WHO ARE MURAT and MICHELLE?
Murat and Michelle are from opposite ends of the earth. He was born in Istanbul and she was born in Hawaii. They met in the middle, in New York City and of all things it was the Argentine Tango that has brought them together. It seems fitting now that they spend exactly half of each year on each side of the globe teaching, performing and spreading their enthusiasm for the social form of tango.
Murat is gifted with an insightful, thorough and analytical understanding of the dance. His experience with teaching and performing tango numbers 14 years. Widely known for his strong lead and musicality, Murat's background in fine arts and music provides him with the perfect blend of senses for the movement of bodies through time and space. Michelle has had an eclectic career in dance for nearly 20 years, spanning many disciplines with a strong emphasis on healthy alignments and proper technique. Together their dance is unique and elegant yet playful and always musical.
In their philosophy of teaching Murat and Michelle strive to offer students valuable tools in order to enable them to take control of their own personal growth. Murat and Michelle are warm, attentive, entertaining and accessible to students. The style of their teaching is holistic in approach and clear in method. They successfully combine technical and sensory exercises with fundamental concepts that lead to all the challenging possibilities of improvisation and expression. As demonstrated in their own dance, they focus on the origin of movement coming from an agreement in the embrace and have created a unique brand all their own characterized by musicality, playfulness, a balanced partnership and an awareness of social etiquette.
This world renowned partnership has been recognized in the most prestigious Tango events in the USA and Europe including the Portland Tango Festivals in the States, Tango Magia in Holland, Brussels Tango Festival in Belgium and many, many more. Murat and Michelle have gained enormous popularity all over the world, because it is very rare to see a couple teaching with such simplicity and clarity and also inspiring students with their unique style of improvisational dance.
Murat and Michelle regularly visit Holland, France, Germany and Italy. Their most favorite is spending time in Hawaii where Michelle was born.
For more information about Murat and Michelle, visit their website at;
http://muraterdemsel.com/MuratAndMichelle.html
Murat Erdemsel has influenced large numbers of dancers with his unique perspective of dance and instruction. He maintains his teaching position for Dance Manhattan in NYC. Born in Istanbul, Murat followed his parents path to art school. He established himself as an artist before he arrived in the US to complete his Masters Degree in Painting. His art works were sold to collections in Europe and in the States. Even though he has moved from painting to dancing, it is very apparent that his classical education and knowledge of art and art history influences and enriches his ability to teach in general.
Michelle Erdemsel took her first steps in dance at the age of 6 at the world renowned San Francisco School of Ballet and continued with such greats as David Howard in NYC. Her dance experience can only be described as eclectic, ranging from modern, jazz, flamenco, hula and theatre dance. Michelle spent many years touring with famous Musical Artists such as Liza Minelli in prestigious venues like Prince Albert Royal Hall inLondon, Off Broadway theatres in NYC, Stadiums and Arenas inEurope, South America and the US. Her interest in partner dancing led her to competitive ballroom dancing and the more acrobatic style of theatrical dancing in which she garnered many awards including a North American Championship. Michelle has also been reviewed well by the NY Times as a choreographer for off-broadway productions and has assisted with choreography for the Live Televised shows Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. Michelle has appeared on major network TV as well as movies, commercials, magazine fashion spreads, night club shows and theatrical productions nationally and internationally. Michelle discovered tango and traveled to learn and dance all over the US and in Argentina. Now Michelle has dedicated her life to teaching and dancing tango with her husband and partner Murat.
