A Closer Look...The Tango

The Tango, as we know it today, symbolizes glamor and class, with women in glittering gowns and men in starched tuxedos. However, the origins of the tango are much less glamorous. This popular and respected form of dance comes from the brothels of Argentina, the underbelly of society, and was popular with immigrants who gravitated to the poorer sections of Argentina in the late 1800s.

These immigrants helped create the music that would underscore the dance. This mingling of styles was created to ease the feelings of despair and loneliness felt by the outcasts of society. In reality, it defined them. The tango "speaks of more than frustrated love. It speaks of fatality, of destinies engulfed in pain." The tango is the dance of sorrow.

As its popularity grew, it came to be accepted by the upper crust of Argentinean society and made its way to Europe and the United States. The dance lost much of its original aggressiveness, but its structure remained the same, although some of the more gentile ladies of America wore "bumpers"(padding) to keep a "safe" and respectable distance from their male partners.

After taking Paris by storm, the dance and its music became mainstays in popular Argentinean culture. It wasn't until the death of Eva Peron in 1952 that the tango lost its popularity, replaced by American rock-n-roll. Competitive ballroom dance helped bring this purely South American art form to the forefront and now, the Tango is more popular than ever. From its beginnings in low class brothels, to the glitter of the Broadway stage, the tango and its music have come to epitomize passion and fire of love lost.

Theater League is proud to present FOREVER TANGO dancing on to the stage at Century II Concert Hall in Wichita, October 13-14. This internationally acclaimed production has played to audiences from Italy to Los Angeles and is the longest running tango production in Broadway history. FOREVER TANGO brings the heat and rich history of Argentina to Wichita and is a not-to-be-missed theatrical event.

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