5472  A first choreographed tango

Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:37:18 -0800
From: "Igor Polk" <ipolk@virtuar.com>
Subject: [Tango-L] A first choreographed tango
To: <tango-l@mit.edu>

Keith wrote:
"Copes is known for being the first person to choreograph tango for
professional dancers on stage."

May be.
But what about this citations:

"The tango was first danced in a Parisian theatrical review in 1908.."

"In that year [1913] the Hungarian composer Franz Lehar featured the tango
in his operetta "The Ideal Wife", which was rewritten after the war and
presented in 1920 as "Tango Queen". The tangoing couple ( left )[Picture
present] are also Hungarian, from a 1913 music cover "The Tango is so
wonderful!"

"Rudolph Valentino dances with Beatrice Dominquez in a scene from "The Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse"( 1921), the film which catapulted him to fame.
Valentino had previously worked as a dancer in night-clubs and in this scene
he performed the first ever Hollywood tango, thought his exaggerated style
has never won the approval of real tango enthusiasts [ I guess Americans of
that time ;) ]"

".. The lady dances a tango with the 'Latin Lover' in 1970 performance of
the 1931 ballet "Facade", choreographed by Frederick Ashton, with the music
by William Walton".

" the fist film ever devoted to the tango was called "El tango de la muerte
(1917)".

I suppose Fred Astaire's tango in "Flying Down to Rio" (1933) does not
count.

This is from the popular book "Tango", published by "Thames and Hudson"

What would you say about this, Keith?


Igor Polk
PS, frankly, I do not really want to publish it, but I spend so much time
searching through the large book looking for it. It is a pity to waste. May
be someone might be interested..

Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2008 11:58 +0000 (GMT Standard Time)
From: "Chris, UK" <tl2@chrisjj.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] A first choreographed tango
Cc: tl2@chrisjj.com

> "Copes is known for being the first person to choreograph tango for
> professional dancers on stage."

Igor observed:

> But what about this citations:

Indeed. It would have been safer to write:

"By those with no knowledge of prior instances, Copes is known for being
the first person to choreograph tango for professional dancers on stage."

;)

--
Chris