The FIRST tango in Buenos Aires: World championships draw to a red-hot close after same-sex couples make their debut in line-up

The FIRST tango in Buenos Aires: World championships draw to a red-hot close after same-sex couples make their debut in line-up

The World Championship of Tango have drawn to a breathtaking close and, as expected, it was the Argentine couples who stole the show.
Jesica Arfenoni and Maximiliano Cristiani dazzled the judges at the event held in the Luna Park Arena in Buenos Aires, winning the Salon Tango event with fellow Argentines Guido Palacios and Florencia Castilla, winning the Stage Tango.
More than 500 couples from 37 countries have been competing in the two-week tango festival. The winners each received £4,500 and plane tickets to Paris, where they're expected to perform.
The Tango originated in Argentina in the late 19th century and the passionate and playful dance is now an important part of the country's cultural heritage.
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Hot stuff: Argentina's Jose Luis Salvo and Yuki Misaki strike a passionate pose during the Stage Tango competition of the Tango World Championship in Buenos Aires

It takes two: Facundo Ruiz Diaz and Agostina Tarchini from Argentina compete in the Stage style event helt at the Luna Park arena in Buenos Aires

Eastern promise: Dancers Dmitry Vasin, left, and Esmer Omerova, right, from Russia hold their own against tough competition for the Argentinian dancers

Same sex couple Daniel Alejandro Arroyo Miranda of Venezuela and Juan Pablo Ramirez of Argentina show it only takes two, whatever the gender, to enjoy a good tango

This year's championship brought an unusual twist as for the first time judges allowed same-sex couples, with three male pairs and one female pair, taking to the floor. A massive cheer rang out when Juan Pablo Ramirez, 34 and his partner Daniel Arroyo, 18, took to the dance floor to a 1940s classic.
'It takes two to tango,' Ramirez said after the performance. 'But they don't necessarily have to be different sexes.'
While the sight of two men locked in a passionate would have raised a few eyebrows among the more conservative members of the audience it actually harks back to the dance's beginnings in the 1890s.
Tango was born in brothels and it was originally only performed by pairs of men. Women were initially prohibited from participating in a dance considered prostitute-like.

The development seen as another sign of Argentina's increasingly open attitude to gay couple. The country that has been a pioneer in Latin America in legalizing gay marriage and whose capital is well-known as gay-friendly. 

World Tango Championships highlights (including same-sex couples)

Setting the floor alight: Argentinian dancers John Paul Bulich and Rocio Garcia Liendo swirl their way into take third place of the Stage Tango competition

In the heat of the night: The Tango originated in Argentina in the late 19th century and the passionate and playful dance is an important part of the country's cultural heritage

Playful: Argentina's Nicolas Matias Schell and Macarena Schinca Rosas took second place during the Stage Tango competition of the Tango World Championship in Buenos Aires

The winners of the competition each received £4,500 and plane tickets to Paris, where they're expected to perform

Masterclass: Dancers Guido Palacios, right, and Florencia Castilla, from Argentina, perform to win the 2013 Tango Dance World Cup stage finals

Dancers Ariel Leguizamon and Yesica Esquivel compete in the stage finals. More than 500 couples from 37 countries have been competing in the world's top two-week tango festival

Hold tight: Juan David Bedoya Marin and Karla Rotavinsky Cadavid from Colombia compete in the Stage style event

The Tango originated in Argentina in the late 19th century and the passionate and playful dance is now an important part of the country's cultural heritage

Angeles Armando Villasanti and Seudy Marlen Benitez from Paraguay take to the floor

Paraguay's Angel Armando Benitez Villasanti and Seudy Marlen Benitez Villasanti (left) and Juan Bulich and Rocio Liendo, from Argentina (right)

Couples perform together to the delight of the audience before the announcement of the winners of the 2013 Tango Dance World Cup stage finals in Buenos Aires

Dancers Guido Palacios and Florencia Castilla from Argentina, wave their country's flag as they celebrate winning the 2013 the stage finals

Hold on: Maximiliano Olaguibel lifts his dance partner Paloma Rodriguez, both from Chile, during the stage finals event

Kicking out: Julio Cesar Montoya Ardila and Ana Isabel Lopera Vasquez from Colombia compete in the Stage style event

Russia's Dmitry Vasin and Esmer Omerova were voted best foreign couple during the Stage Tango competition

Johanna Aranda and Nicolas Minoliti, right, from Argentina wow the crowd

Winners Guido Palacios and Florencia Castilla, show why they came out tops as they strike yet another passionate pose

Dancers Ariel Leguizamon and Yesica Esquivel, from Argentina, compete at the 2013 Tango Dance World Cup stage finals in Buenos Aires

Watch your step: Dancers Dmitry Vasin and Esmer Omerova were recognized as the best foreign team to compete in the stage category