A Salsa Gathering – Queer Bridges

This workshop explores Salsa as a queer, somatic, and diasporic practice. We will learn some basic steps e.g., Casino Rueda, and engage in collective improvisation, polycentric rhythm, and partnering dance.

The session invites participants of all bodies and backgrounds to reimagine Salsa not as a performance or binary courtship dance, but as a fluid language rooted in community, resilience, and embodied resistance.

Juan Urbina is a queer Venezuelan dancer, choreographer, and educator based in Germany. His work blends South American heritage with contemporary movement and social engagement. With an MA in Contemporary Dance Education, he has led community dance projects across Europe and Latin America, focusing on LGBTQ+ youth, homelessness, and multigenerational groups. For Juan, dance is activism, care, and connection. Navigating migration, queerness, and cultural hybridity, he uses movement to share untold stories. He has participated in residencies and festivals like Ponderosa’s POP program and Tanzkongress, and is constantly exploring new ways to move and be moved, especially in queer, healing-centered spaces.

Queer Bridges: Forging connections and providing resources for LGBTQIA+ people with migration experiences.

Queer people with migrant backgrounds in Berlin often face unique challenges in their daily lives that can limit their access to supportive communities and inclusive environments.

With the support of the Deutsche Fernsehlotterie Stiftung, we have developed the Queer Bridges program to overcome these barriers. We provide resources, networking and support in a welcoming environment for queer immigrants and refugees through our special program. Our goal is to foster a sense of belonging to the local LGBTQIA+ community, enabling smooth integration and an improved quality of life for queer folks with experiences of migration and/or displacement.

✅ Our Queer Bridges program will continue to evolve and we are always happy to hear about your needs. If you are interested, you can send us an e-mail to stay informed about further updates.

General Information
Participants: This workshop is for all who identify as LGBTQ+ and have experienced migration and/or displacement. If you don’t share these experiences but are interested in joining please reach out to us first to see if space is available. We ask that all participants respect the program’s core focus and contribute to fostering an open respectful space.
Registration: This event has limited spots available. Registration through our website is therefore required.
Language: English
Cost: The event is free of charge.