ARGENTINA
TANGO
January 2001 - 9’10”
Tango - the latest Latino dance craze - is storming the dance halls of Europe and North America. Both young and old are turning to the glamour and elegance of what Argentinians call 'the dance of passion'. But the origins of the dance lie a million miles from the glittering evening gowns of turn of the century Argentinian high society - it was born in the brothels of Buenos Aires. And now, as it attracts more fans than ever before, the city is alive once again with the rhythms of tango, as old masters welcome the new wave of interest, and innovators strive to find a new step in this oldest of dances.
SHOWS:
Wide of Buenos Aires docks; close up of abandoned rusty ship; wide of cafes with people sitting and drinking; tourists drinking; people sitting at table; wide of buildings and paintings; wide of tourists; mid shot of colourful houses; woman standing outside house; tilt up from painting of two tango dancers to man and woman's face; pan across to man singing with band; shot from behind band; close up of musician; tourists watching; wide of crowd watching band; children watching television; wide of children; close up of Jennifer; Jennifer leaving home and meeting Marci, her tango teacher; Jennifer and Marci arriving at studio; Jennifer and Marci dancing; children dancing; little children dancing; close up of feet; soundbite (Spanish) Jennifer, dancer; Marci talking to children; Jennifer laughing; close up of little girl nodding; Marci talking to children; soundbite (Spanish) Marci, Tango Instructor; dance sequence; dissolve into Estella dancing; Estella dancing with Marci; soundbite: (Spanish) Estella Hermann, dancer; Estella dancing; exterior of cafe (Confeteria Ideal); people entering cafe (Confeteria); people dancing; old man dancing; couple talking about dance steps; couple dancing; old men meeting one another; dancing; soundbite (Spanish) Pallermo, dancer; Ben Molar putting on record; zoom into poster of Gardel, famous tango singer; various posters of famous tango personalities; Ben dancing by record player; mid-shot of record player; soundbite (Spanish) Ben Molar, composer; (DAVID NOTMAN-WATT); Gardel singing (FILE); musicians singing old tango song; wide of Gardel gravestone; mid shot of Gardel statue; close up of cigarette in Gardel statue's hand; man looking at old newspaper talking of Gardel's death in a plane crash; pan across crowd; blonde singing; Jennifer drinking lemonade; Estella putting up hair; Pallermo and Ben Molar dancing together; Marci and students waving to the camera. (DAVID NOTMAN-WATT)
RR0008/C ARGENTINA: TANGO
DURATION: 9 MINUTES 10 SECONDS
SPANISH SPEECH: 2 MINUTES 28 SECONDS
0:02 The old port of La Boca, Buenos Aires - the birthplace of tango.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
00:12 In the 1880's these trendy cafes and restaurants were the brothels where recently arrived European and African immigrants would gather to find companionship, to drink, sing... and dance.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
00:27 Today the area is a mecca for artists who hang out their works, and for tourists who simply, well, hang out.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
00:42 But one thing continues unchanged in these streets and alleys - the tango plays on.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
00:57 Now, with tango being the latest Latino dance craze in the clubs of Europe and North America, more visitors than ever before are flocking to Buenos Aires to find the roots of the so-called 'dance of passion'. But are the roots that easy to find?
01:16 Sitting on the floor here is Jennifer who is just eight years old. She lives with her family in Chacabuco, 240 kilometres from the capital.
Like most children she enjoys watching cartoons.
But Jennifer's main love is tango.
01:30 Three times a week she is picked up by Marci, a professional dancer.
He has taken it upon himself to teach youngsters the mysteries of this dance - and his passion has proven to be a magnet.
01:45 Children now travel from throughout the region to dance with Marci.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
02:03 What started off as a handful of children rehearsing in this school hall has grown dramatically into a class of over two hundred in just three years.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
02:18 For Jennifer and her friends, the attraction is simple.
02:25 UPSOUND: (Spanish) Jennifer, Young Dancer
"For me it is beautiful, it is fun. I love dancing tango."
02:35 Most of these children come from poor farming families. They are now invited to take part in shows all over the country. The class has given them an opportunity they might never have had, and though Marci insists they learn the discipline of the dance, he ensures that first and foremost they have fun.
02:57 MARCI, DANCE INSTRUCTOR, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
"Our aim is to teach them like you would teach a child ballet. They are children, and we want them to dance, but to dance according to their lives right now. I want them to know they can dance without shoes, without ribbons in their hair if they want to. I also want them to know they can do a sensuous tango without having to touch one another sensuously. I don't want them to forget that they are children."
03:28 UPSOUND: Tango Music
03:50 Back in Buenos Aires Marci is rehearsing in a new show starring influential dancer Estella Herman.
04:00 With 'Tango in the 21st Century', she is attempting to push the boundaries of traditional tango.
04:06 ESTELLA HERMANN, DANCER, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
"It is the body, the heart and the soul. The feeling that it gives us comes from inside. It transcends us. It comes also from the person with whom we are dancing. The tango ends, and a love affair ends. Another tango begins, and another love affair begins with it."
UPSOUND: Tango Music
04:37 Estella uses the wailing melancholy of the bandoneon, an instrument similar to the accordion. It is the mainstay of many of tango's melodies.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
04:51 Incorporating jazz, step and modern dance, she is one of tango's most innovative choreographers.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
05:01 For inspiration Estella needs to go back in time, and for that she is a regular visitor to La Confeteria Ideal.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
05:12 The Cafe is one of the oldest of hundreds of tango halls scattered throughout the city.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
05:24 Dressed in black, she sways through the room with Marci as other aficionados practise the steps of traditional tango. Many come every lunchtime, returning again in the evenings.
05:34 Some partners are still learning...
UPSOUND: Tango Music
05:42 ...while others have clearly danced together before.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
05:52 Among this group are Ben Mollar and Pallermo - two of tango's most famous and lasting personalities. Both have frequented the tango halls and clubs of the city for more than seven decades. No tango gathering is complete without them.
06:08 PALLERMO, PROFESSIONAL TANGO DANCER, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
"People have to come here because in Europe there is not the right rhythm with which to dance. They dance without composure. You can't do that. They do a lot of things that are wrong. First, like at school, you have to learn to walk. Everything else follows. You can't jump right in like this, no. To learn tango you have to start slowly, and use this (gestures to his heart)."
06:39 Ben's home pays homage to the music that is his life. The walls are adorned with posters and pictures of some of Argentina's greatest composers and performers.
UPSOUND: Tango Music
06:58 Ben, who is said to have composed a song or two himself, recalls how the music provided a chance for young people to meet.
07:08 BEN MOLLAR, COMPOSER, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
"In those days you had to conquer. And this music, this tango, would help us. Today it is a lot easier, because you, you and you, young ladies... you conquer us all so quickly without the need for the songs. But back then, us men, who are old today, we needed a song which would allow us to dance. Sometimes we would rest our cheek against her cheek to try and conquer her. When we did this the mother, who would be watching, would rush over and say 'Be careful, be careful'."
UPSOUND: Tango Music
07:53 Every style has its master, and it is impossible to talk of tango music without mentioning - Carlos Gardel.
08:02 Every year hundreds of fans gather in a city cemetery to sing his songs, and mourn his passing in a plane crash in 1935, at the height of his career.
08:13 Always with a cigarette in hand, Gardel wrote and sang some of the most lasting of tango's melodies.
08:21 The hero worship of this charismatic performer has earned him the nickname of 'The Argentine Elvis Presley.'
UPSOUND: Applause
08:35 Back in La Boca it is business as usual. A local phrase says 'Tango is a soft wave turned into music'.
And as it continues to storm the dance halls of the world, these are some of the people who are ensuring this wave never crashes.
And they are doing so in the very birthplace of tango - Buenos Aires.
UPSOUND: Tango Music mixed with children clapping.
ENDS
Producer / Cameraman – David Notman-Watt