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Forwards in Heels (2024)

Director: Juliet McMains  

Featuring: Liliana Chenlo & Virginia Vasconi  

Music: Miguel Caló | 3m 23s

 

 

Forwards in Heels (Avanzar en Tacos)
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It is often said that “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in heels.” This statement is meant to call attention to the underrecognized skill and labor of female partners of renowned men. This film not only celebrates the undervalued labor of women who dance in heels, it proposes that women can do anything once considered only a man’s job, including leading tango, and they can do it in heels. In other words, women can do these jobs even when the difficulty level is increased (such as, for example, when their center of gravity is thrown out of alignment by 3-inch heels) and they don’t need to adopt masculine aesthetics to succeed. This portrait features Liliana Chenlo (the first woman dancing the so-called man’s role to enter and place in Argentina’s World Tango Dance Championships) taking bold forward steps in her leopard print heels partnering Virginia Vasconi, who skillfully maneuvers backwards (and forwards) in her caramel satin heels.

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