We are very excited to introduce to you the world known DJ’s. They will DJ for us and their music will keep us dancing non-stop during the Marathon. Please meet our beautiful DJ team for BOSthón 2024.
Boris Hayete
from Boston, Massachusetts
Boris has been dancing tango for almost two decades, and fell into DJing after a knee surgery as a way to work on musicality and stay in the dance during the recovery. His DJing style blends his scientific approach, musical education, and 22 years of experience in tango and lindy hop towards crafting a unique night tailored to the dancers in the room. His North Star is the simple question: “what would I want to dance now?” Boris thinks of building a night in terms of themes, gently taking the dancers through moods and musical experiences, broad vistas and sharp highlights. Boris’s favorite orquesta is Di Sarli, whose wide command of styles, eras, tempos, and moods serves as his model of versatility. No era is off limits, and music building on traditional themes will harken from the modern era when appropriate. Boris is a milonga fiend and will cater to same with the fiercest, zaniest syncopations. Expect to be tired. When Boris DJs, cortinas tell the story and manage the time. You will have time to rest when you are tired, and you will have time to relish in the previous tanda when you want to; the cortinas will also usually hint at what’s coming – stay tuned! Over the last six years, Boris has DJed at most milongas in the Boston area, but his three kids and his second hobby – science – will not let him travel to events much. Catch him here while you can!
David Chester
from Worcester, Massachusetts
David has loved music his whole life. In his youth, he sang in choirs that toured Europe, and also was a choir director. Later in life, he discovered tango, and it became his passion. It wasn’t long before he got into DJing. David DJs at milongas and festivals across New England and beyond, playing his carefully crafted tandas. His favorite songs are the emotional songs that touch your soul, and are full of longing. However, he plays a wide variety of tango songs, from rhythmic to lyrical. He has even been known to play an alternative tanda when it fits the crowd. His goal is for people to leave tired, from dancing all night.
El Espejero
from Toronto, Canada
Igor “El Espejero” started dancing tango in 2011, and DJing in 2012. Since then he has been invited to play his music to over 350 milongas and 60 major events in England, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, North Cyprus, China, Taiwan, ten US states, and Argentina (Salon Canning and Club Fulgor, Buenos Aires), while actively DJing at various milonga venues and organizing own events in Toronto, the city of his residence.
His musical selection is firmly grounded in the classics of the Golden Age, with occasional, yet necessary departures into the naive warmth of Guardia Vieja sextetos and raw energy of a few carefully selected modern orquestas, while his style is influenced by the profound and sensual choices of the younger generation of Buenos Aires musicalizadors.
Igor says: “I believe that it is the dance floor that dictates the choices to the DJ, not other way around. Thus, I neither program my music in advance of the event, nor I attempt to ‘educate’ or ‘challenge’ the dancers. My only goal is to deliver the best danceable music and abundant energy to the floor, from the first tanda to the last, without a single exception.”
Jean-Sebastien
from Montreal, Canada
Jean-Sebastien is an active member of tango communities across multiple cities in Canada. His passion for teaching, dancing, performing, and DJing has earned him a loyal following of dancers and students who appreciate his skill and dedication.
Regularly teaching Tango in Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec, Jean-Sebastien is also a popular DJ who draws from a high-quality repertoire that is mostly focused on Golden Age tangos. He arranges his tandas with careful balance and a particular concern for the dancers’ creative and emotional experience.
With his passion for the dance and his ability to create a memorable experience on the dance floor, Jean-Sebastien remains a vivid and fascinating figure in the North-American tango world.
Koichiro Suzuki
from Naha, Okinawa
Koichiro Suzuki has a Master’s Degree in Music Performance at Duquesne University and has performed Euphonium internationally since 1996. Koichiro incorporates his complex music background and deep understanding of musicality into his DJing. Koichiro DJs regularly in Pittsburgh, PA and has DJed many other cities in the United States, Argentina, Canada, Cyprus, Mexico and Japan. In 2021, Koichiro was invited to DJ at the Windy City Tango Festival in Chicago in July, the Boston Tango Marathon in September, Plan to Organize Pittsburgh Tango Fierro in October.
Yatma Diallo
from Milan, Italy
Yatma Diallo, born in Senegal, has lived in Italy for over twenty years. His first dance experiences in Dakar belong to the world of salsa and hip hop, disciplines that he continued to cultivate for many years in Europe as well.
In tango, after initial study experiences in Europe with Monica Maria Fumagalli, his current partner, as well as with Susana Miller, Ana Schapira, Jorge Firpo, and many others, he spent a period in Buenos Aires deepening his studies. Within a few years, he achieved notable professional awards.
In 2019, he distinguished himself at the Milan Metropolitan Championships (Lombard selection for the World Cup) as the only dancer competing to reach the podium in all dance categories: tango, vals, and milonga. In 2021, he placed second in the Italian Metropolitan Championship, category: International Milonga, and reached the semifinals in tango at the Buenos Aires Mundial 2021.
In 2013, he obtained the CONI diploma as a couple dance teacher.
Together with Monica Maria, he engages in intense didactic activity with a permanent school in Milan, conducting workshops in various towns across Italy, Europe, the USA, and Africa. They also collaborate with Horca Myseria, with whom they created the “Vela y Tango” project, organizing events and holidays combining sailing and dancing tango in harbors.
Since 2014, he has served as president of the ASD “Mundo Milonguero.”
Our alternative music DJs:
Alla Lakov
from Boston, Massachusetts
Alla is a Boston-based tango dancer, instructor, tango events organizer and DJ offering a large variety of alternative and traditional music. Her vibrant music sets can be found at milongas and marathons across the US and Italy. Alla’s lifelong relationship with music began in Russia’s Mariinsky Theatre where her father was the first oboist. Inspired by classical music, tango community and dance, Alla organized her first BOSthón marathon in 2012. iTango, her second marathon at Cornell University, started a few years later. Her goal as DJ is to make the dancers happy and willing to dance more and more.
Julia Zemlyanikina
from Detroit, Michigan
I met tango in 2010 and fall in love with it. First several years I was a strictly tango nuevo addict. Then I discovered Golden Age orchestras and completely changed the way I was dancing before. Now after so many years of dancing tango all over the world, I find myself enjoying traditional music as much as alternative tango.
I started DJing in 2021 at milongas in Michigan. As a dancing DJ, I only play the music that I love to dance to myself and I absolutely enjoy the challenge of finding new alternative danceable music.
Ken Broom
from Columbia
Ken Broom is a multi-faceted DJ with more than 15 years experience playing music for dancers. Since 2004, he has been playing Latin dance music (salsa, chacha, bachata, and merengue), Argentine Tango music (traditional as well as nuevo/alternative tandas of tango, vals, and milonga), and Ballroom dance music (International (ballroom and latin) and American (smooth and rhythm)).
Ken has been a guest DJ at Spoleto’s Tango on the Beach (2006 to present), Columbia’s Mad Hot Tango Marathon (2010-2012), Columbia’s Argentine Tango Regional (2014-2015), Charlotte’s Candlelight Alternative Milonga (2016), Queen City Tango Marathon, Queen City Tango Festival, Dancing with the Stars (9 seasons), Las Carolinas Tango Marathons, SouthEast Tango Festival, and Milonga La Pantera along with numerous private tango events and grand openings
As event organizers, Ken and his wife (Zenaida), have hosted Spoleto Tango Festival (Charleston, SC) 2006-present, Tango by the Lake (Columbia, SC), WinterHeat Salsa Weekend (Columbia, SC), and The Columbia Tango Marathon (Columbia, SC), and Southeast Tango Festival. In 2022, Ken and Zenaida launched Dragon Productions LLC, an entertainment company focused on providing event planning, audio, video, and theatrical lighting services.
As an Audio Engineer, Ken has been honored to mix live performances for Alejandro Ziegler Orchestra, Pittsburgh Tango Trio, Osvaldo Barrios, Athens Tango Project, De La Noche, Orquesta MaCuba, and Palmetto Latin 9.