Lenio Kaklea studied at the Contemporary Dance Conservatory (SSCD) in Athens. In 2005 she moved to France, where she studied at the CNDC in Angers directed by Emmanuelle Huynh and began to work with many artists on the European scene including Boris Charmatz, Alexandra Bachzetsis, Claudia Triozzi, François Chaignaud and Cecilia Bengolea. In 2011 she graduated from the SPEAP programme, a master’s degree on experimentation in the arts and politics headed by Bruno Latour at Sciences Po, Paris.
Since 2009, her work has been presented by various institutions and festivals in Europe including the Kunstenfestivaldesarts, the Festival d’automne, the Centre Pompidou, the Bourse de Commerce-Collection Pinault, the Fondation Onassis, CND Pantin, Lafayette Anticipations, the Milan Triennale and Les Presses du Réel. Her performances have entered public and private collections including those of the CNAP-Centre National des Arts Plastiques and the KADIST Foundation.
In parallel with her personal choreographic work, she has collaborated with other artists. In 2013, she worked with US choreographer Lucinda Childs on a solo to music by Ryoji Ikeda. In 2016, she presented Iris, Alexandra, Mariela, Katerina et moi, a programme focusing on female choreographers working in Athens. In 2022, she worked with the fashion house Bottega Veneta and premiered a performance at the Punta della Dogana à Venise with the creations of Matthieu Blazy.
In 2019, she received the Prix de la Danse from Fondation Hermès Italia and the Milan Triennale and created to autobiographical solo Ballad. In 2021, she choreographed Age of Crime, a piece for nine dancers. In the same year, she presented John Cage’s emblematic piece Sonatas and Interludes, accompanied on stage by the pianist Orlando Bass.
In 2024, she won the 25th Prix Pernod Ricard, for which she created the film An Alphabet For the Camera, and choreographed Chemical Joy, a piece for five dancers from the Bodhi Project ensemble. En 2025, she created Les Oiseaux.
