Fancy Footwork: Judging Tango

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Aug. 24, 2007 — -- How does one judge a tango dance performance? What does one look for to distinguish one couple from another in an event where differences would seem, at least to the untrained eye, to be subtle at best?

ABC News spoke with some of the scores of judges who will grade the dancers at V Tango World Championships in Buenos Aires (www.tangodata.gov.ar), as well as with some of the participants to try and understand what differentiates the champions from the also-rans.

One may think of dance contest judges or scenes from the 1969 movie "They Shoot Horses Don't They." Also, the cartoon "Popeye" had Wimpy as a dance contest judge who, between hamburgers, pulled a lever to open a trap door and whisk away the losing participants. None of that goes on in Buenos Aires this week.

The judges here are not allowed to talk specifically about the competition and they generally don't like to talk to the press during the event. However one judge, Jorge Firpo spoke with ABC News prior to the ballroom semi-finals.

"I judge emotion, sensitivity and musicality," he said. "By musicality, I mean the couple's rhythm and dancing in harmony with the music. I also judge the interactions between the couples. Technique is okay but almost everyone at this level have the technical end down pat. I look more for people who transmit the sentiment of tango."

Can it be a foreigner? Firpo was asked.

"Absolutely. Tango is an international phenomenon, it's universal."

Firpo should know, as he has danced in dozens of countries over the last three decades including extended periods of teaching and performing tango in Japan and Canada.

Other judges who spoke with ABC News, but anonymously, gave the following insight:

"I look for the compatibility, the smoothness, the communication between the dancers which to me is the most important aspect. It is important that I don't perceive two individuals but rather one unified body. Any division or dissent in that unified body hurts the way I judge that couple."