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Tango
delivers on
its sexy allure
Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace show what the Tango is all about Midnight
Tango Birmingham
Hippodrome ****
TANGO is all about passion, smouldering Latino fire and, let's be
honest, sex in a split skirt – well at least for the blokes in the
audience. And
there is plenty of that in Midnight Tango, the show put together by two
of the nation's leading Tango dancers Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace,
who are better known as stars of
Strictly Come Dancing. There is a certain something
which sets the best beyond the merely good. Seb Coe had it at his peak
as did Michael Johnson and Ed Moses, George Best had it in abundance
while Lester Piggott and Nijinsky were just poetry in motion. They make whatever they are
doing look effortless, full of elegance and fluid movement, so easy in
fact that it would seem anyone could do it. Vincent and Flavia
have been touched by that particular sprinkling of stardust and in a
cast of ten quality dancers still stand out. All tight, I know they did the
choreography and they are not likely to give all the best bits to
someone else, but they still have to have the class to carry it off and
carry it off they do with ease. The stage is a milonga, one of
the informal dance clubs and bars, set sometime in the 1940s from the
look of the period costumes. That was the golden age of Tango which had
been born among the immigrants in the rundown harbour district of La
Boca in Buenos Aires early last century. The bar is opened by the owner
and his wife setting in train their love hate relationship which
provides interest and comedy throughout the show. As they set up the
musicians drift in followed by the customers with the men not having
much to impress the ladies but their sharp suits and dancing skills. The story is simple. Vincent
fancies Flavia but he has a rival and they clash on the dance floor
including a very clever fight sequence.
The stars though are
undoubtedly Vincent and Flavia and you don't need to have seen
Strictly, or know anything about ballroom dancing to know they are a
class act. They may not show the
blistering foot speed or mind-blowingly
complicated leg tangles of say Tanguera, one of The Argentine
shows which have arrived in the current resurgence of interest in the
Tango – this is more ballroom than grandstanding bar room – but one
dance in the second half lifts the whole show to another level. Flavia, as Sofia, realises
that Vincent, as Pablo, is the man for her and their solo dance on an
empty stage is a thing of sensuous beauty, tender and balletic. Through the story of the rival
dancers though runs another love story, the tale of Carlos and Rosa, the
elderly couple running the bar played by veteran actors Teddy Kempner
and Tricia Deighton. A memorable moment from the
first half comes when Carlos wheels out an old record player in his
empty bar to play a song that means something to him. As he shuffles
through the steps alone at the other side of the stage a couple, himself
and Rosa long ago, dance the same steps with a passion that has got lost
along the way running the bar and, full of memories, Carlos sets out to
win Rosa back which he manages with a rose ad some aplomb. Driving the show is the band,
Tango Siempre with singer Martin Alvardo, one of the best Tango bands in
the country. Apparently Tango is one of the
few dances that does not rely on drums for a rhythm and a tango
orchestra, orquesta típica, so I am told, consists of a piano, a
violin, a bass and a bandoneón. This is a sort of big concertina which
arrived in Argentina from Germany where it had been invented originally
as an instrument for religious music. Although there was a drummer,
who also produced a fine solo and shelves and bottles in the bar, the
music in the main stuck to the traditional instruments and sound of
Tango. With the fabulous period
costumes, superb set by Morgan Large and dancing of the highest order,
this is a show where time just flies by. The music plays
on until 28-05-11. Roger
Clarke
Meanwhile, from our man in
the fedora . . . **** OOZING with sexual
chemistry, this thrilling dance show is strictly hot and a visual
delight. Created by Vincent Simone and
Flavia Cacace, stars of the hit BBC television series Strictly Come
Dancing, Midnight Tango is set in a late night bar in downtown Buenos
Aires where men need skill in their feet to win girls who are in short
supply. The Argentinian government
advertised in Europe for people to build the country, but as the
immigrants poured in they were nearly all men, and if the newcomers
wanted to impress the ladies they had to learn to tango. The show mirrors that
situation, with its excitement, joy, passion and jealousy, and Simone
and the gorgeous Cacace lead the team of four other couples in a series
of thrilling dances. If there's a criticism of the show it is that in
the first act the action is a shade repetitive. But after the interval there
are several steamy dances after Simone clashes with another man who
becomes his rival for Flavia's attentions. A cleverly choreographed
fight scene brings that little matter to a head. Later Flavia, having left the
bar in a huff, returns after closing time for a red-hot tango with
Vincent which drew gasps and cheers from the audience. At one point
Flavia even plays the violin in a neat duet with band member Ros
Stephen. Good comedy, too, from Teddy
Kempner and Tricia Deighton, playing Carlos and Rosa, the couple running
the bar. Directed by Karen Bruce and
featuring the Tango Siempre band with vocalist Martin Alvarado, Midnight
Tango dances on to 28.05.11 Paul Marston
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