Modern Tango World N° 11 (Paris, France)

Alternative Tango in Paris Yannik Lhermitte It’s a hot Sunday night. A click of my laptop mouse confirms the announcement by Hyperion of their Mid- night Express event. How many are couples we be there? 150? A few more than expressed their interest on Facebook. I decude to go. I am not sure if the traditional tangueros will come. I recall my first tango class. the music was songs sung by Carlos Gardel and the dancers were dressed in costume — red and black. Tango was born of a mixture of genres and it con- tinues to develop through diversification of both mu- sic and technique. It remains a mongrel child both at home and abroad, with its codes, intimacy, music and techniques. Although some may want to relegate it to memories or postcard clichés, it is alive, vibrant and continues to transform and evolve. Tango can be found around the world, in more and more countries, more and more cities. Paris has main- tained its status as the second capital of tango since 1910, Currently, there are over eight milongas on aver- age every day of the week and as many as fifteen on fridays, saturdays and sundays. Today, a new energy energizes this wave: alternative! Before continuing this discussion, there is an important term taht needs definition. What does Tango Nuevo mean? This term refers to the musical change made in the 1960s by Astor Piazzola, that broke with the tango conventions of he time. I prefer to use the term Alternative Tango or Tango Alter- nativo to describe the current evolution of tango dance’ practices in recent years, to avoid confusion. with this Tango Nuevo music We begin our history of the tango in Paris. with the arrival of non-traditional contem- porary tango music with its variations, like electro, world, etc Before the 2000s, non- ytaditional tango music was virtually non- existent in tango ball. Sometimes a cumbia, a salsa or a rock would be programmed as cortina to separate the tandas. Sometimes the DJ would run the whole song if cou- ples danced, and allowing time for other couples to socialize during these interludes. The evolution of music brought electro sounds into the tango. In the 2000s, Paris swept by the wave from Gotan Project. with the electrotango bands, Bajofondo, Narcotango and Tanghetto. — 10 — TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE

Modern Tango World N° 11 (Paris, France) | Page 10