WITHOUT doubt, Tango is acknowledged as the treasure of Argentina, but its origins still remain a mystery. Some people believe it derives from Spanish folk dances, while others consider Africa as Tango's original home.

There are a lot of beautiful stories about the origins of Tango, nevertheless, the elements of these stories are reducible to immigrants, passionate love and sad desires.

It is said Tango was brought by European and African immigrants to Buenos Aires, which was the harbour city of Argentina in the late 1880s.

Although Tango is now regarded as one of the world's most spectacular dances, in its early years, it was forbidden by the Catholic Church and the Buenos Aires police, when Tango first gained ground in brothels. Not until 1912, when Tango was performed before the upper classes in European countries, was it accepted as a real artform.

The musical "Tanguera", an authentic production by Argentine artists, has cleverly intertwined all the elements encompassed by the legends concerning Tango.

The synopsis is as follows: a French girl is inveigled to Buenos Aires and then forced to work as a prostitute by local gangsters. Her lover, a dockworker, helps her in her struggle for freedom and love. But their love ends in tragedy. The dockworker is killed and the girl has to flee.

According to the Chinese organizer of the performance, in fact, a real love story gave birth to the production.

Previously the producer Diego Romay was majoring in movie directing, but after seeing a Tango performance for the first time, he devoted himself to becoming one of world's the best Tango dancers. Thus, he began frequenting almost all the places where Tango was staged.

One day, in an ordinary bar, he was stunned by the performance of an elegant and slender lady. Her charm knocked Romay out and he was eager to get to know her.

Diego Romay made an awkward self-introduction, and the lady gave him an enticing smile and said she was Mora Godoy.

Romay couldn't help crying out: "You are Mora Godoy." He couldn't bring himself to believe his good fortune, meeting the "Queen of Tango" so easily.

The name "Mora Godoy" means a lot to Tango lovers, because this woman has formed the most original contemporary Tango style in Argentina.

As a major of classical ballet and later a jazz ballet performer, Godoy has combined the elegance and the subtlety of ballet techniques and the unique and intense manifestation of Tango.

Godoy and Romay fell in love at their first sight, and decided to work together to produce a Tango musical.

"Tanguera" is the fruit of the passionate love between the two artists. It is Romay's first dance production with Godoy as his choreographer and principal dancer. In September the two artists were married.

7:15pm, November 15-22

Shanghai Grand Theatre

300 Renmin Dadao

Tel: 6372-8701, 6372-8702

120-680 yuan