Dance Review: Dance St. Louis brings sensual athleticism of Tango Buenos Aires at the Touhill

Photo: Lucrecia Laurel
dancestlouis.org

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Who: Tango Buenos Aires
What: Song of Eva Perón
When: January 30 and 31, 2015
Where: Dance St. Louis at the Touhill Center, St. Louis

"O the tango is done with a thin black moustache a wide scarlet sash, black boots and a whip."   When Jerry Leiber wrote those lyrics for "The Tango" (recorded in 1975 by Peggy Lee), he was reflecting the darkly sensual reputation this dance, with its historically murky origins, has had for over a century. 

Hector Falcón's choreography for the Tango Buenos Aires production of "Song of Eva Perón," which Dance St. Louis brought to the Touhill this past weekend, certainly pays homage to that sensuality, but expands on it with sequences of fluid virtuosity and breathtaking athleticism.

The latter is mostly on display in the Act I closer, in which the five male company members put on an astonishing display of synchronized percussive dancing using pairs of boleadoras—essentially cords with hard weights at the ends, based on the throwing weapon used by Argentine gauchos.  The increasingly complex visual and sonic patterns they produce must be seen live to be believed.  And even then, the extended solo by one member of the company (who is not, alas, indentified in the program) still seemed nearly supernatural. 

Photo: Lucrecia Laurel
dancestlouis.org

Not surprisingly, that number was interrupted frequently for applause.  But then, so were most of the others by this astonishingly talented ten-dancer ensemble.  The many tango sequences drew their share of "oohs" and "aahs" as the performers glided through elaborate variations on the dance's basic moves—all those stomps, cross steps, and lower body pivots—with that apparent ease that comes only with rigorous discipline and talent. 

The female dancers, in particular, reminded me of the old line about how Ginger Rogers was at least as good as Fred Astaire because she had do to everything he did, but backwards and in heels.  In many of the tango sequences, the women were often in more frequent and complicated motion than the men, sweeping around and entwining themselves with their partners.

There is, as you might gather from the title, a thin thread of a story in "Song of Eva Perón" about the late Argentine first lady's rise from the sticks, but for the most part it's just a framework on which to hang the show's colorful and consistently entertaining collection of dances.

An on-stage five-piece band adds to the appeal, performing music composed for the show by pianist and music director Fernando Mazán along with classics by (among others) Jacob Gade ("Celos," known as "Jealousy" in the English-speaking world) and Astor Piazzolla. There were some Argentine folk tunes in the mix as well.  Violinist Mayumi Urgino and Mr. Mazán both got impressive solo numbers while Marco Antonio Fernandez and Emiliano Guererro provided the rock-solid musical foundation on bandoneons, the wide lap-held concertinas that provide the essence of the tango sound.

Photo: Lucrecia Laruel
dancestlouis.org

Vocalist Lucia Alonso performed a pair of songs written for the show by Mr. Mazán.  She was a stunning embodiment of Evita in an elaborate cream-colored evening gown and cape, but her accent and the sound system conspired to make the lyrics incomprehensible, at least from where we sat.

Speaking of costumes, there's no designer listed for the show, so I don't know whom to congratulate for the colorful and intelligently assembled look of "Song of Eva Perón."  As Eva moves from the provinces to the big city, the looks change from simple peasant designs with earthly colors to vivid evening gowns and tuxedo jackets, culminating in a beautifully elegant finale. 

Tango Buenos Aires has already left town and they don't appear to have a web site, so I can't tell you where they'll be appearing next. As for Dance St. Louis, their season continues with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet February 27 and 28 at the Touhill.  For more information, including details on their upcoming 50th season, see dancestlouis.org.