You have probably seen a tango dance in your life, but you most likely don’t know the history behind it and why it’s such an important cultural practice for Argentina!
This week we are hosting the annual tango festival and championship in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. The festival hosts an audience of local dancers and guests who come especially from all over the world to the largest and most important tango festival in the world.
There are different competitions in this, the first is improvised dance when the competitors are required to improvise dancing to unfamiliar music and the second is choreographed stage tango. Also, there’s dozens of music and dance productions, great quality shows performed by famous artists, the best bands’ performances, and unique tango events for children and for the next generation of dancers.
You may be wondering what makes tango so special, well, that’s because it features an eclectic mix of cultures and customs, and it is a result of Argentina’s unique diversity. Argentina is home to immigrants from England, Poland, African nations, and much more, and this mishmash of cultures eventually resulted in the tango dance and music.
The word “tango” or “tambo” appears around the turn of the 19th century to describe music and dance events organized by slaves. So back then, it was not considered “high class”, but this changed as the dance and music expanded beyond borders and made tango one of the most influential dances in the world!
Have fun learning!
