Istanbul dances to Finnish tango rhythm

Turkish dancers sway to tunes of Guardia Nueva orchestra

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By Ayla Albayrak
     
     Last Saturday evening many Turks got their very first experience of the connection between Finland and the tango.
     "The night is darkening over the sea", sang Tuomas Airola in his dark voice on Galata Square in Istanbul.
     The event was an open-air dance - a joint effort of local Finns and Turks. The idea came from the Finnish Embassy, and it was timed to coincide with the Finnish Presidency of the European Union. The festival continued on Monday in the capital Ankara and later it moved on to Izmir.
     
Hundreds of people gathered at the base of the 14th century Galata Tower. Most of them were Turkish tango fans.
     The Finnish contribution to the event was the 18-member Guardia Nueva orchestra directed by Raimo Vertainen. Solists included Tuomas Airola, as well as Matti Korkiala, the winner of the title of Finland's "Tango King" in 1997.
     About ten Turkish couples danced on the stage, with those unskilled in the intricacies of the tango stealing glances at the more talented dancers for guidance. Salespeople in the windows of nearby businesses listened attentively, smoking cigarettes.
     
Those expecting glitz and glamour were disappointed: even some of the dancers wore jeans. A Finnish man with a t-shirt with the word Finland on it, was on stage with his wife - living proof that it is possible to enjoy the tango without mastering the complicated moves that dance schools teach.
     However, the message did not get out until the very last moments of the event, when couples other than experienced dancers left their inhibitions behind them and appeared on the stage.
     The audience was surprised when the music of the Finnish orchestra paused for a moment as if by magic: it was time to hear the call to prayer.
     What was intended as a gesture of consideration for local sensibilities, sparked both irritation and amusement among the Western-oriented audience. The organisers nevertheless felt that it would be good to respect the feelings of teh more religious residents of the area as well.
     Airola's interpretation of the tango Ballada para un loco brought the evening's first shouts of bravo. Similar reactions were heard later during Korkiala's performance.
     
"Truly wonderful! It sounds like a classic old-fashioned tango: very romantic", said Turkish cultural writer Hakki Sabancali, 52, who was in the audience.
     Sabancali recalls hearing a tango on the soundtract of a film by Aki Kaurismäki. "I wish I had found this before", he said.
     Sabancali wrote down the names of the performers, hoping to mend the gap in his experiences.
     For Guardia Nueva, which is based in the coastal Finnish city of Kokkola, the event was the second major foreign gig. Their first was in Buenos Aires.
     
Of the Turkish performers especially Sema ve Efsane Hanimlar ("Sema and the Legendary Women") got the Finns to prick up their ears. Their ornate singing differed considerably from what Finnish tango enthusiasts are used to.
     Sema, the soloist of the ensemble, put on her interpretation of Turkish tango pieces from the 1930s, originally performed by female vocalists of Turkey's First Republic.
     "I was surprised that Turkey is also a tango country. I was so inspired [by Sema's singing] that I went to buy their records", Airola said after the Finnish part of the evening concluded.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 18.9.2006

More on this subject:
 BACKGROUND: Tango - a Turkish favourite since the 1920s

AYLA ALBAYRAK / Helsingin Sanomat
aylaa@lycos.com