Biography

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

Foto: Renata Chueire
 
 
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