Stay in the Loop
BSR publishes on a weekly schedule, with an email newsletter every Wednesday and Thursday morning. There’s no paywall, and subscribing is always free.
'Luis Bravo's Tangos' at Annenberg
Tango interruptus and tang-orgasm
LEWIS WHITTINGTON
Ginger Rodgers's famous quip about doing everything that Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in heels, came to mind as I watched some of the women in “Luis Bravo's Tangos” for two performances. Bravo was auteur of the wildly successful Forever Tango on Broadway in 1997, and this version is one of the show’s tour knock-offs. Where Astaire and Rodgers could only be so suggestive in their musicals, these couples could evoke more than just missionary positions as they took us through a dozen erotically charged duets.
The men may do the literal heavy body lifting in dance-hall tuxes, but those women in five-inch trappy pumps and satin and velvet slit thigh cocktail dresses had more artistic gravitas to balance. Whether they were dropped an inch off of the floor in dips or maneuvered into the deepest backbends, these ladies kept their eyes fixed on the climax while simultaneously keeping the line in their period stockings straight.
Four couples took turns dancing in front of the simmering six-piece orchestra led by pianist-conductor Jorge Vernieri. Of course, the soul of the tango sound was delivered by bandoneòn virtuosos Santos Maggi and Jorge Trivisonno.
Tangos tell stories of desire, seduction, foreplay and consummation, and the clash of sexual wills in intimate encounters described with titles like “La Mariposa,” “Comme Il Faut,” “La Bordona” and “Romance dei Bandoneòn y la Noche.” One dancer evoked a ‘30s taxi dancer down on her luck in a dusty marquisite-bodiced gown, but with ripe moves on her date. Who was really leading was anybody's guess.
Since the ‘30s, Buenos Aires tango has been adapted and interpreted to cover the Kinsey' scale of sexual orientation. But Bravo is a classicist and formalist, so there were no same-sexes or drag.
These four male-female couples spellbind with those darting leg jabs and dramatic abrazo (embrace) and ocho (circular floor patterns). The precisión danza is stylized by each couple and characterized by such steps as barrida, cortado, giro and carminada (or sweeps, reverse breaks, turns and struts).
It was interesting to see all the layers of theatricality, artistry and character in these tableaux, even if the show wavered between Tango Liso (basic, undecorated), de Salon (cabaret) and Tango for Export (what a Milonguero from Buenos Aires would characterize as soulless tango that would nonetheless wow them in the clubs of Paris, Berlin and New York looking for exotica).
Bravo orchestrated all three levels with what was ultimately a tango fantasia that brought to mind Gypsy Rose Lee's adage. “Leave 'em begging for more, then don't give it to ‘em.” Bravo to Bravo for leaving the Annenberg audience lusting for their own last tango in Philly.
LEWIS WHITTINGTON
Ginger Rodgers's famous quip about doing everything that Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in heels, came to mind as I watched some of the women in “Luis Bravo's Tangos” for two performances. Bravo was auteur of the wildly successful Forever Tango on Broadway in 1997, and this version is one of the show’s tour knock-offs. Where Astaire and Rodgers could only be so suggestive in their musicals, these couples could evoke more than just missionary positions as they took us through a dozen erotically charged duets.
The men may do the literal heavy body lifting in dance-hall tuxes, but those women in five-inch trappy pumps and satin and velvet slit thigh cocktail dresses had more artistic gravitas to balance. Whether they were dropped an inch off of the floor in dips or maneuvered into the deepest backbends, these ladies kept their eyes fixed on the climax while simultaneously keeping the line in their period stockings straight.
Four couples took turns dancing in front of the simmering six-piece orchestra led by pianist-conductor Jorge Vernieri. Of course, the soul of the tango sound was delivered by bandoneòn virtuosos Santos Maggi and Jorge Trivisonno.
Tangos tell stories of desire, seduction, foreplay and consummation, and the clash of sexual wills in intimate encounters described with titles like “La Mariposa,” “Comme Il Faut,” “La Bordona” and “Romance dei Bandoneòn y la Noche.” One dancer evoked a ‘30s taxi dancer down on her luck in a dusty marquisite-bodiced gown, but with ripe moves on her date. Who was really leading was anybody's guess.
Since the ‘30s, Buenos Aires tango has been adapted and interpreted to cover the Kinsey' scale of sexual orientation. But Bravo is a classicist and formalist, so there were no same-sexes or drag.
These four male-female couples spellbind with those darting leg jabs and dramatic abrazo (embrace) and ocho (circular floor patterns). The precisión danza is stylized by each couple and characterized by such steps as barrida, cortado, giro and carminada (or sweeps, reverse breaks, turns and struts).
It was interesting to see all the layers of theatricality, artistry and character in these tableaux, even if the show wavered between Tango Liso (basic, undecorated), de Salon (cabaret) and Tango for Export (what a Milonguero from Buenos Aires would characterize as soulless tango that would nonetheless wow them in the clubs of Paris, Berlin and New York looking for exotica).
Bravo orchestrated all three levels with what was ultimately a tango fantasia that brought to mind Gypsy Rose Lee's adage. “Leave 'em begging for more, then don't give it to ‘em.” Bravo to Bravo for leaving the Annenberg audience lusting for their own last tango in Philly.
Sign up for our newsletter
All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.
