EMBRACING A MOTIONAL CONNECTION
is our basic principle to understanding, dancing and teaching Tango Argentino in all its various forms. This article is a short explaination of our approach to tango.
HOW do we encounter? WHAT happens in our dance?
We connect to ourselves, to the floor, to our partner, to the music... Our emotions fuel our movement. The energy of both dancers and the music brings to life, what we feel as an expression of our inner feelings and the interaction of our beings. We move in connection and let the connection move us... Our encounter becomes an improvisation,
fuelled by emotions. Without controlling it, we
embrace in a MOTIONAL CONNECTION.
WHAT happens in a our dance?
We name three main sources of energy.
THE ENVIRONMENT (music, floor etc.)
THE PROPOSER (of a motion),
THE INTERPRETER (of proposal/environment)
All three sources are any source to the others,
in each moment. The connection to our partner is energetic; it evokes emotion and inspires us to dance. We embrace, we interprete, we propose, we move in connection.
If we fully propose ourselves to this mutual exchange of energies, being open to our partner, TANGO BECOMES A DANCE in which we express ourselves and enjoy an experience of unification, of becoming one with our partner through a CONNECTION that is ALIVE and EMOTIONAL. We will experience TANGO as a subtle and deeply touching communication process, in which both partners are mutually contributing to the beautiful process of DANCE.
Biography
Philosophy
SAYAKA HIGUCHI
Born in Freiburg, Germany. From the age of 4 she took part in Aikido classes. From then on it was part of her life to connect with partners focusing on the body's energy and center. Additionally there was a strong passion for music which she discovered playing violin, drums and especially the piano.
Her dancing career went through Jazz, Hip Hop and Salsa, where she first noticed how expressive movement gets, when energy is fuelled by emotions.
In an internship in Buenos Aires, she discovered Argentine Tango and immediately it was clear what to do. Sayaka packed her bags and moved to Buenos Aires to dive into the world of Performance and Tango Argentino. She has been studying and performing Tango in Buenos Aires for several years until she started to travel also in Europe with different partners.
She was invited by Joscha to Freiburg, Germany to work in May '13.
Already one month later they were invited for their first performances in Basel, Stuttgart and Freiburg.
Since March 2014 Joscha & Sayaka permanently work together.
JOSCHA ENGEL
Joscha was born in Freiburg, Germany in 1984.
He has been a dancer, coach and choreographer for Latin Ballroom Competitive dances besides studying various other dance forms since 2000. He used his abilities to perform and choreograph to finance his studies of professional coaching (Systemic Coach & NLP Master) and psychology (Dipl. Psych., 2012). Besides dancing and studying, he was strongly interested in Musicality, which he developed from the age of 9, playing first the piano, and later saxophone and percussions.
When Joscha got to know Tango Argentino, he was impressed and touched by the rich and respectful encounters of this purely improvisational social dance. Drawing from his former intensive education as a dancer, coach and choreographer, he soon started teaching and performing Tango Argentino with different partners. Every year he spends a few months in Buenos Aires to get inspired and develop further. Since 2014 he is working with his partner, Sayaka Higuchi, teaching, exploring and performing the art of encounter, improvisational and choreographical dance shows in various festivals and events.
WHAT do we teach? WHAT is our idea of Musicality?
For us, musicality is a matter of interpretation. We feel Music as a resonance in our bodies, which gets us emotional if we are open to perceive it.
Therefore our teaching is based on the principles of ENHANCING AWARENESS (of ourselves and our environment - the music) and a soft and NATURAL BODY TECHNIQUE - giving us the ability to express what we feel in the music.
With the ABILITY TO CONNECT we can enjoy sharing emotions, get inspiration, learn to epxress and communicate in the rich and touching moment of the dance we share - feeling the music.
To master Tango, we mainly teach:
1- HOW TO CONNECT
2- BODY TECHNIQUE & AWARENESS
3- MUSICALITY
SAYAKA HIGUCHI & JOSCHA ENGEL
Sayaka and Joscha both are professional teachers, artists and performers of Argentine Tango. Their approach goes beyond traditional ideas and is based on experiences in various dance and art forms. They travel through the world, performing and teaching Tango Argentino in various Festivals and Communities. In Vienna they are part of the new found TANGO INITIATIVE with Martin Maldonado & Maurizio Ghella.