Tango Mercurio

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Tango Performance
The Company
Recent Projects
Press & Reviews
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Performing Artists

Next Performance
Aug 22 - Dance DC Festival
Sept 11 - Arts on Foot

Funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Press inquiries:
Sharna Fabiano, .

Dancers

Melissa Greco Liu began her dance training in Manila, Philippines with Halili-Cruz School of Dance and continued her training at Princeton Ballet School, New Jersey. She earned her BFA in dance and a minor in exercise science from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. Melissa has been dancing professionally in Washington, DC since 2001, and has performed nationally and internationally with CityDance Ensemble, Gesel Mason Performance Projects and currently with Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company. Melissa is a certified yoga instructor. She teaches at Joy of Motion and at the National Cathedral School and enjoys helping people learn about themselves through movement.

Francesca Jandasek, born in Africa and of Czech descent, loves all aspects of the arts and seeks to share this passion with people of different communities and cultures through teaching, performing, and creating. In 2006, Ms. Jandasek received the Artist Fellowship for Dance from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, she was awarded a choreographic fellowship from the Kennedy Center as part of the Millennium Stage Local Dance Commissioning Project and she was nominated as a finalist for "Emerging Choreographer" for the Dance/Metro DC Awards (2007). Ms. Jandasek also dances with Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company and is the co-founder of BARE, a contemporary dance collaborative created in 2008 with Stephanie Yezek and Leah Wrobel. In addition to dancing, Francesca teaches Kindergarten at the Sheridan School, instructs dance at Joy of Motion, plays violin in the Community Tango Orchestra, is a certified GYROTONIC© instructor and paints in her ample spare time.

Catherine Liu began training at the age of six at the Conservatory Ballet of Reston, Virginia under the artistic direction of Julia Cziller Redick. She has earned a BFA in Dance Performance & Choreography and a minor in violin from Elon University. She has danced in a reconstructed Laura Dean piece rehearsed by Liz Maxwell, worked with Lila York and Sean Curran, and has taken master classes from Irina Kolpakova, David Howard, Alonzo King, Larry Keigwin, Beth Corning, and Chuck Davis. She was president of ElonÕs dance organization, DanceWorks, and has choreographed six full-length pieces and several compositional studies. North Carolina Dance Alliance awarded her a scholarship in 2005 and a place in their Student Choreography Showcase in 2008. She yearns to create and perform in works that reflect aspects of the world around us, exemplifying dance as raw, real, and relatable, which may speak best to all audiences.

Julia Smith has been performing in the Washington D.C. area for the past 20 years. She was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon where she fell in love with ballet. After moving to Washington D.C. area she was invited to attend the Pennsylvania Ballet School (Rock School) where she studied with Lupe Serrano and Ricky Weiss. She later received a performing arts scholarship from the University of Maryland where she earned her degree. She has danced for Alvin Mayes, Anne Warren, Alcine Wiltz, Tommy Parlon, Gesel Mason, Bowen McCauley Dance, Rincones and Company, Tony Powell Music and Movement, CityDance Ensemble, DanceSmith, Boris Willis, and Ground Zero Dance. Julia currently teaches at Joy of Motion and the University of Maryland. She is married to her better half, Michael, and has two fantastic kids, Ian and Emily.

Guest Artists for Abrazo 2010

Dan Istrate, Theatrical Direction
Dan was born in Romania. He graduated from the University of Theater and Film in Bucharest. In Washington, DC, he is a company member of Synetic Theater with whom he has performed such roles as: Dracula, Mephisto, Victor Frankenstein, Joqola and many others. Some of his regional credits include: Shakespeare Theater, Studio Theater and Gala Hispanic Theatre. He starred in the Romanian feature film Double Exctasy and co-starred with Jeniffer Garner in the hit TV series Alias. Dan is an accomplished director, teacher and fight choreographer.

Dyanne Marte, Costumes for Points of Contact
Dyanne designs and produces her own line of women's clothing, Dennya, in Baltimore, MD. She has several years of experience in the New York fashion industry and has worked in product development for companies such as J. Crew, Tanner Designs, Kay Unger and New York & Co. Dyanne holds a BFA in Fashion Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design and a Master's in Design Management from Pratt Institute. She is currently teaching fashion at the Baltimore City Community College and the Community College of Baltimore County.

Caroline O'Grady, Actor
Orignally from Maine, Caroline moved to Washington, D.C. to study theater at the George Washington University with a Presidential Arts scholarship. While there, she performed in multiple shows including: Noises Off, Three Penny Opera, The Full Monty, Crave, and The Fantasticks. She studied voice and acting as an intern with Synetic Theater. A recent graduate, she looks forward to working and performing in the D.C. Area.

Hannah Louise Poston, Script & Costumes for Abrazo
Born in North Carolina, Hannah grew up partly in Pennsylvania and partly in Israel/Palestine, where she began to take herself seriously as a poet and artist at the age of eight. She received the 2003 Thomas Wolfe Scholarship in Creative Writing at UNC Chapel Hill (a full four-year scholarship), where she studied poetry, painting, ceramics, printmaking and bookbinding. A year at the Studio Arts Center International in Florence led to Hannah's apprenticeship at La Meridiana ceramics studio in Certaldo, Italy in the summer of 2007, after which she became the Writer-in-Residence at St. Albans School for Boys in Washington, DC. Hannah interned at Pyramid Atlantic printshop and papermill in the summer of 2008, and has since worked as the Artist-in-Residence at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and in residence at the MacDowell Colony. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in several literary journals, and her artwork has lately been taking the form of experimental tango dresses. She has recently relocated to Portland, Oregon.

Arona Primalani, Dancer
Arona is a Guild-certified Feldenkrais practioner and a highly versatile and admired Argentine tango dancer and teacher for over 10 years. She is well-versed in the structure, vocabulary and dynamics of the Tango. Based in San Francisco, she is recognized both for her originality and authenticity as a leader, and her elegance and power as a follower. She has studied tango with Gustavo Naveira, Chicho Frumboli, Luciana Valle, Mauricio Castro, Fabian Salas, Julio Balmaceda & Corina de la Rosa, Jean Sebastian (France), Cecilia Gonzalez and El Pulpo & Louisa.

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Tango Performance The Company Recent Projects Press & Reviews Artistic Director Performing Artists Next Performance Aug 22 - Dance DC Festival Sept 11 - Arts on Foot Funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Press inquiries: Sharna Fabiano, .		Dancers Melissa Greco Liu began her dance training in Manila, Philippines with Halili-Cruz School of Dance and continued her training at Princeton Ballet School, New Jersey. She earned her BFA in dance and a minor in exercise science from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. Melissa has been dancing professionally in Washington, DC since 2001, and has performed nationally and internationally with CityDance Ensemble, Gesel Mason Performance Projects and currently with Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company. Melissa is a certified yoga instructor. She teaches at Joy of Motion and at the National Cathedral School and enjoys helping people learn about themselves through movement. Francesca Jandasek, born in Africa and of Czech descent, loves all aspects of the arts and seeks to share this passion with people of different communities and cultures through teaching, performing, and creating. In 2006, Ms. Jandasek received the Artist Fellowship for Dance from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, she was awarded a choreographic fellowship from the Kennedy Center as part of the Millennium Stage Local Dance Commissioning Project and she was nominated as a finalist for "Emerging Choreographer" for the Dance/Metro DC Awards (2007). Ms. Jandasek also dances with Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company and is the co-founder of BARE, a contemporary dance collaborative created in 2008 with Stephanie Yezek and Leah Wrobel. In addition to dancing, Francesca teaches Kindergarten at the Sheridan School, instructs dance at Joy of Motion, plays violin in the Community Tango Orchestra, is a certified GYROTONIC© instructor and paints in her ample spare time. Catherine Liu began training at the age of six at the Conservatory Ballet of Reston, Virginia under the artistic direction of Julia Cziller Redick. She has earned a BFA in Dance Performance & Choreography and a minor in violin from Elon University. She has danced in a reconstructed Laura Dean piece rehearsed by Liz Maxwell, worked with Lila York and Sean Curran, and has taken master classes from Irina Kolpakova, David Howard, Alonzo King, Larry Keigwin, Beth Corning, and Chuck Davis. She was president of ElonÕs dance organization, DanceWorks, and has choreographed six full-length pieces and several compositional studies. North Carolina Dance Alliance awarded her a scholarship in 2005 and a place in their Student Choreography Showcase in 2008. She yearns to create and perform in works that reflect aspects of the world around us, exemplifying dance as raw, real, and relatable, which may speak best to all audiences. Julia Smith has been performing in the Washington D.C. area for the past 20 years. She was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon where she fell in love with ballet. After moving to Washington D.C. area she was invited to attend the Pennsylvania Ballet School (Rock School) where she studied with Lupe Serrano and Ricky Weiss. She later received a performing arts scholarship from the University of Maryland where she earned her degree. She has danced for Alvin Mayes, Anne Warren, Alcine Wiltz, Tommy Parlon, Gesel Mason, Bowen McCauley Dance, Rincones and Company, Tony Powell Music and Movement, CityDance Ensemble, DanceSmith, Boris Willis, and Ground Zero Dance. Julia currently teaches at Joy of Motion and the University of Maryland. She is married to her better half, Michael, and has two fantastic kids, Ian and Emily. Guest Artists for Abrazo 2010 Dan Istrate, Theatrical Direction Dan was born in Romania. He graduated from the University of Theater and Film in Bucharest. In Washington, DC, he is a company member of Synetic Theater with whom he has performed such roles as: Dracula, Mephisto, Victor Frankenstein, Joqola and many others. Some of his regional credits include: Shakespeare Theater, Studio Theater and Gala Hispanic Theatre. He starred in the Romanian feature film Double Exctasy and co-starred with Jeniffer Garner in the hit TV series Alias. Dan is an accomplished director, teacher and fight choreographer. Dyanne Marte, Costumes for Points of Contact Dyanne designs and produces her own line of women's clothing, Dennya, in Baltimore, MD. She has several years of experience in the New York fashion industry and has worked in product development for companies such as J. Crew, Tanner Designs, Kay Unger and New York & Co. Dyanne holds a BFA in Fashion Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design and a Master's in Design Management from Pratt Institute. She is currently teaching fashion at the Baltimore City Community College and the Community College of Baltimore County. Caroline O'Grady, Actor Orignally from Maine, Caroline moved to Washington, D.C. to study theater at the George Washington University with a Presidential Arts scholarship. While there, she performed in multiple shows including: Noises Off, Three Penny Opera, The Full Monty, Crave, and The Fantasticks. She studied voice and acting as an intern with Synetic Theater. A recent graduate, she looks forward to working and performing in the D.C. Area. Hannah Louise Poston, Script & Costumes for Abrazo Born in North Carolina, Hannah grew up partly in Pennsylvania and partly in Israel/Palestine, where she began to take herself seriously as a poet and artist at the age of eight. She received the 2003 Thomas Wolfe Scholarship in Creative Writing at UNC Chapel Hill (a full four-year scholarship), where she studied poetry, painting, ceramics, printmaking and bookbinding. A year at the Studio Arts Center International in Florence led to Hannah's apprenticeship at La Meridiana ceramics studio in Certaldo, Italy in the summer of 2007, after which she became the Writer-in-Residence at St. Albans School for Boys in Washington, DC. Hannah interned at Pyramid Atlantic printshop and papermill in the summer of 2008, and has since worked as the Artist-in-Residence at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and in residence at the MacDowell Colony. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in several literary journals, and her artwork has lately been taking the form of experimental tango dresses. She has recently relocated to Portland, Oregon. Arona Primalani, Dancer Arona is a Guild-certified Feldenkrais practioner and a highly versatile and admired Argentine tango dancer and teacher for over 10 years. She is well-versed in the structure, vocabulary and dynamics of the Tango. Based in San Francisco, she is recognized both for her originality and authenticity as a leader, and her elegance and power as a follower. She has studied tango with Gustavo Naveira, Chicho Frumboli, Luciana Valle, Mauricio Castro, Fabian Salas, Julio Balmaceda & Corina de la Rosa, Jean Sebastian (France), Cecilia Gonzalez and El Pulpo & Louisa.