Tomas Galvan Gemina Herrera

Tango as a Metaphor for Life

Argentine Couple Chooses American Debut of “Earth and Fire Walking” at CV Repertory Theatre

Michelle Roe Arts & Entertainment

Tomas Galvan Gemina Herrera

A clasp of hands. An embrace. The steady rhythm of feet engaged in a precise dance that can articulate obsession.

Cue the romantic red rose placed within the lips of the lover, and the seductive tango sets the stage afire. Scent of a Woman, The Mask of Zorro, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith … movies know how to enthrall audiences with this sultry dance.

The scene-stealing tango is powerful emotion contained within graceful movement. Its enabler is dramatic music that builds to a crescendo of excitement.

Even in the mud, the emotion of the Tango dance is apparent.

According to Tomás Galván, one of the world’s most revered performers of the Argentine tango, “The tango is not just about the dance. It is a way. A way to express love and sorrow. A way to express many beautiful feelings about human nature.  It is a way to express what we are feeling, the spirit of our life, and our senses.”

Galván and his partner, Gimena Herrera, will premier Argentine tango in the United States with “Earth and Fire Walking,” May 13-15, at the Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre in Rancho Mirage.

Galván and Herrera are partners in dance, love, and life. They began dancing together 15 years ago with a shared love of tango. “We’ve experienced and learned a lot and we’ve fallen in love together, too. The tango is one special lifestyle to us,” Galván says.

• In addition to choreographing and teaching, the two have toured the globe with the show, “Identidad Tango,” which sold out in 30 Chinese cities.

• They were invited to Rome to dance before Pope Francis at his 2013 birthday celebration.

• Galván and Herrera have been featured finalists at the world tango championship, Campeonato Mundial de Baile de Tango, in Buenos Aires.

VIDEO: Tomás Galván and Gimena Herrera perform March 19, 2016.

 

The Argentine tango, a dance deeply rooted in that country’s culture, is near and dear to the two Argentine natives. Their inspiration is born of  the wild landscape of their homeland of Catamarca in Northern Argentina as well as from famed Argentinian singer and author Atahualpa Yupanqui.

Yupanqui’s stories are interwoven into the “Earth and Fire Walking” show. As Galván says, the tales express the “belief that the landcape of the world parallels the landscape of relationships.”

Galván is excited to premier “Earth and Fire Walking” before an American audience. “We want to share our Argentine culture and share these emotional feelings [through tango],” he says. “We want people to have an arts and cultural experience and feel very happy when we dance.”

Tomás Galván and Gimena Herrera’s Argentine Tango, “Earth and Fire Walking,” May 13-15, Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre, 69-930 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, 760-296-2966; www.cvrep.org

Like what you're reading? Then "Like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter.