DIVERSECITY KLIAF2017- CHE MALAMBO

Yours truly was immediately mesmerize by the heart pounding beat and amazing footwork of the Che Malambo when I first saw them practising before their showcase at NuSentral, and I knew I just had to watch the show.. Naturally, as a red blooded woman, I was also thrilled to see plenty of macho, good looking Latinos.. please pardon me, I might be married and old, but I am not dead yet, and I am also not blind, so if I see pretty girls and good looking guys, I still appreciate the eye candy it affords me… hahaha

Anyway, this team of 12 men are brought directly from Argentina. Che Malambo will definitely excite audiences with their precise footwork and rhythmic stomping, drumming of the bombos (drums made with hollowed tree trunks and furry goat leather) , singing and whirling boleadoras (lassoes with stones on the end).

Malambo is a peculiar native dance that was born in the Pampas somewhere in the 1600s, and executed only by men based entirely on just rhythm…

The malambo dancer is a master of tap dancing wearing gaucho’s boots. Among the most important malambo moves are: ” la cepillada” (the foot sole brushes the ground), “el repique” (a strike to the floor using the back part of the boot) and the ” floreos”. Malambo dancers’ feet barely touch the ground but all moves are energetic and complex. Together with tap dancing, malambo dancers use ” boleadoras”…

Throughout the history of dancing there are two main traditional elements always present: clapping of palms and tapping of feet.

Malambo is very much a dance the gauchos would challenge one another with, trying to best their opponents in feats of stamina and skill.

It is dance with tap dance-like movements, each associated with a certain musical metre, combine to form the “figures”. Composed of taps of the toes, soles and heels, pauses on the balls of the feet, and lifts and twists of the ankles, a malambo performance at the highest level will include more than 20 such figures, divided up by repiqueteos – toe taps at a pace of no fewer than eight per second – requiring enormous responsiveness in the muscles. Each side has to be mirrored, a right-foot figure immediately repeated, identically, with the left foot, so that a dancer of malambo needs equal precision, strength, speed and elegance on both sides.

Zapeteo, their fast paced footwork, is inspired by the rhythm of galloping horses in their native Argentina.

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Anyway Che Malambo is a powerhouse all-male company of 12 gauchos, ranging from 19 years old to 42 years old.. is directed by French choreographer and former ballet dancer, Gilles Brinas, and brings fiery Malambo traditions and virtuosic dancing to the contemporary stage for an exhilarating and entertaining show that is perfect for the entire family.

My mini me and I were definitely mesmerized by the dancers at their show at the DBKL Auditorium, and one of them had an amazing voice, which he showcased singing some Latin songs and surprised the audience with a single paragraph of ‘Getaran Jiwa’ before shouting out ‘Selamat Malam Malaysia’ and ‘Buenas Noches’. And yes, these guys are just super hyper energetic, passionate and super talented. I doubt I can do even 5 minutes of what they did and remain standing…