YOU'VE BEEN TANGOED!

You’ve Been Tangoed!

19 & 20 November, 7:45, Watermans Art Centre

“Tiempo de Tango” is the acclaimed, sleek multimedia dance performance featuring six dancers and the UK’s leading tango ensemble Tango Siempre. artLAT will perform the show for just two nights at Watermans in November, so, if you don’t want to miss the opportunity to be inspired by the moves that put Argentina’s dance traditions on the international map, be sure to book early.

Tango is one of those phenomena that pop up every now and then to grip the imagination of an international audience. In one sense, it is one of the first examples of an international fad or craze “created” by Hollywood.

Seizing on the craze for the tango in metropolitan cities like New York from about 1910 onwards, Hollywood matched early heartthrob Rudolf Valentino with the tango in the 1921 film, “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”, and an international dance craze was born. From Cape Town to Cairo, Vancouver to Budapest, inspired by the screen star, trendy young things rushed off to learn the newest dance craze. The tango had made its transition from the sleazier side of Argentinean society to the trendiest nightclubs and parties of the world.

In fact, to this day, so strongly is tango linked with the sleek dance movements, that many have forgotten that the specific musical traditions that go with it are as much part of tango as the dance itself. And, both the dance style and the music and songs that accompany it have a history that couldn’t be further from the glitzy, sequined tangos popularised by programmes like “Come Dancing” which have kept it in the popular consciousness for many years.

With decidedly saucy beginnings, the tango was born in the dance halls and bordellos of Argentina; clip joints where lonely and frustrated men could pay to dance a dance of embrace at a time when physically touching a woman during a dance was decidedly improper. And, of course, all of this was usually accompanied not only by a particular music style, but almost always, by song.

Although outside of Argentina many of us do not think of dancing the tango to a song -as opposed to music without lyrics- the tradition of the tango song is a powerful cultural symbol within Argentine culture. Legendary tango singers like Carlos Gardel, for example, hold a particular place within the national memory and would be used as strong metaphors by radical film makers in the 1980s such as Pino Solonas contemplating Argentina’s turbulent 20th Century history. Other stars of tango, like Astor Piazzolla have played a key role in combining the popular tradition of the tango with other musical forms such as classical music to develop an international recognition of the special nature of Argentina’s most famous musical export.

After the craze for the naughtily sexy tango of the 1920s had died down, a specific style of the dance remained popular through Ballroom and Latin American dance societies and clubs, remaining always in sight on British television screens through programmes like the legendary “Come Dancing” up until 1998

Every now and then, Hollywood would remember the power of the tango and it would suddenly reappear to dramatic effect as a centrepiece in a mainstream movie. How many of you out there remember Sean Connery’s “comeback” Bond movie “Never Say Never Again” in which he got to dance a fiery tango with Kim Bassinger? Or Al Pacino’s valiant effort in “Scent of a Woman”?

In recent years, the tango has re-emerged for a younger generation. The nostalgia for programmes like “Come Dancing” has morphed into the wry tongue-in-cheek approach of programmes like “Strictly Come Dancing” and dance music bands like Gotan Project have re-interpreted the tango for a clubby generation. Hot tip for the latest thing you can do with a tango this winter: watch out for the tango-driven track on the new Munk album featuring the legendary Princess Superstar…

Tango on the Web

ToTango.net
is a comprehensive site with information on the history and development of the tango, explanations of the terms used and the different styles of dance and music.

SurdelSur.com’s section on music
not only contains interesting information on the development of the tango, but some wonderful vintage photographs of early tango in Argentina.

El Tango
is an interesting site that contains an interesting mix of history and images as well as downloads of tango music and information and links of where to find interesting recordings of videos of tango.

Take To the Floor

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