Rafaele Giovanola

Rafaële Giovanola was born in Baltimore, USA. She studied with Marika Besobrasova in Monte Carlo. She had her first engagement as a soloist in Turin. After one season in Turin, Rafaële Giovanola was engaged by Egon Madsen at the Frankfurt Ballet. She danced the classical repertoire and collaborated with several modern choreographers such as Jiři Kylián, Uwe Scholz and William Forsythe. Under his direction, she stayed with the Frankfurt Ballet for eight years and was involved in all the productions of this era. While in Frankfurt, she met guest choreographers Daniel Larrieu, Stephen Petronio and Christoph Nel. This was followed by an engagement in Freiburg in Breisgau at Pavel Mikuláštík’s »Choreographisches Theater«. Rafaële Giovanola was mentioned in the annual critics’ poll of the magazine »tanz« in the category »exceptional dance personalities«. She gives workshops around the world in collaboration with partners such as the Goethe Institute and Pro Helvetia, and sharing her choreographic tools such as the Movement Glossary.

Rafaële Giovanola has been awarded several prizes for her choreographic work. These include the Patrizia-van-Roessel Foundation (NL), the international internet dance festival SideBySide-net, the Promotion Prize of the Canton of Valais, the Cultural Prize of the City of Monthey and, in 2022, the German Theatre Prize »Der Faust« for the piece »SPHYNX« created for »tanzmainz«. She has received numerous awards for her work in the field of art education and with the Junior Company Bonn – They might be Giants she has been invited to the »Tanztreffen der Jugend« as part of the Berliner Festspiele in 2016, 2019 and 2023.