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Tango Buenos Aires Celebrates The Spirit Of Argentina On Stage One

By: Oct. 09, 2017
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They have ensemble has become one of Argentina's great cultural exports, known throughout the Americas, Europe, and Far East as the most authentic representative of the Tango. Direct from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Harris Center welcomes Tango Buenos Aires and The Spirit of Argentina. Under the artistic direction of Rosario Bauza, The Spirit of Argentina is a dazzling display of the beloved art form that began in dance halls and brothels. "Fast and furious, the dancers' feet and legs flashed and wove in and around each other, or paused to move slowly and seductively, stretching the tension within the dance" (Lincoln Journal Star). An exploration of the life and music of Carlos Gardel, the tragic "King of Tango."

Tango Buenos Aires comes to Folsom for three performances Wednesday, November 15, 2017 at 7:30 pm and Thursday, November 16 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm.Tickets are $38-$68; Premium $73. Special Cocktail Table Seating $78.

50% Discount for Students with ID; 15% Discount for Thursday Matinee Single Tickets. They are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 12 noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

Along with compositions by Astor Piazzollo, Fernando Marzan and others, The Spirit of Argentina celebrates the life Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardes; 1890 -1935). He was a French Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango.

Gardel's baritone voice and the dramatic phrasing of his lyrics made miniature masterpieces of his hundreds of three-minute tango recordings. Together with lyricist and long-time collaborator Alfredo Le Pera, Gardel wrote several classic tangos. Gardel died in an airplane crash at the height of his career, becoming an archetypal tragic hero mourned throughout Latin America. For many, Gardel embodies the soul of the tango style. He is commonly referred to as "Carlitos", "El Zorzal" (The [Song] Thrush), "The King of Tango", "El Mago" (The Wizard), "El Morocho del Abasto" (The Brunette boy from Abasto), and ironically "El Mudo" (The Mute).

Tango Buenos Aires was created for the "Jazmines" festival at the famous Buenos Aires cabaret "Michelangelo" by renowned composer and tango director Osvaldo Requena. The company met with tremendous success and was immediately added to the season of the General San Martin Municipal Theatre.

Beginning in 1986, when the company traveled to the United States to represent Argentina at the Latin-American Festival in in New York City's Central Park, Tango Buenos Aires has toured around the world and around the United Stages, Japan, Europe and, of course Latin America, with appearances on Chilean and NHK television in Tokyo, the Spring Festival in Bariloche, the International Tango Festival, the International Festival in Adelaide, Australia, the New Zealand Festival, to mention just a few.

In June 1999, the renowned pianist Cristian Zárate succeeded Mr. Requena as music director, and Pablo Mainetti, the world's greatest bandoneon player, joined the orchestra. In 2005 Julian Vat, Argentina's most prolific composer and leading musician assumed the title of music director. The company returned to North America in winter 2003 for a two and half month tour of the United States. Due to the extraordinary success of this tour, the Company returned in the fall of 2007 and winter of 2011 for a two-month coast to coast tour of the United States. The Company returned in January through March of 2015, and undertook a two-and-a-half month coast to coast tour of the United States and Canada.

Tango Buenos Aires offers"...repeatedly crafted swirling, fast-paced tapestries of movement, laced with proud postures and sensual couplings" (Washington Post).

The Argentine tango has a mixture of African and Spanish antecedents, and also a strong influence from the Argentine milonga which is sung by Gauchos, the Argentine "cowboys." In its beginnings, the tango was an ill-famed dance, being very fashionable in dance halls and cabarets, and also because the choreography called for the couple to hold each other very close. Tango choreography allows for a lot of creativity, requiring breaks in the rhythm and perfect coordination between the dancers.

The tango's constant companion is the piano, although it has been accompanied by the violin, guitar and flute. Nowadays, the most typical instrument is the bandoneón, which is an accordion similar to the concertina. The tango represented many almost infinite feelings and an expanded mental and moral evolution of itself and of the city that is depicted in it, becoming the very symbol of the city of Buenos Aires.

This Year Marks Seven Seasons of Great Shows. Up Close. In Folsom!

The Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College brings the community together to share in cultural experiences featuring the work of artists from throughout the region and around the world. Built and operated by the Los Rios Community College District, the $50 million, state-of-the-art regional performing arts center boasts three intimate venues with outstanding acoustics, an art gallery, a recording studio, elegant teaching spaces, plenty of safe parking and all the other amenities of a world-class performing arts venue. Each year the Center hosts over 400 events attracting more than 150,000 annually.



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