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Tangokinesis
By Jana J. Monji
Screams and machines guns intrude on Ana Maria Stekelman's 16-part dance
suite, Tangokinesis, defining and defying our notions of Argentine tango.
Where Forever Tango featured sophisticated gowns, women perching on
dangerously high heels and the entanglement of ganchos and boleos,
Stekelman's company, also called "Tangokinesis," wear more sedate clothes.
In the beginning numbers, the women wear tight fitting black dresses that
are seductive in the swish of long skirts consisting almost entirely of
fringe. Other outfits feature carefully planned plunging necklines, but the
movement and not the glamour are emphasized here.
The steaminess of pseudo-sexual intertwining of bodies is transformed into
elegant yieldings. The lyrical movement of arms and the variety of lifts
allow the women to have greater presence on the stage, taking advantage of
the classically trained women while not overshadowing the tango-trained men.
Nora Robles and Pedro Calveyra were formerly members of the Forever Tango
company during the 1996-97 season that included performances on Broadway at
the Walter Kerr Theater as well as a tour throughout the United States and
Canada. The other exemplary dancers included Marcelo Carte, who danced in
Alan Parker's Evita, Cristina Cortes, Maria Marta Colusi, Gerardo Carrot,
Valencia Batiuk and Martin Rodriguez.
Performing this quick-moving taped music, the ensemble glided and swooned
to the usual tango fare as well as Vivaldi, Chopin and a set of "Tiros" by
Edgardo Rudnitzsky. Rudnitzsky's pieces that use gunfire, engines reving up
as well as screams have a startling effect.
It's as if Stekelman has taken this dance that originated in the Argentine
bordellos back to the streets, stripping the veneer of sophistication to
reveal the violence and oppression that isn't unfamiliar in Latin American
today.
Yet in reality, the true meaning remains an enigma, not revealed in the
program notes, but only inferred by Stekelman's association with director
Carlos Saura's1998 Spanish movie, Tango. Stekelman choreographed three
scenes for the Oscar-nominated movie. The piece Tangokinesis premiered in
1993.
Overall, the program suffers from a repetition of lifts and an abbreviated
second half, "Concierto Para Bongo." This 1995 piece to music by Damaso
Perez Prado doesn't further the possibilities of Tangokinesis. It isn't
quite tango, borrowing from various Latin dances, including flamenco. Reusing
too many of the moves from Tangokinesis, Stekelman seems more fettered by
the conventions of 1993 than an extension of the promising fusion of modern
dance and tango.
October 21, 1999 Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, Pueblo, Colorado
October 22, 1999 Arvada Center for the Arts, Arvada, Colorado
October 24, 1999 Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, California
October 26, 1999 Palace Theatre, Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland,
Ohio
October 29-31, 1999 Aruba International Dance Festival, Oranjestad, Aruba
November 3, 1999 Missouri Southern State College, Joplin, Missouri
November 5, 1999 Calvin Theatre, Northampton, Massachusetts
November 7, 1999 Ginger Rogers Theatre, Medford, Oregon
November 9, 1999 Valentine Theatre, Toledo Cultural Arts Center, Toledo,
Ohio
November 11-13, 1999 Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs,
CO
March 10. 2000 Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, New Jersey
March 14-17, 2000 John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Washington,
DC
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