ARMADA'S “TANGOLU MARKETS” and TANGO IN TURKEY - MILONGA

Why December 11th?

Because Carlos Gardel and Julio De Caro, two of the legendary names that shaped Tango in the world, were born on December 11th, albeit in different years.

Carlos Gardel, born on December 11, 1890, shaped tango music and dance with the tango pieces he wrote and sang, and added romanticism to the moving rhythm of tango. Initially considered a subculture, a street music, despised and rejected by socialites, Gardel's naïve personality, velvet voice and emotional compositions brought tango into the elegant and glittering dance halls, where it was embraced by the elite. The movies he starred in made both Carlos Gardel and tango famous worldwide. On June 24, 1935, the plane he was on for a tour crashed in Colombia, killing Gardel and all his orchestra members. Gardel recorded 770 songs, 514 of which were tangos, in his short life of 44 years. “Adios Muchachos” (“Goodbye Friends”) is known as the last song of Carlos Gardel before the plane crash that killed him. No one dances this tango in Argentina out of respect for the master!

TANGO and MILONGA AT THE ARMADA

It was a gift of the Republic that women and men could dance with each other in our country, apart from folkloric dances, and in Istanbul culture, dancing was most often done to tango accompaniment at balls. By the 90s, the tango, which had lost its former speed, continued to be diminished in narrow groups. In 1995, Armada gathered these Tango groups from various parts of Istanbul and aimed for them to dance together. Armada also welcomed workshops and dance competitions organized by national and international tango groups and became an institution almost synonymous with tango. For example, in this context, the “10th Anniversary Celebration of Tango at Armada” was held in 2004. Armada prepared certificates and special commemorative plaques for those who completed their 10th and 5th years in tango and milonga groups. The plaques and badges were designed by Filiz Vural, designer of URART. (See: https://vimeo.com/102307443 )

 Repeated every weekend, “Tango Sunday Evenings” broke new ground in Istanbul. Tango evenings, which started with the dance of dance teacher Ümit İris and his partner Seval Uğur, turned into weekly tango festivals with the participation of other tango lovers and lasted for years. Milonga Nights started to be organized by TangoTürk in Armada on Monday evenings and still continues. Serdar Sungar continues to manage and coordinate this event...

The esteemed dance teacher Ümit İris was well known for his dances for TRT television in the 80s. Iris was the first name that comes to mind when it comes to partnered dances in Turkey, giving dance lessons to many actors in Yeşilçam movies. He was the one who opened the first dance in “Sunday Evenings with Tango” at Armada with his valuable partner Seval Uğur. Unfortunately, we lost Ümit Iris in 1986.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of scientific studies and publications on tango in Turkey... In this context, it would be remiss not to mention the academic contributions of the esteemed Prof. Dr. Ertruğrul Sevsay and his latest book on the subject.Ertuğrul Sevsay (1954), a medical doctor and artist from Istanbul, graduated from English High School and Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty. Sevsay studied composition, music theory and piano with Cemal Reşit Rey and oboe with Celal Akatlar. In 1977-1981, he conducted the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra he founded, and in 1980 he went to Vienna and graduated from the Vienna Higher School of Music, now known as “Vienna University of Music”, where he studied composition and conducting. Sevsay also completed his residency in internal medicine with a focus on gastroenterology and hepatology in Vienna. Between 1985 and 1989, Ertuğrul Sevsay completed his master's and doctorate degrees in music at the University of Miami, where he also taught composition and music theory. He also worked on combating alcohol and drug addiction. Around that time, he published a book titled “The Music of our Republic: Turkish Tango ©” at the time. The following interview with Prof. Dr. Sevsay in K24's Book Supplement may be of interest to tango lovers: See: https://www.k24kitap.org/ertugrul-sevsay-ile-soylesi-necip-celal-andel-turk-tangosu-ve-istanbula-dair-4057

MAY DANCE NEVER BE MISSING FROM OUR LIVES...