( First draft ) The large fresco on the curtain that initially covers the background of the stage explained to my eyes what is the essence of tango: Subjectively, Tango is an Urban phenomena thorough lived at night; although it is danced inside space, it expresses the dramas & the lives of the people the same way there is movement in the streets at night. ( This is perharps another difference between Tango and Jazz which is also an urban phenomena. Jazz is lived inside the smokescreen of clubs and cabarets while Tango exemplifies the Tragedies and Dramas of the people living in the streets lighted by the various fluorescences of these same clubs and cabarets as illustrated by this large curtain at the beginning of TANGO TANGO. )
TANGO TANGO is a beautiful and finely tuned show that uses many tools of the trade to provide a multi faceted & sensorial experience of Tango culture. What is perharps the biggest achievement of this show is to conjugate Local talents with years of tango culture ( I am refering to the teachers of the Tangueria also present on the Stage ) along with the experience of an international talent in directing Artists ( Wouter Brave ) along with interantionally well known dancers who are perharps at the peak of their dancing abilities ( Codega - Moreno, Alvarenga - Inza ). This show has also united (what I consider) very decent tango musicans ( I am refering to l`ensemble Montreal Tango ) with a bandoneoninst of international stature ( Nestor Vaz Chaves ) and his Guitarist Julio Cobelli ). This conjugation has produced a wonderful tango orchestra lifted by a talented sound engineer ( Marcello De Lambre ) who managed to fill the room with an equal amount of sonority coming out from each instruments. The Sound quality of TANGO TANGO is an important aspect of this succesfull tango experience. The two main couples of dancers have a different style and presence on the Stage; different but complementary The Stars of this Show, Esteban Moreno & Claudia Codega are fiery dancers: Claudia has a strong presence on the stage while Esteban represents the archityped Compadrito. Compadritos are some of the characters that were present at the origin of tango. Compadritos cultivated courage and kept a winning attitude. They said, they were ready to fight to keep their possessions ( although they probably did not fight that much, it was rather an attitude and a bravado). Compadritos had a strong sense of territory ( and women were an extension of this territory ) always ready to conquer. And such is the presence of Esteban on the stage... The presence of Pablo Inza is different. He is an elegant romantic artistically inclined, and the chemistry and fusion of this couple ( Alvvarenga - Inza ) is complete. Sometimes they pose and I will not complain because as such, they add some moment of real beauty to this Show. The Artistic direction of Wouter Brave is fantastic. He makes a difference by directing the positions of the Artists ( singer, musicians and dancers ) on the stage while performing. Maria Cieri and Rodolfo Cieri are respected milongueros and are scheduled as pârt of the distribution of this Show; Unfortunalely they were not able to travel for this event because Rodolfo is ecperiencing some major setback; But using the magic of multimedia TANGO TANGO was able to regenerate the presence of Rodolfo & Maria on the stage. And what a surprise! One element of the background drape at the beginning of the show had a fluorescence light with the name CANYENGUE spelled on it. CANYENGUE is an "old" style of tango. Nothing in TANGO TANGO is Canyengue EXCEPT for this video presentation of the Cieries. Their presentation is a real treasure of Artistic movement and sophistication. It presented some of the tango style of the time period ( CANYENGUE come from the same period as the charleston ), and the attitude is abstracted to the level of Art form. This presentation is a rare jewel. The musicians played some classics of the tango reprertoire and offered new compositions; SOLITUDE is a composition of Nestor Vaz, the bandoneonist that he composed during his last trip to Montreal. ( Solitude is subtitled Suite montrealainse no 3 on his CD ) but the composition LES DANSEURS D`APRES-MIDI of Victor Simon, the pianist and Musical director of TANGO TANGO is the musical piece that produced the strongest impression on me. The light effects of Eric Granberg are tremendous; At times they struck like spot lights on a sculture accentuating forms and they vary from scene to scene modulating and the different moods and atnmospheres of the tangos. All the TANGO VIVOs and the FOREVER TANGOs of the world can go back to their dressing rooms and meditate their next presentation until they come back with something that carries the same depth, provides the same visual experience and carries a musical experience as worthy as TANGO TANGO. My appreciation of TANGO TANGO is a notch below my favorite shows of all time: PERFUMES DE TANGO and TANGO PASION. There is another presentation of this show Monday night April 24 at 8 p.m. at the Centre Pierre-Péladeau ( with a capacity of 800 seats ) at 300, boul. De Maisonneuve est Metro Berri-UQAM Do not miss this opportunity if you can. Daniel Saindon [email protected]
