08-jul Regional update

AUSTRALIA:  "Tango Fire" by Argentinian dance company Estampas Portenas just wrapped its Australia/New Zealand tour this week.  The show, comprising 5 dance couples and 4 musicians, began  touring in 2005 after playing in Buenos Aires restaurants for some years.  Here are the Asian cities it has played:  Singapore – apr’05, Dongguan – apr’07, Shanghai – may’07, Seoul – may’07, Kuala Lumpur – may’07.   As a treat to the hard core dancers coming to the show,  audience were invited to hop on the stage 45 minutes before showtime to join the pre-show milonga — but without their stilettos. (refer http://www.tango-fire.com/PERFORM.html)

CHINA: Two weeks ago Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri officially opened the first Argentina tourism promotion office in Beijing, to the media spectacle of a tango exhibition performance.  The office is expected to boost the number of Chinese nationals visiting Argentina for business and leisure.  He later also visited Shanghai and Vietnam’s Hanoi. http://epaper.jinghua.cn/html/2008-07/07/content_302532.htm
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200807/20080705/article_365727.htm
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01POL080708

VIETNAM: a new tango community website has been launched: http://tango-hanoi.com.  A fortnightly milonga is held on Saturdays at the MTV Cafe, 7.30-10pm.   Previously there was another tango website http://hanoitango.com but that has since disappeared into Salsavietnam.net. 

TAIWAN: The 2008 festival dates are 11-15/sep and featured couples are: Javiar Rodriguez and Andrea Misse, Roberto Herrera and Silvana Capra, and Pablo Giorgini and Noelia Coletti.  Registration is open now. http://2008taipeitangofestival.blogspot.com/

ARGENTINA: After the change of president last year, Argentina moved its national tango cultural festival from Feb (fall) to Aug (spring), to leverage on the international press attention that descend on the capital for the world championship (Campeonato Mundial) of tango dancing.