BIOGRAPHY

Alvin is a Filipino-Canadian artist, drag performer, Certified Gaga teacher and a choreographer based in Berlin, Germany. Drawing from his personal experiences as queer, immigrant and a person of colour, the essence of his research explores topics of assimilation and its emotional upheavals, physical sensations of marginalized bodies and the cultural resilience in queer communities. He has been recently been featured in Adam Munning’s short film “OASIS” for Dazed & Calvin Klein about the celebration of queer family, and the ease and elation that emerges once you find your people and your place in the world.

As a drag performer, Alvin’s drag character “Bibingka” is exploring his Filipino roots and upbringing and bridging his Filipino culture into Western landscapes. The Philippines has been colonized by the Spanish rule (1521–1898), American rule (1898–1946) and Japanese occupation (1941–1946). Bibingka is a love letter to the level of resilience Filipino people carry, the grace in being able to weather every storm and the sheer resourcefulness to survive any changes of climate. Bibingka is a channel for the Filipino voices.

You can see Bibingka often at a few queer parties in Berlin including Horse Meat Disco, Lunchbox Candy & Pyramid Party.

As a dance artist, Alvin recently performed with Kiani Del Valle’s KDV Dance Ensemble premiere of “La Tierra Quemada” featuring Ludwig Wandinger for 2022 Berlin Art Week. He had the fortune to dance for BlackPearl (House of St Laurent) on its debut premiere of “Between Us” at BritneyX Festival in Cologne. He has also performed for the fashion legend Michèle Lamy premiering Matt Lambert’s film “Infinite 2” in Julia Stoschek Collection under the choreography of Steven Fast.

Currently, he is working on an intimate collaboration with musician Jun Suzuki entitled FLUIDS. Inspired by their parallel childhood upbringings in Japan & The Philippines, Alvin and Jun share the stories that were left behind, emotional landscapes of grief and the struggles in identities, belongingness and acceptance. This piece has been performed in APAL Residency and Magical Hackerism: Elasticity of Resilience in SAVVY Contemporary and House of Beautiful Business.

As a dance educator, Alvin was awarded in 2020 by the Canadian Arts Council and Ontario Arts Council with the “Skills and Career Development Grant for People of Colour Scholarship” to become the first Certified Gaga Teacher from Toronto. Alvin has taught workshops around the globe including Canada, Germany, The Philippines, Thailand & Sweden.

During the Pandemic, Alvin founded “Dose of Pleasure: Dance Floor Meditation Practice” Berlin-based movement that integrates Gaga concepts and his passion towards the nightlife into researching dancefloor dynamics, relational work, collective feeling and authentic expression. Alvin hosted sessions at Tempelhofer Feld, which gathered 100-150 dancers per session. This movement was featured in Umbigo Magazine, Kaltblut Magazine, Companion Magazine, tipBerlin, iheartBerlin, ARTE TV, Vice Germany, iHeartBerlin and DW News and was awarded a special grant by the Senate Department for Culture and Europe.

He is currently sharing his work in festivals including WHOLE Festival, Bucht Der Träumer, Corona Culture Exhibition, Amsterdam Dance Event, Dancing on the Edge Vancouver and a frequent guest lecturer for Inter-University Center for Dance Berlin - (Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum Tanz Berlin (HZT) and guest speaker for panel discussions about nightlife culture, impact of dance towards mental health.