Tango Theatre (2012-2016)
With a range of collaborators among dancers, visual artists and musicians, I have been working as choreographer, performer, storyteller, artistic director, and producer on the threshold between the Argentine tango dance as a ritualistic dance for the “initiates” and a secularised form of Tango performance for and as theatre. Valentina Vitolo was my main collaborator and co-creator.
As a cultural-artistic phenomenon interweaving poetry, music and dance, the Tango was born and developed out of "creative tensions" - between different music genres and dance styles, cultures, social groups, art-forms, etc. In order to keep the Tango alive, it is important to keep the experimentation going - bearing always in mind the roots from which our creative expression stems and working hard on the fundamentals of the dance, that is, the fundamentals of the intimate bodily encounters between strangers. This is the aim of ‘Tango Theatre’ as a platform for contamination which engages classical narratives and movement forms with a fresh storytelling angle and the possibility of making space for different influences coming through the memories of the bodies of the dancers involved in the projects.
ASTOR TANGO | DEVILS & ANGELS
2015
Tango Theatre Duet Performance with Body Art and Live Music
This piece combines dance, body painting and a visual exhibition to explore the intricate world of the great (r)evolutionary tango artist Astor Piazzolla: bandoneon player, composer and bandleader.
Watch also: https://vimeo.com/458494727
LA MUNECA | THE TANGO DOLL
2015
Tango Theatre Collective Performance with Body Art
La Muñeca is a woman-doll filled with emotions and sentiments in the fatal encounter with the Tango. Her appearance changes as she becomes aware of the thin line between present and past, reality and imagination. La Muñeca portraits a provocative image of women and questions us about the multiple dimensions of womanhood such as femininity, courage and passion.
More info and material: https://www.raffaelerufo.com/improv-performance/la-muneca
MY NAME IS TANGO | ONE SOUL, MANY COLOURS
2013
Tango Theatre Collective Performance with Live Music
A poetic journey across the different genres and emotions that constitute the landscape of the tango dance and of its musical traditions.