The Tango Lovers troupe will celebrate the ancient dance at the Bob Carr Theater this weekend.
“La cumparsita,” one of the most famous tangos in the world, just turned 100 and an event this weekend in Orlando will celebrate with a show filled with sensuality and passion.
“I lost count of all the times I’ve listened to ‘La cumparsita’ on a Sunday morning,” said Alfredo Lérida, the Uruguayan producer and lead singer of Tango Lovers, a troupe dedicated to the musical genre and dance developed in South America in the mid 19th century.
“My dad loved tango and would play it all weekend. I remember hating it,” said Lérida, 51.
That all changed when he moved to South Florida, where a growing nostalgia for those Sunday mornings inspired him to create Tango Lovers. The troupe performs today at Orlando’s Bob Carr Theater.
Tango Lovers includes one lead singer, four musicians and 10 dancers. “Not only the style of tango changes throughout the show, we also show how the dance has evolved,” said choreographer Tere Sánchez Terraf, 28. “People will see the difference between traditional tango, ballroom tango and many more.”
At the group’s Orlando stop, the “audience is going to see the true history of tango, from its traditional beginnings to modern times,” said musical director Lautaro Greco, 28. “They will hear the tangos familiar to them and more recent works from [Astor] Piazzola. There are even compositions from myself and my brother Emiliano, who is also in the band.”
The almost two-hour show also features a variety of set designs and elaborate costumes.
For Alberto Hoyos, founder of the Tango Orlando academy, “Every lover of music and dance should celebrate the arrival of Tango Lovers in town.”
“This is a dance that has the power [to change]people’s lives,” he said. “I’ve seen it myself. Young people recovering their selfconfidence. Older people getting healthier and stronger. All because they fell in love with tango.”
Written in 1916, “La cumparsita” has been recorded more than over 2,500 times by vocalists ranging from the late Argentine singer Carlos Gardel, considered one of the best tango singers in the world, to Spanish balladeer Julio Iglesias. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers have danced to it in film.
After Orlando, Tango Lovers heads to St. Petersburg and South Florida. Performances in Washington, Maryland and Pennsylvania also are planned, according to the troupe’s website (tangolovers.com).