Tanto... Tango!
Tanto... Tango!
© Tobias Witzgall

Tanto ... Tango!

Reginaldo Oliveira and Flavio Salamanka

An evening of tango

World Premiere: 07/05/2020 / Rehearsal centre Aigen

Synopsis

Sensuality, melancholy, excitement, passion: Tanto… Tango! So much… tango! No other dance expresses more awareness of life, no other dance has had greater success, from the streets to the dance halls, no other dance lets men and women meet on such an equal footing – without denying the battle the dancers are fighting among themselves.

Tango ballads are characterized by the bandoneon’s melancholic pull, their lyrics talk of loneliness, desire and life’s many reasons for losing your mind. Tango was born in the poorest quarters of Argentina and soon swept the capital Buenos Aires, which had unexpectedly bloomed into the most glamorous metropolis south of the equator. From there it became a global phenomenon. Tango is danced on patios and in courtyards, successful dance clubs emerge and in newly opened dance schools this “elegant” dance is developed into a ballroom dance – which (still) exudes a dangerous passion.

Tango composers sell illustrated sheet music and first recordings are distributed by the new record companies, tea dances make tango socially acceptable and “tango yellow” becomes a fashion trend that conquers the wardrobes of even the high society – Europe and North America experience a veritable tangomania.

“Tango is the most beautiful dance there is. It requires power, much tenderness and many hours of hard work,” says Argentine Tango expert Antonio Todaro – and the dancers of the Salzburg ballet ensemble will of course invest much passion into the “dance to end all dances”.

“Tanto… Tango!” is a collaboration of Reginaldo Oliveira, head of the ballet division at the Salzburg State Theatre, and the Salzburg ensemble’s extraordinary soloist Flavio Salamanka, who holds the title of Kammertänzer and has recently also attracted much attention as a choreographer (“Mozart Moves!”, “The Little Prince”). Reginaldo Oliveira has long won the hearts of Salzburg audiences in the grand venues of the Felsenreitschule and the Salzburg State Theatre.

Cast

Idea, Choreography and Design Reginaldo Oliveira
Kt. Flavio Salamanka