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The Fifth Floor

Factual: Life Stories

Global stories from the BBC’s 40 Language Services, with Faranak Amidi

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services.

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services

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The Fifth Floor: Two to tango

Documentaries

Argentinian tango

12/03/2021 GMT

Two to tango

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Two to tango

Remembering Astor Piazzolla, the man who revolutionised tango

Remembering Astor Piazzolla, father of the modern tango, a century from his birth.  Faranak Amidi finds two to tango in Argentinian Valeria Perasso, and tango fan Irena Taranyuk.

Astor Piazzolla is known as the father of modern tango.  The BBC's Valeria Perasso is from Argentina and was born and raised listening to his music.  Irena Taranyuk of BBC Ukrainian is a big fan – and dancer - of tango.  In the centenary year of Piazzolla’s birth, they discuss his  “tango revolution” and its legacy around the world.

Loaves, oil and meat: Iran's lean Nowruz 
Queues outside butchers, fights over cooking oil, and buying loaves by the half – all images seen on social media in Iran at a time of year when families would usually be stocking up for Nowruz, the celebration of Spring.  Parham Ghobadi of BBC Persian reports on this very visible sign of the ongoing economic crisis in Iran. 

The rise and fall of India's fugitive diamond merchant
How did one of the world’s leading fashion jewellers become India’s most wanted man?  The story of diamond merchant Nirav Modi from fairytale rise to riches to fugitive accused of fraud, with the BBC’s South Asia Diaspora reporter Gaggan Sabherwal. 

Russia’s ice-dancing ballerina
A Russian ballerina in full costume dancing on the frozen sea near St Petersburg caught the world’s attention.  Ilmira Bagrautinova chose scenes from Swan Lake to highlight the threat to endangered swans of a proposed port nearby.  She told BBC Russian’s Ekaterina Venediktova why that landscape means so much to her. 

Image: Couple dancing tango
Credit: Hans Neleman / Getty

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