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Summary With a twist and dip, the World Tango Championship slide into action in Buenos Aires.
It takes more than just two to tango in this competition. Competitors in the Salon Tango category of Buenos Aires World Tango Championships-- renowned as the dances toughest international contest-- strutted away in the first qualifying rounds on Monday. The Stage Tango competition will kick off on Tuesday.Salon tango is more traditional than Stage Tango, the latter which is highly theatrical and often includes fancy embellishments, acrobatics and solo moves.Tango music is all about the love and passion the heart feels when it is broken and when it falls in love. That is what tango is to me, said Monglan Ham, a competitor from Vietnam.Hundreds of couples from all over the world are here to compete.Over a week, judges weed out their top picks and the event culminates with the crowning of the champions on two different nights - August 29 for the Salon Tango and August 30 for the Stage Tango.It is difficult, difficult because the people dance here a lot. Compared to the people here and the Argentine tangueros, we are just beginners, Colombian competitor Augusto Villa said.Tango traces its roots to the brothels of the poor districts of Buenos Aires in the 1880s.Its international popularity has taken off in recent years and thousands of tourists now flock to the Argentine capital to watch the heated battles between the worlds top dancers and join in the World Tango Festival, which also offers free performances, tango classes, conferences, films and book launches.
