DJs
Edmond Bardhi
(Ann Arbor)
Hey! I’m Edmond from Ann Arbor. I’m a DJ, teacher, and the organizer of the Ann Arbor Tango Marathon, and I’m grateful to be part of such a vibrant and welcoming community. As a DJ, I’ve had the joy of sharing music at local milongas as well as at festivals and marathons around the world.
Outside of tango, I’m passionate about creativity, sustainability, and fostering growth in myself and in the people and places around me. I love exploring the world through art, travel, and nature, while cherishing meaningful connections with friends and loved ones.
Over the past 15 years of DJing, I’ve developed a style that crafts an atmosphere of connection, where every tanda tells a story and the memories linger long after the last song ends.
Milton "El Gallo"
(Boston)
Milton “El Gallo” is not your regular DJ. He is a true professional, an exuberant entertainer, a thoughtful romantic, a mischievous character, a dynamic dancer, and a magic-maker who understands that every moment of an event matters. His approach to DJing mirrors his approach to tango. He looks to deeply connect with the people in the room, carefully and thoughtfully selecting songs, tandas, and even cortinas to create a mood that accentuates the experience for each dancer present. Expect a carefully curated journey of musical emotion that inspires you, keeps you dancing, and leaves you satisfied.
Milton hails from Boston-ish (MA, USA) where he is the resident DJ of the popular and long-standing monthly event, Milonga Nueva, which he co-hosts with his lovely wife, Corin. He has frequently DJed throughout the United States and Canada, and at major events in Europe.
Sofia “Marfushka” Tikhovidova
(Albuquerque)
While most toddlers were focused on crawling, Sofia was already intensely practicing her cabaceo, and breaking in her first pair of high heels by the age of two. She brings her life long love of tango and her passion for the music to all of her sets; your feet won’t know whether to beg for mercy or just beg for more.
As a DJ, Sofia loves to incorporate contrast, while still embracing a delicate flow of energy that inspires warm embraces, playful movements, and endless possibilities; keeping you on your toes… literally. Her approach to DJing focuses on adapting to the crowd and tailoring her sets to make the floor come to life, in that unique shared moment.
Recently, she’s DJ’d the Gavito, Austin, and Albuquerque Tango Festivals as well as multiple times at the LA, San Diego, and Phoenix Tango Marathons. Hear her at the upcoming Marathon Z in DC (July 2026).
Alyssa Jernigan
(Portland)
Although Alyssa was initially dragged into tango, she quickly became a convert after her first ocho cortado class. And after only a year of dancing, she became the President of the University of Oregon Argentine Tango Club. Alyssa has been a DJ at various festivals and marathons throughout the US and Shanghai, China.
As a DJ, she strives to play accessible yet complex music that inspires dancers to connect within themselves, their partner, and their environment. Alyssa organizes a weekly practica in Portland, OR, tells an alarming number of puns, and believes the best DJ sets are built on attentive crowd reading and an excessive number of empanadas.
Howoon "El Loco" Chung
(San Francisco)
Howoon discovered tango in 2011 in Daejeon, South Korea, drawn instantly to its unrepeatable magic, the way no two moments are never the same. That living, breathing quality captivated him from the beginning, from the subtle shifts that surprise even in familiar songs to the harmony created through connection. On the floor, he cherishes how partners can interpret the music together or explore different layers like musicians in an orchestra, each adding nuance to a shared composition.
As a DJ, Howoon plays with the hope that dancers will encounter the magical moments that keep him dancing year after year. He devotes himself to reading the room closely, choosing the right music at the right time to invite people to the floor naturally. His foundation is the well-loved classics of the Golden Age, whose richness he believes best matches the pulse of the room, complemented by carefully chosen, rarely played recordings that add freshness and creative spark. By using well-preserved, high-quality versions of the music where every instrument can be heard clearly, he aims to give dancers the freedom to discover new possibilities in every phrase, silence, and shared step, the essence of tango’s magic he hopes to inspire. He has been invited to DJ at many of the most beloved milongas and large-scale events across South Korea and Asia, and after moving to San Francisco in 2022, he has continued sharing his inspiration with diverse communities and dancers throughout the United States.
Tommy Smith
(Boise)
Tommy has a passion for both traditional and alternative tango music and DJing, pursuing the rarer path of professionally DJing both. He draws upon his 13 years of experience DJing traditional milongas to inform his alternative style, believing that the key to success of DJing alt is to treat it like a traditional set - creating a dynamic flow, varying energies and styles, and playing music with rhythms and emotions dancers delight in connecting to.
To educate and motivate beginning DJs, progressing DJs, and those interested in tango music, he offers semi-regular DJ workshops. Events he has DJ'd at include Marathon Z (DC), Tango on the Rocks (Denver), Austin Spring Tango, Abrazo (Montreal), and the Ann Arbor Tango Marathon.