Take A LATIN DANCE JOURNEY At Lehman Center 5/15

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts presents an internationally acclaimed dance journey celebrating the people, stories and drama behind Tango, Gauchos and Salsa -- RHYTHM & PASSION - on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 8pm. The show takes audiences on a magical trek through time to the sensuous music of the tango, the explosive gauchos, and the sizzling Afro-Cuban rhythms of Salsa. The only show of its kind, this visually stunning production features world-renowned, International Artists in a display of music, color, energy, rhythm and passion. Before a backdrop of exquisite period scenery, the dancers recreate the settings where these passionate and sensual dances were born, transporting the audience through the evolution of each dance. The audience experiences the intensity of the bars of Buenos Aires, where the illicit tango evolved; the seductive storytelling of the Argentine cowboy, or gaucho; and the exhilaration of Salsa dancing in the streets of the Caribbean islands and New York. Rhythm & Passion, directed by Gloria Otero, with assistant director Claudio Otero, has enthralled audiences across the U.S. and around the world in Latin America, Mexico, Italy, France and Japan. For this performance, a special $10 ticket for any seat is available for children twelve and under.

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for RHYTHM & PASSION on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 8pm, are: $35 (orch.), $30 (mezz.) and $25 (balc.) and $10 any seat for children 12 and under, and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718.960.8833 (Mon. through Fri., 10am-5pm, Tues. 10am-7pm, and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through 24-hour online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Free on-site parking is available.

Salsa is a rhythmic, passionate amalgam of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances that each played an important part in its evolution. Turns have become an important feature of Salsa dancing. The term "Salsa" was created in New York and became popular as a nickname to refer to a variety of Latin music forms from several countries, including rumba, son montuno, guaracha, mambo, cha cha cha, danzón, son, guaguanco, guajira, charanga, cumbia, bomba, festejo and merengue. Salsa music is a fusion of traditional African and Cuban and other Latin-American rhythms that traveled from the islands to New York during the migration between the 1940s and the 1970s.

Tango is about a connection between two people. Tango and its music were born in the last decade of the 19th century in the slums at the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina and in neighboring Montevideo, Uruguay. During its early years, from 1880 to 1900, few tangos were recorded or committed to paper, but a new generation of musicians would soon take tango beyond its simple beginnings to one of the most romantic and beautiful music forms. In the early years tangos were played by a solo pianist in a café, or by a duo or trio with flute, violin and guitars. Around 1920 the vocal tango became much more prominent, initially propelled by the popularity of folksinger Carlos Gardel. In the 1920s, tango became more widely accepted.

Gauchos (cowboys) wandered the Argentine Pampas (from the Indian word for "flatland") from as early as the 1600s, when the Pampas were overpopulated by Cimarron cattle brought to South America from Spain by Pedro de Mendoza in 1538. For many centuries, cow leather was one of the most traded goods between the old world and the colonies, and the gauchos became an integral part of that trade. The Malambo dance form originated in the early 17th century in the Pampas as a tournament of gaucho skills, danced solely by men. Rhythmic, unruly and characterized by virtuoso foot work, malambo dancing incorporates an amazing series of heel taps (resembling Flamenco and American tap dance) and cepillada (grazing the floor with the sole of the shoe), simulating a dispute among the gauchos.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. Lehman Center also receives support from the New York State Council on the Arts.