.
Cattaneo’s work has appeared at Sonoma Arts Fringe Festival, Festival de Danza Contemporanea (Tijuana, Mexico), Oregon Country Fair, Brooklyn Nights Music Festival (Spokane, WA), Babeville (Buffalo, NY), Wild Dancing West Festival (Albuquerque, NM), First Friday Art Event (Missoula, MT), Brewvies (Salt Lake City, UT), Wade Oval Performance Series (Cleveland, OH), Applesauce Tea House (Flagstaff, AZ) and Bottle Night (San Diego, CA) among other site-specific performances. contACT works toward a cultural shift in which the arts are recognized, respected and celebrated.
contACT ARTS extends gratitude and support to people working toward a more peaceful and sustainable future and is the fiscal sponsor of Archi’s Acres’ new program, Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training.
