Review: Germán Cornejo’s Tango After Dark, Sadler’s Wells

Legendary dance director Germán Cornejo transfers the dark evening streets of Buenos Aires to North London through the art of Tango in his newest show, Tango After Dark. Brimming with desire and deceit, lust, and longing, Cornejo’s cabaret of technical dance excellence features an ensemble of sharp dancers, including the most recent Tango World Champions Nicolás Schell and Nahir Schinca, accompanied by a lively orchestra. It truly constructs the fabric of Argentina’s great city and, simultaneously, gives its audience a taste of its nightlife, despite the fact that we’re nearly 7,000 miles away across the Atlantic.  

Tango After Dark is a spectacle from its opening curtain to its close. The dancing is mesmerising, where duets float into group numbers and back to duets again to allude to an ever-changing Buenos Aires metropolis. Every dancer of the ten-strong ensemble showcases great strength and flexibility, and each movement is considered, sustained, and made to look effortless. The impressively elaborate lifts are no more impassioned than the slow turn of a head, and all moments combine to create a spectacular display. If you are even slightly compelled by this style of dance, its presentation here will undoubtedly captivate you. 

Still, the power of this Tango is truly exposed by the accompaniment of a live orchestra that remains onstage to punctuate the performance, holding full control of its tone and speed. It is fronted by two tremendous singers, Vanina Tagini and Jesús Hidalgo, who add unparalleled drama when required.  

However, it is perhaps the consistency of this drama that is missing from Cornejo’s Tango After Dark. When each meticulous element comes together on stage—once the full cast make up the steps of the city, pulsing to the beat of the orchestra and softened by beautiful vocality—the production shines, but too often Cornejo fails to make full use of the resources available to him. The show ultimately becomes not unlike a cabaret, where each couple takes a turn to perform their duet whilst the remaining able dancers wait backstage. I by no means suggest it is necessary for Tango After Dark to offer an audience a considered plot, as we are only owed glimpses of the city, but it doesn’t invent a method to unite its separate dances. 

Yet, any questions posed to this production must be far more significant than this to substantially detract from its brilliance. Each dancer is individually and rightfully celebrated in the show’s finale, as their sheer physicality is enough for Tango After Dark to truly dazzle. Experiencing the spirit of Argentina through the steps, beats and rhythms of their national dance, in Germán Cornejo’s most acclaimed show, is likely to be the closest you can feel to Buenos Aires in London today.

Director and Artistic Director: Germán Cornejo
Choreographer: Germán Cornejo, in collaboration with the dancers
Assistant Choreographer: Gisela Galeassi
Musical Director: Diego Ramos
Lighting Designer: Charlie Morgan Jones
Sound Designer: Gastón Briski
Associate Sound Designer and Sound Operator: Nahuel Delgado
Costume Designers: Germán Cornejo, Alberto Mauri & Mimi Pinzon
Wardrobe Manager: Jacqueline Aviles Díaz
Production Managers: Laura Stevens and Ian Dixon-Wilkinson
Executive Producer: Sandra Castell García
Music: Astor Piazzolla

Tango After Dark has completed its performances at Sadler’s Wells