At the top of the stairs, the scene opens to reveal a dimmed setting. Men in crisp shirts, satin vests, smart trousers, and shiny black shoes. Women in velvet, satin, and lace, all in elegant, imported heeled shoes. Some are chatting around the bar; others sit at small tables covered in blood-red tablecloths adorned with candles and roses. They are there for the one uniting experience: tango.
John Amore, plumber by day, tanguero by night, has been dancing for five years and resolves to “continue as long as my legs will allow.”
Being Italian brought me to tango. When I was a kid, I used to go to Italian dances with my parents. Everyone would be doing an Italian style tango. My family migrated from Sicily, and it was music which brought the community together.
His passion for tango is echoed by the many tangueri who have taken over spaces around Australia. Just as they have all over the world.
The tangueri dance just as passionately as the early dancers of the 1880s who congregated around the ports of Argentina and Uruguay. The birthplaces of tango.
Waves of Italian migrants, adding up to several million, settled in the two countries in the late 1800’s to around 1940. Music and tango maestros will tell you all about the seminal influence of Italian organ grinders who played and sang, whilst others danced. These were the migrants who settled in Argentina and Uruguay seeking a more prosperous life. Italians amongst many migrants from across the globe who were lured by opportunity and adventure, full of hope and dreams.
The names of the tango vanguardia (vanguard) reveal the deep influence of Italians who contributed to the development of the genre: Francisco Canaro, Juan D’Arienzo, Carlos Di Sarli, Alfredo de Angeli, Angel d’Agostino, Abinal Troilo, Osvaldo Pugliese, Rodolgo Biagi and of course, Astor Piazzola amongst many others.
These maestros were the children and grandchildren of the Italians who made these South American countries their new home. Horacio Ferrer, a Uruguayan tango lyricist explained “Problems and anxieties of our cities found a translation in the tangos, with a music that was realized by Italians and sons of Italians.”
He knew this from experience, as a son of an Italian mother.
The history of tango is complex, vague, and rather ‘saucy’. For a while, it was played and danced in brothels amongst the working class. However, its character and uniqueness soon captivated many. Middle- and upper-class visitors would secretly frequent tango dens. It was not long before it became socially acceptable in the early 1900s. By 1915 the music and dance became popular amongst fashionable socialites across all of Europe. As history keeps showing us, good things cannot be hidden away.
Of course, it was not only the Italians who influenced this genre of music and dance. Uruguay and Argentina attracted many across the world as they grew to be bustling, multicultural post-colonial countries. Tango evolved, merging diverse styles: waltzes, masurkas, Argentinian folk milonga, habanera of Cuba, candombe of Africa. Importantly, the bandoneon from Germany, in the same family as the fisarmonica (piano accordion), became the primary instrument of any tango orchestra.
Astor Piazzolla playing his bandoneon. (Photo: ANSA)
Little did the first tangueri know that they would set off a phenomenon that endures and connects people across the world today.
Joseph Zingarelli, whose parents migrated from Turin to Sydney, was introduced to the music of tango through his father who owned a few 1940s tango music records. His parents were lovers of music and often attended Italian community social dances. His father recounted that whilst dance halls were places to appreciate the many dance styles, “all impatiently anticipated the end of the night when the one and only tango was finally played. It was the only time you were permitted to enjoy a close embrace with your partner.”
Despite appreciating the music since childhood, it wasn’t until many years later that Joseph “stumbled on the dark underbelly of the real tango world” at a milonga in Sydney. He has not stopped dancing since.
Speak to any tanguero/tanguera, the story is the same. Each will recount how they became entranced by the music, the deep passionate way that every emotion is unpacked and laid out bare through an exquisite union of lyrics and music.
Seeking to progress even further than becoming an accomplished dancer, Rosaria Burchielli, whose family migrated from La Spezia to Australia, was so taken by tango she developed her skills to become a tango DJ. She enjoys “the musical genius behind each tango orchestra”. She describes the magic of the music, the interplay of instruments and the way each band leader carefully curates their musical pieces to showcase a particular instrument.
The fascino (fascination) with the art of tango has set Carmelo Michienzi on a pathway from curious student to performer, to teacher. For Carmelo, growing up in a migrant Calabrian family meant dancing (and food) were integral to every social gathering. For him,
Tango provides a way to connect with the music and lead each follower in a truly unique way. Each dance is unrepeatable. Elegant. Vulnerable and human. There is something very special about tango.
Like many, Rosaria, Joseph and John have all embarked on a tango pilgrimage to Buenas Aires. There they enveloped themselves in the dance and the broader culture which, they agree, is all oddly familiar, resonating with elements of their Italian cultural backgrounds.
Some have experienced Buenas Aires many times, just as Everardo Tarascio who seems to be similarly at home amongst the Argentine tango halls, as he is amongst those in Sicily (from where he migrated) or any of those where he has danced as part of his extensive globetrotting (tanguero rule, always pack dance shoes first).
Tango the dance, and tango the music, have evolved over the decades. And its use also.
Interestingly, the dance has been adopted as therapy for Parkinson’s disease. There are several research articles on the tango-therapy approach which reports results such as increased participation in complex daily tasks and social activities. Rina Sawaya, a tango teacher, and performer has led a program for Parkinson sufferers over many years, starting when her own father was diagnosed with the debilitating illness. “It is one way I can help” she explains. “Somehow the program seems to improve quality of life. I enjoy watching the delight on participant faces as they lose themselves in the music.”
Rina Sawaya dancing with her father as part of the Parkinson’s tango-therapy program. (Photo supplied)
In fact, Rina who is of Japanese and South African background, and her husband Nadim, of Lebanese background, embody the multiculturalism that is fundamental to tango. Of course, it is no surprise that they met through the dance. Love blossomed somewhere on that dance floor. Fast-forward and they now run a successful Melbourne dance studio called Tango Esencia. Nadim and Rina are amongst the numerous accomplished tango teachers and performers in Australia.
Tango is a peoples dance today, just as it always was. Whether danced in velvet and lace at a special milonga, or jeans and t-shirt during a practice class. Tango brings people together from all walks of life. All drawn to it for their own reasons. Zingarelli remarks “tango should come with a disclaimer… football tragics are nothing compared to tango tragics!”
Contemporary maestros of tango continue to experiment with musical rhythms and instruments. Always striving to find a way to express deep emotions and aspects of the human condition against the drama of life circumstances. As tango evolves, the tangueri continue to dance.
There are many events around Australia such as the upcoming Melbourne Tango Weekend. Sydney’s Tango Synergy or Melbourne Social Tango are two of the state-based tango social groups who ensure tangueri connect and are always dancing.
So, if you ever hear Piazzola, Canaro or di Sarli – follow the music. It may come from a nondescript church hall in suburban Hobart where you will find tangueri drawn to DJ Tomoko’s carefully compiled selection of tango. The scene there is similar across Australia, small towns in Nordic countries, bars in Bali, Japan and Berlin. You may spot tangueri dancing in the sunshine on the riverbank of the Seine. Or find them eagerly congregating from across the world to attend one of the Calabrian Tango Festivals. And of course, they fill the plazas and tango halls of Buenas Aires and Monte Video.
No matter where you go, the tangueri form a community connected through their shared admiration for the musical genius of tango masters. Amongst which Italians have played their part.
As Astor Piazzola stated, “the melodies of Italians float on tango”. Somewhere above the four legs, one heart.
