One of the most beautiful
definitions of tango, which avoids the sadness often associated with it, is by Leopoldo
Marechal: "The tango is an infinite possibility". And nothing could better
express this than the personal interpretation of tango by Oscar Benavidez, whose
choreography shows extraordinary fantasy in joining the traditional with the modern, and
by bringing classicism to the " sentimiento", new ways of expression.
Benavidez, the artistic name of Raul Oscar Chiappolini, was born in 1944 in Lomas de
Zamora, a suburb of Buenos Aires, from a family from Friuli (Italy). He gained a master's
diploma in Buenos Aires, and then worked with the most prestigious tango artists, from
Tito Luciardo to Troilo, and from Mariano Mores to Astor Piazzolla.From Buenos Aires,
Oscar Benavidez left to dance the tango all over the world - Teheran, Stockholm, Mexico,
Holland, London, Paris, Tokyo - faithful not only to the popular soul of tango, but also
to his huge capacity to communicate emotions in different contexts and situations. He was
principal dancer in the first and second world tours of Juan Carlos Copes, he travelled
the length of Italy with Giusti di Roma's company and has given exhibitions in Paris on
the Eiffel Tower.
He has also danced in more unusual circumstances - at the Sanremo Festival of 1966, with
the Orfei Circus in a world tour, and on the Achille Lauro cruise.
In 1987, he was honoured with the choreography for
the Pope's visit to Argentina. Not forgetting his numerous appearances on the televisions
stations of many countries - France, Brazil, Porto Rico, and lately on the Italian Rai 2.
Among the many stops of his long career, Oscar Benavidez came across the riviera of
Romagna (Italy), and for more than 10 years, he has been happy to live nearby, in
Montecolombo. And so to prove that tango is indeed an infinite possibility, on the hills
of Romagna he found another tango great, the master Héctor Ulises Passarella. Such a
happy coincidence could not but bear good fruit, as was seen in the latest concerts
"Homage to Piazzola" held under the direction of Ulises Passarella of the
Valconca Festival Orchestra, where Oscar Benavidez, giving yet another proof of his great
interpretative capacity, danced with Paola Pedrosi to the music of Piazzolla. |
