Tango Buenos Aires!

I am so excited for tonight! I'm seeing Tango Buenos Aires at the Orange County Performing Arts Center tonight after work, with a pre-show dance party in the center plaza beforehand.

I've had dance season tickets for nearly 25 years, taking my daughter when she was younger (and couldn't refuse *smile*) and now enjoying the performances with one of my closest friends (who shares my passion for strong, athletic men who can command a dance floor). We've seen ballet companies from all over the world, flamenco dance, Russian - the performances are always highlights of my year, as I watch and become immersed in the dancing, the story, the beauty and athleticism, the power and incredible ability of the human body.

I think this is the first performance we've seen that is purely tango. Tango - sensuous, seductive, passionate, vibrant. It is said that dancing is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire; I think tango may be the most brazenly flagrant expression of that desire. From the press release: The Washington Post describes the dancing of Tango Buenos Aires as “...repeatedly crafted swirling,fast-paced tapestries of movement, laced with proud postures and sensual couplings." Undeniably, that's HOT!

Originating over 200 years ago, the dance traces its roots to African, European and Latin American influences. I've been told it was once popular in Argentine bordellos and was not a dance of polite society. It was dirty, tawdry: a dance of seduction, elegantly rendered through flashing feet and teasing leg flips.



When I first took tango lessons in my ballroom classes, I was a bit uncomfortable (understatement!). Tango requires passion, the bodies held closely together, connected right hip to right hip. And my dance instructor was attractive, seductive and skilled at the dance. It is challenging to be dispassionate and focus on learning the steps and patterns when you are learning tango. An elevated body temperature is not conducive to a dance lesson.

The male tango dancers are as masculine as they come: commanding, controlling, distant - and so sexy. Remember Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman? Hoo-yaaa! The woman submits, following the man's lead, dominated by his decisions and directions. As the Center's article says:

And what could be more macho yet proudly elegant than
a brooding, tango dancing man taking charge and commanding the floor?

Indeed, what could?

If you're interested in reading more, check out the Center's Related Resources (I recommend starting with View Article): http://www.ocpac.org/home/Events/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=581