Tango World Cup 2015 - tango escenario

Buenos Aires hosts the yearly Tango World Championship. There are two categories:

Tango de Pista. This is similar to the dances you’d see at a milonga.
Tango Escenario, the stage tango, which is what I’m about to introduce. The contestants perform their choreography – which is then evaluated by the judges.

But what is a choreography about? The subject of a choreography can be anything that can possibly happen with a couple. It can talk (dance) about passion, tension, joy… all presented with an incredibly wide technical repertoire, incredible speed, dynamic changes and extreme jumps. The majority of the contestants of this category come from a dancing background: ballet, jazz, etc.
So the background is the entry level, and as for the women, flashing and extreme neck-lines are a must. :)

There is a qualifying round, a semi-final and a final round just like in the other category. The tango escenario world cup is held a day after the finals of the tango de pista world cup. The venue (for both) is Luna Park. This center can hold up to 9000 spectators. Many artists and groups have given concerts in the hall. The range of activities is wide: ballet performances, box and tennis tournaments and the yearly held Argentine Tango World Cup all contribute to this multi-faced program.
An interesting fact about the world cup: entry for the finals is free, however tickets must be booked in advance. The queue is huge, everyone wants to get the free tickets! Argentina and Buenos Aires in particular send many contestants to the event, many of whom also appear in the famous Dinner Tango Show. (I also appeared in a similar show during my time in BsAs – the Esquina Homero Manzi)

It’s enough to take a glance at the list of the winners – from the first World Championship onward (held in 2003) almost all winners were Argentine competitors. There are only three exceptions: in 2006 a Colombian couple was best, in 2009 one half of the couple was Japanese and in 2012 half the couple was from Uruguay.
Luckily the amount of foreign contestants is on the rise. This year there were a number of Russian and Italian contestants.
And a Hungarian reference. Hungary has hosted a Tango Escenario Winner – Christhian Sosa! He won the 2012 world cup with a unique, exciting dance built on rhyme and melody. You can watch it here:

Now watch the winning dance of 2015! The champions are Ezequiel Jesus Lopez and Camila Alegre, a real life couple. Guess what… they too come from Argentina.

Which one do you think is better? Difficult, huh? The message and execution is very different in the two videos… We are eager to see what happens in 2016!