Artemis Ignatiou
She graduated from the State School of Dance. She studied Dance, Theatre, Music, and Art History, and continued her studies in Theatre and Dance in New York.
Since 2008, she has been the Choreographer and Artistic Director of the Lighting and Handover Ceremonies of the Olympic Flame for the Olympic Games: Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, London 2012, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, and Paris 2024. She also choreographed the ceremonies for the Youth Olympic Games: Singapore 2010, Innsbruck 2012, Nanjing 2014, Lillehammer 2016, Buenos Aires 2018, Lausanne 2020, and Gangwon 2024.
She served as Priestess, High Priestess, and Assistant Choreographer to Maria Hors from 1988–2006. She has been a Torchbearer for the Olympic Games since 2006.
She collaborated with the Hellenic Olympic Academy in the framework of the “Olympic Education Day” program, directing the reenactment of the history of the 1st Modern Olympic Games of 1896 at the Panathenaic Stadium before 45,000 students.
She works on educational programs organized by the Hellenic Olympic Academy, the International Olympic Truce Centre, and the British Council. In support of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, she delivered an interactive lecture titled “The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece and the Lighting and Handover Ceremonies of the Olympic Flame Today” to 470 French students.
Since 2019, she has participated in the educational program “The Generation of 2004 in Greece on the Road to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”
In 2023, she gave a lecture and workshop at the University of Patras, Department of Theatre Studies, on “The Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Flame.”
She is the founder of Dance Theatre ART, with numerous performances presented at festivals in Greece and at the Athens Concert Hall. She has represented Greece abroad at festivals in Italy, Germany, Tunisia, China, Cyprus, Serbia, and Albania, and in 2008 represented Greece at the Opening Ceremony of the 6th Beijing Cultural Festival for the 2008 Cultural Olympiad in China.
She has choreographed many theatrical plays and operas, collaborating with the National Theatre of Greece, the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron), the Benaki Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and several regional theatres (DIPETHE).
She directed and choreographed the Dance Drama “The Fall of Tripolitsa” as part of the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the city’s liberation, featuring 400 dancers.
She also directed the Opening Ceremony of the Athens Authentic Marathon for three consecutive years, as well as the Opening Ceremony of the Olympia Marathon.
She choreographed the “Greece 2021” Committee video to music by Dionysis Savvopoulos, staged at the Panathenaic Stadium with 150 performers.
In 2022, she directed and choreographed the music and dance performance “Memories of Smyrna”, under the auspices of the Region of Attica.
Also in 2022, she was entrusted with the Opening Ceremony of the AEK–OPAP Arena Stadium, where she presented choreographies involving 350 performers before an audience of 35,000.
In 2024, she was commissioned by the Region of Attica to choreograph the Award Ceremony for the Paris Olympic Medalists, held at the Stoa of Attalus.
In 2025, she directed and choreographed the Opening Ceremony of the 144th Session of the International Olympic Committee, leading a team of 140 dancers at the International Olympic Academy.
She teaches at the Higher School of Dance of the Greek National Opera, the State School of Dance, the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece, and the Drama School of the Athens Conservatory.
She is also a lecturer at the New York College, teaching “History of Sports.”
She was honored by CNN Greece as one of the “Faces of 2024” for her artistic contribution to culture.
In 2025, she represented Greece at the World Poetry, Dance, Music and Visual Arts Salon in Liangzhu, Hangzhou, China.
She has been awarded for her work as a choreographer by the President of the Hellenic Republic and by numerous organizations.
In 2016, she was named Honorary Citizen of Ancient Olympia.
In 2020, she received the Highest Distinction “Dimitrios Vikelas” from the Hellenic Olympic Committee.
At the Ministry of Culture, she has served as Chair of the Examination Committees for Higher Professional Dance Schools, as well as a member of the Advisory Committee on Dance, and was appointed Secretary of the Greek Section of the UNESCO International Dance Council.
In 2024 and 2025, she was appointed by decision of the Deputy Minister of Culture as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Ministry’s program “Creative Greece – Grants for Contemporary Culture.”
