About me

RAUL "Nene" VARGAS TORRES (1983)

I truly hope that at the moment you read this, what constitutes your body is enjoying every present on the time-space line and persevering in your own being…. Despite the despotism of the current political, cultural, social and economical dynamics of this burning world.

I am a Colombian circus and physical theater-maker, director, pedagogue and researcher based in Berlin. My artistic work is a (non-recyclable) trashy entanglement of body movement, visual arts, traditional circus, and philosophy.

My practice-based research as a maker and pedagogue arises from the friction among political philosophy, cosmological thinking, and performing Arts.

In this landscape, I am interested in two aspects: 1) Explore, develop and implement different  approaches  for (de)composition on the stage, focusing on processes of transindividual individua(liza)tion and  2) in a cooperative shared-based research practice that seeks to explore, question, expand and deal with our – capacity to affect and be affected – or in other words, the ways we process and transform our imagination.

As a solo performer,  director and dramaturg,  some of my works have  been performed in some birthday parties, random spaces and festivals such as: Katuak Cultural Center, Nuuk (GRL), Suisse Theatertreffen,  Zürcher Theater Spektakel (CH), Festival Territori (CH),  THEALTER 23 (HU), 1st Palestinian Circus Festival, MasQue (FI), Escenas Do Cambio (ES), Festival l´art est dans la rue (FR), Trakya Kukla Festivali (TK), Festival International de Circo de Bogotá, PlusQ´Il (CH), Festspillene i Nord-Norge,  VårsceneFest (NO), Fest of Fools (Berlin, Prague), amongst others.

Raúl, meaning myself,  in third-person of the singular unisex, has enjoyed collaborating with some lovely people like:  David Zambrano, Raissa Aviles, Ines Rojas,  Camilla Theresa Karlsen, Gandini Juggling,  Sophia Rodriguez, Andrea Ruiz, Jacob “Coco” Vargas, Felipe Garcia, Richard Weihe, amongst others.

As a pedagogue I have been teaching in : Tic Tac Art Center (BL), University of Arts Helsinki (FI), Universidad Pontifica Javeriana (COL), Accademia Dimitri (CH), Academy of Performing Arts in Prague(CZ), Palestinian Circus School (PL), Centre culturel Gambidi (BK), IPPT Congress at Tampere University (FIN), Anton Brückner Privatuniversität (AT),  among other.

Simultaneously, I  perform my new piece: Trinity, in collaboration with the philosopher/dramaturg Mathieu Horeau and composer Ariel Schlichter and work as movement research lecturer and menthor at the MA- Arts of Theater program at Accademia Dimitri-Supsi in Switzerland.