Entangled

The piece tells the story of a young couple, from their chance encounter in a train station, through different stages of desire and dependence, as the two gradually become ‘Entangled.’
At the start of the creative process the goal was not so much to portray narrative, but to explore alternative ways of using tango as a theatrical form. The vocabulary and form of Argentine Tango is conditioned by the constraints of a social dance context: the crowded dance floors, the conservative dress, the expectations inherent in a long tradition. Traditional stage tango circumvents these limitations by adding lifts, speed and drama. Entangled aims to adapt the intimacy and spontaneity of social dance forms to the stage, without resorting to acrobatics. The idea was simply to push existing movements into areas made possible by a contemporary dance training and mindset.
The result is movement that is often no longer recognisable as tango, but borrows heavily from the repertoire of leg interplay for which the dance is famous. The hooks, flicks, displacements and intertwining limbs provide a wealth of movement possibilities for a new form of partner dance. Combined with the weight and fluidity of contemporary dance, and the arm locks, combs and pretzels familiar in swing or salsa, the resulting movement is both unique and highly evocative.

“Entangled couldn’t help but get under your skin: we didn’t know where the dancers ended and the lovers began”
Keith Watson, Metro