BIOGRAPHY

In 2022-2023, I will continue to explore what has fascinated me for almost 25 years now: the many facets of Argentine tango, ranging from its most technical to its most emotional and expressive aspect, from its most traditional to its most modern shapes…

TANGO
Through my collaborations as an artist and teacher in Tango, my work last year has been dedicated to fostering transition and, more than ever, bringing different worlds and points of views together, multiplying collaborations with great male dancers. This year, I will continue on this path to go on developing my tango with different partners, as I never forget that … it takes two to tango !!
Besides, in solo, I will increase my offer of Technique & Women’s technique workshops in France and abroad.
In Paris, as part of Les Elles du Tango (“Ladies of Tango”) series, I will again, invite again exceptional dancers and teachers that I admire. Because each of these dancers represents a different facet of modern tango, these encounters are fantastic learning opportunities for all participants – me included, which I couldn’t be more excited about ! This year again, I will lead full weekends of workshops and shows with each of them.
As last year, we have invited mainly men, this year, we will give more space to women. I’ve chosen them because they have been inspiring me on my own path and they have an impressive trajectory as dancers and teachers at the highest level.
Wonderful moments in perspective !
(See “Calender” for all details)

GYROTONIC
Finally, this year will give me the opportunity to tackle a project that holds a special place in my heart. After 20 years of consistent and intensive practice of the Gyrotonic method, I’m becoming a certified instructor of this technique in addition to my teaching and dancing Argentine tango.

That way, I try to never stop growing and learning, all while never losing sight of the cultural roots of Argentine tango and its true nature as a dance between two partners. At the same time, not leaving aside its more modern aspects, considering it a universal language
 

Openness and connection. If you had to pick two words to summarize Maria Filali’s personal and professional career, these would fit.

A connection between dance and other body-centered disciplines.
A connection between Argentine tango and other arts, including theater, opera, film, video, and contemporary dance.
And a connection with internationally renowned partners.

Maria is a classically trained dancer who chose to make tango the focus of her career twenty years ago. During this time, she regularly performed at international tango events and festivals, where she proved herself to be a skilled artist and teacher.
On stage, she took part in productions that blended tango and other forms of performing art alongside a wide variety of partners, including Jorge Rodriguez, who collaborated with her for fifteen years.
From 2014 to 2018, she toured the world with another tango partner, Gianpiero Galdi.

In the fall of 2018, she will be starting several new and exciting tango projects.
In Paris, as part of the Elles du Tango (Ladies of Tango) initiative, she will invite several carefully selected colleagues to her classes as a way to showcase and compare different approaches and viewpoints.
As a solo artist, Maria will continue to offer workshops on tango technique in France and abroad.

She is also completing a training course in Gyrotonic, a body-centered discipline that will serve to further enrich her tango teaching.

Lastly, with respect to her creative productions, Maria is currently working on a new dance video entitled “Sweet – Pain Murmuration” and on the choreography for a new theater piece for Compagnie de la Porte au Trèfle.

Through her personal life and professional career, Maria continues to pursue her priorities, namely being open-minded, striving to be an excellent artist and teacher, and cultivating

TRAINING

Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I lived in several countries, including Poland, Morocco, Austria, and Sweden. This experience primed me to be curious, eager to tackle the unknown, and open to others. My professional career is an extension of how I grew up: I continue to build bridges between the cultures and methods of expression that are a part of my life.
From a very early age, dance was a part of my everyday life and a pursuit that set the path for my future. I received extensive training in academic dance in several conservatories in Vienna, Austria; Stockholm, Sweden; and Bordeaux, France, with a focus on ballet, modern, and then contemporary dance. I danced throughout school and university from the age of 6 to 24.
At the age of 18, I moved to France as a university student, earning my Master’s Degree in Communications, Arts, and Performance in Bordeaux. I continued my studies at the same time I attended the Bordeaux Conservatory for dance, where I finished my training with a gold medal award in 1995 followed by a medal of honor in 1996 for modern and contemporary dance.
Once I moved to Paris, I threw myself into new discoveries and body-centered techniques out of both a personal desire to grow and a dedication to expanding my horizons as a performer and teacher. I practiced contemporary dance daily in Paris between 1996 and 2000 with several invited professors at Ménagerie de Verre and Studio Harmonic, studied acting between 2000 and 2003, took on opera singing in 2009 and 2010, and pursued yoga and gyrotonic.
In 1997, I discovered Argentine tango, which has been the focus of my career for the past 20 years. For several years, I started by regularly attending the classes of Christophe Lambert and Judith Elbaz. At the same time, I practiced on a daily basis and continued to broaden my knowledge of Argentine tango while working with partners in Europe and Argentina through regular and one-off collaborations over the years, especially with my friends, Daniel Carlsson, Eric Lindgren, Oriel Toledo, Aoniken Quiroga, Fausto Carpino, Andres Molina, John Zabala, and more (see videos).
Jorge Rodriguez became my regular partner for 15 years. Together, we enjoyed a rich human and artistic experience and had the opportunity to work with wonderful and accomplished artists, including Juan Jose Mosalini, Sandra Rumolino, Gustavo Beytelman, Cesar Stroscio, the El Después Quintet, and Alfredo Arias.
Between 2014 and the summer of 2018, I lived another tango partnership with Gianpiero Galdi. We took on an incredible artistic, educational, and human adventure that included tours to every corner of the world.

TEACHING AND DANCING
In 2007, I began giving tango classes on my own and then with a partner primarily through my association, “leS Sens du Bal.” That’s also when I started to develop a workshop that taught body technique through the lens of tango — a teaching approach that I continue to use today.
In 2010, to help foster my exploration of tango and create opportunities to develop my practice and eclectic approach to the dance, I created the “Les Elles du Tango” (Ladies of Tango) collective. (See “Projects“)

CHOREOGRAPHY AND COACHING
Over the years, I’ve served as a tango consultant for performances from a variety of artistic fields, including contemporary dance, theatre, cinema, and opera. Dance performances that I’ve worked on include “La Revancha del Tango” with Gotan Project; “Fleur de Cactus” with Compagnie de Catherine Berbessou; “Des papillons dans le ventre” for Compagnie Jean Gaudin; “Tango mon amour”, an opera by J. Romano and J. Zulueta; “Tungetango” by P.A. Glovingen; and “La Part’ de l’Autre” with Compagnie GestuElle/S. Samba.
For theatre and cinema performances, I coach and choreograph for actors, including Valérie Bonneton, Guillaume de Tonquédec, and Pascal Demolon in the TV series “Fais pas ci Fais pas ça” (2017); Gregory Barco and Sonia Nemirovsky in “Le Vol” by Compagnie de la Porte au Trèfle (2015); Jacques Gamblin in “Bellamy” by Claude Chabrol (2009); and Olivier Sitruk, Barbora Bobulova, and Sagamore Stevenin in “Coco Chanel” by Christian Duguay (2008), Matilda May and Pascal Demolon in “The war of the Roses” (2018)

CREATIVE WORK
Dance video is the medium I’ve chosen to express my creativity as a choreographer and dancer. I’ve conceived and co-signed the realisation of “À l’ombre d’une sieste,…Vertige” (Directed by Jean Gaudin, 2007), “Premier Tango à Paris”, and “Con tus besos” (Directed by T. Baspeyras, 2014), “El Después” (Directed by E. Weis, 2017), and “(O)Rage tango” (Directed by B. Hamieh, 2017). I’m currently working on a new project entitled “Sweet Pain—Murmuration” (Directed by Elodie Weis).