Tango: The Art History of Love (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Here at last is an antidote to those trite coffee-table books that treat the tango with purple prose. In language no doubt inspired by the lyrics of its subject, this serious volume examines and celebrates the cultural history of the famed Argentine dance, conveying its real passion and the author's passion for it. Thompson, the renowned Yale Africanist and art historian, convincingly evokes the often-obscured African roots of the dance, whose name comes from the Ki-Kongo word for "moving in time to a beat." He then explores the tango's relationship to cakewalk and ragtime, Cuba's habanera and Rossini's operas, along with the mutual admiration between the father of tango, Carlos Gardel, and the tenor Enrico Caruso. Thompson tells the stories of tango's composers and performers, from the female composer Eladia Blázquez to poet and lyricist Jorge Luis Borges. Hollywood versions of the dance pale once Thompson begins to mine the riches of tango's rhythms, lyrics, philosophy and steps. He explains the sinuous figure-eight footwork of ochos, the boleo circular leg thrusts and the dramatic corte y quebrada cut-and-break steps that mimic the real-life emotional combat of relationships. There may be too much detail for generalist readers, and even devotees will need to pause to digest all of the information given. Still, for fans of dance, music and cultural history, this is the real deal. B&w illus. (Sept. 30)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Thompson . . . inflames us with his reverence for the form.” –Mikhail Baryshnikov

“Thompson helps us understand the way artistry and ancestry combine to make an art form of the body.” –The Washington Post


"Elegant. . . . Uplifting and timely. . . . Thompson rescues tango from a one-dimensional tristesse, mining in its working-class origins emotions of defiance, freedom, self-control, humor, love, and redemption." –Foreign Affairs

"[Thompso treats tango as narrative art, literature and way of life. . . . By extensively tracing the lines of this 'rich suite of moves,' Thompson's work gives a dance started in the early 1900s the weight of a centuries-old form." –Newsweek

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (December 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400095794
• ISBN-13: 978-1400095797
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #443,922 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The philosophy, anthrpology, religion and art of the tango revealed, March 12, 2006

By	D. Donovan, Editor/Sr. Reviewer "California B... (California, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Tango: The Art History of Love (Hardcover)

Robert Farris Thompson is a Yale art historian who here tackles not art but the artistically-defined world of tango, the dance of the past hundred years which evolved from 19th century European and even African origins to come to Hollywood. His isn't just a musical, dance or art expose: it embraces anthropology, religion, philosophy and more as it seeks an in-depth understanding of not just the dance but its cultural expression in TANGO: THE ART HISTORY OF LOVE. A gorgeous survey of a much-revealed form of expression.

18 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Intellectually Dishonest, Factually Inaccurate, July 5, 2007

By	Lux et Veritas - See all my reviews

Although Thompson's book has a veneer of academic research, it is merely an attempt to promote the position advocated in his other books: Thompson alleges that much, if not most, of the elements of culture for which (mostly European) white societies are credited was "stolen" (that is, copied without credit) from black (in most cases, African) societies.

In "Tango", Thompson, a professor of African art (he has no qualifications either in dance or in Latin American culture) makes two arguments: a general, deductive one and a specific, inductive one.

His deductive argument is essentially "white men can't jump". That is, he reasons from effect and concludes that tango must have been stolen from blacks because it is improvised, and everyone knows that white people can't improvise. White people must have structure. That's why, Thompson says, just as classical music is "white" music and jazz is "black" music, ballroom and ballet are "white" dances, and tango is a "black" dance.

Thompson's inductive argument is based, in large part, on a list of people he has compiled, and who he claims are variously the world's greatest tango dancers, singers, composers and musicians. All of the people on Thompson's list are black. Thus, he alleges, he has "proved" that tango was co-opted from blacks.

Assuming that Thompson's list of the "greatest" has some validity, that would not prove that white people stole the tango from the individuals he selected, much less from any other blacks who didn't make his list.

If Thompson's argument were correct, that would also mean that golf was stolen by the Scottish from African-Americans, because Tiger Woods is black. (I suppose that's his next book.)

In addition to numerous factual inaccuracies, Thompson credits various performers with originating something, and then charges the famous Argentines who introduced and developed the moves with having merely copied them. There is no evidence supporting his allegations other than Thompson's argument by fiat. His proof consists of "because I said so".

Finally, some of Thompson's arguments are just plain fatuous. In interviews, he's stated that there is something called the "break" in tango. And, Thompson says, everybody knows who invented break dancing! In addition to the patent obtuseness of this remark, Thompson also misses the point that, since tango predates break dancing, he's really putting forth an argument that blacks stole break dancing from tango dancers.

Similarly, Thompson points out that tango dancers move counterclockwise around the dance floor. And everybody knows that in African culture, moving around counterclockwise is a way of obtaining a long life! Thompson ignores the fact that all ballroom dances move counterclockwise, including those he has labeled "white" (e.g., waltz and foxtrot).

Those of Thompson's arguments that aren't completely backwards or based on false statements are non sequiturs. As an example, he mentions that some Argentines tie red ribbons to the harnesses of their horses. Lo and behold, red is a color considered to have mystical properties in Africa. Therefore, there is an unacknowledged connection between African superstition and Argentine culture. And - here it comes - this is somehow taken as evidence that the tango was also stolen from Africa. Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

The fact that the Chinese consider red to have special powers, as do Jewish cabbalists, is ignored, as is the fact that, even if some aspect of African superstition had made its way to Argentina, this does not provide any evidence that any other aspect of Argentine culture, such as the tango, also came from Africa.

Unfortunately, Thompson's Yale affiliation has afforded him a soapbox and an unmerited presumption of accuracy in his work. If you want an accurate history of tango, you would do better to refer to one of the so-called "coffee table" books, such as the one by Collier. They may be glossy, but at least they tell the truth.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommend this for dancers interested in more than the steps., October 20, 2007

By	C. Castell (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book was recommended to me by a fellow Tango student. It seems to be one of the best out there for those whose dancing has lead to intellectual curiosity about the Argentine culture, politics, and music. This understanding contributes to how I dance Tango today. As I learn new dances, I hope to get beyond being mechanically competent, to dancing this Tango from some inner place. This is one of those books that is helping me get there.

There is a very good section on the "how-to" of the dance which will be helpful to dancers with some experience. Beginners will need a little floor time to recognize and absorb the instructions.