2666 tango olympics
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 14:28:09 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango@FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: tango olympics
The athletes of the world are in Athens competing for gold, silver and
bronze medals. Tango dancers of the world are in Buenos Aires competing for
the world title in stage and social dance categories.
Qualifying rounds began August 14. The semi-finals were held and finalists
have been chosen to compete on Saturday and Sunday in the finals.
The venue for the competition is a large auditorium in the Centro Cultural
San Martin on Sarmiento. A large dance floor was set up in the center of
the room, and the stage was reserved for performing orchestras.
The rules of the competition were established by the Association of
Teachers, Dancers and Choreographers of Argentine Tango, a local
organization that does the judging for the city-wide competition and
organizes the classes throughout the local festivals.
Judges for the Tango de salon semi-final round on Wednesday were Celia
Blanco (teacher and owner of Lo de Celia Club milonga), Luis Tarantino
(tango radio producer), Juan Belsito (dancer since the 1940s), and Ernesto
Balmaceda. Judges on Thursdays were El Gallego Manolo (canyengue teacher),
Olga Besio (teacher), Corina de la Rosa (teacher), and Carlos Borquez (stage
performer).
Sixty couples were selected during from the qualifying rounds in the salon
category on Sunday and Tuesday. Six rounds of ten couples competed in
the semi-finals on Wednesday and Thursday before the two judging panels.
They danced three tangos of various orchestras which were announced at the
beginning of each round.
Countries represented in the competition were Portugal, Mexico, Japan,
Italy, Colombia, Venezuela, Spain, Brazil, South Korea, Chile, Hungary,
Germany, Switzerland, Paraguay, Uruguay, United States and Argentina.
The couple representing South Korea were selected for the finals, as well as
several from Japan, but the couple from the United States (Houston) was
eliminated as well as my favorites from Italy. One couple from the milongas
made it to the finals. Finalists range in age from 20-75 years.
The finals of the stage competition take place on Saturday night featuring a
concert with Susana Rinaldi and Maria Nieves. The salon finals take place
on Sunday night in Estadio Obras Sanitarias in Nunez with a concert by
Orquesta de Tango de La Ciudad. First prize in each category receives
$3,500 (pesos). www.tangodata.com.ar
Pichi de Buenos Aires
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 17:45:11 +0000
From: Jay Rabe <jayrabe@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: tango olympics
Will videos of performances be available?
J
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 14:09:25 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango@FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: tango olympics -- the first prize winners
Clarin reported today on the II Campeonata Mundial de Baile de Tango
organized by the Secretary of Culture of Buenos Aires, August 14-22, 2004.
The statistics:
325 couples registered for the championship
40 concerts took place during the week
300 dancers attended special classes during the week
56 free classes were held during the week
20,000 spectators attended the various rounds of competition
59 venues were used during the week
50 people were involved in the production team
141 couples participated in the Tango de Ensenario competition:
127 foreign couples; 40 from Argentina; 23 from capital federal of BsAs
15 couples reached the finals in the stage category--8 Argentine and 7
foreign (4 from Colombia, 2 from Japan, and 1 from South Korea)
184 couples participated in the Tango de Salon competition:
31 foreign couples; 60 Argentine and 93 from Buenos Aires;
33 couples competed in the finals in the salon category--21 Argentine and
12
foreign (4 Japon, 3 Colombia, 2 Chile, 1 Portugal, 1 Germany, and 1 from
South Korea.
8,000 spectators attended the two nights of finals in Nunez
Participants came from Japan, South Korea, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary,
Ukraine, Switzerland, United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Chile,
Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, Venezuela and many cities in Argentina.
The winners of the Tango de Ensenario are Ivan Leonardo Romero (20) and
Marcela Alejandra Vespasiano (23) from La Matanza, Provincia de Buenos
Aires. In addition to the cash prize of $3,500 pesos, they have a contract
with the Japanese company Min-On for perform for two months in Japan from
which they will earn $30,000US.
The winners of the Tango de Salon are Osvaldo and Luisa "Coca" Cartery of
Lanus, Provincia de Buenos Aires, both 66 years of age. They placed second
in the city-wide competition held in March which allowed them to go directly
to the world finals on Sunday. In addition to the $3,500 pesos for first
prize, they will travel to Bariloche and Cordoba. They have four children,
five grandchildren, and have been married 37 years after being friends for
ten years from the age of 19. They stopped dancing for thirty years to work
and raise their family. Their children encouraged them to start dancing
again.
Pichi de Buenos Aires
