Tango in the Dark
PointeTango | Montreal, QC/London, ON/Buenos Aires, AR
Run Time: 60 minutes
DIRECTED & CHOREOGRAPHED BY: Alexander Richardson
CINEMATOGRAPHY BY: Jacob Marsh
VIDEO EDITING BY: Alexander Richardson
PERFORMED BY: Erin Scott-Kafadar and Alexander Richardson
MUSIC BY: Payadora Tango Ensemble: Rebekah Wolkstein (Violin/Voice), Drew Jurecka (Bandonéon / Voice), Robert Horvath (Piano), Joseph Phillips (Double Bass/Guitar)
Payadora Tango Ensemble music produced, engineered and mixed by Drew Jurecka
Award-winning dance company, PointeTango, heats up your screen with Tango in the Dark, an original hour-long dance film created during the Covid-19 pandemic. PointeTango’s sultry duo will wow you with fantastic lifts, exciting spins and the passion of Argentine tango with a unique twist: tango on pointe! Using original music composed by the Payadora Tango Ensemble, as well as contemporary and traditional themes, your senses will be delighted by an award-winning film that lights the way through the shadows and mysteries of Buenos Aires and tells a story of two dancers moving to the rhythms of the city night.
The creation of Tango in the Dark began in Buenos Aires, Argentina during the autumn of 2019 and continued with film production in Canada in the summer of 2020. The global pandemic led to ongoing and changing restrictions which affected the performance and creation process. PointeTango dancers, Erin Scott-Kafadar and Alexander Richardson spent several months in strict lockdown in Buenos Aires before returning to Canada. Despite the restrictions, Erin and Alexander continued to dance and adapted from performing live to creating digital content. Partnering with the talented musical quartet of the Payadora Tango Ensemble meant recording and filming their music in their separate homes. Since its digital world premiere in February 2021, Tango in the Dark has premiered in international festivals and enjoyed rave reviews and awards.
WINNER “Best On-Demand Show” – Pittsburgh Fringe 2021
“Moving, dramatic, acrobatic, sensual and haunting.” – Roots Music Canada
Tango in the Dark was filmed in various locations across Ontario including outdoor sites in London, Ontario and Toronto, the Caso train station and the Elgin County Railway Museum in St. Thomas and the Spriet Family Theatre in London which was generously donated by the Original Kids Theatre for rehearsals and filming. Due to the restrictions and challenges of the pandemic, the tango orchestra mostly filmed themselves in their home recording studios and were integrated in post-production video editing thanks to the skill and hard work of director and video editor Alexander Richardson. However, one (thankfully) sunny fall afternoon, PointeTango and Payadora members were able to shoot the last number of the film together outdoors at a conservation area in London (ON). Performing this number for the first time together, its spontaneity embodies the joy of the artists and the hope of finding the light through the shadows (and entertaining curious locals out for a stroll!).
About the artists:
PointeTango is a unique dance company directed by choreographer and dancer, Alexander Richardson and created with lead dancer, Erin Scott-Kafadar. By pushing new boundaries in dance, PointeTango combines the intimacy of Argentine tango with the precision of classical ballet, creating a new dance vocabulary that is both intimate and bold. PointeTango has toured their original full-length theatre shows ‘Para Dos’ (2018) and ‘Into the Tango’ (2019) which enjoyed public support with sold-out shows and festival awards such as winning the Best of Festival, Favourite Dance Show, Best Artistry and the Patron’s Pick awards to name a few. They have also self-produced several feature dance films; ‘The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires’ (2016), and most recently ‘PointeTango: In Search of the Abrazo’ (2020) and ‘Tango in the Dark’ (2021) which were created during the Covid-19 pandemic with the music of the talented Payadora Tango Ensemble.
Website: https://pointetango.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PointeTangoProductions
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pointetango/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pointetango
You can also check out Youtube Trailers of the film:
https://youtu.be/_A1i2SmB6ao
https://youtu.be/xXcJOZMdVfY
https://youtu.be/3ZPArdUW4cE