The African Roots of Tango
with Ernest Williams
Sunday July 29th, 2007 in Milwaukee, WI
3:30--4:40pm: Candombe Music and Dance: The African Roots of Tango.
How Candombe influences Milonga.
Candombe is an Afrocentric dance and music tradition that is
considered part of the African roots of Tango. Although only
sparsely practiced in Argentina, Candombe is still actively practiced
today in Uruguay in weekly gatherings, special events and especially
in the grand Carnival celebrations of Montevideo. In the tenements
and countryside along both sides of the Rio de la Plata (river that
separates Uruguay and Argentina) freed slaves, poor European
immigrants and Cuban visitors combined their cultures and created
what eventually became the milonga and tango.
4:50pm--6pm: Canyengue
Canyengue means “to be tired” or “to melt into” as you can imagine
being after a long bout of Candombe. This is the early version of
tango and had many Afro-Argentines considered to be amongst its
greatest dancers. It is characterized mainly by its “cortes y
quebradas” or sudden stops and bent posture. Many famous band
leaders such as Francisco Canaro and Roberto Firpo played tangos in
the early 1900’s in a very rhythmic style making the tango “swing”.
This was the main method of dancing tango before tango took Paris by
storm after 1914. Canyengue is now enjoying a resurgence in interest
among tango dancers and will soon be regularly danced around the world.
In the US, some of his most notable performances include the musical
“Candombe: Tango Negro”
in Washington, DC, the opening performance of the 18th Annual
Washington DC International Film Festival focusing on films from
Argentina, the Latin American Festival in Richmond VA, “Living
Tango,” a performance for the Dancing for Schools benefit in
Philadelphia, PA. and
performance at the Trinity Artist Series: Live Tango Concert by the
Gerardo Perez Tango Trio in New Orleans.
Ernest has spent 6 months of 2005 in Uruguay and Argentina
researching the African roots of Tango including Milongón,
Candombe,and Canyengue. The black experience and Uruguay’s influence
on tango is a part of his research. As a result of his research, he
has co-written,
choreographed and performed excerpts of Tangó: The Black Dance
Experience (La Experiencia Negra en la Danza) a dance theatre
production, working in conjunction with many artists, historians,
cultural and governmental organizations based in Uruguay and Argentina.
He has been a three-time featured tango performer on “La Ciudad de
Tango”, a live national TV show in Uruguay and a two-time featured
candombe dancer with the high- profile
candombe organization La Gozadera in Montevideo.
Including an appearance on the popular "Solo Tango" television
network in Buenos Aires, Ernest is recognized and celebrated as a
social dancer in many milongas,and other social events and has
received many requests to give demonstrations of his unique style of
dancing. He was recently invited to give special exhibitions in
milonga con traspie and salsa at the famous
milonga Viejo Correo in Buenos Aires.
Ernest William’s mission is to use dance to influence the world's
vision of the unsung beauty of Afro and Latin cultures.
