Lucas del Rio Estévez (ES/CH), born 1988 in Basel, Switzerland, is a choreographer dancer, speaker and lecturer based in Basel, Switzerland.

Lucas is originally from Spain and was born in Basel in 1988. Inspired by Breaking and Hip-Hop, he developed a passion for dance. While he self-taught his way to becoming a professional dancer, he concurrently studied Cultural Anthropology and Media Studies at the University of Basel, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 2012.

Since 2014, he has been a member of the MIR dance company in Basel. Due to physical problems and surgical procedures, Lucas also became involved behind the scenes as a choreographic and production assistant for dance productions and organized events and cultural projects.

After further health setbacks, he began to focus more on choreography from 2019 onwards. In 2021, he completed a Master’s in Choreography at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). His short pieces “Simplexity” and “Search” received national and international recognition; for instance, “Search” was selected for the Swiss tour “Tanzfaktor 2022”.

In 2021, he initiated the collective PR·SMA based in Zurich, which was selected at the end of 2021 for the three-year “Szenotop” grant from the Aargauer Kuratorium and the Kurtheater Baden. After the first joint production at the Kurtheater Baden, it became clear to Lucas what artistic vision he wanted to bring to the stage. This vision was not realisable within the PR·SMA collective, which is why he left the collective and the three-year funding.

At the end of 2022, Lucas won the Newcomer-Award at the 26th Olten Dance Days in Olten, Switzerland. Today, he lives in Basel and works as a choreographer and dancer, and is also establishing himself as a speaker and lecturer on topics at the intersection of dance and personal development.

Achievements / Awards

2022
Newcomer-Award at the 26. Oltner Tanztage in Olten, Switzerland

2022
Swiss Tour ‘Tanzfaktor 2022’ with «Search» choreography

2021
Three-year grant ‘Szenotop’ by Aargauer Kuratorium & Kurtheater Baden, as part of the PR·SMA collective (Elena Morena Weber, Lucas del Rio, Luca Magni) Lucas participated for one year.

2020
«Simplexity» choreography receives recognition from the Burgos-New York International Choreography Contest 2021

2018
Establishment of ‘the movement spot’ in Basel, Switzerland – a 600 m2 center for movement, education and hip-hop arts (Co-Founder, Co-Director)