Meet The Teachers - Natasa Trifan

Natasa Trifan is an international choreographer and teacher who was raised in Romania where she studied ballet for nine years at "Floria Capsali", the premier Romanian Ballet School. She graduated from the "Academy of Theater and Film" in Bucharest with a major in choreography and modern dance. During her major in dance she got involved in numerous student theater and film projects. "My absolute passion for image, any kind of image (cinematic, theatrical, photographic or emotional) came from these film and theater projects and from studying and seeing the same segments of film repeatedly. I have learned to compose from the outside, contrary to my usual dancer's approach of  building from inside-out... I think it's important to master both." 1999 she moved to United States of America and graduated from SUNY Brockport with an MA in Dance and Somatics. In 2001 she studied at the East -West Movement Therapy Program, the Alexander Technique and the Feldenkrais Method, that later will be integrated in her movement and aesthetic approaches. In 2002 she studied intensely physical theater with the international director Rene Migliaccio. Natasa founded Natasa Trifan Performance Group in 1999.

Work Methods - Collaboration

Collaboration is the core of her creative process, Natasa has worked with composers: Lucian Ban, Sylvia Mincewicz, Petre Radu Scafaru, Erol Israfil; costume designer Oana Botez Ban; filmmakers/ video artists: Chiaki Watanabe , Giles Hendrix, Martin Burga; writers/director: Saviana Stanescu and Rene Migliaccio, sculptor Rina Peleg and set designer Catalin Nastasoiu. She has created original works on students from  SUNY Brockport, and for the Minus Company, the Black Moon company and the Sudden Enlightenment Theater. Natasa Trifan has taught dance and movement awareness  at SUNY Brockport for one year.

Performance History

Natasa's work has been seen in Romania, Germany, Portugal, Russia, Chile, England at Chipping Norton Theater and the Bath Theater and in New York City at the Citicorp Theater at Alvin Ailey Studios , the HERE Theater, The Harlem Stages, the Dance New Amsterdam, the Theater for The New City, the Merkin Hall at Kaufman Center, the Construction Company, the Dance Theater Workshop, the Joyce Soho theater,  the Merce Cunningham Studio and at many others venues in Brooklyn.

Awards

Natasa Trifan's performance group received federal grants from Queens Council for the Arts, and grants from the Trust for Mutual Understanding foundation,  92y and from the USAInternatinonal from Mid Atlantic Foundation. 

She has been honored with the best dance critic prize from the Romanian Union of Choreographers and Composers and received full scholarship from the Academy of Theater and Film Bucharest and from SUNY, Brockport. In 2007 she was honored by the Romanian National Journal with the award entitled "The person of the day".

Art Residencies

She had art residencies at the White Oak, Florida and at the Romanian National Dance Center, Bucharest.

Published

Natasa Trifan is a dance scholar and a co writer of the textbook named "The art of choreography for actors" (published in Romania.) She published dance reviews for "Cotidianul", "Romania Literara" and other dance magazines. 

Memberships  

She is a current member of the International Dance Council under the UNESCO, the Field, a non profit organization for artists in NYC and Dance Theater Workshop.

For more information visit -www.theballetcenter.org

Modern Dance Classes

                   Modern Dance is an evolution from Classical Ballet. It breaks the rules of Classical Ballet and creates new ones of its own. Modern dance was an early 20th century dance form that emerged as expression of rebellion against classical ballet. The dancers who developed modern dance of this period include Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan and Ruth St Denis who thought ballet was ugly and meaningless gymnastics. Later on, Martha Graham saw it as European, Imperialistic, and un-American. It therefore has fewer restrictions, and can be seen as a fusion of many dances. So, in one single Modern Contemporary Dance class, you may get to try out lots of different dances. You could find yourself dancing a routine that has elements of African dance, Tango, Salsa, Jazz, Ballet and so on. You name it, you’ll probably find it in a Modern Dance class. In its sophistication it has developed many styles and techniques. The beauty of it is that it allows a freer dance, which can be initiated by music or by an internal theme or inspiration.

http://www.theballetcenter.org/