The culture of tango runs through his blood, and, although he mastered the most traditional tango thanks to the example of his father, the teacher Juan Carlos Copes, Johana he always rebelled against certain patriarchal characteristics of the century-old genre. Thus, from that search for equality in dance, she was born 15 years ago “Lady´s Tango Festival Worldwide“, the first tango festival inspired by and dedicated to women, created by Johana, which will take place from Wednesday 6 to Saturday 12 March, within the framework of Women’s Month, with its official headquarters in Buenos Aires and in the cities of Rosario, Necochea and Zárate.The event can also be seen digitally from stages in Brazil, Italy, Colombia, the United States, Greece, Japan, Mexico and France.
News: How did the idea of a festival dedicated to women come about?
Johanna Copes: It has to do with my life experience, I got into tango from a very young age, I knew the environment, at 14 I went on stage because my dad asked me for a partner to represent the new generation, I danced in jeans. I realized that the roles of women and men were very marked, the classes were dedicated 70 or 80 percent to the role of driver and the role of women was lacking, I lacked a reference, a teacher. Tango was very macho, the man was the protagonist, the one who ruled, the one who decided. The “Lady’s” was transformed into a festival led by women, for both roles and for all genders.
News: How do you see women in tango today?
Cups: Today we can see women driving and men following, at the festival you can choose which role to play, you can’t say “the men over here, the women over there”. My dream is that in the future the festival will be a great celebration in homage to tango women.
News: How is the reception of the industry before your proposal?
Cups: I met super grateful people, enthusiastic about the proposal, about the decentralization of tango. I am not the first person to give technical classes for women, I went little by little, looking for the place, at first there was resistance from the environment, but the woman began to be the protagonist, now we returned to equality, I was a great promoter of that change, I am very proud of it, I feel like a reference, I work a lot for that. Tango needs diffusion.
News: In a note with NOTICIAS, Mora Godoy said that there was a lack of state support for tango, what do you think?
Cups: Completely, there is a lack of support from the state for culture in general, not only tango, unfortunately Argentina has an economic cut with culture. It would be good if the artist is valued a little more. anyway, cI believe that Mora Godoy was very helped and works a lot with governments, if there is someone who could not complain, it is her, precisely.
News: Is there competition in the world of tango?
Cups: I don’t think so, I invite many leading women, I worried a lot about that. Today I am a social dancer, I love learning from the new generationIt seems wonderful to me how the new tango communities move. One constantly learns. The cliché of tango already bores me. Today it is much richer.
News: Your dad came to see this transformation that you faced, what did he say?
Cups: We worked together for a long time, from 2000 onwards, he gave me the opportunity to be his assistant choreographic director, he left me alone with the choreography, I was 21 years old. I have always been passionate about what I do, he infected me with that. At the age of 16 I started going to the milonga, I already had my little group, they were my first outings related to tango, regardless of what I could learn from my father, and when I came back I showed him the newest music and other questions where you can innovate. In “Copes tango Copes”, I proposed to make a picture in which there was an exchange of couples, women with women, men with men, it was not seen at that time and my dad loved listening to everything I brought him to continue breaking paradigms.
News: What anecdotes do you remember from when you rubbed shoulders with the elite of tango since you were a child?
Cups: I had no conscience, Milena Plebs and Miguel Ángel Zotto, who danced together, came to my house every day, she is now a teacher at “Lady’s”, we have known each other for so long. Robert Duvall also came to my house a lot. I remember in 1986, I went to see Goyeneche, who appeared at the Lola Membrives and I heard him warm up his voice in the dressing room and it scared me, but the moment the Pole came out to sing I was hypnotized.
News: You have a 13-year-old daughter, does she like tango?
Cups: No, his art is more about drawing.
News: It was recently a year since your father’s death, how are you doing?
Cups: It’s life, I lived so many things with my dad, what I miss is my partner, but I have nothing pendingI did everything, I had such a beautiful relationship with my dad, we understood each other, we fought too, each one defending his own, I stood up to him, I like to defend myself, fight for equality, he was the teacher but for me he was my dad. I was always an equality worker and so was he, he learned and adapted.
News: Do you think it was properly recognized?
Cups: He was recognized all over the world, very popular, very loved, very respected. When he retired because he couldn’t dance anymore, with all that he contributed to the professionalization of tango, he felt that he deserved a more important retirement. He was a man of Argentine history, he did a lot for tango, he opened a path. He deserved that retirement that would allow him to be financially calm. He invested everything he earned in new shows.
