Book Explores the Immigrant Artist Struggle Behind the Glamorous World of the Argentine Tango; Event to Feature Discussion, Demonstration, and Open Dance Floor. A ballroom dance included on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, tango is popular in New York, where milongas—tango parlors—operate on almost every day of the week. But for all the glamor surrounding this passionate dance, its Argentine-born professionals often struggle to survive here. Their lives, and their place within Gotham’s global entertainment industry, will be explored on Friday, November 8, 2013, at 8 pm, when The National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South, Manhattan) hosts “An Evening of Tango” to celebrate publication of the latest book by Queens College Professor Anahí Viladrich (Sociology and Anthropology): More Than Two to Tango: Argentine Tango Immigrants in New York City (University of Arizona Press, 2013).
The event will begin with a roundtable in which Viladrich and two other members of the Queens College faculty, Eva Fernández (Linguistics) and Dana Weinberg (Sociology), will discuss the world of tango within the context of the arts and entertainment field (8:10 – 8:40 pm). This will be followed by an exhibition featuring tango luminary and choreographer Mayte Vicens, accompanied by leading tango musicians and dancers (8:40 – 9:40 pm). The evening will end with an open dance floor and reception that will evoke one of Buenos Aires’s milongas. Times are approximate.
“An Evening of Tango” is co-sponsored by the Roundtable of The National Arts Club and Queens College of the City University of New York. Admission is free, but space is limited; the public should RSVP to roundtable@thenationalartsclub.org. Media should RSVP to Joanne.Rodes@qc.cuny.edu or Maria.Matteo@qc.cuny.edu.