Dancing with Fusion

In the world of physics, nuclear fusion is a powerful force: when two light nuclei are fused, they make a single, heavier nucleus that releases energy because the mass of the new nucleus is smaller than the combined two original nuclei. Thus, two things become one, but a new energy results.

Nestor Torres’ A NeoDance Story is all about this kind of fusion leading to a new energy. Collaborating with acclaimed dancer and choreographer Alfred Friedman, they have combined some of the most alluring rhythms in the world, weaving tango (which is itself a fusion of Argentine Milonga, Spanish-Cuban Habanera, and Uruguayan Candombe celebrations) with a blend of the hottest Latin genres from the Caribbean and the luscious sounds emanating from South America.

The result will be a performance that is far more than the sum of its parts.

A Bit About Tango

Tango was born just over a hundred years ago. Influenced by African and Caribbean culture, it arose in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. Notably, the words "tango" and "tambo" around the River Plate basin were first used to refer to musical gatherings of slaves, with written records of colonial authorities attempting to ban such gatherings as early as 1789.

When tango began to spread internationally, at the turn of the 1900s, it challenged conservative cultural norms. To some, tango dancing was seen as highly sexualized and inappropriate for public display. Yet, as dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires traveled to Europe, a European tango craze took hold of Paris, then London, Berlin, and other capitals. Within a decade, it arrived in the US. (Still, controversy remained: at the end of 1913, Parisian dance teachers who had introduced the dance to that city were banished.)

The dance had several resurgences throughout the twentieth century, and by 2009 it was so well established that UNESCO decided to include the tango in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.

We have written here In Depth about Nestor Torres, from which it is clear we could not have a better guide to bring the world of tango – mixed with other influential genres and rhythms from the Caribbean – to Festival Boca. The concert will be an evening filled with music and story.

For, at its heart, NeoDance tells the story of the relationship between talent and passion, of overcoming life’s greatest challenges, of seizing opportunities and taking them to the next level. It is also a story about creating an impressive body of original work by following the path of dreams fanned by a true love of music and dance.