2630  Forever or 15 years, whichever comes up first

Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 10:24:15 -0700
From: Carlos Lima <amilsolrac@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Forever or 15 years, whichever comes up first

Dear List

I have been holding on to this because the archive (my only route FROM
Tango-L) seemed to have been mostly out to lunch lately. Will see what
happens. Perhaps not altogether too late.

I went (2 1/2 weeks ago) to the opening night of the "revival" of "Forever
Tango" at the Shubert Theatre in New York. I found it most enjoyable: an
entertainment tour-the-force, not a moment of boredom.

Those who have encountered earlier versions of the show (I did, if only
through tape recordings) will find both continuity with the past, and
novelty. For anyone who appreciates good music and quality dance this is, I
think, one not to miss. So, to anyone who can catch "Forever Tango" here or
elsewhere: don't miss it! :)

To the tango aficionado I shall add: ... and leave all tango-culture
prejudice behind, so as to allow yourself to meet the artistic proposition of
the show on its own terms.

Needless to say, another Broadway success of "Forever" might provide a great
boost to the interest in tango, here and elsewhere. We ought to send everyone
to the Shubert tout de suite.

Now some random personal reactions, not to be confused with a review.

The music (Victor Lavalle'n, Director) will be familiar to those who know the
extant music disc: same exact instrumental ensemble, largely the same numbers
in nearly the same sequence, same or similar orchestrations and,
unmistakably, the "Forever Tango" footprint---the sound, the
drama---faithfully, even though Androver (to name one) is gone.

But there is novelty aplenty in the particulars. I will just mention a few
instances: the singer, Miguel Velazquez, a voice with a difference that I do
not remember having heard before; a fine interpretation of J.S.Bach-Mariano
Mores's "Tanguera", also new to me; and the turning of Jacob Gade's
"Jalousie" into an expansive, soaring, cadenza spun with jazz-like
as-if-improvisational abandon by the violin solo (Rodion Boshoer, I believe).

At the Shubert we had the physical, three-dimensional, presence of orchestra
and singer up on stage, but not the real sound of the acoustic instruments.
Sound design (Mike Miller) goes with tradition, and perhaps necessity:
everything acoustic is liberally miked and boosted. I am still trying to
decide whether the creditable sonic end result was achieved with the help of
fairly judicious, high quality, amplification, or in spite of it.

On a critical note, the printed program, besides sporting some glaring typos,
fails to credit either the composers of the music or, in the case of "Uno"
and "El di'a que me quieras", the lyricists: not even in a separate section,
not in a footnote.

What about the dancing? Oh, the dancing, always such a troubling topic! Many
of the dancers are new to my eyes. A great many choreographies are thus,
almost of necessity, different from those that I have seen before, and not
just in the detail; but there are also "revivals". If my eyes serve me, "A
Evaristo Carriego" was not far from a literal transcription of what Marcela
Dura'n and Mestre Carlos Gavito once did; this time for Marcela herself and
the most talented Jorge Torres (also the dance captain in this production).

The signature pieces "Preludio del Bandoneo'n y la Noche", "El Suburbio", and
"Romance del Bandoneo'n y la Noche" are quite strongly reminiscent of earlier
incarnations. Of course, the girl (this time Sandra Bootz) sent sliding
across the stage towards the giant bandoneo'n is still there. (And the trompe
l'oeil continues to work without a hitch, seemingly every time ...) Wisely,
she is no longer held aloft in an ugly position at the beginning of that
fateful final spin and launch as the original prima ballerina, Miriam
Larichi, once was ... almost forever. (But now one more fix is needed ... Oh,
well ...)

Perhaps more conspicuous (to me) than the heritage choreographies is a
"Forever Tango" foot print in the dancing as well, that I perceive cutting
across most of the undoubtedly great variety of renditions, present and past.
I believe that repeat viewers will feel the same as I do, and appreciate the
novelty in the continuity. I also think that this sui generis flavour is
describable, but I will spare you my attempt at putting my finger on the
surface phenomena, not to mention the imponderables.

I will just answer the "forever asked" question: yes, but is it tango? (The
question is often asked also about the music, by the way.) My answer, a
sincere one, is that one must make a lawyer's distinction, you know ... the
letter of the law, versus the spirit of the law. So, is them things tango or
not? By the letter, not overwhelmingly so; OK, well, not much, mostly; but in
spirit this is most definitely tango. I hope there is at least another two or
three pettifoggers out there who know what I be talking about.

I did not want to single out individual artists for comment. For one, I was
not able to take it all in at a single sitting. For instance, I know Melina
Brufman's dancing from milonga performances around here, and she is poetry in
motion; but this time I was not on the ball, and sort of missed her numbers.
Moreover, the show is clearly the product of a talent collective, not an
"American-style" shiny showcase for a few "stars".

Still, I cannot resist committing a few random acts, with the obvious caveat.

First the pair Vero'nica Gardella and Marcelo Bernadaz, who provided the
comedic touches. Seeing them I cannot help thinking of the legendary Mariana
Flores and Eduardo Capussi, and of Claudia Mendoza and Lui's Castro, two
immensely gifted duos that, in my personal chronology at least, come before.
Vero'nica and Marcelo are certainly worthy of joining them in our admiration,
as well for their superlative dancing talent as for their inventiveness.

I knew Guillermina Quiroga's dancing only from a USA public television
programme, I believe called "Tango Magic", on the "new tango", featuring the
music of Astor Piazzolla and Paul Ziegler. In it, Guillermina has an
entrancing, flawless pas-de-deux with Roberto Reis. At the Shubert the other
day she brought the same strong personal character to her performance,
showing off to even greater effect her almost disquieting ability to make
beautiful shapes with her body, and flow gracefully from one to another. She
was adroitly accompanied in her metamorphoses by the multi-talented Jorge
Torres.

Among the couples' performances a little less remote from tango proper those
of Natalia Hill and Francisco Forquera stood out at first blush in a field of
virtually even and very high talent, both as to execution and conception.
Francisco was once part of the NY milonga "scene", I am told, and studied
with some of the mainstays of this community. (Got to get some more
information on this.) This may be an interesting illustration of a more
cosmopolitan tango culture as time goes on---one in which tango goes on in
the World at large, in every sense. To stave off predictable troubles ...
artist and former profs: all Argentines.

There is a lot more deserving high praise, but have we got nothing but
progress here? I am sure many repeat viewers will miss the likes of Miriam,
Gavito, the Mayoral"s, or Ce'sar Coelho, to name five. Some people are
irreplaceable not because they are better than any possible replacement, but
because they are the best of one.

Cheers,

Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 14:10:25 -0700
From: Barbara Garvey <barbara@TANGOBAR-PRODUCTIONS.COM>
Subject: Re: Forever or 15 years, whichever comes up first

Dear Carlos and List,

As with all the various versions and casts of Forever Tango, some of the
current cast members are also well acquainted with the milongas in Buenos
Aires and the rest of the world (or wherever Forever has taken them!). Among
those in the current production are Natalia Hills, who we met in the
milongas in 1990 (she was about 13 and had been going to the milongas with
her parents for years) and Guillermina Quiroga, who we have known since
1991. Natalia's partner for many years was Diego DiFalco. So although they
have also had plenty of professional dance instruction, these dancers are
thoroughly grounded in 'real' tango by their maestros who included Pupi
Castello, Pepito Avellaneda, among others (plus Gustavo Naveira).

I believe that Natalia's partner Francisco Forquera studied with Danel and
Maria Bastone of NY, plus others in Buenos Aires.

> Among the couples' performances a little less remote from tango proper

those

> of Natalia Hill and Francisco Forquera stood out at first blush in a field

of

> virtually even and very high talent, both as to execution and conception.
> Francisco was once part of the NY milonga "scene", I am told, and studied
> with some of the mainstays of this community.

Barbara Garvey