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🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

‘The buzz is in the West’: Tango crowns new stage-dance champions

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Nicolás Schell and Nair Schinca won the Stage category at the 2026 Tango Buenos Aires Festival and World Championship.
  • The pair reached the finals five times after meeting as professional dancers and balancing a life and career together.
  • Lucas Gauto and Naima Gerasopoulou won the Dance Floor category, while Aldo Adrián Romero and Marcela Pilatti took the Senior title.

After two decades of trying, Nair Schinca finally won the tango world title with her partner, Nicolás Schell. The dancers from Merlo and Moreno took the Stage category at the 2026 Tango Buenos Aires Festival and World Championship during a gala at the Gran Rex theater.

Sometimes we have to travel, with shows in other parts of the world. That is how we began, and we became life partners.

· Nicolás SchellSchell described how performing together led to the couple’s personal partnership.

Schinca first entered the competition 20 years ago. She later returned with Schell, and together they reached the final five times before claiming the top prize. They met as professional dancers while performing in Rojo Tango. They began as colleagues and eventually became partners in life as well as on stage.

“Sometimes we have to travel, with shows in other parts of the world. That is how we began, and we became life partners,” Schell said. He and Schinca described sharing work and a relationship as a major challenge that requires patience, love and balance.

Yes, but life and work together are a very big challenge. You have to find the balance with patience and love.

· Nicolás SchellHe discussed the demands of maintaining both a professional and personal partnership.

The couple competed only in the Stage category this year because a fracture prevented them from entering both championships. Schinca said the festival brings Buenos Aires to life and gives dancers a place to present their work and meet people. Schell said he hoped the victory would provide momentum, adding that the event helps set the city’s cultural agenda.

It is an event that moves Buenos Aires, and being part of it is wonderful for us because people see our work and we meet people. Our energy is always changing.

· Nair SchincaSchinca explained what the festival means to the winning dancers.

Diego Ortega and Aldana Silveyra finished second in Stage, followed by Facundo Cabral and Mara Navarro. Lucas Gauto of Córdoba and Naima Gerasopoulou of Athens won the Dance Floor category. Rodrigo Nicolás Palacios and Indira Hiayes placed second, while London and Sol came third. In the Senior category for dancers over 55, the winners were Buenos Aires representatives Aldo Adrián Romero and Marcela Pilatti.

I hope it will be a good boost. We always come because this sets an agenda.

· Nicolás SchellSchell spoke about the potential impact of winning the championship.
About this summary

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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