They probably did at least 10 different types of dance, and they were all fantastic. I was too busy enjoying to get snapshots of all they offered, but I did manage to snag a few clips to give you all an idea of the evening's entertainment. The shows ranged from beautiful to silly to sexy and everything in between!
On Friday night, a friend's dad was playing in a Flamingo band at the local brewery, so of course I had to go check that out! Apparently the brewery does concerts every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month. If they're anything like the one I saw this week, I'm most definitely going back!
The group was made up of a flutist, a guitarist, a stand up bass, a drummer and two singers/percussionists. The flutist and the female singer took turns getting up to show off their dance steps in traditional Flamingo style!
This was definitely the first time I had ever seen Flamingo music or dancing live, and until last night, I had been under the impression that it is exclusively a female dance. Boy, did the flutist prove that wrong!
The whole show was a riot of sharp percussion beats and haunting melodies. Flamingo is a truly beautiful and wildly energetic form of music, which kept us all enthralled and cheering loudly for the entire show. The fact that they give you 5 free beers with the $10 cover, and you only have a couple hours to drink them might have also helped ensure a properly festive mood!
After so much energy, there was no way we could call it a night, and it was soon determined that we would all head across town to a bar that I had yet to visit, but which turned out to be my new favorite. It's only been open a couple years, and is situated in a large old house, complete with an open air patio at the back. Compared to the other places I've been to dance in the city, this was incredibly spacious. There was a main dance floor about the size of the entire Tibiri bar, and several adjoining spaces that could be utilized by the dancers. The house atmosphere meant that there were also several side rooms where one could simply sit and enjoy a drink without being overrun by the more energetic members of the crowd. I have a feeling I will definitely be ending up there more than once in the months to come!
After a full night on Friday, Saturday proceeded rather slowly, but a friend had recently discovered a bar/restaurant that presents live tango music and dance every weekend. He'd already made reservations for Saturday, so despite the once again ominous skies, we headed out to the Patio of Tango in what is not exactly the best neighborhood in town. Hoping out of the taxi, we took our reserved table directly next to the stage, and sat back to enjoy another evening of live entertainment.
I apologize for not having good pictures or video of this particular event, but given the location, I wasn't particularly tempted to carry my camera around. My friend did manage to snap a few photos on his phone to give you a blurry picture of the place, but you'll just have to take my word for the fact that this was also a wonderful evening.
The performance shifted between the core musicians (who looked like they'd had an instrument in their hands for at least 50yrs each), the announcer/singer, two different pairs of dancers, and a pair of musicians visiting from Argentina. Much of the music was very traditional, and my friend and I were the youngest audience members by at least 20 yrs. However, one of the dance pairs were of the younger generation and they danced to more upbeat, modern renditions of the traditional songs. The couple from Argentina were truly fantastic and sang heart wrenching ballads filled with emotion and technical mastery.
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