The Last Tango In Charlottesville

Tango Fire: The Fire Within
The Last Tango in Charlottesville


My wife has always maintained that the world is ruled by money and sex. Money (in the form of my wife’s obsessive generosity to WHTJ and public television) got us in the front door of the sumptuous Paramount Theater. It was sex that kept us there for 2 hours Wednesday night.
It was there that the Tango Fire Company of Buenos Aires seductively danced onto the stage and performed their new show: Tango Inferno: The Fire Within.

No one knows for sure where the Tango got its name. But its place of origin is clear: the barrios, brothels, bars and dancehalls of Argentina. In the early 19th century, fortune seeking immigrants poured into Argentina. There, a dance evolved bourn of Spanish flamenco, with African influences. The men would dance the Tango together in all male practicas, perfecting their technique in order to attract the one woman for each seven men in Buenos Aires dance halls.

The Tango was scandalous, both in its lower class beginnings, and as perhaps only the third social dance where men and women actually embraced each other (the first being the Viennese waltz, followed by the Polka). None the less, by the first of the twentieth century, the dance had become a sensation in Europe. It was probably introduced there by wealthy Argentinean’s slumming sons, sent to the continent for higher education.
.
The tango is always sensuous, then sinuous, then staccato, with dance periods of dominance and submission, all movement and teamwork, tension and perfection. The dictionary dryly defines it as “A Latin American ballroom dance in 2/4 or 4/4 time.” Others have tried capturing it’s essence in words. None have done it better than Comtesse Melanie de Pourtales, a famous Parisian socialite. On viewing the Tango for the first time in 1912, she purportedly said “Is one supposed to dance it standing up?".

Later, movie star Rudolph Valentino introduced the Tango to North America in the movie "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”, wearing gaucho style wide trousers and leather chaps, while holding a carnation in his mouth and a whip in his hand.

Other American Tango movies include "The Scent of a Woman", Madonna's "Evita" and "True Lies”.
And who could forget “Last Tango in Paris”, where an aging, dissolute Marlon Brando butters up 19 year old Maria Schneider. No one was dancing, but it was clear that Tango was a metaphor for careless copulation.
And shall we not forget “Dancing with the Stars“?

The Tango Fire Company of Buenos Aires was formed in 2005. Its web site says the show traces the roots of Tango, from its origins in the dance halls of Buenos Aires, to its rising popularity on the contemporary entertainment scene.

The clearly not sold out show opened to scarlet lit, sparsely furnished dancehall scene, with a lighted table and chairs downstage left and right, and the band in the center upstage. The dancers then reenacted with dance the flirtations, competitions, courtships, breakups, jealousy provoked fights and brawls that one would imaging occurring in early Argentina. The first act generally involved the dancers moving in unison as a team, accompanied by the lively band. There were dizzying costume changes, starting with the men in dark suits, reminiscent of Russian politicians, while the women were barely draped, with slit skirts.

The dances and costumes then evolved to the more modern bohemian: men in Gene Kellyesque open collar, short sleeved white shirts and black pants, women in sheer tights. The more jazz like, open form dance moves caused some in the audience to click fingers instead of clap in appreciation.

During the rather abrupt intermission, we retreated upstairs for reinforcing flutes of Champagne, and settled in for the second act. This time each of the five couples performed one after the other. The individual couples choreograph their own solos as is traditional in the world of Tango in Argentina.

The individual acts were punctuated by performances by the band, or the solo Tango singer Jesus Hidalgo. Jesus had an excellent voice, control and range. He obviously had a lot to say, but not knowing Spanish, I just didn’t get it.

The band was built in traditional Tango fashion, with piano, violin, double base and bandoneon. According to the Virginia Tech multimedia music dictionary, the bandoneon has the appearance of a square accordion, but plays more like a concertina. Although invented in Germany in the 1840’s, it quickly made its way to Argentina and became synonymous with the Argentine tango. To my musically untrained ear, it made them sound like a klezmer band. The double base player had an interesting style. He sat perched on a tall stool, plucking, slapping, but also bowing the bass. My wife’s more experienced musical ear had trouble differentiating between the various tunes they played.

My favorite female Tangoist was Yanina Fajar. She is listed on the Tango Inferno Web site as an original member, a Lead Dancer and Director of Choreography for the troup.

She seemed to have a stronger stage presence than the other women, who all looked like they needed a bigger meal allowance. Amongst the males, German Cornejo was a standout, both is his size and sheer physicality.

Not being a dancer, I would have appreciated a short, subtle example of unembellished Tango, so I could know what I was supposed to be watching for beneath the endless high kicks, flamboyant lifts, drops, axels, throws and slides. I kept waiting for the Zamboni.
At the end, the crowd grudgingly gave a standing ovation. The Fire Company responded with a quick encore, and we were done.







Afterwards, we walked home from the Paramount, through the light snow and cold streets of downtown Charlottesville. I realized that it was summertime in Argentina, with Carnival around the corner. Weather Underground informed me that tomorrows high there would be in the 80’s. Fortunately, the Tango Fire Company had given a satisfying show, and I seem to have been left with an afterglow. I’m betting tomorrow there will be a grand illumination of the phone lines at Terry Dean’s Dance Studio!

Wick Hunt