KUNST-STOFF is a San Francisco-based dance-theater company, under the artistic direction of Yannis Adoniou, that creates experimental and eclectic "art forums". The Company consists of two principal choreographers, Yannis Adoniou and Tomi Paasonen, and an ensemble of versatile and engaging dancers.

KUNST-STOFF is known for its unusual and highly visual theatrical dance works, which merge different art forms, often creating unexpected collisions and provocative beauty. Blending classical ballet, contemporary dance and airborne athleticism, KUNST-STOFF's distinctive movement style extends the body beyond codified limits. The Company's name reflects its commitment to experimentation: in German, KUNST means art, STOFF means things, and KUNSTSTOFF combines the two words to convey something synthetic, plastic, artificial, or unnatural.

Mr. Adoniou and Mr. Paasonen co-founded KUNST-STOFF in 1998, as a natural continuation of the shared vision that had evolved through their extensive individual and collaborative interdisciplinary creations. KUNST-STOFF became a forum in which these two extremely gifted artists could reflect their impressions of the world and raise awareness.

In addition to many appearances in the Bay Area, including the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the San Francisco International Arts Festival, KUNST-STOFF's unique, commissioned creations have been seen throughout the United States and abroad. They have been featured at the BERLINTANZTAGE Festival, Burning Man Festival, Dimitria International Festival in Thessaloniki, Greece and 2005 SCUBA National touring project.

KUNST-STOFF has had the honor of being Artists-in-Residence at ODC Theater from 2004 to the present and at The John Sims Center for Performing Arts from 1999 through 2002.

The Company receives support from the following organizations: San Francisco Hotel tax fund, Zellerbach Family Fund, Cash Grant, Alonzo King's LINES Ballet, ODC Theater Artist-In-Residence Program and the Goethe Institute.

In 2005, KUNST-STOFF received a Goldie award for outstanding local discovery in dance. Mr. Adoniou was nominated twice for the Bay Area's Isadora Duncan Awards, winning an "Izzy" in 1998 for outstanding achievement in performance.