Forget about Niles and Daphne doing that tangy tango at the Snow Ball on “Frasier.”
At the Old Town School of Folk Music, on a cuttingly cold night, a beautiful woman — dark and mysterious — boldly steps across the floor, pushing herself just inches from her partner, who beams and moves back, back, then takes her hand and spins her. He is beautiful too — slender and pale, his hair slicked back in that fashion so familiar to artists and poets and other men who imagine themselves romancing women in smoky cafes and late-night taverns.
She likes him a lot, you can tell. “I asked him out,” she says. “We went out to Bossa Nova on our first date. We found out we could dance together. We stayed up to watch the sunrise.”
He likes her, too. “I was surprised how good she was — she’s incredible,” he says. (He’s young — 26 — and it’s not entirely clear that he understands his luck.)
On the dance floor, she looks at him. He looks at her, too, most of the time. The music has a kind of staccato rhythm, a ferocity to it. It’s not rock, not folk. The band is called Montage. Their business card says they play “flamenco pop.” The lead singer’s name is Tom Kimball. He sings in Spanish. Then he breaks into an old Italian favorite, “Volare.” The guitar players attack their instruments as if they were playing percussion.
“I take flamenco classes,” says the beautiful woman. Her name is Marissa Zagone. “I understand that, in flamenco, they don’t consider you a dancer until after 40, because of life experience, and I’m going to be 35 this year. I used to dance and I retired. But I love to dance.”
Fabrizio Lenoir, the beautiful man, has no formal training. “I learned from watching,” he says. “My mother is Costa Rican. She dances, not professionally, but — my! — does she dance!”
This night, they’re the unexpected centerpiece of the Old Town School of Folk Music’s Wednesday night pena. In Latin America and Spain, penas are places where poets and musicians, and lovers of poetry, music and dance, gather to share and have a glass of wine. At the Old Town School, there’s a choice of beverages. And there are delicious, spicy empanadas, or meat pastries, as well as cheese-stuffed arepas.
It’s the Old Town School’s second season of penas, and this is the season’s debut celebration. The school will showcase the Wednesday night penas through April. Often a musical style that’s taught at the school will be spotlighted. For example, the Valentine’s Day, pena features guarani music, with participation from the school’s “Guitarra en Espanol” and “Latin Rhythms for Guitar” classes. The best part is, it’s free.
Other proposed pena themes include Brazilian Carnaval, salsa estudiantinas (tunas), tangos, boleros and Tex-Mex. Performers include Roberto Arce, Lenny Marsh, Orquesta Ache, Sones de Mexico Ensemble, Raices de Ande and Orgullo Tejano.
This flamenco night, it’s Zagone’s first pena, ever; Lenoir can’t fathom how many he’s been to in his mother’s native Costa Rica.
“I only began flamenco dances in September,” says Zagone. “But, god, I love it. I’m a convert, a complete disciple!” She’s also a brown belt in the martial arts.
Lenoir’s been dancing since grade school, dancing to whatever’s been playing. “I started break dancing,” he says. “Then I did some house, some salsa.”
The notion of dance lessons seems to amuse him. “If you know all the moves, but don’t have the attitude and the charisma, it doesn’t mean anything. You can do the steps — one, two, three — but if you don’t put in a little cha-cha-cha, it doesn’t mean anything.”
Everybody’s telling them how wonderful they are. Lenoir laughs. “I don’t think we need to dance to have that fabulous energy,” he says.
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Rhino in Winter, the cold season counterpart to the sunnier Rhinoceros Theater festival, takes place for the next two weeks at various performance spaces in town. Rumor has it some shows are filling up fast. Don’t count on cold weather to keep people away. If you have any intentions of attending any of the performances, call ahead for reservations. Fest producer Beau O’Reilly can be reached at 312-327-6666.
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The After Hours date book
Wednesdays, after 10 p.m., penas, Old Town School of Folk Music, 909 W. Armitage Ave. Free. Call 312-525-7793. The Old Town School is wheelchair accessible.