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Speakers
We are very happy to present you our 2025 edition key note speakers, presenters and workshop facilitators that will contribute their expertise, passion and experience to Tango Connects Berlin Conference. Here is some background information about them.
Not all speakers are yet present on this page, stay tuned, more is coming!
Prof. Dr. Julia Kaesmayr (Germany)
Psychology lecturer, researcher, and soon-to-be professor at FH Carinthia
Dr. Julia Kaesmayr is a social tango dancer, TDJ, and event organizer in the Rhine-Neckar region and Carinthia who brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to the Tango Connects conference as a co-organizer. She holds a PhD in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Hohenheim, specializing in AI’s impact on human wellbeing, individual differences, and workplace health—expertise she applies to understanding tango communities as social ecosystems. As a psychology lecturer, researcher, and soon-to-be professor at FH Carinthia (from June 2025), Dr. Kaesmayr bridges academic rigor with practical experience in her research on community dynamics, safety practices, and social interaction in tango. Her contribution to the conference stems from both her professional background in analyzing human systems and her extensive personal experience as a dancer, offering valuable insights into the journey from individual transformation to collective thriving in tango communities.
Dr. Stefan Knauß (Germany)
Research group leader at the „European Center for Just Transition“ (JTC) at MLU Halle
Dr. Stefan Knauß is junior research group leader at the „European Center for Just Transition“ (JTC) at MLU Halle, Principal Investigator (PI) of BIOdiversity GOvernance and VALUES (BioGoValues) at iDiv and visiting scientist at UFZ. He holds a PhD in Philosophy 2015 from the University of Halle and earned the research position “Eigene Stelle” funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) at the University of Erfurt. He was DFG-Research Scholar at the New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law, University of Auckland (2020) and DAAD-Scholar at Emory University, Atlanta (2018). His areas of special interest are ethics, politics and rights for socio-ecological transformation (esp. human rights and the rights of nature, intercultural- and de-colonial theory, biodiversity governance and values).
Prof. dr. Sarah De Mul (Netherlands)
Professor of Literature and Head of the Department of Diversity at Faculty of Humanities at Open University Netherlands
Prof. dr. Sarah De Mul is professor of literature and Head of the Department of Diversity of Inclusion at the Humanities Faculty of the Open University in the Netherlands. In her current research project she explores how art, literature and (tango) dance could contribute to new understandings of today’s culture of stress and burnout and could possibly inspire new personal and societal forms of resilience and sustainability. Over the years Sarah has become increasingly interested in alternative, “critical-creative”, forms of academic knowledge production combining cultural analysis and autoethnography, for example in the Dutch-language memoir Retour San Sebastian, which was nominated for the VPRO Bob den Uyl prize for best literary travel book of 2017.
Sharna Fabiano (USA)
Teacher, author, coach
Sharna Fabiano is a teacher, coach, and author of the book Lead & Follow, an adaptation of tango principles for the workplace. She spent 20 years organizing and teaching tango, then took a break to complete an MFA in Dance and help build a global community of researchers and educators advocating for the study of followership alongside leadership in organizations. She currently teaches in the Department of Theater Arts at California State University and facilitates collaboration workshops for business teams. Earlier this year, she came out of tango retirement to start a brand-new tango community in Long Beach, California.
Darko Dožić (Serbia)
Co-founder Tango Natural Belgrade
Darko Dožić is, together with Sonja Živanović, the co-founder of Tango Natural – one of the largest tango organizations in Europe, with projects in four countries and a school of around 400 members in Belgrade alone. For over 16 years, they have been developing tango as a space for personal growth, creativity, and community. Together with their team, they created the Belgrade Tango Encuentro, Tango Camp, Bratislava Tango Festival, and about ten other international events, mostly focused on community building. To support the growth of new local scenes and community leaders, Darko launched the Spreading Tango initiative, offering webinars, workshops, and one-on-one mentorship for those engaged in building tango communities. He believes that tango is not just a dance, but a way to build a world that embraces authenticity, freedom, and belonging.
Dr. Sabine Zubarik (Germany)
Tango teacher, organiser, researcher
Sabine Zubarik has been active in the tango community since 2005. Located in Erfurt (Thuringia), she is a regular tango teacher and DJ. She researched tango academically and published various articles and books. For 15 years, Sabine was head of the association Tango Argentino e.V. in Erfurt and is still part of the leading committee; from 2010 until 2020, she organized numerous national tango teacher meetings. Besides tango, Sabine has a PhD in Literature and Cultural Studies; she worked at several universities in Germany and abroad. Currently, she leads the department of Media, Art and Society at the Evangelische Akademie Thüringen, where one of her topics is diversity and inclusion in culture and education.
Isabella Bayer (Germany)
Co-founder & Director at Tango Flores GmbH
2nd Chairwoman & Co-Founder at ProTango e.V.
CEO & CTO at HealthVision GmbH
Isabella Bayer discovered her passion for Argentine Tango in 2000 and co-founded Tango Flores in Mannheim in 2006. With nearly two decades of experience in tango instruction, event organization, and community building, she has played a central role in shaping a thriving tango scene in the Rhein-Neckar region of southwestern Germany and creating a welcoming space for dancers of all levels and backgrounds. She is also CEO and CTO of HealthVision, a company that develops data-driven solutions to support mental health in the workplace. Isabella is a founding member and current Deputy Chair of ProTango e.V., Germany’s national association for tango professionals. There, she has been instrumental in building the organizational structure, implementing a digital-first strategy, and advocating for sound legal, financial, and administrative governance.
Ellie Mutchler (Germany)
Strategic designer, facilitator, tango teacher and dancer
Ellie Mutchler is a strategic designer and facilitator with nearly 2 decades of experience in design, product development, strategy and communications. She is passionate about helping mission-driven teams and organizations to find the balance between vision and every-day busines. She has also been an involved member of the Nou community since her arrival in Berlin in 2009, as a social dancer, organizer, tango teacher and a founding member of the Nou Community Berlin Association. In her work, whether in business or face-to-face on the dance floor, Ellie is driven by her passion for freedom and expressiveness, meaning and authenticity.
Dr. Daniel Kaesmayr (Germany)
Principal Scientist, BASF SE
“Scouting, Networks and Ideation”
With dual expertise in tango culture and digital innovation, Dr. Kaesmayr has been at the forefront of tango’s online evolution for over 15 years. Creator of the Rhine-Neckar regional tango calendar and the comprehensive Tango Marathon Directory, Daniel brings both practical community-building experience and scientific rigor to digital challenges. In his role as Principal Scientist at BASF, he specializes in community development, AI applications, and creating systems that facilitate knowledge sharing and innovation.
Oliver Euchner (Germany)
5 Rhythms Dancer & Teacher
Oliver is an accredited 5Rhythms teacher, trained in New York by founder G. Roth and her son. Since 2014, he has guided countless dancers into their innate healing, grace & creativity. His teaching blends 5Rhythms with elements of yoga, meditation, and somatic experiencing. With a background in Gurdjieff’s sacred movements and as a yoga teacher certified by Richard Freeman, Oliver also brings the sensibility of a musician to his work. Based in Berlin, he teaches internationally.
Eric Jørissen (Netherlands)
Founder and tango teacher at El Corte in Nijmegen
Eric Jørissen is the founder and director of El Corte in Nijmegen, the first tango school in the Netherlands, and the visionary behind Europe’s very first tango marathon, which continues to this day. After completing his dance studies in Rotterdam, Eric discovered his passion for Argentine tango and deepened his knowledge in Buenos Aires, studying with masters such as Antonio Todaro. Upon returning, he established El Corte, where he still teaches alongside his team. Many of Eric’s early students went on to become the first generation of tango teachers in the Netherlands, founding schools across the country. To this day, El Corte is celebrated as a uniquely inspiring tango hub, and Eric continues to travel the world sharing his passion for the dance.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Alkemeyer (Germany)
Professor of Sociology and Sports Sociology at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
Thomas Alkemeyer (Dr. phil. habil.), is Professor of Sociology and Sports Sociology at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. His research focuses on the sociology of the body, sociological theories of practice, subjectivation research and contemporary cultural sociology.
Daniele Donzello (Italy/Poland)
Tango teacher, founder of Partyka tango community in Poland
Daniele Donzello began dancing tango at 18 in Italy and fell in love with the scene after attending his first marathon at 23. He studied intensively with renowned European dancers and started teaching and performing in 2017. Following that, he founded a non-profit tango school in his hometown in Italy and Pisa, aimed at introducing young people to tango. Today, he lives in Warsaw, where he contributes to the local tango community as a dancer, teacher, and organizer of weekly non-profit practices for youth.
Astrid Weiske (Germany)
Tango performer, teacher, Founder and Artistic Director of Berlin Queer Tango Festival
Astrid started dancing tango as a rare female leader in Berlin in 1996 and became a pioneer of open role and queer tango dancing. She works professionally as a performer, teacher and organizer since 2008. In 2005 Astrid started teaching open role and queer tango classes and organised a milonga, building up an open role and queer tango community in Berlin. She travels around the globe, giving workshops and performing in countless communities all over world. In 2011 she founded the Berlin International Queer Tango Festival which is the biggest queer and open role Tango festival in the world. The festival attracts over 300 people from around the world each year and features top level teachers, performers, DJ’s and artists from the tango LGBTIQA+ community.
Veronica Toumanova (France)
Tango performer, teacher & writer
Veronica is a fulltime tango professional based in Paris, where she has teaches at Tango Mon Amour school that she co-founded. Veronica started dancing tango in the Netherlands in 2000 and works professionally as a dancer since 2007. She is also well known for her writings on tango and published two books, Why Tango I and Why Tango II. Veronica travels giving workshops and performing all over Europe, working in an all-female duo with Asya Moiseeva. In Paris Veronica is part of La Connexion Féministe, an activist group of women combatting sexism in the tango community. She is also one of the organisers of Tango Connects Berlin conference.
Dr. Maria Milbert (Germany)
Writer, editor, researcher, tango teacher, DJ and organiser
Maria Milbert is a freelance writer, editor, and researcher with a background in social work and practice research (MA), and a PhD in social sciences and education from the University of Hildesheim. Maria teaches tango in Berlin, DJs, and organizes events with a focus on community and inclusion. Maria is deeply engaged in queer and double role tango. She co-organizes El Contrapunto (Queer and Open Role Marathon Berlin), as well as several Berlin milongas, including La Luna Improvisada (with a double role class) and Nadie Afuera, a community-centered milonga at Nou. At Nou Berlin, she currently facilitates the collaborative creation of a Code of Conduct, the first of its kind for a tango studio in Germany, combining her passion for tango communities, social transformation, group process work, and the written word.
Thomas Rieser (Germany)
Tango teacher at Nou Tango Berlin
Thomas Rieser is the founder of Nou Tango in Berlin and a co-founder of Tango Connects Berlin Conference. Thomas has recently completed his PhD on the topic ‘The effects of Argentine tango on cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients,’ in cooperation with the Havelhöhe Research Institute. He has been organizing inclusive tango in Berlin since 2015. He teaches both open tango classes for people with and without special needs, as well as closed tango classes for people with impairments and disabilities. The special connection in tango not only takes place in dance, it also has an impact on a social and cultural level.
Rubem Joy (Germany)
Cuddle, massage, yoga and trauma therapist
Rubem Joy is a somatic educator with a clear mission: to help people reconnect with themselves and others through safe, conscious, and nourishing touch. He is particularly interested in how mindful physical interactions can foster emotional regulation, deepen trust, and build resilient communities. His professional path weaves together decades of personal somatic practice, therapeutic work, and academic inquiry across diverse modalities. A specialist in trauma-sensitive cuddle therapy, he passionately directs the network KuschelRaum.de, providing training and advocacy for touch-based work rooted in safety, clarity, and presence. In the spaces he holds, participants are invited to explore how embodiment, consent, and co-regulation can be practiced in real time.