| This week, Calgary’s dance scene is really moving to the world beat.
To begin with, there’s the Fiona Malena-Carla Taves collaboration Levante! on Thursday, September 9, a fusion of flamenco and West African dance described here in last week’s issue. And if its two-dozen-odd artists are not enough to impress, Rhythm of Peace: A Tango Show may do just that, featuring a whopping 52, mostly local, performers in dance, theatre and music.
Artists in both productions agree: Calgary’s tastes have surpassed a mere bout of Latin fever.
"Tango has been getting really popular," says Rhythm of Peace co-producer Dayle Schroeder, who is co-ordinating the show alongside local tango instructor Leo Sato. "It’s such a social dance, and there’s no limit of the kinds of people who can do it."
Schroeder is referring to Argentine tango, which accounts for the majority of tango worldwide, offering a more peaceful, passionate and intimate zing for die-hard duos. Since recently moving to Calgary, Schroeder and Sato (the latter an instructor at Alibis and Don Quijote) have seen a rise in class participation from a mere few couples to close to a dozen. And, according to Sato, husbands and wives thank him effusively after having had less success in other ballroom movements.
"Tango is the easiest dance of all to learn," says Sato, who recently worked with actor and tango aficionado Robert Duvall on a filmed dance sequence. "Unlike what people think, there’s no set timing, and after only 45 minutes, people have it down."
Schroeder, whose training is steeped in ballet and jazz, agrees. "In tango you’re all set at a Level 1 class. It brings such an intimate connection with the other person, and it’s really a dance of love and passion. I think in that aspect it’s become more popular, and more of a people dance."
With participation up, Sato and Schroeder have been considering the potential for a full-fledged production (and tour) for some time. They’ve found it in Rhythm of Peace, where Schroeder will choreograph a ballet entitled "Lucia" while Sato oversees choreography on six tango performances. Both have been working on them for some time and, while showcasing their work onstage, they plan to also hold milongas (informal tango socials) in the lobby before and after the performance so that audience members can try out the dance.
As his team of dancers, Los Potenos, prepares for the show, Sato explains that Rhythm of Peace strikes a personal chord for him. It has been inspired by his own life experiences trudging through the U.S. and Latin America. Schroeder then wrote six poems based on Sato’s travels to create a narrative played out by local actors Josh Rimer and Claire Davis. Set in a war intentionally left unspecified to make it universal, the piece finds its two main characters being regularly uplifted by their environment – a plethora of citizens played by dancers and musicians using ballet, flamenco, salsa, tap, belly dancing and the romantic tango. According to Sato, it reflects the same human spirit that prevailed in his real-life journey.
"Wherever I went I always found people who loved to dance tango," he says. "People often didn’t know me as more than this visiting northerner, and yet eventually I made so many good friends as a result."
Sato particularly remembers his experiences in Colombia, where civil unrest temporarily dissolved as an audience watched a tango production in the country’s national theatre. More than 3,000 people were in attendance and the liveliness of audience participation fuelled Sato’s desire to continue nurturing tango back home.
Rhythm of Peace is being performed on the third anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks purely by chance, as that was the night on which the University Theatre was available. But Sato and Schroeder both agree it’s the perfect way to commemorate 9-11. After all, the tango is about love, not war.
"It’s the most passionate and loved dance," says Sato, "and everyone knows what it stands for." |
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