There are few more evocative sounds than the lilting refrain of a accordion striking up the opening chords of a tango.
From the moment the musicians who make up the band Quatrotango sway into Tango Fire’s opening number Don Juan, the mind and feet are swept away into a dark and giddy Argentinian night.
Ignore the dodgily showbiz title: Tango Fire is a shot of the hard stuff. Artistic director Carolina Soler and the top quality tango artists she’s gathered under the Estampas Porteñas banner keep the glitz to a minimum and let the dance do the talking.
And the language is passion, each duet a mini drama, sexual electricity crackling at the twitch of a hip.
In a second half that sizzles with stand-out couplings it’s a touch unfair to pick out a winner but German Cornejo and Carolina Giannini ripping into Astor Piazzolla’s Zum is true heart in-mouth stuff. And it’s here that Quatrotango come into their own too, with masterly interpretations of modern tango classics.
If there’s a rider to all this raving, then it’s that the group numbers don’t cut as stiletto-sharp as the individual numbers. But that’s a minor carp: Tango Fire breathes a bit of Buenos Aires exotica into the dusty heart of Holborn. Keith Watson
Until Sep 29, Peacock Theatre, Portugal Street WC2, Tue to Sat 7.30pm, Sun 5pm, Sat mats 3pm, £15 to £38 (limited availability). Tel: 0844 412 4300. www.sadlerswells.com Tube: Holborn
Estamapas Portenas: Tango Fire
Peacock Theatre
Portugal Street, WC2A 2HT
