Shall We Dance? Inside Recuerdo Tango with the Mariela Franganillo Company
Everyone here at Pace Presents is thrilled to be welcoming back The Mariella Franganillo Company to perform their popular blend of classic and contemporary Argentinian tango. Two years ago, the company dazzled our audience with their program entitled “Tango Connection,” and quickly became a downtown favorite. This year they bring us “Recuerdo Tango”. “Recuerdo” is the Spanish word for “Memory.” This program promises to be a reflection of the dance in both the past and present. The dances will be brought to life by nine outstanding dancers, a quartet and vocalist under the direction of renowned dancer and choreographers, Mariela Franganillo and Bob McAndrew. Seeing as the theme of the evening will be memory, I thought it would be appropriate to look back on the history of this passionate and exciting dance form.
Because of the nature in which Tango has been passed down through the years and its lack of written history, the origins of the dance remain unclear. The general consensus among historians is that the dance dates back to the mid 1800’s. It is believed that the dance is a result of the influence that African slaves had on the folk dances of the native people of Argentina. Although there is much debate on how the word “tango” developed, it was originally defined as a place where African slaves and free black men came to dance in Argentina around the time of that country’s emancipation of their slaves in 1853.
Mariana Parma and Hernan Brizuela
By the early 1900’s, as was in the United States, there was a huge influx of European immigration to Argentina’s shores. The customs of the Argentinian people were now also being influenced by Germans, Russians and Italians. The Argentinean dances that had already been re-shaped by the Cuban “Habanera” and the African “candombe” rhythms, were now being colored by Italian Tarentellas, Polish Polkas and Viennese waltzes. The tango we know today was mostly developed in African- Argentinean dance halls by young men known as “compadritos”. These young men would dress in slouch hats, loose neckerchiefs, high-waist slacks and high heeled, pointy, leather shoes. The compadritos started a dance revolution in bars, dance halls and brothels in Buenos Aires. Tango had become the dance of Argentina’s proletariat.
By the 1920’s the dance started to catch the attention of the country’s high society class. Although it wouldn’t be proper for the women of Argentina’s upper-class to mix with commoners, their sons didn’t see any problem with “slumming it” to learn the new dance sensation. With the dance now in the well-heeled grip of the porteño oligarchy, Tango was destined to become a world-wide sensation by the early 1930’s.
The world-wide rise of the Tango movement coincided with Argentina’s golden age of the 1930’s. While tango was being featured in popular Hollywood movies, Argentina became one of the ten richest countries in the world. To the rest of the world, Tango came to be the embodiment of Argentinian culture, with its passionate, sensuous beats and pulsating rhythms. This “Golden-age” would continue through the 1940’s and 50’s.
Changes in political climate durring the 1950’s led to dancers having to take their dancing “underground.” Tango saw a decline in interest from the late 1950’s through the mid 1980’s. During the late 1980’s, a resurgence in the dance form occurred in the cafes and discothèques of Paris. Renewed interest in the dance led to a stage show in Paris entitled, “Tango Argentino.” The show was such a success in Paris that it toured all around Europe and North and South America. Tango had, once again, captured the minds and hearts of culture seekers all around the world.
Ana Padron and Diego Blanco will perform with the Mariela Franganillo Company on the Schimmel Stage.
Now Pace Presents invites you to come to the Michael Schimmel Center and experience the pulsating and sensuous rhythms of the dance form known as Tango. For tickets visit schimmel.pace.edu or call (866) 811-4111
See you at the Schimmel!
Michael Torbet
2013-14 Pace Presents Blogger
RECUERDO TANGO with The Mariela Franganillo Company/ Thursday-Saturday, October17th-19th/ 7:30pm/The Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts/3 Spruce St, New York, NY/$55/$40/$30/ Curated by Livesounds.org
