Courtesy of Dance St. Louis
Tango Argentina 2
Argentine Tango stars Guillermo De Fazio and Giovanna Dan.
Tango Argentina, a captivating dance performance hosted by Dance St. Louis, is coming to Touhill Performing Arts Center February 5. This production delves into Tango by blending original choreography and improvised movements, taking the audience on a journey through decades of Argentine Tango history, from the 1900s to the present-day evolution. The show also incorporates comedic elements.
Guillermo De Fazio and Giovanna Dan are Tango Argentina's co-directors and choreographers, as well as one of its pairs of dancers. The duo, also known as GD Tango, will be joined by six additional dancers—Marcos Pereira, Florencia Borgnia, Andres Bravo, Sarita Apel, Paloma Berrios, and Maximiliano Alvarado—and music director and composer Fabrizio Mocata, who will lead a quartet of international musicians live on stage.
Dancing is something that both De Fazio and Dan got involved with at a young age. De Fazio began dancing Argentinian and Italian folklore with his brother when he was around 7 years old, then took on Tango at around age 11. The pair initially did it to make their mother happy, because she wanted them to do something cultural while continuing to pursue dance. De Fazio says that after their first class, both he and his brother were hooked, and going to classes once a week rapidly turned into daily lessons. Dan began her own formal education at just 4 years old. She witnessed her parents' pure adoration for dance and was exposed to several styles by her artist parents, including a boleadoras gaucho act, which she became one of the first women to specialize in and will perform at Tango Argentina.
“Because my parents lived the same life of being an artist, I got to see and experience how much joy they have from it,” Dan says. “My dad would always say, 'If you love what you do, then you'll never work a day in your life,' and it's been like that. It's never really felt like a job. It's just part of who we are and what we do and what we love to do. And it's what we know.”
De Fazio says that meeting Dan was “destiny.” The dancing duo first met at a 2015 show De Fazio was performing at with his brother in Los Angeles. Dan attended the performance with her mother, renowned dancer Zita Gonzalez, to show their support for one of Gonzalez’s friends who was also performing. At the end of the performance, De Fazio and his brother announced that they would be doing a workshop the next day. Dan was intrigued by their performance and jumped at the opportunity.
Dan was having issues finding a partner at the time because of her height, but as soon as she attended the workshop and she and De Fazio began dancing together, he declared that he wanted to train her and make her his partner. Soon after, De Fazio’s brother left Los Angeles, but De Fazio stayed. He and Dan have been dancing together ever since.
Dan says that after every show, they still come up with new ideas that they can utilize. De Fazio and composer Mocata also develop many of the ideas for the comedic aspects of the show.
“To give you an example, the other day we were at a hotel, and the waitress at breakfast was serving and picking up some stuff. She tripped and fell, and Guillermo and Fabrizio looked at each other and had an idea for the show right away,” Dan says. “That very same night they incorporated it into the show and also invited the waitress to come.”
The music, as one might expect, plays a vital role in the performance, and Dan says much of the inspiration for what the dancers do comes from Mocata's original compositions. “The music is like the mattress where we dancers, we are leaning on,” says De Fazio.
The atmosphere of Tango Argentina is electric. At a recent performance in Detroit, an audience member wanted to dance with them so badly that he ran on stage and had to be escorted off. “When [the audience] sees our show they dance from their seats, but some of them jump on stage,” jokes De Fazio. He says that everyone can find something to enjoy at Tango Argentina, even if they don’t know anything about Tango.
“[Tango is] something that really made me connect with the world and the people and everything," he says. "So I want to transfer this to everybody, because it really did change my life."
Tickets are $40-$65 and are available via MetroTix. A special 4-pack offer is currently on sale for $150 with no ticketing fees through Dance St. Louis at 314-534-6622 or via email at boxoffice@dancestlouis.org.
