Malena: Between Freedom and the Embrace 

What happens when tango meets contemporary dance? This question was posed by Nomad Tango, the Santa Barbara and Buenos Aires–based nonprofit, dedicated to the preservation and evolution of tango as a social and performance art. The result — this time — is Malena, a collaboration between Maestra Fernanda Ghi, tango legend from Buenos Aires currently living and teaching in Boston, and the brilliant scholar-choreographer Meredith Ventura, founder/director of the Selah Dance Collective (see review here). 

Santa Barbara dance aficionados may remember the first Nomad Tango–sponsored collaboration, a sold-out performance at SOhO last November. Alejandra Folguera, founder of Nomad Tango, and Rodney Gustafson, founder of State Street Ballet and co-founder of Nomad Tango, presented Gustafson’s graceful and acrobatic Bolero, followed by the sensual, powerful Corporación Tango from Buenos Aires in a stunning concert that left everyone wanting more. 

More than merely sharing the same program, for their next collaboration, Folguera and Gustafson wanted the tango and classical styles to dance together, to create a piece that “lives in the liminal space between tango and classical dance — a space where both languages can coexist in their full purity … to breathe together … intertwining but never dissolving into one another,” Folguera explained. She asked, “What happens when you truly need to speak to each other, to say something together? It feels like evolving from the toddler stage of ‘parallel play’ to a more mature state of true collaboration.” 

And so Malena was born: a dance-theater production in three acts that explores the tension between the need to break free of social constructs and the deep human need for connection and belonging. 

In Act I, Malena dances tango in the old style, feeling confined, longing for freedom. In Act II, Malena breaks free of the confines of the tango embrace and dances by herself, and in Act III, she returns to the embrace, but dances a new kind of tango — one that allows both freedom and connection.

There are two Malenas — one dancing tango, the other contemporary — who “embody two different planes of reality, with the different Malenas only coming together at the end,” explained Ventura.

‘Tango’ Malena (Acts I and III) will be danced by tango legend Fernanda Ghi, dancing with her partner Silvio Grand, a tango legend in his own right. Grand has performed all over the U.S., Europe, Buenos Aires (of course), as well as in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. 

Award-winning tango dancers Martin Almiron from Buenos Aires and Russian-born international champion Zoya Altmark will also be performing in the first and third acts.

Martin Albiron (left) and Zoya Altmark | Photo: Courtesy

‘Contemporary’ Malena will be danced by Rachyl Pines, a member of Ventura’s Selah Dance Collective and Nebula Dance Lab. Incidentally, Pines also holds a Ph.D. from UCSB in Communications.

Act II will feature the Selah Dance Collective. Selah is a very special company, both for the high quality of its dancers and its spirit of cooperation. Ventura explained, “Our company has a very specific vision and energy, so it takes a special kind of dancer and person to join our little collective! All of the dancers have a say in who joins (it’s not unilaterally my decision) but it’s important that everyone feels comfortable and engaged with working together.”  

I asked Folguera and Gustafson how they brought together these two giants in their respective fields, Buenos Aires–born Fernanda Ghi from Boston and Santa Barbara’s Meredith Ventura?

Folguera met Ghi in 2018, and describes her as, “without question, one of the best teachers you can have.” After discovering Ghi’s work as a choreographer, she knew she wanted to bring her choreography to Santa Barbara audiences. 

When Folguera posed the question to Ghi, “What happens when classical meets tango?” her response was Malena.  “She immediately recognized that the tension between these two characters lies in the constraints — dancing within the embrace versus dancing freely,”  said Folguera, which was why Ghi was the obvious choice for the next tango-classical collaboration.

From left: Rachyl Pines rehearsing as Contemporary Malena with Selah Dance Collective at UCSB, August 17, 2025; Working together: Selah dancers lifting Brenna Chumacero, passing her over their heads. Rehearsal at UCSB, August 17, 2025. | Photo: Jatila van der Veen

Gustafson has known Ventura for many years — she was on staff at the State Street Ballet Academy — and feels very strongly that she has talent as a contemporary choreographer. “I just felt she was the perfect fit for this collaboration,” he explained.  Folguera echoed his sentiments, saying that Gustafson has always spoken so highly of Ventura — “her talent, her vision, and her incredible capacity for organizing.” But, she added, “It was her work on Palermo! that truly blew me away and convinced me she was the one.”

In her prospectus for this show, Ghi described Malena’s journey: “Malena, the protagonist, embarks on a journey of self-discovery where her body becomes liberated, connected, and transformed through the music of tango and contemporary dance.” 

Ventura’s research examining the role of female archetypes in performance, and her Ph.D. research exploring the use of the grotesque in 20th-century dance, particularly 1920s and ‘30s cabaret, put her front-and-center as the obvious choice to create the contemporary Malena.

The musical landscape for Malena promises to bring the audience along with the dancers on a bold and provocative journey. Acts I and III will feature music played by Orquesta Color Tango and Quinteto Revolucionario, the official quintet of the Astor Piazzolla Foundation. For Act II, Ventura has chosen music by American composer Dustin O’Halloran and German-born British composer Max Richter, including sections of Richter’s “Four Seasons Recomposed,” a fascinating re-working of Vivaldi’s original. (Listen to excerpts here.) 

Nomad Tango, in its support of the Santa Barbara dance and music community, started an annual award in 2024 — the Order of the Sacada — “an award that celebrates those who inspire us, lift us up, and create space for art and community. Named after the tango step where one dancer enters the space of the other, it’s about making room where none seemed possible,” said Folguera. The first recipient last year was Rodney Gustafson. This year’s honoree will be Spencer Barnitz (Spencer the Gardener), who has been a deep supporter of Nomad Tango and embodies the spirit of Santa Barbara. Barnitz will receive this award after the show on Saturday, September 6, followed by a question and answer period with choreographers Ghi and Ventura. The audience is invited to stay for a milonga (social gathering with dance) at 9:30 p.m. in the Lobero Courtyard.

In addition to presenting Malena at The Lobero, Nomad Tango is sponsoring two workshops for tango dancers with Fernanda Ghi and Silvio Grand on Saturday, August 30, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-4 p.m. in Santa Barbara, and an evening excursion to the Tango Room in Los Angeles. Information is available on their website. 

On Sunday, September 7, Nomad Tango is sponsoring one of the hottest tango quintets in Buenos Aires today: El Cachivache Orkesta de Tango. “Tango Punk” band El Cachivache will play from 5:30-10 p.m., at a location to be disclosed. Get a taste of their music here.

Santa Barbara, we are in for a treat. A fascinating show with spectacular dancing and compelling music, the opportunity to learn from tango legends Fernanda Ghi and Silvio Grand, and a dance party with music by one of the hottest quintets in Buenos Aires today. Click here for tickets and information about all the upcoming Nomad Tango events.