Based in San Francisco, Ayano travels and dances in the milongas around the world including her annual pilgrimage to Buenos Aires. She regularly DJs at the local milongas in San Francisco Bay Area such as El Valenciano, Genesis, The Beat, Milonga Malevaje, as well as at Milonga de Nora, Alberto's and Milonga Rubia. She has been invited to DJ in Tokyo, Taipei, Biarritz, Maui Embrace Tango Festival, Pasional The Third Coast Tango Marathon, Holiday Tango in DC, Ronda De Ases in Portland, Marathon Z, San Diego Tango Marathon, La Mujeres Tango Marathon, and Ann Arbor Tango Marathon and Twin City Tango Marathon.
Since the pandemic, she has focused on the "Tango Poetry Project" to bring the world of tango poetry closer to non-Spanish speakers. Her website tangopoetryproject.com has links to more than 500 tango lyrics translations as well as various videos that show pictures and lyrics translations as well as an introduction of each song about its story, its creators, and its historical background.
Avik began his tango journey in Ann Arbor in 2002 and has since become a highly sought-after DJ, playing at many of the major tango events in North America. Some of his more interesting adventures include DJing Monday night at Salon Canning, teaching tango to a Bollywood actress in Mumbai, and touring the U.S. with the tango band Trio Folias. Avik's musical selections are grounded in the Golden Age classics, but he also enjoys pushing the boundaries of the familiar (in small doses) and offering dancers a chance to explore something new.
When Olga took her first tango class she immediately discovered that this dance was a meaningful language with endless possibilities to create and interact. She became addicted to the dance and started collecting traditional and alternative tango music right away. DJing has opened new doors for her to entertain dancers and connect with the community. With a diverse music taste, Olga combines tandas that tap into the mood of the milonga. Her goal is to keep everyone dancing and let the dancers experience the range of emotions that tango communicates. You can catch Olga at the milongas in San Francisco and East Bay.
Georges Naasan has been dancing tango since 2002. His journey debuted in Lebanon, at a time when there was no tango community or milongas to attend. He took classes with traveling teachers and taught himself at the American University of Beirut. Along with a few friends, he founded the first milonga in Beirut and ran it for a few years before he moved to the United States in 2007. He continued to develop his tango skills with various teachers that traveled to Cleveland and later to the Bay Area. In the summer of 2014, he was the recipient of the gold medal in Argentine Tango at the Gay Games. He started DJing in 2015 and quickly became one of the bay area’s prominent local DJs. He has traveled for DJing in various US cities including San Diego, LA, and New York, and in 2016, was invited to DJ at the Beirut Tango Marathon. Georges has learned much of his tango dancing and DJing skills from various mentors that he met along his journey and to whom he is ever grateful.
Intrigued by the beauty of the music and intensity of the dance, Jun discovered the world of Argentine Tango when studying at Yale University, and started her DJing journey at Yale Tango Club. Her incessant quest for great tango music led her to invitations of DJing by popular milongas in New York City, the vibrant tango community that nourished her growth and blossoming into a mature dancer and DJ. A gentle and sensitive soul, Jun actively listens to the dance floor and she creates such a music space that speaks to dancers’ emotions absorbed in a warm embrace, elegant steps, and playful movement. She aspires to create an engaging conversation with the dancers through her tunes where dancers could ease into their personal truth of tango with their emotions safely unfolding and expressed through the dance. Known for her impeccable delicacy of storytelling, Jun’s music is instrumental to creating some of the most blissful, energized, and passionate milongas for the dancers that have heard her.
She has been sharing her music selections at renowned marathons internationally, like Abrazo Tango Marathon (Montreal), San Diego Tango
New Year Festival, Atlanta Tango Marathon I & II, Buscandote Houston Tango Marathon, Las Mujeras Tango Marathon, Santa Maradona Marathon (Napoli, Italy), Pandora Tango Marathon (Greece), Caras de Tango Festival (Turino, Italy), etc., as well as Milongas in China, Italy, and Argentina. Currently residing in California, her journey as a tango dancer, DJ, and community-builder continues to grow and expand through her persistent study of tango music and her consistent tango travels to Europe, Argentina, and Asia.
Jonas is based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, where he DJs regularly at many of the major local tango events in the region. He has been invited to DJ in other cities in the United States and Asia, such as Los Angeles, Sacramento, Arizona, New Orleans, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and will be DJing at the Taiwan Tango Marathon this coming February 2016. He is fortunate to have learned from and collaborated with some of the most amazing and dynamic tango DJs featured in milongas and festivals throughout the United States today.
Dhruv discovered tango at Purdue University and soon after moved to Portland where he became part of a thriving community. Now a resident of the Bay Area, the spontaneity and nostalgia that first drew him to tango keeps taking him across the country for various festivals and marathons. He enjoys the richness of the entire range that tango has to offer and values the many flavors tango dancers bring from across the world.
As a DJ, he believes that a great experience on the dance floor simply originates from a burning desire to dance. If you’re interested in his orchestra stackup, visit http://dhruvsinghx.github.io. If you ask him his fav orchestra, like life, he is often confused between Pugliese (live dangerously every moment), Di Sarli (juice up every moment of life) and D’Arienzo (onward and upward). Dancing in SF holds special place for Dhruv- the festivals and marathons along with the amazing array of teachers from Bay Area have shaped tango for him in a big way. He is looking forward to Tangamente!
Felipe Martinez is a full-time tango dancer, teacher, DJ, and organizer based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Felipe has been DJing tango for around 20 years. He is a resident DJ in the Bay Area at The Beat, Genesis, Alberto's, and El Valenciano and has also played music in Europe (Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Istanbul) and Buenos Aires, where he was invited to play music at El Beso and Villa Malcolm Club on several occasions.
He has played music at the most important festivals and marathons in the US: Portland, San Francisco, Baltimore, Denver, Washington DC, Atlanta, Houston, Fort Bragg, Austin, Boulder as well as in many other communities like Providence, New York, Los Angeles, Montreal.
He has also played in Asia at many festivals and marathons: Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bali, as well as Tainan and Taichung.
Felipe's musical selection is based on the Golden Age classics that ensure a great atmosphere for dancing.