Washington DC Tango Festival
March 5, 2010 – 3:09 pmThe DC Tango Festival is a collaborative celebration of tango music, tango dance and tango cinema with performances and workshops taking place in various venues throughout beautiful, historic Washington, DC.
The music and dance traditions of urban Uruguay and Argentina are highlighted throughout the festival with a grand symphonic performance, small ensemble concerts, free tango lessons open to the public, a traditional Milonga, academic lectures on tango, and film with tango themes.
Sergio Alessandro Buslje, the Artistic Director of the Washington’s first Tango Festival, explains that “the personality of this music and dance has created an identity which has now become internationally acknowledged and admired. Washington has long embraced the tango, with the Pan American Symphony Orchestra being in the forefront of promoting symphonic tango, with the lively tango dance scene here, and with the Embassy of Argentina hosting many tango functions. This festival is the natural culmination of years of tango enthusiasm that I have experienced in this great city!”
‘CarmenTango’ debuts at DC Tango Festival
To Argentine dancer-choreographer Alicia Orlando, it seemed natural to do a tango version of “Carmen.”
In her retelling, the tale of passion, obsession and revenge is set in Buenos Aires in the early 1900s. Carmen is a laundress; her jealous lover, José, is a police officer; and his rival, Lucas, a tango singer.
“La CarmenTango,” which will have its North American premiere Saturday at Lisner Auditorium, features music by Argentine composer Raúl Garello, the Pan American Symphony Orchestra and dancers from Bowen McCauley Dance. It kicks off the annual DC Tango Festival, which runs through May 8 and includes films, concerts, workshops and free tango lessons at venues across Washington.
Orlando says she wanted to tell Carmen’s story from a woman’s perspective. “She’s in love with José,” says Orlando, but won’t let him control her. She was inspired by the original story, by Prosper Mérimée, in which Carmen tells José, “I hate myself for having loved you” shortly before he stabs her to death. Orlando dances the title role, and Claudio Barneix, her on- and off-stage partner, is José.
Festival organizer Sergio Buslje, musical director of the Pan American Symphony Orchestra, says that after moving to Washington, he noticed that although there were many tango festivals, they rarely featured live music. The symphony fills that gap.
Buslje’s passion for music melds with Orlando’s vision to bring a timeless story to life. “We hope American audiences will be surprised and moved by the dancers’ interpretation of the classic story and the musicians’ performance of Raúl Garello’s beautiful score,” Orlando says.
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SOURCES:
“DC Tango Festival”
http://www.dctangofestival.com/
“‘CarmenTango’ debuts at DC Tango Festival”
By Alexandra Russell
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/04/AR2010030401896.html
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