It was created and directed by Hector Orezzoli[1] and Claudio Segovia, and premiered at the Festival d'Automne in Paris in 1983 and on Broadway in New York in 1985.

The Mel Howard production became a world-wide success with numerous tours culminating with a Broadway revival in 1999–2000.

[5] (Samuel G. Friedman, NY Times 1985)In 1974, Hector Orezzoli and Claudio Segovia, two Argentine set designers, decided to put together a production about tango using the best dancers in all of Argentina.

Claudio Segovia recounted that he wanted to reflect on stage the reality of tango life in Buenos Aires, therefore he looked for an authentic mixture of the different types of musicians and dancers, of children, young people and mature people: "Elegí gente que según mi juicio era la más auténtica, la más verdadera, y creo que no me equivoqué."

He approached Juan Carlos Copes and Maria Nieves, who ran one of the most popular tango shows in the city.

[9] Copes expressed doubts that a group of tango artists, who were often known for their huge egos, could ever work together long enough to stage such a production.

[7] Nelson Avila and Nélida Rodriguez de Aure were dancing and directing the choreography at the famous Michelangelo tango show in San Telmo at the time.

They had already been dancing together in the most prominent shows in Buenos Aires, had appeared together numerous times on television, and had performed internationally.

Together with Copes & Nieves and Nelson & Nélida, they comprised the three couples who were asked to perform solo routines in the original Tango Argentino.

His dance education has taken place in the Theatre Colon, with the Ballett Salta, Master Santiago Ayala el Chúcaro.

During all the years, Luis Pereyra danced different solos with his partners Gloria and Norma, such as: El Entrerriano.

Verano Porteño he danced with Cecilia Narowa, who took the part of Milonguita.Together with Nelson Avila he was in charge to rebuild the choreografies[7] With the solo routines set, Segovia needed more milongueros, the social dancers from the salons, to complete the show.

Nelson Avila suggested some good friends, who were well respected street dancers in Buenos Aires, Virulazo[7] and Elvira Santamaría.

When Nelson and Nélida went to look for the couple, they found that Virulazo had quit tango, having become disouraged with the lack of money.

[7] When Nelson finally found Virulazo, he was working in a butcher shop with a blood-covered apron and he was noticeably overweight.

When Nelson finally talked Virulazo[10] and Elvira into dancing for Segovia, any doubts about their tango disappeared.

Sexteto Mayor had been formed in 1973 by bandoneon players and arrangers Jose Libertella and Luiz Stazo.

In addition to Sexteto Mayor, Segovia recruited the great Horacio Salgán to complete the music.

On a minimal budget, the entire cast of Tango Argentino boarded an Argentine military transport headed to Paris.

Russell St. Cyr, writing for The Miscellany News, the Vassar College newspaper, suggested that the production be considered for a Tony Award and was impressed with the quality of the production: The dancers have each developed different styles, and they have brought the tango's entire rainbow to the same stage.

On numerous tours around the world, the cast of Tango Argentno danced before the likes of Princess Diana, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ann Miller, Rita Moreno, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolph Nureyev, Burt Reynolds, Kirk Douglas, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Liza Minnelli, Katharine Hepburn, and Placido Domingo.

[7] In 2011 there was a performance at the Obelisco in Buenos Aires with a few of the original artists including Maria Nieves and Raúl Lavié When the dancers of Tango Argentino took the stage on 11 November 1983, at the Festival d'Automne in Paris, France, many consider it a turning point in the history of tango.

Robert Farris Thompson in the preface to his book Tango: The Art History of Love states "In the 1980s Buenos Aires barrio dancers sparked the strongest renaissance of the twentieth century, through their performance in the stage extravaganza Tango Argentino.

That run lasted one week, but those few days were enough to change history: the tango as dance resurfaced with an unexpected force, and became huge around the world.

Shortly after the 1985 Broadway premier, Samuel G. Friedman wrote in the New York Times:From dance schools to fashion shows to the media, Tango Argentino has stirred the metropolitan imagination.

[27] The authors describe the globalization of tango using an example of the Washington, DC, musical ensemble Quintango:[28] The well-known group Quintango played in Washington, DC, at a White House gala reception for then Argentine President Carlos Menem, and then two weeks later played in Richmond, Indiana (population 40,000) at small Earlham College.