Karola Lüttringhaus was born and grew up in Berlin, Germany, where they founded ALBAN ELVED DANCE COMPANY in 1997 to form an outlet for their diverse artistic pursuits in dance, visual art, film, scenic design and sound design. Karola has worked as a freelance artist, choreographer, and educator at theatres and universities across Europe and the US. In 2007, they incubated the SARUS FESTIVAL for Site-specific & Experimental Art in 2007 in Wilmington, NC.

Karola received a BFA in Choreography and Modern Dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and an MA in Scenic Design and Scenography from the Technische Universität Berlin. Karola earned an MA in Performance Studies from the University of California at Davis where they are currently a PhD Candidate, writing about meaning-making in movement and choreography through the lens of gesture. Karola’s dance technique research focuses on investigations into biomechanical, anatomical, and physical principles as relevant to the moving body, which are then put into conversation with philosophies of effortlessness, embodied liberation, and kinship. karoaluettringhaus.com