PHOTO ESSAY: Where tango never sleeps: Inside Istanbul’s vibrant dance community

ISTANBUL (AP) — Far from tango's birthplace in working-class districts and port areas of Buenos Aires and Montevideo in Argentina and Uruguay, dance enthusiasts in Istanbul have built a close-knit and passionate community.

Every night, they gather at milongas — sessions of Argentine ballroom dancing — on both sides of this vast city that bridges Europe and Asia, drawn together by music, movement and the embrace of tango.

Turkish locals, foreign residents, visiting international teachers and travelers keep the dance alive while a multitude of dance schools and studios foster a vibrant tango scene.

Once a beginner and now a tango teacher, Gonca Çetin describes the city's tango community as both diverse and welcoming.

“It’s possible for everyone to find a tango environment that suits them. There’s a constantly growing and developing community,” she says.

At Istanbul’s milongas, where changing dance partners is part of the tradition, friends and strangers are eagerly share the dance floor.

“I believe tango is a conversation without words,” Çetin added. “What draws me to it is the unique balance between connection and freedom. Through music and embrace, I am able to communicate, create, and express my emotions in a way that feels both deeply personal and profoundly shared.”

The city’s tango culture also extends beyond the dance floor.

In his small Istanbul workshop, master shoemaker Ercan Umay handcrafts tango shoes for dancers who glide through the city’s milongas, preserving another essential tradition of tango culture.

This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.

An employee works on crafting tango dance shoes at Necmi Usta's workshop in Istanbul. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A tattoo in Spanish reading, "There is no law," decorates the arm of a woman dancing during a tango milonga session at Soho Tangoport in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A city landscape is reflected in a window as people dance tango during a training session at 333 in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People dance tango during an evening milonga session at 333 in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A couple dances tango next to a portrait of modern Turkey founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk during a milonga evening at La Cumparsita in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A woman sits during a tango milonga session at La Cumparsita in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A newspaper clipping hangs on the wall behind Hasan Saglam as he works in the workshop of tango shoe brand Necmi Usta, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Dance shoe craftsman Ercan Umay works at his workshop in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Shoe molds are stacked at dance shoe maker Ercan Umay's workshop in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A woman puts her shoes on for a tango milonga evening session at Soho Tangoport in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish tango teacher Emine Tezgin Ozdemir talks to students during a class at Tango Noa in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish tango enthusiasts Gonca Cetin and Guralp Diner dance during a milonga evening session at Zeytuna in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Tango enthusiasts watch others dance during a milonga session at Zeytuna in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Tango enthusiasts dance during a milonga evening session at La Cumparsita in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Tango enthusiasts sit and watch others dance during a milonga session at La Cumparsita in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Carmen, a tango dancer from Romania, smiles during a milonga session at 333, a tango studio in Istanbul, Turkey, early Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A couple dances tango during a milonga session at 333, a tango studio in Istanbul, Turkey, early Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia attacked Ukraine with a barrage of missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 11 people, injuring dozens and trapping others, authorities said on Tuesday.

Russia unleashed 73 missiles and 656 drones across Ukraine, according to the country’s air force, with the main targets including Kyiv, the central city of Dnipro, and the eastern cities of Poltava, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed and suppressed 40 missiles and 602 drones.

Hits of 30 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and 33 drones were recorded at at least 38 locations. Debris from destroyed drones fell on 15 locations, the air force said.

At least four people were killed in Kyiv and 58 people were injured, including three children, Ukraine's state emergency service said in a statement on Telegram. Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were damaged in eight of Kyiv's districts.

In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, at least six people were killed and 36 others injured after Russian strikes hit the city of Dnipro, according to the emergency service. A second attack as first responders arrived at the scene killed one rescuer.

In Kharkiv, at least 14 people were injured and residential homes, garages and cars were damaged.

A two-story residential building and part of a four-story apartment block were damaged, with people trapped beneath the rubble of the larger building.

The boom of explosions echoed through most of the night and into the early morning. Kyiv had been bracing for another mass attack for days, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia was preparing a renewed assault and urged people to remain cautious and seek shelter during air raid alerts.

In the Podilskyi district, there was partial damage to the upper floors of a nine-story building, trapping people under the rubble. Rescue operations were still underway in the early hours of the morning, even as the air raid alert remained in effect.

In the Solomianskyi district, a 20-story building and a 24-story building were damaged.

Ukrainian officials have been pressing allies for more air defense missiles to counter Russia’s ballistic missile attacks. While Ukraine continues to intercept a high percentage of drones, ballistic missiles remain a major vulnerability for the country’s air defenses.

A resident looks at the site of a Russian missile strike that hit a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Firefighters work on the site of a burning building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A man clears debris in his apartment building damaged after Russian missile strike that hit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

People react as they look at the site of Russian missile strike that hit a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)