Photo by BIlly Kingsley
Professor of History and resident tango expert Simon Collier's latest book
is a colorful illustrated history of Buenos Aires' gift to the dance floor.
by Jamie Lawson
Just a few blocks
from Music Row, a British academician researches dance moves you won't find on
Second Avenue.
He travels worldwide to lecture about Argentina's gift
to the dance floor. He is a member of the National Academy of the Tango in
Buenos Aires and boasts a vast tango musical library.
Meet Vanderbilt's tango expert ‹ Simon Collier,
director of Vanderbilt's Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies.
Collier, who is also a professor of history, is
co-author and advisory editor of "¡Tango!". Described by Collier as a "serious
coffee table book," "¡Tango!" was released last fall by the London-based
publishing company Thames and Hudson. Co-written with three other authorities on
the oft sensual and exotic Argentine dance, the book is unique among its English
counterparts in that it is an illustrated history, says Collier. French and
German translations have also appeared.
Lavishly filled with color photographs and featuring a
striking cover, the book tells the story of one of popular culture's most
distinct dances. Even its title begs to be annunciated with an exotic flair.
"I do believe it is the most exciting form of
popular dance," says Collier, who attributes tango's survival to the quality of
the dance and its music.
Tango emerged during the late 1800s and early part of
this century in the poorer parts of the booming metropolis of Buenos Aires, says
Collier, whose section of the book covers the birth of tango from the 1880s to
1920s.
"The story of the tango is closely linked with the
story of the city [of Buenos Aires] at a time of great expansion when large
numbers of immigrants were pouring in," Collier says with a British brogue. "It
illustrates the kind of cultural developments that can flow from places where
populations mix."
Buenos Aires is a port city, and Collier likens it to
other musical birthplaces such as New Orleans, Liverpool and Memphis.
Although tango mania peaked in the 1940s, the dance
continues to garner interest in the United States and internationally, Collier
says.
In the United States, the East and West Coasts and
Chicago are hot spots for the tango, says Collier. In Argentina, many youth are
taking tango lessons in renewed interest in a colorful part of their past.
Collier, who joined Vanderbilt in 1991, says his
interest in tango began as a hobby about 20 years ago but is now one of his two
main research areas. He continues to research the history of Chile, the South
American country he has lived in longest. A book on Chilean history is coming
out this year.
Collier makes interesting comparisons between
Nashville's musical offerings and tango.
During the dance's golden age of the 1930s and 1940s
many Argentinians' livelihoods were tied to the music and dance, just as country
is big business for many Nashvillians, he notes.
In addition to the striking dance of the tango, the
lyrics to tango songs are not to be overlooked, Collier says.
"They are like little poems that are quite clever and
often revolve around melancholy subthemes," he says, just as country songwriters
often deal with lost love and bad luck.
Collier's book has already attracted much interest in
Paris and London. Since its fall release in the United States, Collier says he
has received calls from reviewers across the country.
Collier's introduction to the realm of tango literature
was a book he authored in 1985 on Carlos Gardel, the most famous and best-loved
tango singer of the 20th century.
"That sort of established me as a figure in the tango
world," he says. "I can only describe that as just enormous fun."
Although Collier admits to being a very poor tango
dancer, his love for the dance and its music is evident. He continues to lecture
about the tango internationally.
"I actually enjoy talking about it partly because it's
an opportunity to play records," he says. "And it's a fun subject."
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