Toronto Summer Music’s presentation in the Isabel Bader Theatre on Monday evening featured the Payadora Tango Ensemble and dance company PointeTango.  It was very much a two part show.  The first half featured typical Payadora fare; some original compositions, some arrangements of standards, all in a tango style.  And all, of course, performed with the excellence we have come to expect from this group.  The twist here was that many of the numbers were accompanied by dance by Erin Scott- Kafadar and Alexander Richardson of PointeTango.

It was an extraordinary dance performance.  Their style is rooted in tango but they take it way beyond the normal bounds of the form.  With Erin sometimes in stilettos, sometimes in pointe shoes and, on occasion, with one of each, they dance a high energy style of incredible precision.  I think it’s that precision that really got me.  Their footwork is fast, complex and super precise.  Just watching their lower bodies is mesmerizing but there’s even more to it than that.  Coupled with Payadora’s skill as a tango ensemble it was most satisfying.

After the interval we got Tango in the Dark.  This has its roots in a pandemic film project about a love affair in Buenos Aries.  Here film excerpts are combined with live music and dance and some curious LED lighting to create a continuous narrative.  I liked it a lot but found it a bit puzzling in some ways.  Sometimes there was just too much going on.  There’s a fairly complex film sequence behind brilliant dancers.  Where should one’s attention be?  Or does one just let one’s brain explode?  Curiously at least one film sequence was played twice and I’m not sure if this was deliberate.  Given some issues with the one attempt at surtitles I’m not sure.

The dance style was even more varied in this part of the programme with more balletic elements culminating in a highly athletic closing sequence.  It was impressive and drew lots of “oohs” and “aahs” from the audience but I found it artistically less satisfying than the more tango influenced earlier numbers.

Integrating the film too showed up the one real weakness of the show.  The sound system really wasn’t tailored to the Isobel Bader.  Previously I’ve seen Payadora in pretty much acoustically dead spaces like Lula Lounge where heavy amplification is a must.  In the much livelier Isobel Bader it didn’t work so well.  The piano sounded tinny, the violin was muffled and the balance was off.  I’m not sure what could have been done to fix it; maybe just mike the vocals and not the instruments?  In any event it wasn’t a huge big deal and the show was an evening well spent.

Top marks to TSM for programming another unusual show and to all the performers for some really excellent work.

Photo credits: Lucky Tang