Sexy and Breathlessly Daring

This exhilarating show has nearly got it all. The couples whirl as one at dazzling speeds. Legs entwine and escape in thrilling, agitated action as if they have a life of their own. Bodies bend and sway. Seductively cut costumes for the women project the sensuality of their movements against the sober suits of the men.
Tango Fire has toured Australia before, but this is their best show yet. The skills and character of the 10 dancers, the singer Pablo Lago and the wonderful band Quatrotango, are cleverly moulded into a very entertaining program of dance.
The first half is set in a cafe, where the tango got its start in bohemian circumstances as a social dance in Argentina. The performers sit at tables, make "conversation" as freshly as if they weren't doing it nightly on tour for months at a time, and come and go on the dance floor - with carefully timed costume changes for each new number.
The tango and its close relative, the milonga, inspire a range of dances. The traditional intimacy of two close-knit bodies combined as a unit is contrasted with breakaway sequences in which two dancers still work as one, but just a heartbeat away - fabulous to watch and very sexy.
There is rarely a solo - a brief, buoyant moment sticks in my mind from one of my favourite dancers, Mauricio Celis, as a song gets under way - but a handful of dynamic ensembles break the duet pattern.
The simulated fight for the men is amusing and well done, yet it is even more exciting to see five couples negotiate the space and each other at speed, stretching or narrowing their steps as required in perfect harmony.
After the interval the performers do their party pieces, which build to a spectacular climax in acrobatic partnerships from German Cornejo and Carolina Giannini, and Sebastian Alvarez and Victoria Saudelli. Both couples are heart-in-mouth daring in how they have developed the tango, though my favourite couple is the traditional Nelson Celis and Yanina Fajar. Yet, for me there was one thing missing: the darker side of longing in this bittersweet dance style. It can be heard in the music, but Tango Fire is visually so upbeat that it misses out in the dance. But that is not much of a complaint, is it?