Tango : la connexion française - An exhibit by Sylvia Horwitz
Join us in discovering more about Tango and its connection to France! Through the lens of Sylvia Horwitz’ professional camera, movement, grace and bodies form an elusive and dreamy trace, questioning how to represent elusory movement and art in a fixed medium.
The exhibit opens on June 17, 2025 with a reception from 6 to 8 pm. Please let us know you plan to attend by using the Register button below.
The opening night reception is free and all are welcome! Registration is not required, but please consider registering and making a $10 donation to support our cultural programs like this one. Your support allows us to continue the presence of cultural programs which benefit our whole community.
A French connexion
In the first decade of the twentieth century tango music began to arrive in Paris. Tango was born around 1880, developed in the cities of Argentina, and soon thereafter spread internationally, most notably to France. French dancers enjoyed dancing to tangos and so they asked for them at dancehalls. In response to this, Argentine musicians and dancers traveled to France, tango orchestras and groups were put together, and dancing academies were established all over Paris. Until this time tango had been regarded in Buenos Aires as a low-class dance but reports of the enthusiasm for tango expressed by French dancers quickly reached Argentina. Argentine society, which had previously looked down on tango as vulgar, began to accept and enjoy this dance from working class neighborhoods that had come back home with the imprimatur of the dancers.
The success of tango in France generated a huge linguistic traffic in words, expressions and cultural references of all kinds. Carried by tango lyrics, they spread through the Spanish language spoken in Buenos Aires. The infatuation was reciprocal; as France had fallen for tango, tango was also in love with France. Tango lyrics were flooded with French identity signs and were making references to places in Paris, to the French language and to French culture. Tango lyricists, when speaking about women, not only referred to La morocha, Estercita, Lucía or Rita but also began to mention French girls: Ivonne, Margot, Museta, Mimi, Manon, Ivette, Renée, Ninon, etc. Many Argentine tangos make reference to places in Paris: ‘‘Palais de Glace”, “Place Pigalle’’, ‘‘Montmartre’’; and ‘‘Montparnasse’’;. Argentines dance and sing, naturally, to tangos that are named “Chiqué”, “Comme il faut” and “El Marne”. There is no equivalent case in any other popular music of this time, in any place in the world, in which popular songs of one country bear titles in the language of a different country.
Ref: www.todotango.com/english/history/chronicle/469/French-in-tango
about the artist
Sylvia Horwitz, photographic artist and lover of dance, has been making pictures for more than three decades. She has lived and worked in the Middle East and Argentina as well as in the United States. Her work includes responses to historic landscapes, political issues and cultural themes. Seeking relief from the intensity of her time in the Middle East, Sylvia arrived in Buenos Aires in 2003 to study and learn more about Argentine tango. Most of the images in this collection were the result of personal visits to intimate tango dance halls using the Buenos Aires subway system to traverse the city. In both subways and dance venues she could only use the camera with total discretion. On the dance floor she met many people from France and learned how Argentine tango had been energized and spread by the enthusiasm of French dancers. This awareness would have delighted her French-Canadian mother.
To learn more please visit: www.sylviahorwitz.com
To purchase prints only: Contact the artist directly at horwitz100@gmail.com
After the opening night on June 17 at 6 pm, the exhibition will be open to visitors Monday through Thursday 9 am to 7 pm, and Fridays and Saturdays 9 am to 4 pm. The exhibition will be on display until July 19, 2025.