America's Biography


America's Tango Biography

DJ America

DJ History
I started DJing in 2002, first for Lowell at Tio Leo's, then for Mike Markov. I stepped into a musical vacuum at the now defunct Dancesport milonga and started experimenting with music. In the fall of 2002 Jan Wilcox and I were teaching at the Center for the Moving Arts and got offered the late night time slot. We jumped at the opportunity and started the Tango Addicts' milonga. DJing also runs in my family. My father was a DJ in the 80's and I exploit his vast musical knowledge in my perpetual search for good alternative music. In the Spring of 2004 the Center for the Moving Arts was sold and the Tango Addicts' Milonga moved to its current night and location. I am currently DJing alternate Friday nights for Milonga Sin Nombre and 2nd and 4th Sundays at Tango Addicts' Milonga.

My guest DJ engagements include LA and the Denver Labor Day Festival. I have hosted and DJed the Thursday night welcome milongas of the 2007, 2008, 2009 San Diego Tango Festival as well as coordinating the Sunday all night milongas in 2008 and 2009 (those waffles you ate at 4 am!). I will be DJing the New Year's Eve kick off milonga for the 2010 festival and coordinating the All-Nighter again.


Full Moon Tangos 2001

Dance History
I have been involved in one form of dance or another since I was four. I have studied ballet, jazz, hip hop, African, AfroCuban, ballroom and swing. I first saw Argentine Tango in 1994 in a Reed College ballroom class, but was intimidated by my lack of a partner and continued to study American/International Tango and other ballroom dances. I left Portland, Oregon in 1997 just as the tango explosion was starting up there and regret to this day only having danced one night in that city I lived in for FIVE years and is now known as one of the best places to dance tango in the US. Back in San Diego I rediscovered Argentine Tango in 1999 and found that tango was my true passion. All other dances paled in comparison and I did them less and less as time went on. I still take classes with visiting instructors both Argentine and American whenever I have the opporitunity since I feel like learning tango is a lifetime pursuit, that will never be finished.

A tango changing influence for me was Robin Thomas, who is a delightful lead, an insightful teacher and a pretty nice guy. He also made me feel like it is not only permissable, but desirable, for a follower to be musical and have an influence on the lead. Robin made me feel like the path I had chosen in tango was the right one and set me free to pursue it.

Tango Addicts' 2009

Dance and Teaching Philosophy
I pride myself in my versatility in dancing a variety of tango styles. My goal is to be able to dance with any leader regardless of his style and blend my style to his. As a leader I gravitate toward close embrace, syncopated style marked by simplicity of figures and complexity of rhythms. I enjoy the music of tango and playing with the dance within the music. Though I am still at the beginning of my journey as a tango leader, I get complements for musicality and gentleness and frequently get asked to lead. My favorite music to lead to is any good milonga. As a follower however, I love most music. From sweet, close embrace Fresedo to my Tango Nuevo roots, dancing to Pugliese, Color Tango, or something completely off the wall, it is all fun, as long as long as the partner matches the musical style. My favorite dancers can blend complexity with musicality, but my least favorite dancers emphasize complexity at the expense of musicality.

San Diego Tango Festival 2008

As a follower I am known for my feet and musicality (and, of course, my shoes too). but I am 100% a social dancer. While I enjoy fun tricks and sillyness when the music, partner and floor conditions are all right, those ganchos, sacadas, boleo and other flashy things are all a combination of lead and follow and the embellishments I add. One of my favorite things about tango is when a leader surprises me with something I have never done before, and does it so smoothly that it seems like I knew it all along. And I occasionally seize the opportunity to surprise them back. My favorite leads utilize many elements of good following, they respond to my energy and let me have my own voice. This produces a musical dialogue that ensues that no two dances will ever be the same, even with exactly same partner and music. The spontaneity and endless interplay between the lead and follow are what keeps this dance fresh for me after nearly 9 years of immersion.


Community Building
My number one goal is to share my love for this dance and support the development of the tango community of San Diego. In addition to DJing the Tango Addicts' Milonga, I teach a weekly free introductory class at Milonga Sin-Nombre. My focus in teaching is to maintain a fine balance between fun steps and developing the fundamental technique necessary to navigate on a social dance floor. I believe that both of these aspects of dance are crucial to creating new "Tango Addicts." To promote unity and exchange of ideas within the tango community, I maintain TangoSanDiego.com as a resource for local dancers, visitors, and people just starting out to be able to locate teachers and places to dance tango. I also moderate a discussion group for announcements and issues about San Diego Tango.




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America Mauhar ~ Jaune 2008