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 dance instructor in Berlin,
first in the Tanz Tangente dance studio, and since 1996 with her partner
Anina Krüger in their 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.
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