New York, NY, June 25, 2014 – Shall We Tango NYC, New York City’s first international tango festival from October 7-13, 2014 has launched a Kickstarter campaign. The popular crowd-funding website will be used in order secure additional funding for the festival, which will include concerts, dance performances, art exhibitions, tango dance classes, tango dance practicas, theatrical performances and a gala show and milonga.
Shall We Tango NYC is part of the Pan American Musical Art Research, Inc.’s (PAMAR), 30th anniversary celebration. Founded in 1984 by Uruguayan pianist Polly Ferman, PAMAR’s mission is to bring Latin American culture to the United States. “When I first came to New York, I realized how much audiences enjoyed my Latin American repertory, and I realized that I had the chance to either keep that success to myself or help to open doors for other artists from Latin America. I founded PAMAR to help support Latin American artists flourish in North America.”
Shall We Tango NYC will feature some of the biggest names in Argentine Tango including dancers Leandro Oliver and Laila Rezk, and Facundo Posadas and Ching-Ping de Posadas and musicians Daniel Binelli and Eddy Marcano.
Leandro Oliver and Laila Rezk have been performing and teaching Argentine tango for over 15 years and began their careers with two of the biggest tango shows “Tango X2” and “Una Noche de Tango” and have been members of some of the most prestigious Argentine tango companies including Copes Tango Copes, Tanguera and Tango Emocion, and Misa Criolla. They also are official jury members of the Tango BA Festival Mundial and have been judges on competitions in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Facundo Posadas is an icon in the world of Argentine Tango and travels the world to share the roots of this dance by teaching milonga and candombe as well as tango. Grandson of Don Carlos Posadas—author of more than 40 tangos, Posadas has participated in tango shows and festivals around the world since the age of 18 including Folie Tango Festival, Encuentro con los Grandes Festival, Reno Festival, Hamburg Festival, International Congress of Argentine Tango, and Miami Tango Fantasy Festival. His partner, Ching-Ping de Posadas, a native of Taiwan, was trained in classical Chinese dance and performed with the famed Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, Asia’s leading contemporary dance troupe. In 2007 she fell in love with Argentine Tango and began intensive studies with Posadas, who made her his professional dance partner in 2010 and with whom she now performs and teaches all over the US.
Considered the torchbearer of Astor Piazzolla’s work, Daniel Binelli in his own right is a bandoneon master. A director and composer, Binelli has composed seven original concerts and has been the musical director for many important tango shows including “Tango Metropolis,” “Tango y Noche” and “Tango X2.” He also worked with classical guitarist Eduardo Isaac and recorded music with many orchestras around the world. Since 2000, he and pianist Polly Ferman have created their own duo, playing works by great Latin American artists such as Piazzolla, Cobian, Ginastera, Ariel Ramirez, Rene Vargas and Cluzeu Mortet. They have also recorded several albums together as well as with orchestras of Latin America. Together they have toured extensively throughout the world.
Eddy Marcano, a Venezuelan violinist is known for his diversity and clarity of music. A soloist and chamber musician, Marcano is also an ambassador for Venezuelan folk music. He has toured extensively and performed as a concert soloist with some of Venezuela’s most important orchestras, and his inspiring folk music performances have been acclaimed in international festivals in Europe and Latin America. Marcano is a Music Envoy to UNESCO for the creation of children’s orchestras in Honduras, Mexico, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Guatemala and a professor of violin at the Conservatorio Simón Bolívar in Caracas. He has performed in various prestigious music venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Smithsonian Institute.
Shall We Tango NYC will also celebrate the Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player, Anibal Troilo as part of the worldwide centennial celebration of Troilo. The author of more than 60 tangos, Troilo was known as the “the bandoneon mayor of Buenos Aires” and his most famous student was Astor Piazzolla. On October 7, Shall We Tango NYC kicks-off the festival with a special tribute concert to Troilo featuring Argentine bandoneon player and former member of Piazzolla’s New Tango Sextet Daniel Binelli, Uruguayan pianist Polly Ferman, the Colombian Quinteto Leopoldo Tango Federico and Argentine dancers Dardo Galletto and Karina Romero.
The seven-day festival will also included tango classes at Dardo Galletto Studios taught by New York City based teachers as well as master classes with Oliver and Rezk and the Posadas.
Other festival highlights include a tango film festival featuring a documentary about Anibal Troilo’s life, tango music jam sessions, dance performances, art shows, and theatrical performances. Festival attendees will also have the opportunity to speak with festival artists at a panel discussion held at Dardo Galletto Studios.
The festival will culminate with a special gala tango show that will include Ferman’s all woman GlamourTango ensemble, performances by Oliver and Rezk, Posadas and Ching-Ping de Posadas and Dardo Galletto’s New Generation Dance Company. A gala milonga (an open-level social dance) with live music under the director of Daniel Binelli will follow late into the evening.
Finally, the festival will wrap up with ¡Viva Piazzolla!, a musical tribute to Astor Piazzolla lead by Venezuelan violinist Eddy Marcano along with his musical ensemble.
For a full schedule of festival events, visit www.shallwetango.com
The Festival runs from October 7-14, 2014 at various venues throughout New York City.
About Pan American Musical Art Research, Inc.
PAMAR (Pan American Musical Art Research) is a 501(c) (3) organization, founded in 1984 in New York City by Uruguayan born pianist Polly Ferman. It has taken significant steps toward establishing itself as an artistic resource center by promoting awareness of and appreciation for the cultures of Latin America through sponsorship and presentation of multi-disciplinary performances and events to a broad audience of all ages, and racial, cultural and economic backgrounds in the tri-state area, in collaboration with local arts and culture organizations. PAMAR’s mission is to share the rich cultural heritage of Latin America and the Latin American diaspora by showcasing dance, film, music, literature, theater, visual and performing arts, representing or influenced by Latin American culture, and by doing so, providing increased exposure and performing opportunities for Latino artists.
To learn more about PAMAR, please visit www.pamar.org
About Shall We Tango NYC
The mission of the “Shall We Tango NYC” festival is, in recognition of PAMAR’s 30th anniversary, to promote Latin American culture through a series of world-class Tango events at some of New York City’s leading theaters and institution. This year the festival will honor acclaimed Argentinean bandondeon player, composer and musical arranger, Anibal Troilo’s legacy of work. The goal for the Shall We Tango festival is to Promote Tango, educate the population on the diversity of tango and strengthen the international tango community.
To learn more about Shall We Tango NYC, please visit www.shallwetangonyc.com
