Milongas: Sunday Afternoon Quick Dip; Sunday Night Closing Milonga, Alternative Room
Tommy discovered tango in early 2012 in Boise, Idaho, which he still calls home. Immediately becoming obsessed, his love for exploring both the technical and emotional facets of tango has only grown since. His skills and interests run the full spectrum: teaching, performing, and organizing – but DJing edges them all out as his top tango passion.
You won’t find Tommy more animated or joyful than when he’s behind the laptop, watching and grooving along with the dancers he’s playing for. His DJ philosophy is simple: play songs that slap, tandas that get dancers’ feet on the floor, and craft a journey that will lead to deep connection. Tommy has a holistic approach to DJing, paying special attention to opportunities to enhance the dancer’s experience beyond just choice in music. Throughout the night, you’ll find him carefully choosing the perfect cortina, using volume to manage energy, and harassing organizers with questions like “So…just how much control do we have over these lights?”
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.