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Diego Funes
Contemporary & Stretch by Diego Funes
Biography:
Diego Funes is one of New York’s leading Contemporary Dance instructors and choreographers. His choreography has graced world stages. For over 15 years, he has created choreography inspired by his ballet, gymnastics and worldwide dancing career, featuring kinetic, exciting and unconventional solo and group pieces that challenge and inspire dancers and students.
He has taught and choreographed all over the world, including London, Italy, Spain, France, Sweden, Norway, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, and throughout the United States, including New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, St. Louis, Kansas City, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. His credits as a dancer/choreographer include major works in dance theatre, musical theatre, film and television.
Diego’s choreography is highly athletic, with strong elements of classical dance and contemporary movement and expression that categorize both his work with students and with the de funes dance company, the corps he founded in 2006.
Diego trained in gymnastics from the age of four. As a teenager, he studied at the prestigious School of American Ballet, prior to dancing with Cincinnati Ballet, The New York City Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and Baletto del Sud.
He went on tour throughout Europe, later returning to the United States to break into musical theatre. His musical credits as a dancer include Cats, Hello, Dolly!, Riverdance, Anything Goes, A Chorus Line and The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. He choreographed acclaimed productions of Beauty and the Beast, Hello, Dolly!, And the World Goes Round, Zorba!, Leader of the Pack, the first New York revival of Subways Are for Sleeping and shows for Tokyo Disney.
He danced in numerous videos for MTV and with headlining music artists such as Liza Minnelli, Whitney Houston and Will Smith.
In 2007, he choreographed the major motion picture, P.S. I Love You, directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Gerard Butler and Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank.
Diego lives in New York City, where he is the Youth Ensemble Director at Peridance Center. He also teaches at Ballet Arts at City Center and at Pace University
Check out Diego Funes webiste: https://www.defunesdance.com/about
Class Description: Contemporary
Diego's contemporary class is an exploration of movement and dynamics from start to finish. Beginning with a comprehensive warm up structured to engage the student in the space and explore vocabulary, the class then transitions to a movement phrase that pushes students to have a conversation with each other and themselves. Diego's creative use of space, time and dynamics along with his welcoming personality ensures that all students leave the class feeling whole. Diego is able to conduct his class in many languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian.
Class Description: Stretch
This active and deep stretch class is
excellent for gaining
flexibility and body alignment. Throughout a series
of
interlacing exercises, students will focus on
lengthening
the
hip
flexors, spine, and hamstrings so as to develop
healthy
body
awareness. This class also focuses on the importance
of
breathing, relaxation, and the relation between mind
and
body. Diego is able to conduct his class in many
languages
including
English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian.
*Stretch by Diego Funes is a copyrighted class.