The Tango in the United States: A History - Softcover

Groppa, Carlos G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786446811 ISBN 13: 9780786446810

Publisher: McFarland & Co, 2009

Synopsis

In the earliest years of the twentieth century, North American ballroom dancers favored the waltz or the polka. But in the 1910s, a new dance, the tango, broke onto the United States scene when Vernon and Irene Castle performed it in a Broadway musical. Rudolph Valentino, Arthur Murray, and Xavier Cugat popularized it even more in the 1920s and 1930s, and thousands of people were crowding dance floors around the country to hear the music and dance the tango. This work chronicles the history of the tango in the United States, from its antecedents in Argentina, Paris and London to the present day. It covers the dancers, musicians, and composers who were promoting it, and the tango's influence on American music. Chapters are dedicated to Vernon and Irene Castle, Rudolph Valentino, Arthur Murray, Xavier Cugat, the Big Band and jazz singers who incorporated tangos with English lyrics into their repertoires, Juan Carlos Cobian, Osvaldo Fresedo, Francisco Canaro, Carlos Gardel, Astor Piazzolla, the influence of World War II on the tango, portrayals of the tango in the movies and ballet, and the tango recordings of Gerry Mulligan, Gary Burton, Al Di Meola, Yo-Yo Ma, and Julio Iglesias, among many other topics.

About this title

Review

"definitely a book that should be on every tango enthusiast's bookshelf"--The Tango Times; "charts a century of American interest"--C&RL News; "indispensable"--Ciberlunfa Nro; "investigates why the tango has persisted in the American consciousness"--Dance Teacher.

From the Back Cover

In the earliest years of the 20th century, North American ballroom dancers favored the waltz or the polka. But then a new dance, the tango, broke onto the scene when Vernon and Irene Castle performed it in a Broadway musical. Rudolph Valentino, Arthur Murray, and Xavier Cugat popularized it in the 1920s and 1930s, and thousands of people crowded onto dance floors around the country to hear the music and dance the tango. This work chronicles the history of the tango in the United States, from its antecedents in Argentina, Paris and London to the present day. It covers the dancers, musicians, and composers, and the tango's influence on American music.

Edition details

• Publisher: McFarland & Co
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0786446811
• ISBN 13: 9780786446810
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 239