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"Tango Intervention, Brooklyn Bridge"
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You are invited to a very special and unique Milonga.
From noon till 2pm on Saturday, September 13, a gathering of brave and spirited tangueros will dance over the East River on the Brooklyn Bridge. There is no charge and everyone is invited. I hope you can join us.
Let me put this in context. I am a tanguero, but I am also an artist by profession. I am working on an international series of performances that involve Argentine Tango. The project is called “Tango Intervention”. It involves dancing tango where tango is not expected. In the public realm this acts as a gentle intervention, a brief interruption in the normal business of life. It confuses and amuses people and generally leaves them with a smile. On the web the performance is re-contextualized in a framework relative to the history/sociology of the specific geographic place where the dance took place, and also related to the history/sociology of tango. In this way the project has two very different sides, one on the street and one on the web. It is multifaceted – like tango.
I have done tango interventions in many cities already, including Tampa, Chicago, Seattle and Vienna. They all went very well and were great fun for the participants and for the public. Last year at this time i organized a "mobile milonga" across the Williamsburg bridge that got rave reviews from all participants. Now I’m doing another Tango Intervention in my old hometown and I would love to have you participate.
"Tango Intervention, Brooklyn Bridge" is an official part of Conflux, a performance art festival that the Village Voice called a “network of maverick artists and unorthodox urban investigators…making fresh, if underground, contributions to pedestrian life in New York City, and upping the ante on today’s fight for the soul of high-density metropolises.”
On the web site "Tango Intervention, Brooklyn Bridge" will be contextualized within the history of immigrant re-migration from the crowded tenements of Manhattan to the green fields of Brooklyn when the bridge opened 125 years ago. The web site will also make a nod to the migration of artists and others from Manhattan to Brooklyn in more recent times. Like tango itself, this project asks questions about ‘place’ and belonging and longing and fulfillment. On the street (or the bridge) however, it will basically be a crazy mobile milonga moving through the air above the East River.
Frequently Asked Questions:
-Does it cost anything?
-No, it is free.
-How long will it take?
-I am estimating about 2 hours, with the bulk of the time spent dancing in the large open areas by each of the two towers.
-Do I need to have a partner?
-Not necessarily. I need to keep lead and follow balance and if you are in a couple that makes it simple. But if you do not have a partner let me know and I will try to match people up. While couples are encouraged to join us, once the mobile milonga starts I will encourage (though not require) people to change partners during the cortinas as is generally done during any milonga.
-Is this like a tango “show’?
-No, not at all, this is a milonga. While there is a spectacle inherent due to context, I encourage everyone to treat this as they would any milonga and dance not for an audience but only for the joys of tango, the pleasure of the music and the magic of connection with your partner. This is tango as a social dance. This is a milonga.
-Is this open to any level or style of dancers?
-Participation is welcome from dancers of any style of Argentine Tango from strict Milonguero to Nuevo as long as they have at least an intermediate level of dance ability.
If you are at all interested I invite you to explore this website to get a better idea of the project overall. You can also look at pictures from past Tango Interventions, including last years over the Williamsburg Bridge, at:
If you would like to participate or have questions please email me at tangointervention@gmail.com, or call me at 813 843 4921.
Having danced often in New York, I know there are a lot of great dancers in this city who also happen to be just crazy enough to enjoy something like this. I look forward to hearing from you and dancing with you!
Abrazos,
Robert
Volunteers Needed!!!!
If you are interested in this project but are not an Argentine Tango dancer, you can still be involved. Please contact me at tangointervention@gmail.com
For more info please contact tangointervention@gmail.com
For other work by Robert Lawrence please visit: www.h-e-r-e.com