Josefina Stellato has been dancing Argentine tango at the highest level for more than two decades. She’s now arriving at Still & Moving Center our Artist in Residence for the next 6 months!

 As a performer, she has been a member of renowned choreographer Leonardo Cuello’s tango company at the National University of the Arts in Buenos Aires. She’s been a cast member of Social Tango Project, performing in multiple theaters in the city of Buenos Aires, for the past decade! In 2023, Josefina participated in the company’s North American tour, which included a performance at Kennedy Center.

 As a teacher, Josefina deepened her understanding of pedagogy under the direction of Dana Frigoli and the DNI Tango school in Buenos Aires, where Josefina served as a senior faculty member. She also was an official member of the DNI Tango Company, where Josefina participated in the live shows “Dos, lo que se disuelve”, “Asimétrico”, “Seres Materiales”; a film version of “Dos”; and “Remueve la piel suspire,” which Josefina created and choreographed. 

 She has taught and performed at international festivals in Europe and during the pandemic gained a devoted following for online lessons.

Like many tangueres, Stewart believes Argentine tango is fundamentally about connection: with the self, moment, music and another person. Each tango is a three-minute collaboration, two people telling a story with improvisational play. And to Stewart, play is key. While practiced traditional tango movements provide vocabulary and structure, they offer endless possibilities for spur-of-the-moment creativity.

Although Stewart has danced tango socially for years, his growth as a dancer accelerated during the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic. With social dances and schools everywhere shut down, Stewart and his dance partner Patricia Serafini began a rigorous online and in-person training program with Maximiliano Copello and Raquel Makow, with additional training by Josefina Stellato and Ekaterina Semenova, formerly of DNI Tango in Buenos Aires. This work led to a deeper understanding of tango, which Stewart and his friends are eager to share.