Tango enthusiasts practise at a workshop during the International Tango Congress at the weekend. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey
Auckland has become a focus of dance romance, thanks to a tango festival that ends today.
Aerolineas Argentinas International Tango Congress, which started on Friday, attracted tangueros (dancers) from America, Europe and Australia as well as locally.
The annual festival included tango workshops, tango film screenings, a gala
dinner and a ball, held at different venues around the inner city at the weekend. On Friday the national tango championships were held, with winners in two categories winning trips to Buenos Aires to compete in next year's world championships.
Argentinian tango masters Javier Rodriguez, Andrea Misse, Daniel Juarez and Alejandra Armenti put on a floor show on Saturday.
The tango is a social dance originating in Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires, and is considered the dance of romance and love.
It has been made popular in recent years with movies such as Take the Lead, starring Antonio Banderas, centred around the dance.
Chicago, starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere, also included a song titled The Cell Block Tango.
And Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring real-life lovers Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, featured tango dancing.
The New Zealand version of Dancing with the Stars also included the tango and has seen dance studios around the country fill with budding dancers wanting to learn the style.
