FOREVER TANGO to Run at Post Street Theatre November 5-16

Luis Bravo's sizzling internationally acclaimed dance spectacular FOREVER TANGO will blaze into San Francisco with a newly revised show full of sexy surprises for 16 performances only November 5 - 16, 2008 at the Post Street Theatre, 450 Post Street. Tickets for FOREVER TANGO ($50 - $75, premium seats also available) can be purchased at the Post Street Theatre Box Office, by calling 415 771-6900, at all Ticketmaster outlets, or at Ticketmaster.com. For more information visit www.PostStreetTheatre.com.

Created and directed by Luis Bravo, FOREVER TANGO features fourteen world-class tango dancers, a vocalist and an eleven-piece, on-stage orchestra in an evening that celebrates the passionate music and dance of Argentina. The FOREVER TANGO orchestra boasts four of only 200 bandoneon players known worldwide. The dances, performed to original and traditional music, are the result of collaboration between each couple and director/creator Bravo.

Both beloved and infamous as one of the most sensuous of all dance forms, tango was born in Argentina at a time when holding hands was considered a scandalous development in social dancing. Tango was initially only danced in gambling houses and places of prostitution. Working women developed skill in the dance in order to attract customers; lonely men practiced the art in order to woo and impress the women. The dance developed as a prologue to sex itself, infused with the passion and personality of the dancers. Today, the tango's influence can be found in a variety of dance idioms, including modern dance, jazz, ballet, and hip-hop. According to creator/director Bravo, "The tango is a feeling that you dance; a story that you tell in three minutes-it is passionate, tender, violent." He adds, "The tango represents so much more than just a dance: it is a music, a culture, a way of life."

Luis Bravo, a world-class musician, was born in Añatuya, Santiago de Estero and moved to Buenos Aires when he was 8. He began guitar studies at age 4 and later turned to the cello. Mr. Bravo attended both the Municipal Conservatory of Music Manuel de Falla and the University of Buenos Aires. Shortly after his graduation, he became a member of the Argentine National Symphony, a position he held until he moved to United States to study with the celebrated teacher Ronald Leonard. His engagements have also included the Colón Theatre Opera House and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute Orchestra. In addition to his soloist career, Mr. Bravo has firmly established himself as an artistic producer of a recognized reputation. He was awarded the Spoleto Festival's coveted Simpatia Prize for Forever Tango, which closed the Italian festival in 1996. In 1998, he received a special distinction with Ruben Blades from ACE as the two most successful Latin artists on Broadway. The Boston Pops Orchestra dedicated a special program with his work for the series "Evenings at Pops" for PBS with Leslie Caron as a host. He is deeply involved in promoting talent through his company that specializes in Argentine tango and folkloric music.

FOREVER TANGO took San Francisco by storm in 1994 where it played an unprecedented 92 weeks. The production opened on Broadway in June of 1997 for what was expected to be an eight-week engagement, went on to run for 14 months and garnered multiple Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. The show returned to San Francisco in 1999 and was hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "Forever magical...this sensual musical has perfected the passionate power of the famed dance." Since then, the show has toured internationally, and returned to Broadway, where it was lauded by critics and enjoyed an extended run. Between international and national tours, FOREVER TANGO returned to San Francisco in 2004, where the San Francisco Chronicle declared "‘Forever Tango' is one big seduction, a perfect theater date for couples on the verge of coupling The show has lost none of its allure... the music and dancing are top notch, the costumes are stunning." Its last visit to San Francisco was in 2006 and the production has since added several exciting new dance numbers, which will be unveiled in this engagement.

The New York Times called FOREVER TANGO, "A must-see!" and USA Today said, "'Forever Tango' shows that the style is more than steamy - it's smart, even funny ... a sensuous, seductive, pleasure." The New York Daily News raved that the show was, "an evening of sheer pleasure. Sensual, elegant, dazzling." And the Associated Press declared it to be, "the most theatrical show on Broadway." FOREVER TANGO will play for 16 performances only November 5 - 16, 2008 at the Post Street Theatre, 450 Post Street. Tickets for FOREVER TANGO are currently on sale ($50 - $75, premium seats also available) and can be purchased at the Post Street Theatre Box Office, by calling 415 771-6900, at all Ticketmaster outlets, or at Ticketmaster.com. For more information visit www.PostStreetTheatre.com.

 

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