Agenda: The 17th International Festival of Dance & Music in Bangkok
This Friday, September 18, lovers of dance and music will once again get their money's worth during the 17de Festival of Dance and Music in Bangkok.
Actually, the festival already started on September 11 with three performances of a Chinese Opera and a Lady Gaga Tribute, but the "big work" starts on September 18. Orchestras, ballet groups and opera companies from Russia, France, Germany, England, Spain, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay give concerts and performances for you to choose from. Unfortunately, the Netherlands and Belgium are conspicuous by their absence.
In an article called “Fancy Footwork”, The Nation pays particular attention to Spanish flamenco and Argentine tango, of which I give a short summary.
Flamenco
This musical and artistic genre originated in Andalusia 200 years ago. It is a mix of Gypsy, Arabic, Jewish and Spanish traditions. It is considered an art form, which shapes the identity of Andalusia. To protect this essential part of their culture, the Andalusian government founded its own dance company in 1994, which is now gaining worldwide fame as Ballet Flamenco de Andalucia.
The company with the Spanish name Instituto Andaluz Del Flamenco performs with a program called “Images 20 Years”. The director Rafaela Carrasco has been involved with this company from the very beginning, first as a student, then as a rehearsal director, soloist and from 2013 as a choreographer. “Images 20 Years” features the 20th anniversary of the Instituto Andaluz Del Flamenco and is a personal interpretation of their rich history.
Tango
It's Argentina's turn on October 6 with “Tango Legends”, featuring 14 award-winning dancers, an outstanding music quartet and two soulful singers, who will portray the history of tango.
As I read the text in the article in The Nation, my mind went back to the eighties. I then visited Buenos Aires several times and spent many an evening in a tango bar in the Boca district. When I was in my room in the hotel, the television was always on on a channel that showed tango music and dance 24 hours a day, wonderful!
What is the tango actually? There must be some kind of official definition of this dance type, but I found the description, which the Flemish writer Pieter Aspe in his crime novel “Tango”: you don't dance the tango with your legs, but with your head. It is an interaction between the impassive and the subdued. Actually, it is the dance of the poor and the outcasts, of gauchos, brothel visitors and criminals, who tried to sublimate their melancholy to the music of the bandoneon. Tango is passion!
Mariela Maldonado and Pablo Sosa are not only the founders and artistic directors of the company, but also the lead dancers. The duo made their professional debut under the top director and choreographer Eduardo Arquimbau and their pure passion and talent for tango has taken them to the best tango houses and milonga shows in Buenos Aires.
There is more
The festival offers more than just flamenco and tango. How about “The sleeping beauty on Ice”, the opera “Tosca', a symphony concert or an Elvis Presley tribute by Steve Michaels? Anyway, check out the beautiful website www.bangkokfestivals.com and make your choice. Short videos of all performances can be seen on this website.
Finally
I couldn't resist enjoying tango videos on YouTube for a while while preparing this article. Take a look at the video below of a milonga dance (a fast variant of the tango, Is that beautiful?
[youtube]https://youtu.be/_4G03HpzArc[/youtube]
What a fantastically beautifully performed dance. Thanks for the tip!