Alma College Celebrates Hispanic Heritage with the Tango
Historically rebellious music of Argentina is coming to Alma College through the instruments of the Tami Tango Trio.
The trio and accompanying dancers will present “An Evening of Argentine
Tango” at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3 in the Remick Heritage Center. Tickets
are $8 for adults and free for Alma College staff, students and youth
18 and under. Call (989) 463-7304 between 1 and 5 p.m. Mondays through
Fridays to reserve tickets.
“This is going to be a real treat — authentic South American tango
music of Piazzolla and others, including some Tami originals, played
and danced by Argentine artists,” said James Mueller, associate
professor of economics and member of the College’s co-curricular
committee.
The trio was invited by Spanish professor Margarita Krakusin as part of the College's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Krakusin introduces Hispanic culture to an interdisciplinary crowd
any chance she gets because it “opens doors for everybody.” She said
bringing in artists from Argentina helps students understand that the
Hispanic world is much larger than just Mexico and Cuba.
The tango was considered an insurrection as well as an inspiration to
the people of Argentina in the late 1800s. Eduardo Tami, flautist,
brought a fresh perspective to the old tunes by creating the Tami Tango
Trio in April 2005. Pablo Fauaz on guitar and Juan Manuel Santisteban
on piano complete the group.
“The tango is characterized by sensual duets in which men and women
embrace in a danced representation of male-female seduction,” said
Thomas Morris, associate professor of dance at Alma College.
“It’s pretty much a ballet in which the man will direct the woman just
by the way he touches her on the back; it’s wonderful,” Krakusin said.
The people of Argentina often leave work and go straight to dance the tango, said Krakusin.
“It’s a way to manifest all their feelings and their love of their
country,” she said. “It’s very nationalistic; it’s just something to
represent their identity.”
The tango was based on dances brought to Argentina by African slaves
and was originally performed in the slums of Buenos Aires in the 1860s,
said Morris.
“Since the waltz was barely acceptable at that time, the tango was seen
as extremely risqué,” he said. “In the 1920s, however, the tango became
popular world-wide as a form of ballroom dancing.”
Krakusin has organized a program for Hispanic Heritage Month every year since she joined the Alma faculty in 1998.
Posted: Tue, September 26th, 2006 at 10:38AM
