BIO
Carmen Lafran is a Berlin-based transdisciplinary performer, movement artist, choreographer, as well as a lecturer, holding a MA in Philosophy. Bridging Butoh, dance theatre, performance art and feminist critique, their work investigates the body as the intersection of power relations and socio-political narratives in an ironic and uncanny way.
Lafran works internationally as a soloist and in collaborative projects across institutional and underground stages. Butoh is an ongoing movement and philosophical research—one that embraces the inherent contradictions within each movement. In their dance, each step is a "miss-step," a gesture toward its opposite, in constant contradiction, embodying otherness and transformation.
In addition to their solo performances, Lafran collaborates extensively with artists across disciplines, contributing to a diverse range of platforms—from theater stages and galleries to the dynamic underground art scene. Their solo performances have been featured at notable events such as Amsterdam Butoh Festival 2025 (Netherlands), Voices Festival 2024 (Berlin) Berlin Art Week 2024 and 2025 (Germany), Paradoxal Festival (France), Venice International Performance Art Week (Italy), Project ID (The Netherlands), Istanbul Performance Art (Turkey), and Carbon Residency (Ucraine).
They have also been part of significant group works, including Les Territoires Ephmeres (Volkstheater Rostock), Die Höhle Festival (Roma, Modena, Berlin), Nachspiel (VOICES Festival 2024, Berlin), RopeBerry (ongoing project since 2022 performed in several chapters at Mahalla, Berlin), Like a Virgin and König Lear Variationen (Societaetstheater Dresden), To Canvass for Utopia (Acud Berlin) among others. Alongside their artistic practice,
Lafran is lecturing on Performativity for MA Photography students at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences in Berlin. Their academic work blends performance studies and philosophy of photography, inviting students to engage with the layered dimensions of visual and performative arts.
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