While new interviews & articles are being prepared here are some inspirations for you to unleash creative energy and imagination - paint your tree in lossom :)! *** TIP: if you don't have a blossoming tree around, you can paint from a picture (browse flickr or google images for the most inspiring one! *** SEND US your pictures!! we'd be happy to publish them! - through a draw 1 chosen artist will get a gift! :) *** Experiment with various media! *** Here we go!
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We are happy to start collaboration with Pepa Palazón and her wonderful program "Tengo una pregunta para vos" (Eng: "I have a question to you"). Enjoy the interview with MIGUEL ÁNGEL ZOTTO who will share how he started dancing, and his thoughts on teaching and dancing tango (can we systematize how to teach tango? what are the most important movements? how should one lead, do giros, ochos...) and some other things. (Interview is in Spanish & English) Call for volunteer translators: Pepa and TangoDancersBlog is looking for volunteer translators to help translating (transcribing) interviews from Spanish to English. Please contact us or Pepa directly if you are interested in contributing to both projects. Translators will get a credit for their work. Demo video for the film about Solo Tango Orquesta was just uploaded to FB and Youtube. Please LIKE & SHARE and hope it will inspire people to support the project. *** That video has some footage which was taken in Buenos Aires. There is much more to capture and research. All short films will be dynamic, fun, with creative and experimental elements and we hope it will be interesting for both tango and non-tango audience. *** SUPPORT us & get gifts! & stay tuned with the news. TangoDancers Blog will be publishing occasional reviews on tango, music and cultural events. Every review article will express subjective impressions. We respect both efforts of artists/organizers and opinions of writers/ participants. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Intro Bajofondo, formerly known as Bajofondo Tango Club, is an Argentine-Uruguayan tango fusion collective led by Grammy-winning producer Gustavo Santaolalla. Bajofondo fuses acoustic tango with electronic music in a contemporary style representative of the Rio de la Plata music scene in the 21st century. Bajofondo is touring 78 cities in the U.S. this year--including D.C.'s infamous 9:30 Club--to promote it's newest album, Presente. BAJOFONDO - SECRET MISSION Jessica Zappia for Tango Dancers Blog  photo: Jessica Zappia Bajofondo leader, Gustavo Santaolalla, spoke only once during the hour and a half concert in Washington, D.C. He introduced no band members, mentioned no names, and gave no thanks. He simply announced that in the city of secrets, Bajofondo has a not-so-secret mission – “to dance!” This of course made me and my fellow tangueros shout in approval. But there were others shouting for glee as well, because while only ten percent of the audience danced the tango, everyone can dance to Bajofondo. I admit that as a tanguera, I was oblivious to the presence of non-tango dancers at the 9:30 Club venue. However, the reality is that Bajofondo has survived on its non-tango fan base. The band even acknowledged its non-tango audience by changing its name from Bajofondo Tango Club to Bajofondo in 2008. And judging by the sounds of the newest album, the band will continue to appeal to a diverse fan base. Over a third of the 21 songs from the DC concert were from the much-anticipated new Presente album. While critiqued as less “danceable” by local tangueros, this new album is a sign that Bajofondo is exploring, changing, and growing. No band can survive without evolving at least a little bit. This current evolution reminds me of rock music in a very electronica kind of way. More lyrics, and more sequences/djsets. Not surprising for an award winning Latin rock producer and film composer like Gustavo Santaolalla. But beyond Santaolalla, on the stage, Bandoneonista Martin Ferres has always been the rock star and center of attention. He plays his instrument as both a musical and theatrical tool. He hops up and down on his right leg, so much so that you can see a noticeable difference in his left and right calf muscles through his skinny jeans. But Presente highlights the other members of the band in a fun way, through instrument swaps and vocals. Particular highlights from Presente included drummer Adrian Sosa doing vocals while violinist Javier Casalla covered the drums on Cuesta Arriba. The surprising role switch captivated me. I seemed to pay more attention to them now that they were playing “foreign” instruments. On Olvidate, video jockey Veronica Loza projected the lyrics on the screen behind the band. Genius. This resulted in a full 9:30 Club sing along. Not a very tango-like approach, but very rock band-esque. And I loved it. In fact, many of the Presente album choruses were easy sing-alongs, winning my concert affection as I swayed and sang along. As if that weren’t enough, the lighting crew and Veronica created a stormy wet ambience to soak us in the song Lluvia and immerse us in the new album. Exploring, changing, growing – I’m a fan. I’m along for the ride. But this is my confession as a tanguera: my favorite song on the new album is La Trufa y El Sifon, the song that probably most resembles their previous albums. I understand the need to evolve, but I sincerely hope that tango will continue to be a strong and present influence in future albums. Ultimately, whatever strange and wonderful influences drove the creation of Presente, Bajofondo accomplished its mission: TO DANCE. © Jessica Zappia / Tango Dancers Blog |
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