Trained
in both classical and modern dance, Cristina Delius combines elements
of jazz with free improvisation and the highest musical standards. Cristina
was first exposed to tap dancing
while studying music and dance in Paris. At the age of 13, she danced
in an ensemble of the Gulbenkian Foundation for Modern Dance in her native
city of Lisbon and joined the dance group “Oficina, Teatro e Dança”. During
this time, she also received training on the cello, continuing her studies
at the Marcel Dupré Conservatory in Paris. At the Centre de Danse du Marais,
she began studying tap dance under Victor Cuno.
In 1991, Cristina Delius moved to New York and worked with numerous rhythm
tap stars, including Brenda Bufalino, Ted Levy, Chuck Green, Barbara Duffy,
Savion Glover and Josh Hilberman. She also took master classes with Gregory
Hines and Buster Brown, while continuing to study modern dance under Merce
Cunningham.
Since the mid-1990s, Cristina Delius has been a tap
dance instructor in Berlin, first in the Tanz Tangente dance studio,
and from 1996–2010 in her own school, TapaToe, das Steptanzstudio. With
her tap dance company “Chili con Tap”,
she has performed in numerous cities across Germany.
In 1997, on the invitation of Heather Cornell, Cristina Delius returned
to New York, where she danced in Heather’s “Manhattan
Tap” ensemble along with Josh Hilberman, Max Pollak, Olivia Rosenkrantz,
Jeannie Hill and Mike Minery. Becoming increasingly active in free improvisation,
she studied this technic intensively with Barbara Duffy, Brenda Bufalino
and Margaret Morrison, and jazz theory with different jazz musiciens in
particularly with the pianist Frank Kimbrough. She was a frequent guest
at the Club Swing 46 at the request from the great tap dance master Buster
Brown and also performed regularly in other New York Clubs and jam sessions.
In
February 2011, Cristina Delius opened TapBeat,
International Tap Dance Center in Berlin. The TapaToe studio at Mehringdamm
had to close in December 2010 after the lease contract was not renewed
by the new building owners.
Today, performances and teaching work regularly take her across Europe
and the USA. She is a member of Brenda Bufalino’s “International Tap Dance
Orchestra” as well as the international artistic group “Voyages du Geste”,
which offers guest performances in France and Portugal. She also leads
the “Tripeco” (Triangular Percussion Project)
trio.
Website Copyright © Cristina Delius 2008