DENNIS ODA / DODA@STAR-BULLETIN.COM "Forever Tango" continues today and tomorrow at the Hawaii Theatre. The couples heat up the stage with the Argentine tango.

‘Tango’ tantalizes
with smooth moves

"Forever Tango" Repeats 2 and 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow at Hawaii Theatre Tickets $55 to $22.50 Call 528-0506

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Review by John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com

No shawl has been more seductive on stage than the icy blue one used by Valentina Villarroel and Claudio Gonzalez as they danced the opening number of Luis Bravo's "Forever Tango" at the Hawaii Theatre on Thursday. The significance of the garment and what it represented was left to the imagination.

Tango represents the age-old fantasy of courtship and seduction as set to music and dramatic precise choreography. The interplay between Villarroel and Gonzalez was mesmerizing. So was the show that followed.

Honolulu experienced Bravo's fascinating celebration of Argentine tango and tango culture for the first time in March 2000. The new production is similar overall, yet certain to delight tango fans who turned out last time. Charismatic Carlos Gavito again takes pride of place among an excellent cast, and several popular numbers have been retained, but with new dancers interpreting them with their own choreography.

So it is that Marcelo Bernadaz and Veronica Gardella are the duo this time that instantly become audience favorites with a pair of precise but comic numbers -- "El Humor" and "Felicia." The first song was performed by another couple on 2000; the second one is completely new for "Forever Tango" in Hawaii.

Gavito, commanding, silver-haired and bearded, once again proves that age is nothing but a number whether performing with the ensemble or dancing with his long-time partner, Marcela Duran. Their showcase number, "Evaristo Carriego," capped Act II with a performance of superb grace and finesse.

Most of the other dance segments also showcase the talents of individual couples and provide the best opportunities to appreciate their speed and precision. A "Three Couples" segment featuring Francisco Mercado and Natalia Hills, Fabio Narvaez and Lorena Yacono, and Carlos Vera and Laura Marcarie, pushes the limits of the dance. Larger ensemble numbers are impressive as choreography, but there's too much going on to catch it all in one viewing.

BRAVO'S STAGING and presentation of the dancers heightens the impact of their work. Stark lighting suggests the origins of Tango Argentino in a social environment similar to the "sporting house" milieu that spawned American jazz around the turn of the 20th century. Gavito is the focal point of "El Suburbio," an early number that presents the developing Tango Argentino as a means of creative expression and masculine competition among the malevos (a term sometimes translated as "street fighters") who practiced among themselves before setting out to impress women working in dance halls and bordellos.

Understandably, Tango Argentino was initially considered crude and vulgar by "polite" society, but gradually proved too seductive and too much fun to resist. Tango won over Argentina and the world beyond.

Given those origins, it's not surprising that the men of "Forever Tango" generally appear sullen and commanding. The women are seductive and provocative. Black is the color of choice for the men; Gavito wears a gray suit and Mercado wears a white dinner jacket when he and Hills are showcased in "Gallo Ciego" in Act II.

The women wear a slightly broader range of colors this time. Black and silver still dominate, but there's more red, and Villarroel was breath-taking as she opened Act II in a creation that seemed to be little more than a silver bodice and fringe.

Villarroel and Gonzalez also received well-deserved applause for their showy aerial work in "Romance de 'Bandoneol y la Noche.'"

ORCHESTRAL DIRECTOR Victor Lavallen enhances the ambiance with an excellent orchestra of four bandoneons (think "small accordions"), two violins, cello, acoustic bass, acoustic piano and keyboards. The music consists primarily of the sensuous interplay between the bandoneons and the strings, but pianist Jorge Vernieri is featured in a duet with Lavallen on solo bandoneon.

And, although violinist Humberto Ridolfi was not identified in the program as the soloist on "Jealousy," his playing was exquisite on opening night.

Maybe it was the musicians, maybe the arrangements, but the orchestra's numbers are more interesting this time. For whatever reason, Lavallen and his musicians never overstayed their welcome as "the show" between the dance numbers.

Vocalist Carlos Morel is also back and has three big numbers -- two solos singing with the orchestra, and a third, "Candome," that he sings as the ensemble dances around him. He, too, does a commanding job as an important part of the show's experience.

In short, Bravo's new edition of "Forever Tango" maintains -- and perhaps surpasses -- the high quality of the show seen here in 2000. Morel, Gavito and Duran are back, but there are many new talented dancers in the cast and new numbers in the show as well. What you see and hear is still all that you get -- no history or cultural information in provided in the program notes -- but it would be hard to imagine a better introduction to the precision and passion of Tango Argentino than Luis Bravo's "Forever Tango."

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