Fernanda Ghi
I was born in in Córdoba, Argentina and started dancing classical ballet when I was eight years old. I trained as a classical ballet dancer but also practiced contemporary and neo-classical styles. At the age of 13, I took my first Argentine tango class in the school of Gloria and Eduardo Arquimbau, under the guidance of Celia Blanco, from whom I learned the first steps in the genre.
Some years later I decided to study physical therapy, and completed the program, but the Arquimbaus invited me to take part on a tango show that they were directing in the legendary Michelangelo Tango House, and that proved to be a key defining moment for me. Since then Tango has rescued me from difficult times more than once, and turned out to be a great life teacher. Tango is a popular art, it is unique in its ways of connecting individuals with their own selves, with others, and with their communities. I was fortunate to learn it from unique and authentic dancers such as Juan Bruno, Tete, Graciela Gonzales, and Pepito Avellaneda, among others. In 1997 I left Argentina to work with the Nissan Buenos Aires Company and never stopped dancing ever since.
I settled in the USA with my life and dance partner Guillermo Merlo. We shared a wonderful career, a time of splendor and growth of tango inside and outside Argentina and, for over 23 years together, we witnessed its development around the world. I had the privilege of being part of a generation that presented tango at festivals, concerts, shows and events. An outstanding group of dancers who were looking for their identities and places within the dance.
This generation had to figure out a way to explain to others a dance learned through observation, intuition and feeling, without much rationalization or any kind of intellectual analysis. And we needed to learn how to communicate all this embodied knowledge outside tango’s original cultural context.
That process was truly magical for the small group of dancers who experienced it; from the 1980’s to the present tango has changed, developed, expanded and transformed. Being a part of this process makes me able to teach it with much more clarity and respect today. I am able to convey information concerning where tango originally came from, but also the cultural differences that exist either within its place of origin or in different contexts in which it found new communities.
I have the conviction that, as a social dance, tango changes as much as any society does, while maintaining the essence that makes it what it is, of course, as opposed to any other genre.
I would like to share a little of what has happened in my career in almost 30 years since I have started to dance tango. Together with my former partner Guillermo Merlo, we obtained the 1999 World Argentine Tango Championship, IDO (Miami, FL).
Myself and Guillermo Merlo also created and performed in the company ‘Tango Dreams’, in Tokyo, Japan, from 2000 through 2007, one of the longest-lived tango shows ever to be performed, for 7 consecutive years, with the producer Dan Enterprise.
We were also the first non-Asians ever invited to perform at the Imperial Theater in Tokyo. We participated in productions such as the PBS special ‘Tango Magic’ with Pablo Ziegler and the Orpheus Orchestra.
We have performed with several Symphonic Orchestras (New Mexico, Long Beach, Costa Mesa) and were commissioned the creation of a tango ballet for the Tulsa Ballet Dance Company.
We directed and choreographed multiple times the famous opera Maria de Buenos Aires, composed by Astor Piazzolla.And still with Merlo, we released several tango instructional DVDs (2000, 2007, 2010). In the years 2017 and 2018, I started my solo professional career. I was judge for the ‘Tango Mundial,’ the world tango dance tournament for Argentine Tango dancers.
In 2020 I decided to create my dance company, a space where tango can interact with other art forms, such as theater, visual arts, opera and other styles and genres of dance. Concurrently I established the Boston-based dance academy that trains amateur and professional tango dancers, the Fernanda Ghi Dance Academy in Brighton Massachusetts.
My intention is to continue advocating for this genre in its different forms, on an artistic level, on a social and cultural level, and also as a tool for personal development and growth.
Liens
Coordonnées
+01 702 372 9581
info@fernandaghi.dance
Cours, Stages et Festivals
Parmi les nombreux cours, stages et festivals, citons :
