Tango Lab in Ojai:  March 2016

Brigitta Winkler

— from Berlin & New York —

"Intimacy"  

Tango's Path into Deep Presence

Thursday - March 24, 2016

— at a private home in Ojai —

Photo by Melody Yazdani        

Tango Lab with Brigitta Winkler:  "Intimacy"

The more time we spend with Tango, the more we come to understand that its near universal reputation for "passion" emerges from a source that is far deeper and more profound:

Our shared human capacity to reach out, make contact, and then open together into the larger experience — letting our edges melt, surrendering to trust, cherishing the rare chance to reveal and celebrate our most essential selves, one with the other ...

Another name for this sublime exchange is Intimacy, and for those of us who make our way in Tango, the dance affords a boundless opportunity to explore and refine this fundamental way of our being together.

In this edition of Tango Lab, Brigitta Winkler will guide us into a thoughtful investigation of Intimacy, the elusive exchange of energy and trust that lies deep in the heart of our most profound and telling experiences with the dance.

Combining her signature blend of innovative exercises with her startling perspectives on a range of otherwise "familiar" movements and situations, Brigitta will challenge us to pierce, unfold and transform what we "know" — showing how we can use our very own mind/body wisdom to tap into the emotional wellspring that feeds Tango's ever-widening currents of possibility, delight and lasting resonance.

With more than 30 years worth of background + experience in Tango, the iconic dancer, teacher + innovator Brigitta Winkler is celebrated world-wide for her vast knowledge + unparalleled insight into the form. Brigitta's two previous visits to Ojai — in 2014 and 2015 — filled the room with dancers as we delved into the subtleties of expressive following + effortless leading, and explored Brigitta's incisive take on vals ... This year's Tango Lab intensive with Brigitta promises an even deeper investigation into the mysteries of Intimacy for a smaller group of intermediate dancers.

Overview:  Brigitta Winkler + "Intimacy"

   *   For this edition of "Tango Lab" ...

•    Active Social Dancers

This edition of Tango Lab is aimed at active social dancers in our local and neighboring communities.

To join us with confidence on Monday evening, you should be familiar and comfortable with dancing in a closer embrace — improvising tango in varying floor conditions, to a range of music, with a variety of partners ...

•    Role Balanced

In order to maximize everyone's experience and insure that we have an equal number of leaders and followers, you are encouraged to register and attend Tango Lab with a partner.

For single dancers interested in Tango Lab, please let us know your role, and we will do our best to match you with an appropriate single partner, if available ...

And while "traditional" gender roles are not a limitation — women who lead and men who follow are both welcome — we will plan on keeping to an even number of dancers so that everyone will have a partner throughout this seminar ...

•    Limited Enrollment

Thank you for your understanding that, because of the size of the room, we will only be able to accommodate a limited number of dancers for this intimate seminar in a private home with Brigitta Winkler.

Questions + Registration — please contact:   Stephen Bauer ...

More About Brigitta Winkler

Brigitta with Tomás Howlin Celebrated as a major figure of the modern Tango Renaissance, Brigitta Winkler relishes both tradition and innovation, and brings more than 30 years' experience to the dance floor. She spent some years in Paris studying with Virulazo, a star of Tango Argentino. At that time she met Coco Orlando Diaz, and they began performing together at Les Trottoirs de Buenos Aires in Paris. In 1986, they toured to Montreal and Toronto. Brigitta traveled often to Buenos Aires to study with such noted dancers as Juan Carlos Copes, Antonio Todaro, Pepito Avellaneda, Gustavo Naveira, and Eduardo Arquimbau. In 1987 she opened Tanzart with Angelika Fischer, where she hosted Arquimbau's visits to Berlin. In 1994 Brigitta choreographed and danced in the Tango Marathon in the Theaterhaus Stuttgart and Tango Vision in the Podewil Berlin. In 1996, she was a co-founder of the influential all-women collective and performance group Tango Mujer. These days, Brigitta travels widely and teaches regularly at major Tango Festivals throughout the United States, Germany, Italy and Russia, and in 2005 she opened her own Tangocenter called Phynix Tanzt in Berlin. After US festivals and workshops earlier this year, she has been spent February + March teaching and dancing Hawaii, and, following her visit to Ojai, she will travel to the Bay Area for another series of workshops before returning to Europe.

Clockwise from top left:  Brigitta Winkler with ... Angelika Fischer, Korey Ireland, J. Abling, Homer Ladas, and Tango Mujer.

“Brigitta always brings something new to her classes. Familiar topics are looked at with a different lens. It always amazes me on how after being in her classes I can work for months on precisely those things, feeling them fresh again !”

   — Fabienne Bongard — of Tango Mujer, formerly with Dance Manhattan, now dancing in
         Los Angeles where she co-hosts the monthly Libertad + has taught at Oxygen Tango.

"Brigitta Winkler has deep tango wisdom and irresistible sparkle. Unique in the tango universe, Brigitta is an inspiring and playful teacher and a veritable treasure trove of tango fabulousness accumulated over her 30+ years of devotion to the dance form."

   — Sharna Fabiano — of Tango Mujer, formerly with Tango Mercurio in Washington, DC,
         now in Los Angeles where she recently earned her MFA in Dance from UCLA. Sharna
         and her partner Isaac Oboka have both taught at Oxygen Tango.

Links to More About Brigitta ...

Brigitta's Website     — background, bio, links, video ... Tango Mujer     — the influential all-women collective,         co-founded by Brigitta Phynix Tanzt     — Brigitta's Tangocenter in Berlin Tango Donna     — women's tango retreat with Brigitta         in Tuscany, June 2016 Brigitta on Facebook
	Brigitta leading ... following ...
Video of Brigitta Winkler's Dancing: Brigitta's Own Selection — from nearly 1,000 videos of her dancing available on youtube.

Past Quantum Tango Workshops & Events with Visiting Dancers

•    Muma Valino — Tango Lab: "La Esencia" of Ricardo Vidort — October 2015

•    Joaquín Amenábar — "Essential Units of Tango Rhythm" + "Melody in Tango" — July 2015

•    Virginia Pandolfi — Tango Lab: "Follower's Technique" — June 2015

•    Folias Tango — "Mapping the Tango" - Phrase Structure + Form — June 2015

•    Brigitta Winkler — "Flirty Vals" — March 2015

•    Momo Smitt — "Clean, Clear, Crisp, Rhythmic" + "Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go" — May 2014

•    Daniel Trenner — Tango Lab:  "Principles of Letting + Flowing" — March 2014

•    Brigitta Winkler — "INTER:  Act / Sect / Weave / Relate" — February 2014

•    Leonel Chen + Florencia Han — "Milonga:  Fast + Small" — November 2013

•    Daniel Trenner — Tango Lab: "Iconic Roles - The Lead + Follow Dynamic" — March 2013

•    Felipe Martinez — "Cross-System Gems" — September 2012

•    Sharna Fabiano — "Close Embrace of the Third Kind" — September 2011

•    Folias Tango Quartet & Avik Basu — "Tango Music:  Its Secrets Revealed" — August 2010

•    Daniel Trenner — "Milonga:  Traditional Perspectives & Tráspie" — May 2009

•    Sabine Zubarik — "Milonga for Beginners" — April 2009

•    Andrés Amarilla + Meredith Klein — Mulitple Workshops — October 2007   (pdf)

•    Andrés Amarilla : Extended Residency — January / February / March 2007   (pdf)

•    Andrés Amarilla + Meredith Klein — Tango Lab: "Alternative Embrace" — May 2006

•    Andrés Amarilla + Meredith Klein — Multiple Workshops — May / June 2006   (pdf)

•    Andrés Amarilla + Meredith Klein — Tango Lab Intensive: "Nuevo" — February 2006