Cafe Latino Premiere / Written by Anna
Shvarts
It was no more than four months ago that the co-founder,
co-producer, choreographer teacher and dancer, Dan Marshall announced his
intention on forming a full-fledged dance company, now known as FreEMotion/LibrEMocion
Repertory Company, Inc. His
announcement was heard at his free Tuesday’s dance class in Sophia’s-Bar,
Tapas and Music, a favorite place for Bostonians with a sweet tooth for Latin
food, music and atmosphere. The
response became apparent at the auditions when large groups of amateur and
professional dancers showed up to strut their stuff in front of welcoming but
determined judges. Dan’s initial
plan for his company, to gather a group of ten talented couples, had to be
stretched and reconstructed, as a cache of energy, talent and potential stormed
his rented studios at the Brazilian Cultural Center in Inman Square and the
Boston Kung Fu and Tai Chi Institute on Massachusetts Ave.
Finally, after no more than three months of rigorous
preparation, training, organizing, stressing and pushing the dancers to the
edges of their present abilities, endurance and creativity, the newly formed
FreEMotion/LibrEMocion, in collaboration with the world-renowned Tango Fever
Company and OPED/Dance World – Tango Mundo, was able to successfully put
together and perform their first official production, “CAFÉ LATINO”.
The show opened and ran three nights in a row this past weekend of
September 22nd, 23rd, 24th in Babson College, at the Sorenson Center for the
Arts in Wellesley, MA. Various
forms of Latin dances such as the Tango, Milonga, Valse, Cha Cha Cha, Bachata, Salsa,
and Mambo-Salsa, although the prevailing forms of expression of the company’s
theme and goal, were not however the only tasty offerings on the diverse menu
prepared by director/co-founder of FreEMotion, Dan Marshall, with assistance
from director of Tango Mundo, Jaime Alvarez.
For the appetizer, a Latin Jazz trio from Venezuela, Mauro
Tortolero, Vicente Lebron and Alberto Turbay, served up the chick café crowd
and dancers with lively and seductive tunes created by the blend of their voices,
the singing piano, percussion and bass.
As a welcoming apéritif, a special guest artist and a treat to watch
all on his own, Argentinean Milonguero from Buenos Aires and Broadway performer
Ruben Ferrin recited poems in Spanish introducing the upcoming entrees.
Ruben was followed by the sleek and sexy Tango Fever’s Jorge Nel Giraldo
and Marta Mandel: two well-known tango performers whose dancing recently appeared
in the movie Random Hearts. An
Argentinean quintet from Buenos Aires, GoTan, Andrea Marsili on piano and direction,
Carolina Poenitz on bandoneon, Marcia Lehninger on violin, Gabriel Lofvall on
keyboard and Justin Patch on bass or electric bass, accompanied Jorge and Marta’s
delectable dancing which oozed
and spilled with spicy passion and left the audience in speechless hunger, each
time reaching once again for the menu.
Their senses and appetites continued to be awakened and teased as they
were taken further into the sensual culture of Latin America and through a string
of diverse tangos danced by a true lover of tango, Tango Mundo’s own Jaime Alvarez
and his lovely partners and devoted associates Rebeca Schoff and Anna Burdo,
the enticingly precise Benjamin Bridgeman and Vera Iskandarian, and the classy
Hanif Butt and Edie Nikilova. These
tangos were intermingled with the vivacious and beautiful Salsa and Cuban Bachata
and Cha Cha Cha choreography and dances of Dan Marshall, which felt complete
with his energetic partner, Angela Shamsi by his side.
The young, Latino-cool and nonchalant young FreEMotion poet Florencio
Yllana, originally from the Philippines, who wooed his audience with a refreshing
delivery of his original poetry about life’s hardships and loves lost and found,
introduced some of the aforementioned dances.
Another young poetess of Russian descent from the diverse FreEMotion
Inc., Sasha Yampolsky took he crowd on a detour into the lovely Espagna, the
guilty conqueror of the Americas and inadvertent creator of the culture in honor
and praise of which “Café Latino” was created and performed.
In the meantime, café’s well-kept secret, Marilda Castro, a Peruvian
actress and dancer was preparing a tasty interruption of the traditional, with
a brand new dish of her own preparation: a modern dance interpretation to the
soft murmur of the piano/percussion fusion that steamed up the hearts and stomachs
of her newly found fans, differently and definitely each night.
In attempt to cool the sauna-like atmosphere in the hearts and ears of
the audience, Dan Marshall’s Mambo-Salsa piece about the many men a woman loves,
only sparked up “Ole’s” from the audience whose enjoyment was revealed in their
delightful laughter and clapping throughout the piece.
It was danced and acted out by some of the most seductive and talented
male members of FreEMotion’s collective, Dale Cumberbatch, Uche Amaechi, Jeremy
Zucker, Dan Marshall and Heather Rene whose voluptuous and flirty moves captured
their hearts and all the attention. The
show closed, all three nights with a sweet Valse rendition by the Tango ensemble,
a meet-the-dancers reception with food and refreshments and a round of resonating
applause fitted for such a successful production.
The only regret, if any should be expressed, was the unfortunate lack
of sufficient advertising, as the performance was a true Latin feast!
For more information about FreEMotion/LibrEMocion Repertory Co., Inc. and their upcoming productions and/or workshops, look to their WEB site at http://www.freemotion-libremocion.org/upcomingevents.html.