Flashy Tango
Boccatango
Concert Hall, The Music Center, Strathmore
North Bethesda, Maryland, USA
February 14, 2006
by Kate Mattngly
copyright ©2006 by Kate Mattingly
Sequins, tuxedos and gorgeous nearly-naked Argentine dancers. Could there be a more perfect show for Valentine's Day? Boccatango was not created for the holiday; it had its U.S. premiere at The Joyce in July of 2004, but the performance at the Strathmore on Tuesday night must have given the many couples in the audience new images for inspiration.
The tango itself is sexy: intertwining legs, lifted torsos, eyes that rarely meet. It's a standing seduction when performed well, and Boccatango is more in tune with this subtlety than the cheesier versions on shows like Dancing with the Stars. Plus, there's Julio Bocca, barely dressed, with his crystalline ballet technique, channeling his inner rock star. Moments of his performing conjured images of Jennifer Beals in Flashdance was it his split sole sneakers, black tank top, and jeans, or the dramatic finishes to the floor after his multiple pirouettes?
While most international stars approach 40 and look for more sedate work, Bocca is on stage with beads of sweat flying off his body. And if many male solos feature some sort of chair as a prop, Bocca notches it up and uses a ladder. In one of the final numbers of the program, "Años de Soledad," he pulls his body through its rungs and suspends a split over the top, legs reaching out in a slow motion leap. He‚s the star of the show and featured prominently, a feast for the eyes. His cast of two women and five men is stellar. The music, played live by Octango, sounds fantastic at the Strathmore, almost as if sitting in a surround-sound room. Two singers, Noelia Moncada and Esteban Riera, are as elegant to look at as they are to listen to.
So what keeps the evening from being a masterpiece? When the musicians are given a moment to shine without singers or dancers on stage, the intricacy of the tango music becomes apparent. The multi-layered textures of bandoneon, doublebass, piano, violin, guitar and flute come together like flavors of a delicious dinner. Julian Vat on sax makes his instrument whisper and flare.
When the dancers return, their sounds are overshadowed. In other words, as separate elements, the music and dancing are outstanding, but when they come together in the choreography by Ana Maria Stekelman, some of the nuance is lost. Stekelman's steps favor large accents over fertile pauses. Her pieces move at a blistering pace. Maybe she thinks this is the passion of tango? But even passion needs its breathing room, spaces for partners to separate and come together again.
There's a gorgeous moment at the beginning of a tango when the dancers suspend, as if the music must fill their bodies and dictate their course. In one of the opening scenes, a male duet called "Maipo" set to music by Eduardo Arolas, Bocca and Lucas Oliva capture this stillness perfectly. If only there were more such moments.
Another highlight of the program is Lucas Segovia who looks younger than the other men on stage, his lean torso arched slightly adding a touch of epaulement to the tango. In "El Opio," set to music by Francisco Canaro, Segovia is both delicate and sparkling, with a black outfit and bowler hat that could belong to "Fosse."
The 25 vignettes of music, singing, and dancing—or some combination thereof—move quickly, but at times there's a pushed quality to the dancing—and the singing—that give the impression of something forced, as if too much energy is being expended. This is so different from the roots of tango that it's grating. Even if Stekelman is simply using the tango music as a springboard for her own choreography, the dancing needed more interaction between the notes and steps—just as partners in the dance intertwine and rewind with such a natural flow.
Nevertheless, the flurry of flickering feet and sexy costumes were a visual Valentine treat. The lighting design by Omar Possemato was stunning, and Jorge Ferrari's costumes were elegantly formal, most often black. Watching Bocca and Cecilia Figaredo slither through a tango in black underwear brought new credence to the idea that dancing is the vertical expression of horizontal desire.
Photo: Julio Bocca. Photo by Veronika Lukasova.
Volume 4, No. 7
February 20, 2006
copyright
©2006 Kate Mattingly
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