More than a performance, it’s a vibe, a scene, a community. A tango performance, of the highest caliber, with choreography by artistic director Agustina Videla. Accompanied by a live quartet on stage, the dancers whipped and flowed through intricate, fast-moving footwork, dips and twirls, and that amazing flick of the lower leg that’s unique and endemic to tango (if you’ve seen it, you know it). […] The company also invites local tango dancers on stage wherever it appears […]. It was a powerful way to emphasize the ability of dance in general, and tango in particular, to unite people with varied backgrounds, cultures and life (and dance) experience.

[…] the aim of Social Tango Project is to invite audiences to explore this form of dance and highlight the sense of community and belonging it can provide. You may walk into a tango club as a stranger, but chances are good that you will leave with friends. […] Agustina Videla recreates a traditional milonga on stage. The ten professional dancers on stage perform intricate foot movements, complemented with lifts, jumps, and kicks. The music is largely poignant and emotive, accentuated by traditional instruments including a bandoneon, double bass, guitar and piano. The singer’s velvety vocals are the perfect accompaniment to the soulful music. Where Social Tango Project really shines is in bringing the dance back to its roots and original meaning.

[…] The company was joined by a group of local dancers who acquitted themselves with skill as they performed with Argentine professionals. The action stopped just short of frenzy when individual couples stepped, with vigor, into the spotlight. It was fascinating to see dancers of all ages and skill levels take such evident pride and joy in their tango prowess. […] The wonderful Social Tango Project brought the form back to its political and aesthetic origins: it is a dance designed to unify and uplift participants and audiences.

In their hands, tango creates a meeting place. They welcome us into the performance with a storyline, and we can see a current of friendship and color and energy take hold and change someone’s life. […] The story held that sense of the pressure of the outside world, its isolation and cold angles, and the warm community in the places where people dance. […] you can find yourself thinking, when we have hope in the world tonight, this may be what it looks like.

When a wonderful company like Social Tango Project makes its debut Jacob’s Pillow it is extremely easy to just go, sit back, and revel in the prodigious partnering, the shimmering dancing, and the beautiful music. […] From the moment this quartet of musicians began playing, one knew one was in for a feast of brilliantly played tango music. And they did not disappoint.

An initiatic journey to the heart of tango.

This is a beautiful audiovisual experience in the broadest sense, which attracts audiences from different spheres — photography, dance and cinematic documentary — and provides an exquisite glimpse of a world of fascination with movement and the personal metamorphosis it can produce.