An outline of the program, more detail updated as time progresses
OUR DJs
Opening Milonga – DJ Stephan
Stephan Resch is a Tango Historian, Tango dancer, and DJ from Auckland, NZ. He began his tango journey in 2006 and after several visits to BsAs discovered his passion for DJing and the history of tango music. During regular visits to European festivals and Marathons, he finds inspiration for developing his musical style. Stephan has been invited as a DJ and presenter to Milongas and Festivals in Berlin, Moscow, Stuttgart, Nelson, Wellington, Melbourne, Byron Bay, Pt Macquarie, and Sydney.
Photo by Maria Johnson
Matinee Milonga – DJ MARCE
Marcela Ospina (Marce) is originally from Colombia. While growing up she developed her passion for Tango by listening to her father singing and playing the guitar. When Marcela was 17 she began studying Ballet, gymnastics, and Tango. The combination of these three disciplines, as well as her bubbly Caribbean background, has contributed to her unique style. Since then, she has studied the followers’ technique in depth and perfected her own Tango embellishments and poetic rhythm. Her teaching philosophy consists of developing confidence in the social dancer to express their identity while incorporating specific movements in their own body based on their abilities and conditions.
Her participation in different festivals, championships, and performances in Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Germany, has enriched her dancing and teaching skills.
She currently lives in Melbourne and is a talented figure in the Tango community. She is passionate about contemporary dance and is also interested in exploring the change of roles in the dance and the many social values that can be incorporated into tango from this practice. She also runs Followers’ Tango Technique workshops throughout the year and is regularly invited as a guest teacher and DJ by different dance schools in Melbourne and other cities.
GALA MILONGA – DJ NADIM & MELBOURNE TANGO ORCHESTRA
Nadim Sawaya – principal Tango Esencia Studio with Rina
Nadim grew up listening to tango on his father’s old vinyl records. This early introduction to Tango gave him the base that would later make him want to explore the history and intricacies of the great Tango.
After his first visit to Buenos Aires in 2005, Nadim was inspired and made aware of the importance of the role of the DJ, and upon returning to Melbourne (having bought many cd’s!), begin to hone his skills by DJ’ing at a number of milongas. From here, Nadim began the DJ movement, encouraging others to take up this important role.
Nadim has been invited to run DJ workshops in Australia to further encourage the education and number of active DJs in the scene. Over the years, Nadim has been invited to DJ at a number of large festivals in Australia in addition to regular milongas.
Nadim has been an avid music student his entire life, playing the cello in an orchestra and playing the guitar.
MELBOURNE TANGO ORCHESTRA
Doing away with cliché, the Melbourne Tango Orchestra is contemporary, urban, and edgy. Situated somewhere between chamber music and a smoky, underground tango joint, the orchestra offers a unique listening experience. Delivering a hefty sound, the orchestra features the notorious bandoneón, the quintessential symbol of Argentinean tango. These fierce musicians bring the underworld figures of tango to life.”
MILONGUITA – DJ JARNY
Jarny Choi began tangoing in 1998. He made key contributions to the Melbourne tango scene in the early 2000s, teaching classes and running community-focused initiatives and events. He helped to set up the Czech House milonga which embodied the ethos of a DJ-centred event. He is currently one of the organizers of Tango in the Spring, a biennial festival in Canberra that celebrates social dancing. Jarny has always been interested in community building and social elements of tango, and his Djing aims to connect dancers to each other deeply through music.
FAREWELL MILONGA – DJ JOSÉ
José grew up in Argentina listening to tango from his parent’s record player. He has been dancing the tango for many years and DJing at milongas organized by himself and friends in Bariloche, Patagonia.
His love for tango is divided: he is both a dancer and a musician. He likes to combine these aspects when he can – he established and directed a tango sextet in Argentina and currently plays bandoneon with The Melbourne Tango Orchestra. He has traveled extensively to “encuentros de tangueros” across Argentina to hear the new wave of contemporary tango orchestras reviving the live music tradition, and he loves to throw a few newer tandas in between all the classic orchestras. His personality as a DJ is energetic and at times dramatic, and prefers music that is fun and rich in details. His ultimate goal is to provide a great night for all and to see smiles at the end of the embrace.