Alvin Collantes

Alvin is a Filipino-Canadian queer dance artist, a Certified Gaga teacher and photographer based in Berlin, Germany. He completed the Gaga Teacher’s Training Course in 2018 under the artistic direction of Bosmat Nossan and Saar Harari with the generous support from the Ontario Arts Council’s Skills & Careers Development Grant for Artists of Colour and Canada Council for the Arts’ Career Development Grant. During the course, he participated in Gaga intensives and a guest at Batsheva Dance Company under the artistic mentorship of Ohad Naharin. He has been teaching Gaga/people & Gaga/dancers classes around the globe including The Philippines, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Thailand and Canada. Currently, he is a part of Kiani Del Valle’s KDV Dance Ensemble and has performed in “Las Casas Invisbles,”which debuted at the iconic Funkhaus last February of 2020. He is currently collaborating, performing and managing dance performances and events in Berlin including Queens against Borders, Lunchbox Candy, Amplify: Queer Solidarity in Performance and Pyramid Party.

Alvin facilitates a dance floor meditation session called “Dose of Pleasure” that empowers humans to make impactful change by harnessing the power of groove and cultivating the pleasure body. The online livestream sessions gathered a community of dancers all over the world including Australia, Canada, The Philippines, Mexico and Germany. When restrictions loosened in Berlin, Alvin hosted sessions at Tempelhofer Feld (a former Airport located in the city centre),which gathered 100-150 dancers with social distancing per session. This movement has been featured in Nike X Zalando Winter Campaign, ARTE TV, Vice Germany, Umbigo Magazine, Kaltbult Magazine, iHeartBerlin and DW News. This movement has been awarded a special grant by the Senate Department for Culture and Europe.