Tango Fuego

Generally I'm not a huge fan of dance. I'm more of a concert-goer than a dance-recital-attender. But I've always liked the tango - even as a kid. I remember begging mom to play Jalousie on the electric organ (she refused, saying it was too difficult) and asking if she knew how to tango. To my surprise, she said yes, but she never showed me, so no guarantees she wasn't stretching the truth there.

Anyway, what with the past few years of watching latin ballroom on TV (So You Think you can Dance, NOT Dancing with the Stars, thank you very much!), I figured we were primed for at least one outing to a dance recital. Earlier this week, we took in the touring show called Tango Fire, which was on stage at the National Arts Centre. I was mucho impressed.

This was a show from Buenos Aires featuring 10 dancers and 4 musicians (on the stage), plus a singer who came on from time to time. There were duets, group numbers, performances by just the band, the band with the singer... I think that's what I most enjoyed about it. Rather than just being about dance, the performers really showcased every aspect of the tango: the music and the dance both separately and together.

For certain, the dancers were great, displaying some amazingly tricky footwork and some thrilling lifts and throws, but I  was most thrilled to find such a capable set of musicians touring with them. Their name was Quatrotango, and I need to see if they have any CDs of their own.

Here’s a short video preview from their website. If you’re curious, check out their site for tour dates.