BUENOS AIRES (REUTERS) - Salon tango dancers from all over the world put their best foot forward on the first day of the World Tango Festival and Championship.

The tango is a romantic dance with sensual, yet sophisticated movements.

It originated more than one hundred years ago in the working class port neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, but it has since grown into a glamorous, international affair.

As the championship begins, one participant says it doesn't matter who wins.

"There are more than 400 couples participating, and it is very difficult to go through to the finals because there are so many people from all over the world who dance very well. People who reach the semifinals will be very happy with the result. But the result is what least matters, because people are here to meet other people, to dance and to have fun" said Andre Magro, a tango dancer from Brazil.

The World Tango Festival and Championship continues through the end of August.