Argentine woman in wheelchair competing in World Tango Championships in Buenos Aires

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Gabriela Fernanda Torres strikes a unique pose as she competes with hundreds of other dancers in this year’s World Tango Championships in Argentina. The 37-year-old Argentine uses a wheelchair.

Torres says she was paralyzed in a car accident when she was 2 years old, but nonetheless grew up with a love of dancing.

In Friday’s preliminary classification round, Torres wore a black dress, moving her arms and making facial expressions in sync with the music. At one point, her partner lifted her from the wheelchair.

Torres says she doesn’t want special treatment and hopes the judges evaluate the couple as artists. If they are chosen, they will move on to the semifinals this weekend.

Torres says that “dancing is a totally motivating, liberating.”

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