Tango musical heats up while NYC heads into chilly months

Despite the cold, wet city outside, the atmosphere in the New York City Center couldn’t be hotter. Fresh from Argentina, the first-ever tango musical “Tanguera” delivers precisely what it promises—an hour and a half of sensual, passionate tango.

The story of “Tanguera” revolves around Giselle (Rocío de Los Santos), a young French immigrant coming to Buenos Aires at the beginning of the 20th century with the hope of a better life. Immediately upon arriving, she meets the dockworker Lorenzo (Esteban Domenichini), and they fall in love at first sight. However, before their love can grow, Giselle is snatched away by Gaudencio (Oscar Martínez Pey), an infamous gangster who lures her into a life of prostitution. Lorenzo is unable to stay away from Giselle, and proves his love in a thrilling, violent knife fight at the musical’s finale.

The plot is a clichéd story that pales in comparison to the main attraction—the tango. In “Tanguera,” tango needs neither plot nor spoken dialogue, and the dance flawlessly illuminates the relationships and tensions between the characters.

In the performance we see the playful, flirtatious side of tango at a party among friends, while in another instance the dance becomes a power play between Giselle and Madam (María Nieves), the brothel’s caretaker. Tango can be a dance of forbidden love or a knife fight between gangsters.

Regardless of what relationship the dance illustrates­—love, hatred, fear, or flirtation—the tango, in its essence, is conspicuously sensual. While other dance forms may subtly allude to sexual metaphors, they are what steers the tango in its movements, which is clearly displayed by the impressively acrobatic brothel dancers.

While “Tanguera” is performed without spoken dialogue and with only basic plot structure and sparse singing, this hardly takes away from the main intention of the musical—performing a visually stunning exhibition of the art of tango.

“Tanguera” will be playing at the New York City Center through Oct. 18.