MALEVO amazed and captivated the audience Saturday, Sept. 28th with their return to the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. The Argentinian all-male percussive dance group lit up the stage with their modern approach to Malambo, a traditional Argentinian folk dance. Originally performed by Gauchos, Argentinian cowboys of the Pampas grasslands region, Malambo is traditionally a challenge between two gauchos where the men take turns exhibiting their dance skills. In the native Pampas language Malambo means to gallop, and the dance is known for its non-stop rhythmic footwork with stomps and brushes thought to imitate a horse. Led by director, choreographer and dancer Matías Jaime, the performers of MALEVO have been named Cultural Ambassadors of Argentina.
And what a sensation they were! The evening opened with a swell of a violin like the whinny of a horse, and twelve performers charged the stage as the lights came up. Bare chested with tight black pants and heeled boots, each dancer carried his own bombo legüero drum slung across his body. Immediately the room was alive with the driving rhythms of the performers’ drumming, the men lifting their drumsticks in unison to make geometric shapes in the air. They danced with their drums, pivoting their legs, stepping low to the ground with sensual intensity and snapping their heads with an unmatched confidence.The drumming intensified until they began beating not only on their own drums but also reaching down to the ground and up to others’ drums in stunning synchronicity.
As the music slowed, a man without a drum appeared on stage stomping rhythms and kicking high into the air. He commanded the space, chasing the drummers off the stage until he was alone. As he brushed the floor like a horse, scuffing his heels and creating elaborate cadences, we got to experience the true bravado of MALEVO. Standing erect with his chest puffed out and arms held strong at his sides, his legs twisted faster and faster underneath him in a thrilling display of technique. The audience erupted at each pause in his dancing but soon fell silent so as not to miss a single beat.
Eventually the entire cast flooded the space. Unencumbered by their drums, they filled the stage with even more elaborate patterns and footwork. Two groups moved in synchronized opposition, battling and circling each other and taking turns with the rhythm. Throughout the performance the dancers would shout to the audience or holler to cheer on their fellow performers, and there was an authentic energy under the intensity of the performance.
The music and lighting perfectly highlighted the dancing. The dancers were backed by four musicians which lined the back of the stage in four spotlights: a violinist, two drummers (one of which also played guitar) and a man who played the bandoneon, an instrument similar to an accordion. It was hard to guess what was created first, the music or the choreography. The instrumentals perfectly matched the rhythms of the dancers' footwork and the music and movement flowed as one.
MALEVO at the MAC; Photo by Fabian Uset
The lights were also unified with the movement. They flowed from red to blue to gold, making use of spotlights and sometimes pulsing to the beat or painting the dancers in a striking silhouette. Yet these bold lights never distracted from the dancing and only added to the immersive, explosive energy of the performance.
There were moments of quiet wonder too. As the cast left the stage, a dancer entered wearing a scarf tied like a bandana around his collared shirt and what looked like leather chaps over his pants. A true Gaucho, he wielded two boleadoras, Argentinian lassos, which consist of a rope with a weight at the end. These were no ordinary boleadoras though – they were lit with red light and glowed in the semi-darkness. In the silence the audience could hear the ripple of lassos as the Gaucho circled them through the air, and the rhythms made as they hit the floor. There was a magic power to the Gaucho’s image as he mesmerizingly swirled the boleadoras around his body and expertly synchronized them to look like wings behind him. He was a mythic hero as he built anticipation for his final moment, captivating the audience with his accelerated technical prowess and power.
The next act also called back to the history of Malambo. Four dancers appeared onstage wearing flowy white pants with fringe at the ankles, black hats tied at the neck and bare feet. They brushed with pointed toes, flicked their feet and scuffed their heels to a swaying guitar ballad. The fringe pants added to the grace of their movement, as did their belts, which twinkled with the sound of coins. There was a sense of pride in their movement as the dancers revelled in the beauty of cultural tradition. Near the end there was a moment of silence where we only heard their breathing, coin belts and bare feet on the ground, and the audience became wrapped in the spirit of Malambo as the first act came to a close.
The second act can be summed up as delightfully thrilling, cultivated perfectly so that the performance only got more impressive. The performers danced in every combination, such as a trio with one drumming, one wielding a lasso and one showcasing rhythmic footwork, and a duet where two men stood back to back barely missing each other with the circles of their lassos. They brought out scarves which they swirled around them, shorter lassos that swung overhead and whips that cracked on the ground. There were also musical solos where we got to really appreciate the musicians, including a tango between the guitarist and the bandoneon player and a lively drum duet with one drummer on the drum set and another playing the standing drums. The violinist also got in on the fun, showing off his own footwork while simultaneously playing.
The real showstopper was when the entire cast brought boleadora lassos onstage, which they swung through the air with almost impossible synchronicity. The audience erupted with energy as the dancers jumped, spun and kicked high into the air while coordinating their lassos so the pendulum of each would arc and hit the ground in perfect time. Moving with strength and fervor, the music and footwork pulsing with energy, the performers had a thrilling push to their triumphant finish.
And even after a standing ovation MALEVO continued dancing, spinning their lassos and even holding them between their teeth in an unforgettable encore. Standing in front of the audience for their bows, the dancers seemed genuinely proud and humble, even taking a ‘selfie’ with the audience in the background. It was clear there was a true joy and pride in getting to share their culture, a joy that was reciprocated by the audience. MALEVO showcased a truly spectacular evening of dance that honored history and celebrated culture while delighting the audience with a modern spectacle of technical prowess.
For more information on MALEVO, visit malevogroup.com.ar/
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