≈ 45 minutes · No intermission
Last updated: April 18, 2023
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!
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!
“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”.
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.”
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.
Tango dancer, teacher and choreographer. She represented Argentina at the Universal Exhibition in Lisbon in 1998. From then on, she toured to give classes and exhibitions in the main cities of the United States, Canada and Europe.
In 2013 she took over the artistic direction of Social Tango Project. In 2019 she co-directed her first dance short film, Being. In 2020 she published a book on parenting and neurodiversity. In 2021 she was the artistic director of a TV series dedicated to dance and philosophy broadcasted for public television in Argentina. She co-directs the film El tango, esos minutos de revancha (Tango, those minutes of rematch).
Caroline Ohrt has held a variety of positions in various cultural organizations, acquiring a solid knowledge of the arts ecosystem, management and governance. She has built strong local, national and international professional network which allowed her to present the highest calibre artists from all over the world at the Place des Arts, Danse Danse’s home. While there, she developed many partnerships. She cultivated opportunities for artists and audiences to meet on multiple platforms, whether at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, at the Arsenal art contemporain or virtually. She actively contributed to the growth of the organization and took to heart the support and development of artists, which remains a cornerstone of her work.
She has also held multiple positions in the world of contemporary arts, including with other dance organizations such as Compagnie Marie Chouinard and, more recently, at the Domaine Forget in Saint-Irénée. With a background in art history, Caroline has advised visual arts collectors and carried out assignments at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. She is recognized widely as a person in constant dialogue with the forces that shape contemporary creation.
Recognized for her innovative strategic vision, she is actively involved in the community through her participation on prominent boards and juries. She is vice-president of the Conseil des arts de Montréal and a board member of the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. Her advice is highly valued for her keen understanding of the cultural milieu and artistic realities.
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
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
Piano
Fulvio Giraudo
Bandoneon
Horacio Romo
Violin
Humberto Ridolfi
Double Bass
Cristian Basto
Eliana Sosa
Ariel Varnerin
Jewel Aldea
Rahim Noudehaki
Bruno Afonso
Amber Robson
Pooya Rowghanian
Nina Naghizadeh
Marcel Laurin
Elizabeth Loan
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
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.
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).
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