DJs

Vania Rey(Austin)

Vania began DJing tango in 2008, and over the years she has witnessed a constant evolution both in her musical preferences and in her DJ style. A tango teacher since 2002, her greatest strength as a DJ has been to stay conscious of that development, because it permits her to relate to and play for dancers with wide spread of experience and skill levels.

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Aside from hosting/DJing a monthly milonga in Austin, TX, she travels regularly to teach and DJ tango around the world, thus far having had the opportunity to play for dancers in over 50 cities on 3 continents. Those events include the big, national festivals and marathons, but also the more intimate, local milongas, including various locations in Buenos Aires.

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Vania maintains a close network of tango DJ friends, which has been a way to share and discuss ideas about history, trends, fashions, and technology in the ever-changing tango music world.

Jay Abling

(St. Paul)

J Abling has deejayed at many major festivals and cities all over North America since 2002. His DJ style is characterized by his ability to move the rhythmical feet and sway the melodic hearts of every dancer in the room. His choice tandas carefully strike the right balance between familiar classic tangos and pleasantly surprising ones. J has been teaching tango for over 20 years, and currently resides in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he and his partner run an online musicality program (tangomusictrainer.com).

John Miller’s tango music career began at his High School Prom, when he brought a tango CD and somehow convinced the DJ to play a song. John’s dance partner (and no one else) was delighted! Since then, he has expanded his audience to include people who actually enjoy tango music, and has DJed over a thousand practicas and milongas in the last 10 years.

Since 2009, John has been teaching, DJing, and performing full time. He teaches weekly classes in Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs, and works extensively with the local college clubs to bring tango to the younger generation. He has DJed at dozens of festivals, including the Toronto Tango Experience, the Eco-Tango Festival in Baja Mexico, the Boulder Tango Festival, the Salt Lake City Festival, the NaturalTango Festival, the Austin Spring Festival and the Midwest Tango Festival, among others.

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John organizes Tango On the Rocks with his partner Jesica Cutler.

Rachel Moon (St. Paul)

Rachel began her tango journey in San Diego in 2009, and, within a few years became so obsessed that she took a leave of absence to spend 6 months in Buenos Aires. During that time, dancing nearly every tanda in a milonga was the norm. While her feet no longer allow that, she loves enabling other tango addicts, and as a DJ, gives her all to keep people on the dance floor tanda after tanda. Rachel has had the pleasure of DJing at many events across the country, including Albuquerque Tango Festival, Queen City Tango Marathon, and Connect Tango Festival. She currently resides in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she and her partner run an online musicality program (tangomusictrainer.com).

Alex Krebs

(Portland)

Alex has been DJing and teaching worldwide for over 20 years.  Aside from dancing, teaching, performing and DJing, Alex runs his all-Argentine tango studio, Tango Berretin, in Portland, Oregon since 2001 and has also studied the bandoneon since 2001. Alex plays bandoneon and directs his own tango orchestra, The Alex Krebs Tango Sextet, as well as plays with Tango Pacifico and others.

Pablo

(Argentina/Europe)

Better known as a dancer and teacher, Pablo plays as a DJ only on special occasions. However, for 9 years he was the resident DJ at the mythical Practica X in Buenos Aires (2004 to 2013). In the last year he has been invited to DJ at events such as Seattle Tango Magic (USA), Bailongo Montreal (Canada), Tallin Tango Festival (Estonia), Austin Tango Festival (USA), Winter Tango Lillehammer (Norway), just to mention a few.

He’s the type of DJ who stays at his desk working, tuning the sound according to the dancers, and creating atmospheres and contrasts. He approaches the mood of an evening as a wave growing until the very end of the evening. Pablo prefers classics, playing the big tango names at his milongas. At the same time, he also dares to surprise the dancers from time to time, playing a couple of tunes to surprise and delight.

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 where she learned how to teach and DJ regularly. Since 2011, Alyssa has been a DJ at various milongas 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 calls Portland, Oregon her home base, loves to tell "punny" jokes, and is excited to be a part of Tree City this year!

Rebekah Mitchell

(Portland)

Rebekah's first venture into Argentine Tango came in 2007 when she discovered the Tango Club at her high school in Portland, Oregon. After graduating, serving in the armed forces, and then returning to Portland for university, she rediscovered Tango and fell in love all over again with the unique music, dance, and the warm, welcoming community.

From 2012-2019, she regularly hosted and DJed Portland’s infamous Wednesday Tango alternative event. She’s also traveled to DJ for all-night alternative parties and both small and large festivals across the United States, which all require a slightly different approach to managing the flow of dance energy. Creating and managing that flow well is her theory and strategy for a memorable milonga. For Rebekah, the most important factor in what makes great alternative music is that it creates a relatable experience for dancers of all experience levels, whether the music is familiar or not. She feels that the best alternative tracks are similar enough in structure to traditional Tango music that it feels natural to use Tango steps or a fusion of dance styles to express the music. The best tracks are also similar in their ability to evoke an emotional response which we, as dancers, interpret through movement. Rebekah’s goal over the course of a milonga is to stay connected to the dancers, their energy, and their relationship to the music, and to play only the tracks the room needs to find that unforgettable flow.