Tango Argentino is a musical stage production about the history and many varieties of Argentine tango. It was created and directed by Hector Orezzoli and Claudio Segovia, and premiered at the Festival d'Automne in Paris in 1983 and on Broadway in New York in 1985. The Mel Howard production became a world-wide success with numerous tours culminating with a Broadway revival in 1999–2000. It set off a world-wide resurgence of tango, both as a social dance and as a musical genre. Tango Argentino recreates on stage the history of tango from its beginnings in 19th-century Buenos Aires through the tango's golden age of the 1940s and 50s up to Piazzolla's tangos. Most of the dancers in the show did their own choreography. Tango Argentino was a totally unexpected hit. It violated all the rules— It was low budget, used a single set, and showcased slim, athletic professional dancers, such as Nelson Avila, along with middle-aged dancers, such as Verulazo, all on the same stage. The average age of the cast was 42 years.All this glamour attends a show that even Argentines wouldn't invest in at the outset, a show that made it to Broadway largely by accident, a show that has one set, four accordions (called bandoneons) and a couple of 38-inch waistlines. (Samuel G. Friedman, NY Times 1985)
Background
In 1974, Hector Orezzoli and Claudio Segovia, two Argentine set designers, decided to put together a production about tango using the best dancers in all of Argentina. Claudio Segovia recounted that he wanted to reflect on stage the reality of tango life in Buenos Aires, therefore he looked for an authentic mixture of the different types of musicians and dancers, of children, young people and mature people: "Elegí gente que según mi juicio era la más auténtica, la más verdadera, y creo que no me equivoqué." [I chose people who, in my opinion, were the most authentic, the truest (tango artists), and I think I was not wrong.]
The Solos
Juan Carlos Copes and Maria Nieves
Claudio Segovia went looking for accomplished tango dancers in Buenos Aires. He approached Juan Carlos Copes and Maria Nieves, who ran one of the most popular tango shows in the city.
By the mid-1970s, Copes and Nieves had been dancing tango together most of their lives. They had begun in a working class dance hall in 1940s Buenos Aires when they were in their teens. By the late 1950s, interest in tango had begun to wane due in part to a regressive government that discouraged public gatherings and later due to the cultural phenomenon of the Beatles. Copes had such a love for the dance, that he decided he would not accept the death of tango. Being a lover of Gene Kelly's dance films, he decided in 1955 to do something similar with tango. He began to rehearse tango choreographies, together with Maria Nieves and other tango dancers in the basement of a factory. Their shows soon became popular in Buenos Aires.
Copes expressed doubts that a group of tango artists, who were often known for their huge egos, could ever work together long enough to stage such a production. He thought the idea of the show was crazy. Eventually Copes and Nieves joined the cast of Tango Argentino.
Nelson Avila and Nélida Rodriguez
Segovia also approached the well-known stage dancers Nelson and Nélida. Nelson Avila and Nélida Rodriguez de Aure were dancing and directing the choreography at the famous Michelangelo tango show in San Telmo at the time. They had already been dancing together in the most prominent shows in Buenos Aires, had appeared together numerous times on television, and had performed internationally. They were noted for the speed of their dance and their acrobatic steps. Nelson and Nélida joined the cast.
Héctor and Elsa Maria Mayoral
The next couple added to the cast was Mayoral and Elsa Maria. They danced a different style than the others. They came from the tango salons and danced the very simple, yet very graceful dance of the crowded milonga salons of Buenos Aires. Their tango was noted for its small. playful steps. Together with Copes & Nieves and Nelson & Nélida, they comprised the three couples who were asked to perform solo routines in the original Tango Argentino.