by Maristela GuillÇn
Daily Lobo
Pablo Aslan said he tries to bring a flair to traditional tango.
Aslan is the director of Avantango, a group made up of the tango world's top-notch dancers and musicians. The troupe is coming to Albuquerque on Saturday.
"Expect the unexpected," Aslan said. "Anything from 'wow' to thought-provoking music, tenderness, lovely feelings."
Tango originated more than 100 years ago in Argentina.
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Aslan said tango manages to triumph as a living and social art form.
"It is an art form, such as jazz, that has changed as society has changed," he said. "I'm fascinated by the history of tango over the decades."
Aslan said he has seen an enormous appetite for tango in the United States.
"This is an art form that is alive," he said. "This is something that is still growing, that is still evolving."
He said Avantango was started around 1994 and features performances by a cast of cream-of-the-crop dancers, teachers and internationally known musicians.
He said the artists have been involved with almost every successful tango endeavor of the last few decades. He said all the dancers are experienced in traditional tango music and dance but combine their deep-rooted backgrounds with forward thinking to make Avantango unique.
"We try to be creative with everything we approach," he said.
Aslan, who is also a bassist and composer in the ensemble, said Avantango's name is a play on words.
"I came up with Avantango as in 'avant-garde' - beyond, in front," he said.
Aslan said he values an aesthetics of individualism over tradition.
A significant leader in tango's revival, Aslan has also performed with Shakira, Latin jazz artist Paquito D'Rivera, the New World Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra and world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma, to name a few.
Aslan said Avantango brings something for everyone, whether people are looking for good music or good dancing. He said the young dancers in the ensemble are performing modern tango to traditional music with a jazz improvisational influence.
He said this fusion will appeal to young and old alike.
Aslan said he wants audience members to be touched spiritually, emotionally and aesthetically by Avantango, because the impression he desires to plant in them is what motivates him.
"I am Argentine," he said. "It's my life's work. I have as much a fascination with tango as anyone else."
