CHAMPIONSHIP
About
Clarification about dance level:
Participation in both “Tango de Pista” and "Stage Tango" Categories competitions is open to everyone.
Professional dancers and amateur dances of intermediate level and above compete in the same category
according to the rules established by Tango Buenos Aires Dance World Cup.
Adherence to these rules qualifies our competition to be recognized as valid by the main
Buenos Aires event.
The distinction between a “professional” and “amateur” dance has less to do with the level of skill and more with a professional status of the dancers. “Professional” means that dancers make a living from teaching and dancing/performing tango, and “amateur” means that they do not, but it does not always imply that the level of the professional couple dance is superior to the level of the amateur couple. There are dancers for whom tango is their main source of income. They are likely to be good instructors, but their level of dance and performance can vary:
the professional couple can be excellent at dance or not so great. On the other hand, there are good amateur couples who do not teach tango and get no income from performances, but have achieved an exceptional level of dance.
There is also the case of stage dancers who only dance choreographed pieces, but are hopeless when it comes to social dancing: they cannot dance in milongas. Finally, there are very skilled social dancers (people who only dance in milongas), but who neither teach nor perform tango. They might be excellent salon dancers.
To accommodate different ways in which dancers excel at tango, the two divisions for the competition were established: “Tango de Pista” (salon tango; social category for both amateurs and professional) and Stage Tango (performance category for amateur advanced level and professional level dancers).
Rules Official Preliminary of Tango Buenos Aires
Festival & World Championship
These regulations apply to all the Official International Preliminaries of the Tango Buenos Aires Festival and World Championship to be held in 2025.
The Tango Dance competition (“THE COMPETITION”) will consist of the following categories: Tango de Pista and Stage Tango. Entry to both categories is open to amateurs and professionals.
Organization
The organizing entity ("THE ORGANIZATION") of the OFFICIAL PRELIMINARY OF TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 will be solely responsible for the event's execution and may charge registration fees for couples in the competition, as well as for workshops, seminars, or other scheduled activities. THE ORGANIZATION must communicate the details regarding registration dates and methods, prizes, and additional mentions beyond those established in these regulations.
However, the highest authority of the competition, regarding compliance with all provisions of these regulations, will be the General Direction of Festivals and Cultural Nights of the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires ("FESTIVALES BA").
In this regard, any activity related to the organization of the PRELIMINARY must comply with the following regulations.
Registration
Couples composed of individuals over the age of 18, who can credibly prove at least one (1) year of residence within the area of influence of the Preliminary, and valid legal documents, may register
for the competition.
No person may register more than once in the same category, though they may register in different categories, with the same or different partner. If both members of a couple reside in different cities within the area of influence of the Preliminary, they must choose and declare which city they will represent.
The following people are ineligible to compete: personnel from the General Direction of Festivals and Cultural Nights (DGFNC), organizers of Official Preliminaries, jurors of Tango Buenos Aires Dance World Championship and its preliminaries, or the Dance Championship of the City; sponsors and/or staff of sponsoring companies of the PRELIMINARY, or anyone with a permanent or temporary relationship with the DGFNC.
Participants or couples who have been disqualified or eliminated in previous editions, either in a Preliminary Competition or the Dance World Championship, especially if it was due to serious non-compliance with competition rules, will also be ineligible to compete.
Accreditation
For accreditation purposes, all registrants must attend on the date and time specified by the PRELIMINARY ORGANIZATION. The presentation of the national ID card or passport with valid residency will be required. At that time, they will be assigned a number and informed about the dates, locations, and approximate times of their performances in the different stages of the corresponding category.
Registrants who do not attend at the time of accreditation will not be allowed to participate in the championship. Delays will only be considered for legitimate reasons of force majeure, properly justified with supporting documents, except in cases that are of public knowledge. Once this stage has concluded, competitors will not be allowed to accredit.
During accreditation, registrants must present the registration form along with any additional information required by the organization. In this form, they must also declare whether they have had any professional, personal, or work-related relationship with any of the jurors in the six months prior to the championship, including any personal relationships, private lessons with jurors, or joint work on choreography for Tango Escenario. This declaration will be cross-checked with the jurors to determine potential conflicts of interest.
In the case of Tango Escenario, competing couples may not present choreography created, reviewed, or prepared by a member of the PRELIMINARY ORGANIZATION.
All data provided during accreditation will be considered an affidavit. Any contradiction found after signing may result in penalties such as score reduction, disqualification from the competition, or other appropriate measures.
The national ID card or passport must be presented before each day of the competition.
All participants agree to take part in various activities and events organized by the PRELIMINARY ORGANIZATION, such as press conferences, radio and TV interviews, and media engagements,
if called upon to do so.
Competition
THE COMPETITION, in both categories, may take place in three (3) stages (according to the schedule set by the Organization): a) Qualification, b) Semifinal, c) Final.
Qualification: All registered couples will participate. Semifinal: Couples selected during the qualification stage will compete. Final: Couples selected in the Semifinal will participate.
For the competition to be considered official, there must be at least ten (10) couples in the Tango Escenario category and at least twenty (20) couples in the Tango de Pista category. If this minimum is not met, the competition will no longer be considered official, and the winning couple will not be qualified to compete in the TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025.
In the Tango de Pista category, couples will compete in group performances, dancing to three (3) recorded pieces of music. The music may be proposed by the Organization but must be agreed upon with the FESTIVALES BA supervisor. Special consideration will be given to the jury's recommendations.
In the Tango Escenario category, each couple will compete individually, dancing to a piece they choose. The performance must not exceed four (4) minutes in duration and must be submitted to the Organization in digital format (mp3 file on a pendrive) during accreditation. At this time, the couple must also declare the name(s) of the choreographer(s) who created, reviewed, or worked on their choreography.
Couples may be disqualified if they:
a) Do not comply with the regulatory provisions. b) Make any political or religious statement during the competition that could be offensive to the public or the organization, or that could affect the event's development. c) Engage in any unethical behavior or actions that damage the image of the Preliminary or the World Dance Championship 2025, or cause discomfort to the audience. d) Engage in physical and/or verbal aggression, whether directed at participants, jurors, staff members, or the general public.
In such cases, THE ORGANIZATION and FESTIVALES BA may, by mutual agreement, disqualify or eliminate the couple from the competition.
Competitors may take group classes or seminars with jurors, but private lessons with any juror are prohibited during the competition.
Jury
The jury will consist of at least four (4) judges, who, having reviewed and accepted the competition regulations, will assign scores to the participating couples. These judges will be appointed by mutual agreement between the Preliminary and the Festivals Direction.
All jury decisions are final and non-appealable. By registering, participants automatically accept this condition. In the case of any doubts or disagreements, participants may submit a written appeal (in Spanish or English) to THE ORGANIZATION and not directly to the jury.
Any juror who has had a professional or personal relationship or been a teacher of any of the competition participants during the six (6) months prior to the event must refrain from scoring that couple. The organization will consider both the voluntary declarations of jurors and the information provided by participants during the registration process.
In these cases, the organization may opt for a substitute juror or calculate the final score of the couple by averaging the scores from the jurors who have voted.
The scoring for each performance will be based on the accumulation of points from each juror, with the following scoring ranges in each stage: Qualification 5 to 8, Semifinal 6 to 9, and Final 7 to 10. The final score will be the average of the scores given by the jurors who have voted.
The Organization may award prizes and special mentions for second and third place, as well as other mentions as deemed appropriate.
In exceptional cases (e.g., power failure, stage incidents), the jury, in agreement with the supervisor, may require contestants to perform additional pieces to ensure a fair voting process, and the participants must comply.
In case of a tie in the final stage, the couples will have to break the tie by either dancing one (1) or two (2) additional pieces in the Tango de Pista category or presenting their choreography again in the Tango Escenario category, until the jury's vote determines the champion. The scores obtained by each couple will be made public after each stage is completed.
Supervisor | Auditor
The Supervisor will be appointed by the General Direction of Festivals and Cultural Nights and will be responsible for ensuring the compliance of these regulations, as well as resolving any unforeseen circumstances within the competition. The Supervisor will also establish or inform about any necessary clarifications or interpretations of the regulations.
Any complaints made by a participant or juror should be submitted to the supervisor during the competition. The final decision on the dispute will be made by the supervisor, in collaboration with the institutional representative of the Ministry of Culture and THE ORGANIZATION.
The Competition (evaluation parameters)
1. TANGO DE PISTA (OPEN, AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS)
Tango de Pista is understood as a social dance where improvisation, the embrace, and the connection between the couple are most important. The category will be danced in rounds, with couples moving counterclockwise, without retreating. They may walk one or two steps backward, but always within their own space. All movements must respect the space of the surrounding couples. If a couple delays the flow of the round, the jury may lower their score. If a couple stops the flow, they may be asked to dance an additional piece to resolve the situation.
2. STAGE TANGO (OPEN, AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS)
Each couple will perform an individual presentation to a chosen piece of music, not exceeding four (4) minutes.
Tango Escenario will be evaluated on the combination of elements such as creativity, technique, and adherence to the tango aesthetic, including the effective use of space, attitude, and stage presence.
Filming and photography rights
THE ORGANIZATION will take recordings of the event, including filming, audio, and photography, which may be used for promotional purposes. By registering, participants automatically authorize the use of these materials by THE ORGANIZATION and its partners.
Prizes
Each official category will have one winning or champion couple, who will automatically qualify to compete in the TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL & WORLD CUP 2025 in the corresponding rounds: In the case of Tango de Pista, if the category has more than 40 couples, the winning couple will qualify for the Semifinal round; otherwise, they will qualify for the Quarterfinals. In Tango Escenario, if the category has more than 20 couples, the champion couple will qualify for the Semifinal, and if not, they will qualify for the Quarterfinals of the TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND WORLD CUP 2025. The winners of both categories from the European Championship and the Asian Championship will directly qualify for the final.
All winners will represent the PRELIMINARY event in which they achieved first place and not the city of origin or residence of their members, without exception.
The first prize of each category will be provided by THE ORGANIZATION and will cover all travel and accommodation expenses for both members of the couple, including airfare from the city of residence of each member to Buenos Aires, visa or tax fees, meals, and lodging during the days of the Preliminary Gala and the competition rounds they have qualified for in TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND WORLD CUP 2025, and until the couple continues in the competition.
It will be the responsibility of THE ORGANIZATION to ensure, by all necessary means, the presence and participation of the winning couple in the aforementioned rounds.
The organization may establish additional prizes, and all contestants must receive the corresponding participation certificate, which may be sent in digital format.
Couples who win in Preliminaries from the European and Asian zones may participate in the final of the European and Asian Championships. This option is not mandatory.
If the couple that wins any of the official categories refuses to participate in TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND WORLD CUP 2025 representing the PRELIMINARY event, they will automatically forfeit the prize of full coverage of travel and accommodation costs to Buenos Aires, and both members of the couple will be ineligible to participate in TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND WORLD CUP 2025.
In case one or both categories lose their official status due to not meeting the minimum number of required couples, the Preliminaries Organization may choose to offer alternative prizes for the competition but will be exempt from awarding the winning couple full coverage of travel and accommodation costs to Buenos Aires.
The registration and subsequent accreditation of each couple in the competition implies the knowledge and acceptance of these rules by each participant.