Choreographer, performer, teacher and researcher, set and costume designer, Rafael Alvarez has developed an artistic and pedagogical career dedicated to contemporary dance since 1997, with work presented across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. His professional practice brings together artistic creation and direction, teaching and mediation, research, production and dissemination, connecting choreographic, inclusive and community-based practices.

Specialising in Contemporary Dance, Inclusive Dance, Community Dance, Creative Ageing, and Arts and Health, over the past three decades he has developed a practice that explores dance as an artistic language, a space for dialogue and cooperation, and a means of participation and transformation.

Since 1998, he has deepened his work at the intersection of dance and community through collaborative processes involving dance students, professionals and nonprofessionals, people with disabilities or diverse abilities, people over 55 and older adults, people living with Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative conditions, as well as artists from different fields. He also maintains a regular teaching and professional training practice, collaborating with a range of training organisations and higher education institutions, including Escola Superior de Dança, FOR Dance Theatre and Fundação LIGA / Plural Companhia de Dança.

He is the founder and coordinator of the CONTEMPORARY DANCE 55plus® project, which in 2026 celebrates 25 years of regular activity in Lisbon, 10 years in Paris and 3 years in Almada (Casa da Dança). He is co-founder of ANKA – Inclusive Dance Company of São Tomé and Príncipe and founder and artistic director of BODYBUILDERS | Rafael Alvarez – Contemporary Dance Creation, Mediation and Production.

As a dancer, he has collaborated with choreographers and artists including Francisco Camacho/EIRA, Christian Rizzo, Luís Castro/Karnart, Lynda Gaudreau/Lucky Bastards, among others.

He holds a PhD in Communication, Culture and Arts from the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at the University of Algarve and a postgraduate degree in Communication Sciences – Contemporary Culture from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at NOVA University Lisbon. He trained in Stage and Costume Design and in Theatre and Education at the Lisbon School of Theatre and Film.

In 2014, he became a certified teacher of the Dance for PD® / Dance for Parkinson’s programme developed by the Mark Morris Dance Group in New York. In 2025, he completed the Dance in Cancer Care – Introductory Training Programme, delivered by Move Dance Feel in Bristol. In 2026, he completed the advanced training programmes Dance in Cancer Care and Dance and Health, delivered by Move Dance Feel and The Place – London Contemporary Dance School in London. His work is grounded in creating contexts for encounter and collaboration, valuing diverse experiences, bodies and ways of participating and creating.