m¡longa

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s m¡longa, which captures the sultry world of Buenos Aires tango, will run for four performances at New York City Center from February 26 – March 1, 2015. The production features 10 tango dancers from Buenos Aires, two contemporary dancers from Europe and an Argentinean tango band of five musicians, providing a unique exploration of both traditional and contemporary tango.

Deeply rooted in Argentinean culture, tango has fascinated and captivated the world with its sensuality, power and beauty. Celebrated choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui takes the m¡longa—a social dance evening held in Buenos Aires’ intimate late-night bars—as a starting point and adds a contemporary twist. Rarely has an international large-scale tango production been directed by a non-Argentine artist, and this collaboration provides unique opportunities to explore the traditional dance from another cultural perspective.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui is one of the world’s most successful contemporary choreographers. He has been behind some of the most groundbreaking and critically revered works of recent years, working with artists like Akram Khan and Antony Gormley. His award-winning works, such as Sutra, with the monks of the Shaolin Temple, Babel (Olivier Award winner 2011), with Damien Jalet, and his recent collaboration with flamenco dancer Maria Pagés, Dunas, reflect his desire to embrace cultures, languages and new forms of expression. Cherkaoui is an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells in London.

m¡longa features new music from Argentinean composer Fernando Marzan and Larbi’s long-term musical collaborator Szymon Brzóska, with video and set design by Eugenio Szwarcer and costumes by renowned fashion designer Tim Van Steenbergen. The production combines traditional Argentinean tango aesthetics with absolute state of the art technology.