Tango Pasiòn

by Janet Anderson

Dance Review

Tango Pasiòn? No kidding. For over two hours, these aptly named dancers and musicians poured themselves into 44 (!) individual dances and musical pieces. As far as I know, the whole of Verizon Hall, filled to the rafters, is still down there applauding.

There is no disrespect intended when saying the tango is not a subtle dance—there are no unisex or metrosexual participants. The women in their tight bodices and whirling skirts are undeniably female, and the guys—well, gee, the guys are ferociously masculine, whipping the women off their feet while their eager partners wrap their legs around their partners' waists.

Tango footwork is complex and many of these 12 dancers went way beyond good into the category of superb. So it's depressing not be able to single some out by name, but the unwieldy paper insert that passed as a program was useless in a presentation where it was never very clear when one sequence had ended and another began. This continuous flow of dance and music made for a powerful and unified afternoon, but didn't allow the audience much opportunity to figure out who some of these fantastic dancers were. It's easier to give recognition to the outstanding musicians of the Sexteto Mayor Orchestra—there were only eight of them, and all played identifiable instruments. So let it be noted that Jose Libertella and Luis Stazo, the two gentleman playing the bandoneon—think small Argentinian concertina—made great sounds on an unlikely little squeezebox.

The tango is a dance of responses. It's a ritualized flirtation. The ladies definitely ask for what they get. And the gentlemen make their own intentions quite clear. Interestingly, Pasion mixes tango with other Latin cultural forms. In one sequence the men remove their suit jackets (suits in the first half, tuxedos in the second—no blue jeans or tights for these guys) and wave them in front of the ladies like a matador, and, yes, the ladies charge right over to that waving flag. At other times, pure flamenco movement of proud torso, arching posture and staccato foot and hand rhythms entered into the ballroom seduction. The guys even danced with pool cues—part pool shark, part hyper-males pounding the game stick on the floor. What makes Pasion work, of course, is that the audience participates in the flirtation. Everyone becomes a Latin lover.

TANGO PASION Oct. 3, Kimmel Center

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