The fury in all its grace

Two of tango’s brightest stars are Mariela Maldonado and Pablo Sosa, who have shone since their debut in 1996. The duo have performed in some of the best tango shows on earth, undertaken extensive world tours and received rave reviews from international publications, like The New York Times and the UK’s Ballet Magazine. 

At the peak of their careers, Mariela and Pablo started their own group and show called “Tango Legends”. They will be performing on October 14, the last night of Bangkok’s 14th International Festival of Dance and Music, in a performance guaranteed to galvanise.

The programme consists of two exciting acts. First up is “Tiempo de Guapos”, which translates as “Time of the Beautiful People”.

This act recreates the golden age of the tango, when the most handsome man in an elegant suit wanted nothing more than to be joined by a woman of style and beauty in a dance-floor embrace, face to face, with legs tangling and untangling in complex figures, following the sexy beat laid down by the band. Watch the couples woo and court each other in these mating dances.

This act also serves as a primer of different styles from the early days: the romantic valses, the speedy and intricate tangos, the spicy and witty milongas. Each couple will dance to a different style.

The second act shows the influence of tango on contemporary, classical and ballroom dances, which has been considerable.

During the last part of the 20th century, in particular, you will see how the choreography of these dances evolved to allow more personal creativity and imaginative interpretations. As a result, each of the 12 dancers has more room to improvise.

The music, played by the Vice Versa Quintet, also reveals the influence of Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), a composer and bandoneon player who inspired a tango revival. With three albums under their collective belts and several international tours behind them, the quintet is the perfect sounding board for the six couples to gyrate to.

Lending fashionable style to the musical substance, the costumes of the award-winning designer Walter Delgado (black suits for the men, red slit-legged gowns for the women) are as provocative as they are classy.

The dancers perform all the different variations of tango with an air of grace and sensuality, making it clear why the dance appeals to such diverse crowds as socialites, intellectuals and the working classes in the port districts of Buenos Aires who first invented this exuberant art form in the early 20th century by combining Argentinean, Cuban and African influences.

Tango history is also woven through these dances. “Comme il Faut”, for example, depicts the arrival of tango in Europe, where it became a craze in the ritzy salons of high society back in the 1920s.

More than just a dance, tango is the embodiment of full-bodied, hot-blooded passion. Its rise from local phenomenon to global fixture was emphasised when it was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by Unesco in 2009.

 

Step lively

 

“Tango Legends” will bring down the curtain of the 14th International Festival of Dance and Music on October 14 at 7.30pm at the Thailand Cultural Centre. For more info go to www.BangkokFestivals.com.

Tickets for the shows are available from ThaiTicketMajor, www.thaiticketmajor.com or call the hotline at (02) 262 3191 or visit various counters in Bangkok.

The festival is sponsored by Bangkok Bank, B Grimm, Dusit Thani Bangkok, Nation Multimedia, Nivea, SCG, Singha, Thai Airways International, Tourism Authority of Thailand, and Toyota Motor Thailand.