Contango Festival Cologne: Workshops & JamMilongas | 30 April-3 May 2026

ContangoFestivalWorkshopsJamMilongaGermany
Written By Raffaele Rufo

Cologne (Germany), 30 April - 3 May 2026

The Kölner Contango Festival invites dancers into 4 days of exploration, workshops, JamMilongas, live music and somatic spaces for listening and connection — a warm celebration.

Venue: Ballett Dance Akademie Köln, Waltherstr. 49-51


Description:

3 days - 3 teachers*

*Evenings: Jamilonga with DJs & live music*

*Separate rooms for relaxation, bodywork, meditation*

*Full board, kitchenette*

*Pitches for caravans*

*Accommodation available*

Teachers:

*LEILANI WEIS* was one of the first dancers and teachers to coin the term Contact Tango almost 20 years ago. As an intuitive teacher of the connection between contact improvisation and Argentine Tango, she brings her unique movement, perception, and teaching style to the workshops.

*EVA YUFRA* is a teacher, dance artist, and naturopathic practitioner. She has been dancing since the age of five, studied ballet, contemporary dance, contact improvisation, composition and improvisation, Argentine folklore, and tango. For 20 years, she has guided people in connecting with their bodies and dance and organizes Contango Festivals.

*RAFFAELE RUFO* is a dance educator, director, and researcher with over twenty years of dance experience. He earned his doctorate with research on touch in tango as an access point to somatic listening and improvisation. From this research, he developed TangoSomatics – which integrates tango, contact improvisation, and Feldenkrais into a practice of embodied mindfulness, presence, and creative transformation.

*Further information and registration at:*ralfloyeck@arcor.de** or **ewuerstlin@web.de* (Ralf and Esther)

Raffaele Rufo

Raffaele Rufo (PhD) is a dance artist, a facilitator of artistic and cultural processes, and an independent scholar committed to community and land regeneration. His artistic background is entwined with the Australian ensemble ‘Liminal Theatre and Performance’ and with the Argentine Tango dance, which he later combined with Contact Improvisation, Body Weather and somatic movement. After focusing his performance practice on Melbourne’s public urban spaces, Raffaele has explored the questions of roots and exile in Milan and Rome through the ecosomatic relation with the nonhuman and matter. His ongoing and recent creative projects include ‘Rituali di Pa(e)ssaggio’, ‘Danced by the Tree’, ‘Return of the Centaurs’, ‘Ecokinetics’ and ‘Ecosomatic Persephone’. He is co-founder of the International Forum for Eco-Embodied Arts (IFEEA) and collaborates with Teatro del Lido di Ostia as artistic director of ‘La Selva’ Residency. Raffaele holds a Phd in dance and performance from Deakin University and his research has been published in academic journals and book collections.

www.raffaelerufo.com
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