The New Zealand Tango Festival

Ariadna & Fernando

Buenos Aires, Argentina

The daughter of Gustavo Naveira, Ariadna began to dance when she was very young. She discovered her first dance steps with her brother, Federico Naveira, with whom she danced for 15 years. She attended the National School of Dance where she graduated in 2006 with the title of 'National Teacher of Dance'. She studied contemporary dance, jazz, musical comedy, flamenco, folklore, acrobatics, theatre and music; all of them influential to her tango style, which has shaped her as one of the more recognized dancers of her generation.

Fernando became world renowned together with his first tango partner, Nayla Vacca. They have taught and performed extensively worldwide.

Ariadna and Fernando appeared for the first time together at the show in Cafe Tortoni in 2008. Their first tour saw them participate in 2nd International Tango Festival of Bérgamo in Italy and in the 12th Nora's Tango Week in San Francisco, in the United States. They featured in the Tango Camp 2009 as guest dancers in Rome. And they have performed in cities like Torino, Milan, Udine, Genova and Washington DC. Ariadna and Fernando are now sought after internationally and are invited to participate in prestigious festivals world-wide including the Istanbul Tango Ritual, Tango Art Festival in New York and The Mantova Tango Festival…. and of course, the New Zealand Tango Festival 2010!

 

Demonstration video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf7v0mAWtzs

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Fabrizio Forti & Celi Arias

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fabrizio's style is a nice blend between the most modern development of tango and the traditional style. This allows him to dance in a playful and graceful manner with a close and open embrace. His strongest areas are definitely his precise technique and the way he transfers his knowledge. The clarity of his concepts and exercises enables a beginner or an advanced dancer to easily achieve the essence and the lead of every possible movement.

Celi Arias has been a professional dancer from an early age, beginning her career in classical ballet and then going on to receive a degree in modern dance from Hollins University in Virginia. She has performed with the American Dance Festival, Miguel Gutierrez and Shen Wei Dance Arts. She moved to Buenos Aires to study fashion design and fell in love with tango, studying intensively with Fabrizio Forti as well as taking classes with Luciana Valle, Julio and Corina, and Gustavo Naveira and Giselle Anne.

Fabrizio's dance background originates from a popular tango approach. Only afterwards he developed his studies in modern jazz, and contemporary dance. In 2002 he received second mention in the National Tango Competition, and has been teaching and dancing professionally in Buenos Aires for eight years. Since 2002 he has successfully toured around the world teaching and performing in many tango festivals around Europe (Copenhagen, Denmark, Sweden, London and many cities from Germany), the United States and Canada. Fabrizio is a popular teacher from previous festivals with a perceptive and entertaining teaching style.

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Fabio Robles & Ana Andre

Argentina – Australia

Fabio Robles and Ana Andre are the 2005 and 2006 consecutive Australian Tango Champions in the stage category, and were semi finalists at the 2006 World Championship held in Buenos Aires.

When Fabio arrived in Australia at the age of 14, he had already been awarded with the qualification of Maestro Superior de Danzas Folkloricas and was a registered dance teacher in Argentina. Recognized internationally as a virtuoso dancer of Malambo, Fabio pioneered Latin American Dance in Australia. He has danced, choreographed and directed many tango shows, and recently appeared on 'Dancing with the Stars' in Australia.

Ana has a background in modern dance, martial arts, Portugese Fado singing, acting and modelling.

Fabio Robles and Ana Andre have been dancing Tango together since 2002, and teach and manage Back To Back Australia Latin American Performing Arts Studio in Melbourne. Fabio and Ana are popular teachers in New Zealand, their first rate showmanship on stage is backed up by a fun teaching style based on a rock solid grasp of tango fundamentals and up to date knowledge of modern style and technique.

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Sebastián Arrúa

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sabastián Arrúa has been trained in the highly respected school of Dana Fragoli and Pablo Villarraza in Buenos Aires, a school recognised across Argentina and Europe for influential innovations in movement fluidity and the emphasis on follower's technique. Teachers from this school are reknowned for their precision, organisation, consistency and generosity, and Sebastián is one of their best.

Sebastián has toured with Ballet Criollo and Estamos Vivos Tango, and has performed both folklore and tango in major theatres in Argentina and abroad. He is both grounded, graceful and creative and we are very excited to have him teaching at this year's festival.

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Alicia Pons

Argentina

Alicia Pons is an elegant and accomplished dancer with refined technique and distinctive personality. Her ability to imbue the role of the woman with verve and style has made her one of the most sought after female partners in Buenos Aires milongas.

She is most noted for her beautiful foot play and the strongly sensual connection with her partner, which is done with humor and decorum. She exemplifies communication and presence in the dance, and this is a focus in her teaching for both men and women.

Alicia was trained in classical dance from an early age and as a young woman performed in some of Buenos Aires' most well known theaters, the Colon, the Coliseo, and the Alvear. Her introduction to tango came later, and her first teacher was Graciela Gonzalez, whose women's technique helped shape Alicia's tango footwork. Alicia then gravitated toward the milonguero style and her first inspiration and male teacher in that style was Tete Rusconi, one of the most renowned milongueros of his generation.

She taught for a number of years with Cacho Dante, with whom she has performed at the Teatro San Martin as part of the City of Buenos Aires tango festival. Alicia has become a very popular visiting instructor on the U.S. Argentine Tango workshop circuit, where she frequently is joined by Robert Hauk as her partner.

As a teacher, Alicia emphasizes the connection between the partners, and in particular the woman's ability to not just follow, but to be an equal protagonist in the dance. Her knowledge of the mechanics of what makes the dance work in the "milonguero" embrace is unique.

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Gustavo & Gisela

Argentina

Gustavo and Gisela are world-recognised for dancing and teaching traditional Tango with elements of Tango Nuevo. They have participated as teachers and performers around Argentina and the world - including the 8th World Tango Summit in Argentina, The Paris Tango Festival, The Belgrade Tango Festival, Festival de Tango de Kerallic (France), Festival de Tango de Oulu (Finland), Pulpo´s Tango Week (Buenos Aires), Festival de Tango en Nimes (France), Festival de Tango de Granada y Almeria (Spain) and many more.

 

As choreographers they have directed the show "El Tango y la Sombra", which debuted in the Maipo Theatre in Buenos Aires - and they assisted with choreography for the show ¨Tango Buenos Aires¨ which currently has done 67 shows throughout the USA.

 

They are currently based in BA where they teach in the 'Escuela Argentina de Tango' and in Club Gricel.

We are very excited to have them at this years festival. See the youtube links below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfroYRYiVvA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zTcCFOgXbg

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Joaquin Amenabar

Argentina

Joaquin Amenabar is an accomplished bandoneon player and teacher and has wide experience teaching musicality to tango dancers, teaching in Germany, Australia, NZ, USA and England.

In his double condition of musician and tango dancer, Joaquin has developed an absolute unique practical teaching system of tango musicality for tango dancers in which no musical knowledge is required at all. Joaquin studied bandoneon with Rodolfo Daluisio in the Buenos Aires Superior Conservatory, where he graduated as Bandoneon Professor. He teaches Bandoneon in the National Conservatory, the Superior Conservatory of Music of Buenos Aires, and in the Folk Music School of Avellaneda. He trains tango groups and solo tango musicians on tango interpretation and arrangements as well as teaching composers how to write for Bandoneon in Argentina and abroad.

His classes are best taken as a unit, as the later classes will follow on from the knowledge gained in the first classes.

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