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December 30, 2004

Junior Cervila

Read Jackie Wong's interview with Brazilian dancer, actor and filmmaker Antonio Cervila Junior, who was seen in Carlos Saura's Tango and figured prominently in the final dance sequence.

Junior: You can dance tango to EVERYTHING. Well, I can because I want to. Piazzolla is a genius. Great to dance, but traditionalists don't like him. So they don't want to dance to his music. Then of course, it becomes impossible. The only possible things are the ones that you believe.

I came from Copacabana and would turn tango into salsa, mixing the two dances. I loved it. And then turn Milonga into Merengue. Anyway, I don't like to say that I am right and traditionalists are wrong because there is no right or wrong. It is only what you really feel. And everybody agrees that tango is a feeling. So, if you don't feel Piazzolla, don't do it. But shut up and let other people be happy.

In the forties Julio De Caro was considered too modern and people from that time used to say that the real tango were the old ones from 1910. So the question is not what is tango, but WHEN. A 40's tango was not tango for a 1910's dancer. So a 2000's tango will never be tango for a 60's dancer. And it's not a physical age, but where in the timeline you place your head. There are teenagers that are more traditional then older people.

[...]Tango is so stuck in one place. I think tango can give much more than it is giving. Tangueros only have to realize that everything is changing. We can't dance exactly like in the 40's because we are not in the 40's. The world has changed and so has changed people. If a tanguero is very traditional and thinks that everybody has to dance like in the 40's ONLY, I think that he should not use TV or cellular phones. He has to live like on those days. My choreography is modern. My dance at the milonga is calm and subtle: introspective. My productions try to bring young people to tango.

I became intrigued by Junior back in 1999 when Alberto and Valorie brought to town a CD music compilation that Junior had made. I don't know if the CD was ever published; it may have been just a pre-release version. It was called "Tangos Instrumentales para Bailar," but Carlota and I always referred to it as "The Junior CD" (as in "oh, that tune was on the Junior CD!"), and it influenced our tango listening at an early stage.

Here is the playlist.

Tangos Instrumentales para Bailar
  1. Cafe Dominguez - Angel D'Agostino
  2. Gallo Ciego - Osvaldo Pugliese
  3. Nochero Soy - Osvaldo Pugliese
  4. Bahia Blanca - Carlos Di Sarli
  5. El Pollo Riccardo - Leopoldo Federico
  6. El Andariego - Osvaldo Pugliese
  7. Racing Club - Angel D'Agostino
  8. Inspiracion - Annibal Troilo
  9. Recuerdo - Horacio Salgan
  10. Comme Il Faut - Carlos di Sarli
  11. Fuego Artificiales - Armando Pontier
  12. Boedo - Francini / Pontier
  13. Shusheta - Horacio Salgan
  14. Cuando Llora La Milonga - Alfredo Di Angelis
  15. El Internado - Los Solistas de D'Arienzo
  16. El Chamuyo - Domingo Federico
  17. El Rey del Compas - Juan D'Arienzo
  18. El Cencerro - Juan D'Arienzo
  19. Ataniche - Roberto Firpo
  20. Sabado Ingles - Roberto Firpo

And now there is his very exciting show Latin Dance Carnival. Not just anyone can put together a dance review like this one! This guy is deeply talented and intellectually very interesting. View the 2002 show video and 2004 show slideshow.

Posted by joegrohens at December 30, 2004 10:48 PM

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