m¡longa, 14/06/2017
Choreographer/director : Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Musical director : Fernando Marzan
"Milonga" is both a dance, that might be considered the immediate precursor of the tango, and the name for a party or gathering at which the tango is danced. It was very much in the spirit of that second definition that this show has been put together, as we see the varied and vivid interactions of six pairs of dancers, to the accompaniment of an on-stage five-piece band.
This is not just another itinerant tango show, however, for it has been devised by the choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Cherkaoui is very much a collaborative choreographer; he gets inspiration from dance in all its forms and from all sources, and he enjoys working with other choreographers and dancers from other styles and regimes to produce frequently inspired hybrids. His own fluid, often low-lying style would seem to be at the opposite end of the scale to the sharp, slicing movements of the Argentine tango, but the marriage here is flawless, with one couple of contemporary dancers set against and amongst the five pairs of professional tango performers, trying to assimilate the style, and eventually making it their own, to the general approval of the others.
Each pair of dancers also has their own, distinct style. There was the lightning-fast footwork and sinuous, dramatic arms of Gisela Galeassi, or the leaps and lifts of Claudio Gonzalez and Julia Urruty, while Maricel Giacomini and Bruno Gibertoni demonstrated a more lyrical style, and there was a frankly comic turn from Viviana d'Attoma and Gabriel Bardon. And then there were several remarkable minutes between the contemporary dance partnership of Silvina Cortés and Damien Fournier during which she never actually touched the ground, or German Cornejo's spectacular, rotating "star" lift.
This was a more reflective show than the jaw-dropping showcases like Tango Pasión or Tango Seducción, with contemplations on exclusion and inclusion - a startling three-cornered dance, with Cortés literally insinuating herself into another couple's partnership, for example - alongside the more usual back-and-forth play of the tango. Nor did Cherkaoui forget the dance's older sources, when a lack of female partners meant that often the men danced with each other - a vibrant trio of men dancing to one of the few really well-known numbers of the score, Piazzolla's "Libertango".
The staging was fairly ingenious, with some interesting visual effects, though sitting close to the stage as I was, I found the fast moving panorama of the Buenos Aires streets at one point (it was clearly a film taken from a moving car) a bit dizzying. The impression of looking in on a dance hall of some sort was never very far away, however, with all the small dramas playing out on the dance floor - and sometimes off it too. This was a powerful, vital experience, a glimpse into another world, and beautifully performed throughout.
[This was the last scheduled performance of this season. As usual, there may be something over the summer, but there's nothing planned as yet. The first scheduled engagement for the 17/18 season will be 7th October]
Musical director : Fernando Marzan
"Milonga" is both a dance, that might be considered the immediate precursor of the tango, and the name for a party or gathering at which the tango is danced. It was very much in the spirit of that second definition that this show has been put together, as we see the varied and vivid interactions of six pairs of dancers, to the accompaniment of an on-stage five-piece band.
This is not just another itinerant tango show, however, for it has been devised by the choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Cherkaoui is very much a collaborative choreographer; he gets inspiration from dance in all its forms and from all sources, and he enjoys working with other choreographers and dancers from other styles and regimes to produce frequently inspired hybrids. His own fluid, often low-lying style would seem to be at the opposite end of the scale to the sharp, slicing movements of the Argentine tango, but the marriage here is flawless, with one couple of contemporary dancers set against and amongst the five pairs of professional tango performers, trying to assimilate the style, and eventually making it their own, to the general approval of the others.
Each pair of dancers also has their own, distinct style. There was the lightning-fast footwork and sinuous, dramatic arms of Gisela Galeassi, or the leaps and lifts of Claudio Gonzalez and Julia Urruty, while Maricel Giacomini and Bruno Gibertoni demonstrated a more lyrical style, and there was a frankly comic turn from Viviana d'Attoma and Gabriel Bardon. And then there were several remarkable minutes between the contemporary dance partnership of Silvina Cortés and Damien Fournier during which she never actually touched the ground, or German Cornejo's spectacular, rotating "star" lift.
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| Gisela Galeassi and German Cornejo (Tristram Kenton © 2017) |
The staging was fairly ingenious, with some interesting visual effects, though sitting close to the stage as I was, I found the fast moving panorama of the Buenos Aires streets at one point (it was clearly a film taken from a moving car) a bit dizzying. The impression of looking in on a dance hall of some sort was never very far away, however, with all the small dramas playing out on the dance floor - and sometimes off it too. This was a powerful, vital experience, a glimpse into another world, and beautifully performed throughout.
[This was the last scheduled performance of this season. As usual, there may be something over the summer, but there's nothing planned as yet. The first scheduled engagement for the 17/18 season will be 7th October]