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<td class="bold"><h2>Miguel Angel Zotto's Tango X 2 - Su Historia</h2>
by <a href="http://www.exploredance.com/list.htm?sid=216&s=author">Susan Weinrebe</a><br>
January 25, 2007</td>
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<td><a href="http://nycitycenter.org/" target="_blank">City Center</a><br>130 West 56th Street<br>(Audience Entrance is on West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues)<br>New York, NY 10019<br>212.247.0430
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<td><a href="http://www.exploredance.com/article.htm?id=1711">Jenny Wesnousky's Review</a><br><a href="http://www.exploredance.com/article.htm?id=1706">Robert Abrams' Critique</a><br><a href="http://www.exploredance.com/article.htm?id=1741">
Susan Weinrebe's Review</a><br><br><a href="http://www.tangox2.com/">Tango X2 Website</a></td>
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<a href="http://www.visavismag.com/content/view/104/76/">Say the word "tango" and people think, passion! </a>It
is not necessary to be a tango dancer oneself or to recognize and name
each step of the complex footwork of the choreography. One only has to
keep a sharp eye on the feet, the bodies, the faces of the performers
to be thrilled by the complexity and heat of the lavishly danced <i>Tango X 2</i>.<br><br>Miguel
Angel Zotto, the maestro leading the dancers, musicians and singers of
his show, did a great service for those in the audience who want to
love tango and have much to learn. Film clips of tango icons, places,
performances, backgrounds for the stage action and narrative, added
instruction as images played across a large screen located behind the
elevated platform on which the musicians performed.<br><br>The first act of <i>Tango X 2</i>
showcased choreography from past performances as pairs and groups of
dancers alternated with narrative or singing by Claudio Garcés and
Vanesa Quiroz. At a breathlessly rapid pace, Act One was divided into
three parts. <br><br>"Voices" went back to the roots of the dancers
and evolution of tango as film clips which featured the men who
popularized the dance. It's not surprising that tango was born in
brothels, practiced by men with one another as they waited. The smolder
of the dance had to come from somewhere! Entwining legs, chest-to-chest
embrace and eyes locked onto the partner's or following the same line
of direction are intensely direct displays of dance as seduction and
love making. <br><br>Movie clips of tango immortals, Carlos Gardel,
Roberto Firpo, and "El Cachafaz" were an introduction to the background
of the men who devised the stylized movements associated with the
dance. Meanwhile, partners danced in the style of those great figures,
recreating their signature techniques. <br><br>Swiftly transitioning
to the next segment, "Choreography Collage," a banquette of dance
styles and vignettes raced on the heels of one another, highlighting
dozens and dozens of routines through the show. There was American
style tango, "back to front" tango, romantic, modern, salon, Hollywood,
and traditional tango. There was more narrative and more singing and
one didn't have to understand Spanish to feel the heat of the soul in
the words. Especially wonderful was Ms. Quiroz who held the attention
of the audience with her beautiful voice and style as she also danced!<br><br>"An
Elegant Nightclub" featured the setting of a chi-chi 1940's Parisian
nightclub. The three scene shifts of the act allowed for quick changes
of dancers and costumes, almost dizzying in their glamour and
inventiveness as each dance seemed to vie with the previous to better
it, building to a crescendo of impassioned music and dance seduction
for an all company finale.<br><br>Act Two contained elements of near
surrealism as more tango history unfolded. In the first segment, a
tragic drama was revealed: Polish girls who arrived in Buenos Aires to
make their fortunes, instead, were sold into brothels. Scenes
portraying the immigrants stripped of their clothes (though really
wearing body stockings) and being inducted into the sex trade, were
graphic and sad. Dancers utilizing movement, that universal means of
communication, managed quite well to convey this sordid part of tango's
history.<br><br>In another segment, department store mannequins came to
life to dance. Finally, a tribute to the composer, Astor Piazolla,
brought the whole company on stage to nail a resounding mélange of
virtuoso dancing for the conclusion.<br><br>The caliber of dancing the night I saw <i>Tango X 2</i>
was stellar! One way that I judge a performance is by the chances taken
– perfection, not necessarily being what makes a great show. In tango,
timing is of the essence as the partners flirt dangerously by rapidly
kicking forward, backward, between the other's legs, changing
direction, being lifted and flung into leg extending postures, and
freezing in mid-motion for a pause even more telling than the frenetic
action a moment before.<br><br>The most crowd-pleasing moment came with
the virtuoso performance of Miguel Zotto and Romina Levin when he
danced on air. That is, while partnering Ms. Levin in a blurringly fast
series of twists, Mr. Zotto pivoted one foot on stage and the other
off. His daring and speed were a demonstration of his mastery and the
audience adored it.<br><br>What to wear to the seduction? There's never
a question in tango. The men wore black slacks and often jackets with
shoes the colors of a peacock's strut, the better to call attention to
their footwork. The women were slashed to here and slit to there,
clingy, sparkly, diaphanous materials showing off their gorgeous
real-woman bodies and making the most of all their moves.<br><br><i>Tango X 2</i> was a show with broad enough appeal even for the yet-to-be initiated <i>tangueros</i>, and if ever one wanted a lesson in the language of passion, this would be the show to see.
<br><br><hr><br><b>Miguel Angel Zotto: Lead Dancer<br>Romina
Levin, Diego Escobar & Iliana Mohaupt, Gabriel Ponce & Analia
Morales, Leandro Oliver & Laila Rezk, Hector Falcon & Loredana
De Brasi, Pablo Garcia & Carina Morrudo, Federico Farfaro &
Mariana Dragone: Dancers<br><br>Andres Linetzky: Musical Director<br>Claudio Garcés, Vanesa Quiroz<br><br>Orchestra<br>Andres Linetsky: Piano<br>Pocho Palmer: First Bandoneón<br>Alejandro Schaikis: First Violin<br>Alejandro Prevignano: Second Bandoneón
<br>Jorge Caldelari: Second Violin<br>Nicolas Zacarias: Bass<br>Tito Egurza: Stage Set and Multimedia Design<br>Renata Schussheim, Jorge Ferrari, Maria Julia Bertotto, Daniela Taina: Costume Design<br>Tito Egurza, Andres Mattiauda, Miguel Angel Zotto: Lighting Design
<br>Andres Mattiauda: Director's Assistant<br>Miguel Angel Zotto: Concept, Choreography, General Direction<br>Scott Klein: Public Relations</b>
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td align="center"><img src="http://www.exploredance.com/upload/gallery/1/175_1288.jpg" border="0"><p>The company of Tango x 2 performs "Su Historia"
</p><p>Photo courtesy of Tango X 2</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr></td></tr>
<tr><td align="center"><img src="http://www.exploredance.com/upload/gallery/1/175_1289.jpg" border="0"><p>Miguel Angel Zotto and Romina Godoy of Tango x 2 perform "Su Historia"</p><p>Photo courtesy of Tango X 2
</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr></td></tr>
<tr><td align="center"><img src="http://www.exploredance.com/upload/gallery/1/175_1290.jpg" border="0"><p>Miguel Angel Zotto and Romina Levin of Tango x 2 perform "Su Historia"</p><p>Photo courtesy of Tango X 2
</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr></td></tr>
<tr><td align="center"><img src="http://www.exploredance.com/upload/gallery/1/175_1292.jpg" border="0"><p>The cast of Tango x 2 in "Su Historia"</p><p>Photo courtesy of Tango X 2</p></td></tr><tr><td><hr></td>
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<tr><td align="center"><img src="http://www.exploredance.com/upload/gallery/1/175_1293.jpg" border="0"><p>Miguel Angel Zotto and Romina Levin in Tango x 2's "Su Historia"</p><p>Photo courtesy of Tango X 2</p>
</td></tr></tbody></table><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>JorgeMidon<br><a href="mailto:jorgemidon@gmail.com">jorgemidon@gmail.com</a><br>Jorge Midon Productions<br>PO Box 2824<br>Santa Fe, NM 87507 USA<br>Tel/Fax 505-579-4647
<br>Cell 505-670-1575