Argentine tango queen dazzles Beijing audience

The queen of tango Mora Godoy and her troupe have brought tango fever back to China.

The queen of tango Mora Godoy and her troupe have brought tango fever back to China.

The queen of tango Mora Godoy has brought Argentina's cultural heritage back to Beijing's National Center for the Performing Arts with her amazing dance company.

Over one million spectators, one thousand performances and 10 years of non-stop tours around the world - that just gives you a sense of the popularity of Mora Godoy and the tango fever she has brought back to China with her.

Loosen those ties, but keep those high-heels on: from the sassy rhythmic cha-cha, to the more passionate traditional pas de deux, audiences have a hard time keeping themselves in their seats.

Ten years after Mora Godoy's first visit to China, she has returned with not only a world-caliber tango troupe, but tango musicians as well.

Tango has its origins in the border region between Argentina and Uruguay, and dates back to the end of the 1800s. While a variety of styles exist, Mora Godoy's is singular in its courtly elegance and jazzy swiftness.

"I think I'm the first ballet dancer to begin with tango. My style is different. It's elegant. I use my hands, my arms differently. It's my style," Godoy said.

The queen of tango might be a goddess on stage, but she's also very committed to something else she loves - dispelling the notion that motherhood and a career in dance can't go together.

"When she (my daughter) was born, eight weeks after, I continued with the show... I cried in the performance when I danced. I love to dance, I love my profession a lot," Godoy said.

In addition to being the lead dancer in her company, Mora is also a choreographer and teacher at her own tango school. Her musicals have even been staged in Broadway and toured throughout the world.

"Mora is even more perfect now! I'm a Mora Godoy fan. I've been following her throughout her Chinese tour, in Sichuan and now here in Beijing," a fan said.

"It doesn's matter how complicated the choreography is, it's about the culture. I just love it!"

This is certainly not the "last tango" in China. The Argentine tango ambassador and her company will be performing in Jinan on January the 9th and 10th before wrapping up their Chinese tour.