Seduced by Tango :: Canned

An anonymous reader said they received direct communication from the producers that the project has been shelved due to lack of funding.

Look for a new documentary film, which is currently in the pre-pre-concept stage...

It's called "fuckedupintheheadbytango"...a film by roberto alejandro leovigildo de jesus curbelo...

Seduced by Tango :: Ms. Laura Tate [repost]

Interview :: [Embedding disabled by request]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQcS5Gp6HFM

Demo with Orlando Paiva, Jr. ::

Tango Seduction :: Raquel & Walt

These guys are homesteaders in a remote/rural/small town...thanks to Niki for finding this one...

Interview ::



Demo ::

Seduced by Tango :: Brenda y Michael

No interview (it's optional)...only a dancing demo...

Seduced by Tango :: Brian & Deb of Boulder

Here's their interview for the Seduced by Tango/Tango Seduction documentary for PBS...

I love Brian & Deb. I only had the opportunity to take a few classes with them, and have only danced with Deb like once. They have a great thing going in Boulder, Colorado. They also bring Gustavo y Giselle Anne in for an intensive workshop in the summer - July I think.

Here's their website :: www.danceoftheheart.com

Interview ::



Demo ::



A vals in Copenhagen ::

Seduced by Tango :: Patrick "Shoaf" Gray

I like this guy. He's got personality. He's got great camera presence. The awkward waiting for the song to get to the spot where he is to start singing is classic.

One correction to one thing he mentions, it's not to be "produced", but "hosted" by Robert Duvall.

Here is his singing audition tape for "Seduced by Tango".

Seduced by Tango :: David Caditz & Lisette Perelle

Here's their audition demo...the camera operator could have choked back on the "woohoo" at the end...

Tango Seduction :: Seduced by Tango :: Doug and Noemi Currier Interview

Of Burlington, Vermont...



Links and such ::

www.seducedbytango.com [Invitation/casting call - submit your videos and info here...]

www.tangoseduction.tv [Same as above but with links to www.tangoseduction.org, which is not a live website at this time...]

www.icpmedia.org

www.tangoseduction.info

Laura Tate Interview

John & Katie Singletary Interview

Edwin Roa & Amberlynn Sasser Interview

Lyn from Bulgaria Interview

Tango Seduction :: was "Seduced by Tango" :: PBS Documentary

Here is a video interview with Director/Producer Catherine Tatge of ICPMedia, Executive Producer Tom Montgomery, and Bunny Tavares Coordinating Producer/Station Relations (from www.tangoseduction.info)

It appears that this piece was produced to distribute to PBS stations around the country and for fundraising purposes.

It also appears that they are now officially calling the production "Tango Seduction" and not the original name "Seduced by Tango".

It's disappointing that they are continuing the tango stereotypes in this piece, and then theoretically in the final production. For example:

"Tango is the vertical expression of a horizontal desire."

"I did things I'd never done before. Things I couldn't repeat with anyone else."

"From the brothels of Buenos Aires...tango's rich and scandalous history..."

"With the power to make friends of enemies..." ? WTF?

Besides these, everything else looks pretty good - on track with the overarching community goals of accurately portraying social Argentine tango to the world. Although I don't think they ever use the term "Argentine Tango" in this piece.

I do like their "mission" statement (paraphrasing): "Breaking down barriers between peopl...through dance (tango)..."

I do like Bunny's narration that "each individual is searching for an emotional connection...".

And I like their final statement: "we don't know what it is about tango, but we want to find out..."

Apparently Pablo Veron is going to conduct "workshops" (auditions?) in Paris, Berlin, New York and Tokyo. I suppose this is in addition to the YouTube casting call to the general public.

Then there is to be a "final workshop" - where the "best" couple from each city - will be selected to attend the "International Tango Festival" in Buenos Aires, "where they will fulfill their dream to dance in the birthplace of tango..."

And don't forget that it will be hosted by tanguero Robert Duvall.

It's interesting to watch a production like this develop. I'm sure they will do a fine job.

Stay tuned....


Links and such ::

www.seducedbytango.com [Invitation/casting call - submit your videos and info here...]

www.tangoseduction.tv [Same as above but with links to www.tangoseduction.org, which is not a live website at this time...]

www.icpmedia.org

www.tangoseduction.info

Laura Tate Interview

John & Katie Singletary Interview

Edwin Roa & Amberlynn Sasser Interview

Lyn from Bulgaria Interview

These are the only videos on YouTube that come up in searches "seduced by tango" and "tango seduction". I suppose there could be others without titles or tags, or possibly even private videos for people wanting to remain anonymous.

Seduced by Tango

A new interview...John & Katia Singletary...Executive Chef & Day Spa owner...Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina...



Here's the poop ::

Seduced by Tango :: Winter/Spring 2009 Release Producing organization: Tatge/Lasseur Productions. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: preproduction, fundraising. Budget: $1.3 million. Host: Robert Duvall. Talent: Pablo Veron. Producer/director: Catherine Tatge. Producer: Dominique Lasseur. Composer/music supervisor: Tom Montgomery. Writer: Glenn Berenbeim. Coordinating producer: Bunny Tavares. Contact: Bunny Tavares, bunny@ tavaresmedia.com, 831-462-6004. Program explains why tango is not just a dance but a refuge, a way of life and a philosophy. Tango artist Pablo Veron prepares dancers for a pilgrimage to Argentina. The producers are soliciting dance couples on website: www.seducedbytango.com

Seduced by Tango :: PBS Documentary

Here's some new info I ran across...

Seduced by Tango :: Winter/Spring 2009 Release
Producing organization: Tatge/Lasseur Productions. Episodes: 1 x 90 (HD). Status: preproduction, fundraising. Budget: $1.3 million. Host: Robert Duvall. Talent: Pablo Veron. Producer/director: Catherine Tatge. Producer: Dominique Lasseur. Composer/music supervisor: Tom Montgomery. Writer: Glenn Berenbeim. Coordinating producer: Bunny Tavares. Contact: Bunny Tavares, bunny@ tavaresmedia.com, 831-462-6004. Program explains why tango is not just a dance but a refuge, a way of life and a philosophy. Tango artist Pablo Veron prepares dancers for a pilgrimage to Argentina. The producers are soliciting dance couples on website: www.seducedbytango.com

Seduced by Tango :: Interview #3 :: Lyn

http://www.seducedbytango.com/

P.S. This one was posted last August, so my numbers do not reflect the actual numerical order in which they are posted, but rather the order in which I find them and post them...thanks in advance for understanding...

Seduced by Tango :: Interview #2 :: Edwin & Amberlyn

http://www.seducedbytango.com/

Note that I'm not going to get into posting the dance "audition" videos. You can look those up for yourselves. I'm going to stick to the interviews. I will keep posting them for a while, just out of curiousity.

It's also interesting that the Interview video is listed as "Optional" on the producer's website. It seems to me that is the most important - or at least the most interesting. Wouldn't you still have "character development" in a documentary? At least in one like this where you are essentially doing an open casting call similar to American Idol or Survivor.

Seduced by Tango Documentary :: Interview #01 :: Laura Tate

After I read about this documentary, I did a search on YouTube and found only this one video/interview. I think she is the first person to upload her interview to YouTube.

It's well done - casual, "down home" (e.g. no fancy editing or anything), sweet, real, and from the heart. I think she represents the Argentine tango community well. Very well.

Here it is...interview with the divine Miss Laura Tate...or is it Mrs...?

I have already forgotten about Sabrina Masso...and I'm thinking about moving west...again...my second ex-wife was a California girl...(grin)...

Also, as is the case most of the time with YouTube, the audio track and video are not perfectly synch'd...compression algorithm issues...



And once again, here is the link to the documentary website :: http://www.seducedbytango.com/

Seduced by Tango :: Documentary Film in production

Brought to us by Oleh in his post on Tango-L...
They stole my idea! That's what I get for thinking a thought and letting it float around there in metaphysical space for months on end.

I had pretty much this same idea a year or so ago - I was going to do a one man production - very low budget documentary - traveling around to festivals and soliciting volunteers - dancers/couples to talk about tango - and optionally have them dance to their favorite song (or two). I got stuck on the crux of what exactly about tango I would have them talk about - "how did they first get into it?" - "why is it so addictive?" - "their best tango secret/story?".

I still have never arrived at what the theme of the film would be - because I wanted it to be different. I wanted to try to capture the uncaptureable on film - "The Perfection of the Perfect Connection" - and beyond.

Jorge Luis Borges said it best..."The tango can be debated, and we have debates over it, but it still encloses, as does all which is truthful, a secret." It is that secret of tango that I ponder. It is the "fundamental truth of the universe" aspect of tango that intrigues me. The one that everyone experiences, everyone feels, but no one can verbalize. If you can't teach a feeling, then how can you explain it? How can you document it on film? That's my conundrum.

The last time I thought of it, I was going to just start doing interviews and let the theme evolve. I even went so far as to start asking around about production/funding help when I was back in Aspen last December. I ended up with one or two names.

Oh, well. You snooze, you lose. Good idea, Alex, m' boy, but lacking in the execution. It's all good though. Perhaps someday I will still create my own documentary.

It appears that they are off to a good start - with Robert Duvall as the host. I'm not so sure about this casting decision - "Starring Pablo Veron". I'm not sure he is the best representative for "what social tango is all about" - which appears to be what the film is themed around. I suppose it may have been the commercial considerations driving that decision.

It has been picked up (apparently) by PBS. It's in pre-production. They are asking for everyone who is interested to provide an interview video and a dancing video - uploaded to YouTube and then uploaded to the producers.

The website says that chosen dancers will go to Buenos Aires - expenses paid - for one week in early 2009 for filming. That's a good sign. It won't all be filmed here in the U.S.

The one demerit from me is this, they are saying it's okay to do your dance video "to any music". This means they will get every yahoo out there in nuevo and ballroom land submitting videos. They should/could have narrowed their focus, and reduced the number of video submissions they will have to review, by narrowing the focus of the music to "Golden Age tango, vals, or milonga, from a recognized orchestra, from the 1920's through the 1950's...." I personally believe that this is the music that more properly represents "social" tango.

But, my guess is they will also touch on nuevo tango in the PBS special, and possibly tango fusion/collision with modern dance, if/when someone submits that.

I like their idea to have people videotape and submit their own videos. They don't have to move an inch in this initial phase - and then they can pick and choose a shorter list of those they want to interview and film dancing on "film".

One problem with this is that they might miss some really good dancers, really good representatives of "social" tango, and some really interesting characters who may not care to submit on their own. A woman I once danced with comes to mind. She is an astrophysicist - double PhD's in Particle Physics and Plasma Physics - entering the French astronaut program - and a dream to dance with. My connection with her was "out of this world", "interstellar". Some of you may know her. Perhaps it as it should be.

Anyway, Here is the website :: http://www.seducedbytango.com/

Check it out.

Postscript...from the website...

About Seduced by Tango
is a feature-length documentary hosted by Robert Duvall and intended for PBS broadcast -- follows acclaimed Tango artist Pablo Veron as he works with non-professional dancers from around the world. Each of these dancers is from a different culture, each has a different story to tell. Although their differences might be profound, Tango is what unites them as they work together toward a common goal: to perform tango at a milonga in Buenos aires,the birthplace of Tango. Along the way, we will come to understand the dramatic history of Tango as dance, music, and a metaphor for human connection.

??? I should have read more before I wrote my post. Based on this description, it's not quite the documentary that I was thinking. It sounds like they are selecting "social" dancers from around the world and having Pablo prep/choreograph them for a non-social performance. I don't get it. Do you? ???

So never mind, they didn't steal my idea after all. It's still out there floating around.

I'm sure there will be lots more to post on this subject in the coming months.