A dance to entrance

For those who don’t dance in public ... a little tango inspiration at home: classic tango scenes in film, classic tango CDs and some thoughts from one of the classic tango teachers, Paul Pellicoro.

“What people like about tango is it reflects the human condition,” says Pellicoro, who’s taught the dance to everyone from Al Pacino and Robert De Niro to hundreds of students who’ve made their way through his New York dance studio, DanceSport. “It brings back the classic story of man meets woman and woman is not interested and then suddenly man’s not interested. This whole conversation, this whole classic role of male-female coming back after the androgynous ‘70s and ‘80s. To dance well, you have to be loose and fluid and just let things happen. It’s about how to play and to make things up and really be creative. Tango is probably the epitome of dancing together.”

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On screen,

on the floor

“Moulin Rouge” (2001): Director Baz Luhrmann improbably turns the Police’s “Roxanne” into a show-stopping tango of jealousy and betrayal by the club’s dancers.

“The Wedding Planner” (2001): Matthew McConaughey rehearsed for two months for his banter-filled twirl with Jennifer Lopez in a dance studio.

“Evita” (1996): As the young, wide-eyed Eva Duarte (pre-Peron), Madonna exuberantly stomps through “Buenos Aires,” the city and the song.

“True Lies” (1994): Glamorous art dealer Tia Carrere slithers against tuxedoed undercover spy Arnold Schwarzenegger, who performs with his even more comically over-the-top wife, Jamie Lee Curtis.

“Addams Family Values” (1993): As Gomez and Morticia, Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston literally set the floor on fire.

“Scent of a Woman” (1992): Blind retired Army colonel Al Pacino famously shows tango novice Gabrielle Anwar the ropes on the dance floor of a swank hotel restaurant: “No mistakes in the tango. Not like life.... If you make a mistake, if you get all tangled up, just tango on.”

“Indochine” (1992): Wealthy plantation owner Catherine Deneuve is in steely-eyed mode in a tension-filled dance with her adopted daughter, Linh Dan Pham, whose soldier lover she has had shipped far away.

“The Cotton Club” (1984): Long before his toe-tapping in “Chicago” and her convulsions in “Unfaithful,” Richard Gere and Diane Lane took a slap-happy turn on a Harlem dance floor in Francis Ford Coppola’s Jazz Age gangster tale.

“Never Say Never Again” (1983): Sean Connery’s final turn as 007 has the superspy revealing to Bond girl Domino (Kim Basinger), mid-twirl, the diabolical truth about her billionaire boyfriend.

“Last Tango in Paris” (1972): Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider drunkenly intrude on ballroom competitors as their affair comes to a tormented end.

“Some Like It Hot” (1959): “Daphne, you’re leading again,” says rich suitor Joe E. Brown during a roadhouse tango with a hilariously dispassionate Jack Lemmon in drag.

“Sunset Boulevard” (1950): “Valentino said there’s nothing like tile for a tango,” says Gloria Swanson, attempting to seduce William Holden during her New Year’s party -- at which he’s the only guest.

“The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” (1921): The first major Hollywood depiction of the tango made a star of former nightclub dancer Rudolph Valentino.

-- Andre Chautard

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10 to tango

The Rough Guide to Tango (World Music Network): A one-hour encapsulation of everything tango stands for. Culled mostly from the excellent Melopea label, it includes venerable masters (Carlos Gardel, Roberto Goyeneche) and brilliant newcomers (Adriana Varela).

The Story of Tango (Metro Blue): A fine 20-track sampling of classic tango and some of its star bandleaders (Anibal Troilo, Francisco Canaro). Tracks such as Raul Garello’s “Verano Porteno” and Sexteto Mayor’s version of Astor Piazzolla’s “Adios Nonino” underscore the genre’s shimmering, melancholy textures.

Carlos Gardel: Lo Mejor de lo Mejor (RCA): A lo-fi presentation of vintage tracks. There’s a bottomless pit of passion in the voice of Gardel -- a European immigrant who personified Argentine culture. His versions of “Caminito” and “Mi Buenos Aires Querido” are timeless.

Women of Tango (Metro Blue): It’s a macho genre for sure, but tango has enjoyed more than its share of female vocalists who outdid their male counterparts in bitterness and pathos. Just listen to Elsa Rivas perform the exquisitely titled “Besos Brujos” (Bewitching Kisses).

Tita Merello: La Merello (EMI): One listen to Merello is enough to make you fall in love with her streetwise, histrionic and occasionally crass delivery. Blossoming in the ‘50s and ‘60s, she was a tango rapper of sorts, acting out stories of the Buenos Aires barrios with venomous humor.

Astor Piazzolla: Tango: Zero Hour (Nonesuch): The classically trained Piazzolla revolutionized tango, fusing it with a plethora of outside influences and adding to it an indescribable aura of mysticism. Nothing has been quite the same since his death in 1992. This is one of his best recordings.

Astor Piazzolla and Gerry Mulligan: Summit/Reunion Cumbre (ANS Records): This unique 1974 session finds Piazzolla exploring the jazzier side of his seminal tango fusion with saxophonist Mulligan. The results are uniquely emotional, perfectly evoking tango’s inherent nostalgia. It is Piazzolla’s forgotten masterpiece.

Dino Saluzzi: Cite de la Musique (ECM): Like Piazzolla, Saluzzi is a bandoneon player who stretched the stylistic limits of tango while remaining stubbornly faithful to its original spirit. This trio session is typically abstract but offers plenty of rewards to patient listeners.

Lucio Arce: Tangos Inesperados (Senti-Mental Records, www.lucioarce .com): One of tango’s few brilliant new songwriters -- and he operates out of L.A., of all places. Arce’s hilarious lyrics revive the genre’s penchant for social criticism and savage mockery, but his melodies are infectious and hummable.

Bajofondo Tango Club (Universal International): The sound of the future. Latin rock guru Gustavo Santaolalla assembles an impressive guest list, including tango diva Adriana Varela, and reinvents the genre by fusing it with electronica. Miraculously, it works.

-- Ernesto Lechner