Tango Tangents

Tango Tangents was a program of musical and literary works presenting aspects of the broader culture of Tango, in Argentina and internationally, from a feminist perspective. My role in the project was as lead artist/investigator, convenor, director and performer. This project grew out of my interest in the spread of Tango culture as a colonial and postcolonial artform, sparked by research undertaken for a previous Practice as Research project, Instability Strip (2010). I assembled a group of collaborators including experts on Argentinian and contemporary Tango culture and specialists in contemporary storytelling and performance. The program, presented under the banner of The Sunset Sisters with special guests Tango Mundo, included new interpretations of works by Jose Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar and Luisa Valenzuela in the original Spanish and/or in new English translations, plus new original works in English, with text and music by Alison Richards, Faye Bendrups, Jackie Kerin, Ella Filar and Guillermo Anad (for details see below). My Research Question was, 'how might the scope and contemporary relevance of Tango culture be introduced to an Australian audience, from a woman's point of view'?
My status as an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Theatre and Performance at Monash University is listed in the program for the event (attached). Documentation including programs for subsequent manifestations and a DVD with performance footage is also available on request.