Pre-Show Chat with Agustina Videla of Social Tango Project

Hosted by Caroline Ohrt, Executive Producer, NAC Dance

2023-04-22 19:00 2023-04-22 19:45 60 Canada/Eastern 🎟 NAC: Pre-Show Chat with Agustina Videla of Social Tango Project

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/34152

In-person event

On April 22, join us at the Peter A. Herrndorf Place for a pre-show talk with Agustina Videla, artistic director and choreographer of Social Tango Project. This informal discussion on the creative process, the history of tango and Social Tango Project's mission will be an excellent occasion to meet the newly appointed NAC Dance Executive Producer, Caroline Ohrt, who will host this chat. This free pre-show talk will precede the Social Tango Project performance and will be bilingual. However,...

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Peter A. Herrndorf Place,1 Elgin Street,Ottawa
Sat, April 22, 2023
Sat, April 22, 2023

≈ 45 minutes · No intermission

Last updated: April 18, 2023

A Note from the Producer Emerita, NAC Dance

The passion and dynamism of tango is compelling: watching its sensuous yet precise footwork accompanied by music and song makes us want to move and revel in the rhythms. And Social Tango Project, designed by the multitalented choreographer Agustina Videla, is at the height of this experience. Linked to the streets of Argentina, Videla’s Buenos Aires comes alive with an ensemble of exceptional dancers, musicians and singers, set against beautiful projections and lighting: a feast for the eyes and the soul. Videla has succeeded with this project to connect people across many generations and backgrounds to the art of tango with dazzling effect. We’re thrilled to welcome the company for its NAC Dance debut.

Join us for the post-show milonga in the lobby following the performance, organized by Siempre Tango Ottawa and supported by the Embassy of Argentina – all levels welcome!

Enjoy!

A Note from the Executive Producer, NAC Dance

What a privilege to arrive at the National Arts Centre at the same time as Social Tango Project! Tango offers an infinity of possibilities – a multitude of inventive steps that inspire strong emotions; a dance that exudes passion. 

This show is a burst of energy to carry with you well beyond this evening. 

I want to thank Cathy Levy, who invited Social Tango Project, and Agustina Videla, the creative force behind this unique artistic production. And thank you, dear audience, for being here tonight. I hope to meet you at the post-show milonga!

A Note from the Artistic Director and Choreographer

“My connection with tango began 27 years ago when I fell in love with this dance and decided to dedicate myself to it. Since then, I have taught and performed in different countries. I got to know dozens of milongas around the world and danced with hundreds of amateur dancers.

During this time, I became aware of the meaning that tango has in the lives of so many people. Dance allows us to connect with others, but it also makes us part of a community.

12 years ago, I abandoned my itinerant life to raise my children in Buenos Aires. At that moment, Ramón de Oliveira Cezar, an amateur dancer who discovered tango in the milongas of New York, offered me to create a project that would focus on the social experience of dancing. Our motivation was to inspire more people to enjoy this dance. From there a great team was formed.

“Social Tango” premiered in 2013 with the production of the Buenos Aires Theater Complex. Since then, it has had several versions. Surely this is not the last. But that no longer worries us because we understood that this work will continue to evolve along with all of us”.

SOCIAL TANGO PROJECT

A lonely woman steps into the milonga world and feels attracted to a dancer. To seduce him she takes on the challenge of learning how to dance. She does not yet realize what she is about to discover.

Uniquely conceived by choreographer Agustina Videla, Social Tango Project is a stunning interactive and immersive dance performance from Buenos Aires that encourages the audience to embrace the tango and make it their own.  

Originating in the 1880s along the Rio de la Plata between Argentina and Uruguay, the tango has spread to the rest of the world, winning the hearts of dancers around the globe. A social dance, tango enables people of different ages, cultures, and backgrounds to meet in an “embrace.” 

POST-SHOW MILONGA

Join members of Ottawa's tango community in a post-show milonga

After the performance, members of the Ottawa tango community invite you to join them for a post-show milonga. This event, organized by Siempre Tango Ottawa in collaboration with NAC Dance and supported by the Embassy of Argentina, will occur in the NAC Canal Lobby from 9:10 PM to 11:00 PM. If you don't tango (yet), it's a special chance to see dancers of all ages and abilities up close as they flow to the music. Inspired to dance? The team from Siempre Tango Ottawa will be there to help! 

All are welcome to join, and it is free! The NAC cash bar will remain open until the milonga closes. 

Artists

  • Artistic Director and Choreographer Agustina Videla
  • caroline-ohrt
    Executive Producer, NAC Dance Caroline Ohrt

Credits

CREATIVE TEAM

General Direction
Ramón de Oliveira Cezar

Artistic Direction and Choreography
Agustina Videla 

Musical Direction
Fulvio Giraudo

Film Direction
Nora Lezano 

Staging
Pablo Destito 

Assistant Direction
Lucía Ohyama 

Lighting Design
Marcelo Cuervo 

Costume Design
Laura Sol Torrecilla

ARTISTIC TEAM

Performers

Lucía Aspiroz Larrosa
Marcela Vespasiano
Josefina Stellato
Yanina Muzyka
Cinthia Díaz
Iara Duarte
Lily Chenlo
Roberto Zuccarino
Sebastián Fernandez
Emmanuel Casal
Bruno Mayo
Jesús Paez

Musicians

Piano
Fulvio Giraudo 

Bandoneon
Horacio Romo 

Violin
Humberto Ridolfi 

Double Bass
Cristian Basto

Singers

Eliana Sosa
Ariel Varnerin

Siempre Tango Ottawa Dancers

Jewel Aldea
Rahim Noudehaki
Bruno Afonso
Amber Robson
Pooya Rowghanian
Nina Naghizadeh
Marcel Laurin
Elizabeth Loan

ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION TEAM

Technical Direction
Marcelo Cuervo

Sound Technician
Pablo Silvestri 

Lighting Technician
Adrián Juarez 

Choreography Assistant
Sebastián Fernández 

Rehearsal Assistant
Sasha Cooke 

Tour Coordination
Marcelo Cuervo 

Production Coordination
Raúl Marego 

Production Coordination
Nadia Rabotnikof

NAC Dance Team

Executive Producer 
Caroline Ohrt

Senior Producer 
Tina Legari

Special Projects Coordinator and Assistant to the Executive Producer 
Mireille Nicholas

Company Manager 
Sophie Anka

Education Associate and Teaching Artist 
Siôned Watkins

Technical Director 
Brian Britton

Communications Strategist 
Julie Gunville

Marketing Strategist 
Marie-Chantale Labbé-Jacques

NAC Dance Producer Emerita
Cathy Levy, C.M.

Sponsorship / partner recognition

We would like to thank the following people from the tango community for their great collaboration: Enrique Bravo (Washington DC), Neila Goumiri (Fredericton), the “Québec Tango Association”, Carol Anne Horowitz and “Studio Tango School” (Montreal), “Siempre Tango School” (Ottawa), and Mark Mindel (Charlotte, NC).

Thank you to NAC partners

NAC Dance and the NAC Foundation would like to thank the donors and partners who have made the season possible. Thank you to our Hotel Partner, the Lord Elgin Hotel. The role of Executive Producer, NAC Dance is generously supported by an anonymous donor.

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees