Tanya J Smith Washington DC Salsa Mambo Bachata Latin
Recap – Mr. Mambo’s Last Stand at The DC Dance Collective. SOOOOO MANY People from Near and Far Away Lands came to pay their Last Respects to The DC Dance Collective one last time as Mr. Mambo’s Home for 8 years May 25, 2014. And from all reports, and not just my biased observations as the Head Cheerleader in Charge, We went out of there with a BANG! On behalf of Mr. Mambo aka Tommy Smith and myself, I want to Thank EVERYONE who ever graced the doorstep and the dancefloors of the DC Dance Collective to dance at Mr. Mambo’s! Your energy and enthusiasm for what we do at Mr. Mambo’s is the reason why we continue to exist and why we will be able to move forward at our new home at the Hollywood Ballroom! Special Thanks goes out to DC Salsa Meetup for hosting us and supporting and STICKING BY US for the past 5 years!
Workshops were overflowing with Students hungry for quality Salsa y Bachata Training and Good Technique! Richmond Salsa’s Finest, Giovanni Roggiero, with the assistance of the beautiful Carla Gutti, had an Awesome, packed out Salsa ON1 class that drilled in good technique and a challenging turn-pattern into students of all levels even though it was billed as Beginner. Psyon Gianni Scott & Luz Rodriguez paired up for the first time to teach Intermediate Salsa ON2 and it was a Big Success! Both combined their vast Salsa experience and knowledge base to bombard their packed out class with technique to become a Better Follow/Lead and not just memorize turn-pattern choreography. Yulio, with the help of his beautiful assistant Rachel, had a Full house of students learning Bachata Urbana and they were focused and ready to digest his wide-ranging wisdom on keeping your Bachata Dance Sexy while maintaining proper form and leading/following from your core.
Suffice it to say, the Music was a Take No Prisoners Exercise in Salsa/Mambo/Bachata/Kizomba Mayhem! DJ Dola (who took a musical challenge from me seriously and shut me down good and proper), DJ Tico, and DJ Yulio UNLEASHED THE KRACKEN on the Dancers but the Dancers didn’t run away and hide. No, they Stayed on the Dancefloor BEGGING FOR MORE, Saying WE WANT MORE! Both Dancefloors were overflowing with people either dancing, watching from the sidelines WISHING they were dancing, or just socializing and soaking up the atmosphere. The Vibe was Turnt-up (its a legit word, google urban dictionary) up to a Nuclear Salsa Mambo Bachata HIGH and everyone wanted a Hit of that Good Ish ALL THE TIME on the Dancfloor! In fact, NO ONE WANTED TO LEAVE and subsequently, after constantly haranguing Poor DJ Dola long after his set officially ended for more music, no one DID leave the dancefloor. Finally, Mr. Mambo started flickering the lights after 3am as a signal to take your Dancing Business/Pleasure Outside the Premises, PLEASE AND THANK-YOU, unless you are going to help us clean up! That did the trick and people reluctantly started to pack their stuff and leave the DC Dance Collective one last time in its Final Incarnation of Mr. Mambo’s Salsa Social.
Announcements went much faster this time as I was prepared and had all of the key points written out on cue cards. This forced me to stay on message and to NOT ramble about interminably as usual creating private, uncivilized thoughts of legalized stoning by the dancers held hostage as I pontificate ad naseum. Happy Birthday again to two (2) of our Regulars, Janet and Cheri, who were treated to a Huge, Fun-Filled, Thrilling Birthday Dance Circle for both of them at the same time. Props goes out to the 3 Winners of our Free Raffle (Kim Torrence, Steve Deveranz, and Alex Ju) to the Exciting NYC Salsa Dura Mega Fest held July 3-7, 2013 granting FREE Full VIP Access to All Workshops/Performances/Social Dancing! Thanks to Reggie for being a Good Sport and coming VERY CLOSE to winning one of those passes if the winning raffle tickets continued to be unclaimed, that is until the crowd roared back NOOOOOO- keep pulling tickets so I CAN WIN INSTEAD, lol!
HUGE Thanks to those who helped us behind the scenes setting up, tearing down, and at the door taking money- Tatiana, Chris Nash, & My Salsa Big Sis, Sheila McNeil! This event couldn’t happen without their constant, selfless support EVERY SOCIAL!
Moving Forward, Mr. Mambo’s is Now Calling the Hollywood Ballroom in Silver Spring, MD HOME and we will launch our First Social in there SAT, JUNE 8! We Welcome Everyone to Join us to Christian that Space Properly in DC Salsa y Bachata Style! Again, Thank You to EVERYONE for your Love, your Support, and for All of the Good Memories that were had and shared while we were installed at the DC Dance Collective! It’s Now Time for a New Chapter.
Written May 26, 2014
