Mission and Teaching Philosophy
We launched our Professional Dance Training Program in the fall of 2016. Since then, in addition to many Hungarian students, many foreign students have enrolled in our courses (from Spain, Great Britain, France, Italy, Mexico, Russia, China, Japan, Egypt, India).
ZeroPlus DanceWorks functions as a school and as a creative dance lab specializing in contemporary dance and somatic activities. We ask our students to begin a spiritual quest to uncover their inner selves.
The methods may vary - improvisation, different body awareness techniques, dance therapy, contemporary dance, or classical ballet - but our messages are consistent: Discover yourself and others, form connections, be conscious of your presence, relax, create.
„Zero”, as understood by Hindu gurus, is more than a number; it stands as the symbol of anything and everything, the starting point, the nucleus of everything that follows.
Thus, zero is the point of transformation: Negative numbers become positive, the virtual becomes real. This process of transformation is the creation itself. The word „plus” refers to this process, progressing from „emptiness” towards „completeness”.
Gyula Berger is one of the founding members of the contemporary dance scene in Hungary, who - following thorough studies of various dance techniques - started his career as a choreographer in 1984. He had been running his own company for almost 10 years. In 1993, Gyula’s thirst for knowledge took him to The Netherlands where he studied post-modern dance at the European Dance Development Center for 4 years. His masters were the most renowned personalities in American post-modern dance. Returning to Hungary in 1997 he continued teaching and choreographing while also participating in international collaborations. With some of his colleagues, he formed L1 Association - a unique collaboration group of artists - in 1998 and was chairman until February 2011. The formations have changed over time, creation and teaching remained constant. Currently he is running ZeroPlus DanceWorks in Jurányi Production House.
Studies at Pécs Secondary School of Arts and the Hungarian Dance Academy on dance artist training, modern specialization. Receives her dance pedagogue diploma with modern specialization in 2013, at present she continues studies in classical ballet specialization. In the course of her studies she is an Erasmus scholarship holder at Codarts Academy of Dance, Rotterdam.
Performs successfully at domestic and international competitions. During her dance artist career she works with several Hungarian and foreign companies.
She has been teaching Graham, European modern, Ballet, Art Jazz, Cunningham, Improvisation, Contemporary at private schools since 2009. Since 2014 she teaches in Pécs Secondary School of Arts. In 2015 she held workshops at Agitart Festival in Spain and at International Dance Course in Hungarian Dance Academy.
I graduated from Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy with a BA and then an MA. The most beloved concepts of my career are creativity, research, improvisation, and creation. It was in this spirit that I began to work, research, create, and teach with various branches of art. Contact Improvisation is the cradle of creativity, research, improvisation and creation, where we can connect deeply with ourselves, our environment and our fellow human beings, so I have been practicing and teaching for years, always finding new paths and discoveries in this movement system.
Luiza Moraes is a dancer/performer and choreographer. She has had extensive training in modern and contemporary dance, with special focus on somatic practices. Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, she worked as a dancer for several companies and choreographed short pieces, being an active member in the local performing arts community. Since 2011 she has lived in Europe, where she obtained a master's degree in contemporary dance and choreography from CNDC/Angers and the University Paris 8. In Budapest, she initiated Still Untitled, horizontally organized performance research platform, co-founded the performance company AVOEC and the collaborative art event SLANT. She performs regularly in events across Europe.
Alejandra Rosas Hernández is a young professional dancer from Colombia. She started dancing when she was 6 years old and since then she has always been in the dance scene. She studied classical ballet from the most prestigious teachers in Colombia and Cuba.
In 2010 she moved to Hungary where she had the opportunity to learn from experienced and well known teachers from all over the world.
She finished her professional studies in Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy and has been teaching adults and children for 6 years.
Her classes are dynamic and energetic with the fresh perspective of a young dancer who had study in two continents, giving diversity in her movements and dance knowledge.
Helena Hrotkó received her contemporary dancer diploma at the Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy in 2010. After that she travelled to Italy (Pontedera) and gathered experiences both as a dancer, performer and dance teacher in the studio “Spazio Nu”. In the meanwhile she finished the Holistic Dance Teacher's Training in the Institute for Holistic Dance and Movement Pedagogy.Since then she gives regular classes in Budapest different schools and she works as a dancer and performer at Living Picture Theatre.In 2013 she finished the “Body-Mind Centering based 1 year Somatic Movement Course”. The classes of Heléna are combining and integrating different techniques that she met and mastered during her movement and dancing education and research (BMC, Alexander Technique, Body Work, Authentic Movement, Tai-Chi, Yoga, etc.) and she makes them alive trough different somatic focuses.
"I've always moved a lot, played sports, danced a lot, made notes, drawings of my body, watched what makes dancing go well, and what could be the problem when you don't like it so much." Viki has been dancing for 15 years. There is almost no dance genre that Viki would not have tasted: she studied classical ballet, contemporary dance, body-consciousness dance, contact dance, etc. In 2017/18 she was a student of ZeroPlus Dancer Education Program. She then dug herself even deeper into improvisation, and has been doing so ever since. She participates in local and international courses, trainings, various creative processes and the Feldenkrais, Pilates, Lábán Movement Analysis and Body Mind Centering methods still serve as a cornerstone in her daily life and cell training.
Miklós Csordás is an experienced Pilates instructor, he has been teaching the method for 5 years. He is also practicing yoga, areal work and contemporary dance.
Ayumi Toyabe is from Tokyo, Japan. She has trained and performed both nationally and internationally, including ZeroPlus Dance Education Program, professional contemporary and ballet training at Art Factory International in Bologna, Italy. She also completed the 3 years professional diploma program in Ballett-Akademie Fürth (Germany). She started her ballet training and performing under the artistic direction of Michiko Aoyama. Besides attending the spring course at San Francisco City Ballet School, and the summer course at San Diego Ballet School in USA, she has also participated in various workshops in Europe and Japan. She has learned Forsyth technique, Laban Movement Analysis, Ultima Vez's repertoire, Butoh, Body-Mind Centering, Pilates, Feldenkrais Method, Alexander Technique, dance and science, and technology. She is collaborating with various artists in Hungary and abroad.
Mónika Lisztes participated in the pilot year of the ZeroPlus Dance Education Program. Her interest lies in public art, movement analysis and classical ballet and she has continued her training in these directions. She participated in courses in Hungary, Switzerland, England and the Netherlands. Besides working as an art manager, she collaborates on various dance research projects and teaches ballet to children. Among others, she has contributed to projects at the Hungarian Dance Academy and at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
