From the Fresh Meat Archives:
Milonga Night
Written, Directed, and Produced by Lavinia Salinas
Performed by Lavinia Salinas, Irina Chapotchkina, Anne Theriault, Ivan Aleksandrov
It's a Milonga night and a few women are ready to start dancing, but the time passes and no males, but one shows up...so the individual stories of self discovery for these characters start to unfold.
Genesis of the Show:
A couple of years ago I discovered that dancing Tango was my unique way of expression. I also wanted to explore active and passive roles in society, so Tango was the perfect example. It was last June that I started learning Tango with Ivan, who showed me the real meaning of Tango, an invitation, a pleasurable movement experience open to improvisation and an electric communication with the partner…so attuned to my physical theatre performances! So, one night, on Canada Day, in a Milonga Night when we, a few women (followers) were ready to start dancing, but the time passed and no leaders (usually males) but one showed up. This inspired me to write this piece.
Lavinia Salinas (she/her)
… is an actor trained in the Method who loves to do physical and theatre dance. Her work includes representations in Spanish and English of classic and contemporary plays. She started acting when she was 12.
During the nineties she explored collective theatre with Grupo Contigo America (directed by Blas Braidot from El Galpon in Uruguay) and Physical Theatre with Martin Rios (The Night of the Assassins), and Abraham Oceransky in Mexico and performed in student productions at Florida International University in Miami, FL, US.
She performed in a community group in rural New Brunswick, and with the collective Grupo Teatro Libre in Toronto (directed by Luis Rojas). In 2017 she appeared at the Fringe Festival Toronto, (In Sundry Languages, directed by Art Babayants), and the Caminos and the Rutas Panamericanas Festivals. In 2019 she acted in new versions of In Sundry Languages and in a play: Multiple Choices that gave her the opportunity to go back to more physical and dance theatre.
From 2017 to 2019 she was engaged in several theatre, play writing and body movement workshops in Toronto. She was an Ape in Tarzan, the musical with Kanata Theatre last December and had lots of fun!
When Lavinia is not acting, she’s doing yoga, singing or dancing tango…
Irina Chapotchkina (she/her)
For Irina, Tango is a very important piece on her life, it just keeps her alive…She’s been learning Tango with Ivan for the last 3 years and she got so fond of this dance that inspired her to organize (with Ivan and Chris) the First ever Ottawa Tango Marathon “FRIENDS” this last July 2022 (https://www.ottawatangomarathon.ca/). She keeps practicing and attending Tango festivals in Toronto and Montreal, and has already started to plan the next Ottawa Tango Marathon (again with Ivan and Chris): WINTERLUDE, February 10-12, 2023.
Here are some of the words about the Marathon: "Friends, over a month has passed since the Ottawa Tango Marathon. We are still processing the experience, trying to understand and take in all that happened, nostalgically attached to these three amazing days in July. We are happy, because you told us you were happy! Together, you brought this incredible tango energy to our venue, to our city, and we continue to ride the wave of these beautiful vibes, embraces and smiles. Thank you for this gift".
Anne Theriault
... has experience creating scenography for theatre (she graduated from Sheridan College) and has been learning Tango with Ivan for a couple of years, and attending Tango Festivals and Marathons in Toronto and Montreal. She loves tangos by Pugliese and Tango Nuevo (New Tango). She also loves Milongas and enjoys dancing Tango and Milonga with her husband Jacques. She’s now an advanced student and helps beginners to practice their steps; she is also becoming a “leader” Tango dancer, a traditionally male role that 's been played nowadays more and more with females…
Ivan Alexsandrov (he/him)
… has been dancing since he was 12 years old. He started his professional dance career with a traditional folk-dance company in Russia, being a soloist on many tours, but he always wanted to understand the paired dances built on improvisation, and how to dance without staging choreography. Once he discovered Argentine Tango in 2008, it conquered him, and he realized that this is the dance he always wanted to learn. He's been studying with masters of the dance around the world ever since.
Ivan has been teaching Argentine Tango in Ottawa since 2017 and has been quickly noticed and acknowledged as a Tango teacher, performer and DJ in Canada. He is currently teaching Argentine Tango groups and private classes at ArtMotion studio in Ottawa. In the classroom he draws the attention of students not only to the technique, but also to the sensations in the body, the search for pleasure from movement and communication with the partner. Learn more about Ivan at https://www.ivanaleksandrovtango.com/.