Liliana Barros is a Portuguese choreographer based in Germany. She holds a BA in Dance from CODARTS – Rotterdam Dance Academy and has performed with companies including Compagnia Zappalà Danza, Pretty Ugly Tanz Köln, Saarländisches Staatsballett, and Compagnie Marie Chouinard in Montreal.
Her choreographic work is distinguished by a strong visual identity, intense atmospheres, and a unique movement language that combines visceral and archaic energy with refined physicality and the use of technical elements in partially deconstructed forms. Liliana Barros creates immersive worlds with a futuristic quality, where physicality and theatricality collide.
As an independent choreographer, Liliana Barros has created numerous commissions for major international dance companies, including Saarländisches Staatsballett (LEGION, 2017), Nationaltheater Mannheim (GAIA, 2019), Gauthier Dance Company (IN TANDEM, 2020), MiR Dance Company (PANORAMA, 2021), Dance Company Theater Osnabrück (HIGH RELIEF, 2021), Netherlands Dance Theater 2 (GROTTO, 2022), TanzKassel (100 YEARS 100 HEARTS, 2022), Ballet Koblenz (Le Sacre du Printemps, 2023), Staatsballett Hannover (ARCHIUM, 2024), Hessisches Staatsballett Wiesbaden (FAUNO, 2025), and ZFIN Malta National Dance Company (IGNIS, 2025).
Alongside her commissioned work, she has developed a strong artistic voice through her independent creations. Her solo NERVURE (2017) received several international awards and toured extensively. Other independent works, including MEMORABILIA (2019), INERTIA (2020), TECHNO FAUNA (2021), and MATRIARCHS (2024), have been supported by the State of Lower Saxony and major German cultural foundations. In 2022, TECHNO FAUNA was nominated with an award by the Stiftung Niedersachsen as one of the most outstanding productions on the independent performing arts scene.
Her choreographic practice also extends to opera and theatre. She has collaborated with director Ben Baur on La Bohèmeat Staatstheater Braunschweig, as well as with Polish theatre director Marta Górnicka on JEDEM das SEINE at Münchner Kammerspiele, among others.
She is also an experienced educator, leading workshops and masterclasses internationally at institutions including DAF – Dance Arts Faculty (Rome), Copenhagen International Dance Festival, Cyprus International Dance Festival, NDT Summer Intensive (The Hague), and Equilibrio Dinamico Ensemble (Italy).
Photo (c) Andreas Schlager
