Wikus Englebrecht
Wikus Engelbrecht has been a Tango dancer and enthusiast since early 2011; having started in Cape Town and later moving over to America for years where he gained experience intensively as a social dancer, DJ and organiser.
His teaching began at the Oregon State University Tango Club, and then later in the Washington D.C. area where he was eventually based. As a teacher he emphasises dancing Tango as a physical conversation, sensitivity, developing a thorough sense of proprioception and moving with tensegrity, sophisticated musicality, connection and creative collaboration within the dance couple as equals, fluidity and empathy within the partnership, and a zest to embrace improvisational and choreographic possibilities. Mischievous and playful on the dancefloor; you never know what he’s going to come up with next.
He usually doesn’t know either.
When asked what style of Tango he dances, he typically responds: “Wikus Style.”
He prefers the cabeceo. [query him later if you don’t know]
He loves Milonga [same] and is often quizzed about Tango shoes.
Having DJ’d frequently while abroad he understands the formats, practices and standards of the international scene, and has an in-depth knowledge of the music, orchestras and composers. He is proficient in crafting seductive dance experiences using both classic and modern Tango music, or either exclusively.
With a long and varied background in the martial arts he spotlights commonalities, commutable skills and points of intersection with Tango as a movement form. His approach to practice and break-down of technique is flavored by Eastern esoteric intuitions; but he doesn’t agree with the notion that he’s abstract.
Wikus currently teaches and hosts events primarily around the Cape Town CBD and Stellenbosch areas. He is known to be super-friendly to beginners.
He has had the privilege to study with a large number of maestros from Argentina, the United States and Europe, including but not limited to:
Gustavo Naveira and Giselle Anne, Chicho Frumboli and Juana Sepulveda, Martin Maldonado and Maurizio Ghella, Juan Cantone and Sol Orozco, Sebastian Jimenez and Maria Ines Bogado, Alejandro Larenas and Marison Morales, Marcelo Gutierrez and Ines Muzzopappa, Diego Blanco and Ana Padron, Nito and Elba Garcia, Christian Marquez and Virginia Gomez, Ruben and Sabrina Veliz, Ricardo Biggeri and Cecilia Piccinni, Guillermo Salvat and Silvina Valz, Fabian Peralta and Josefina Bermudez, Claudio and Helena Villagra, Nick Jones and Diana Cruz, Guillermina Quiroga, Alejandra Mantinan, Daniela Pucci and Luis Bianchi, Cynthia Palacios and Ariel Roldan, Damian Lobato, Carla Marano, Filipe Martinez, Briggita Winkler, Analia Centurion, Maria Elena Ybarra, Javier Rodriguez, Cecilia Gonzales, Rebecca Shulman, Javier Rochwarger, Richard Council, Alex Krebs, Eric Jorrisen, Eleonora Kalganova and Michael Nadtochi.
In December 2017 he organised the first major Tango festival to be held in Southern Africa.
Contact Details:
Email: wikus.engelbrecht@gmail.com
WhatsApp: 064 172 0120 (don’t call – text)
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/TangoAfricano/
https://www.instagram.com/wikus_does_tango/