COFFEE TALK with Bernardo San Rafael | September 25, 25

Bernardo San Rafael on how dance can challenge the far-right rise in rural Germany

In this talk Bernardo San Rafael discusses his work in the public spaces of Demmin, a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where he uses dance as a tool to counter the far-right shift in rural Germany. He emphasizes the importance of building strong networks and ensuring the sustainability of cultural projects to create a lasting social impact.

His career includes dancing for major German institutions such as Stadttheater Freiburg, Deutsche Rheinoper Düsseldorf/Duisburg, Theater Dortmund, and Oper Bonn, as well as performing with Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser in Cologne. As a teacher, he has led workshops in Istanbul (CATI), Skiathos (ERASMUS), Athens (ECHODRAMA), Freiburg (Bewegungsart), and Düsseldorf (Tanzhaus NRW). He has also collaborated with Plöger/Winkler/Becker in Düsseldorf and joined the Stuttgart-based theater company Lokstoff.

Today, Bernardo focuses on creating his own performances in non-theatrical settings, aiming to guarantee accessibility to the art of dance and foster dialogue in communities beyond traditional cultural venues. Learn more in Bernardo`s talk!