Tanya J Smith Washington DC Salsa Mambo Bachata Latin
Recap. Good Times at Mr. Mambo’s! I’m always amazed and humbled at the out of town people who say they came to Mr. Mambo’s specifically because they wanted to check out DC’s Salsa Scene and Mr. Mambo’s (they’ve heard good things) in particular. Over 220 people of all levels of dance, all walks of life merely sharing a common bond of wanting to dance to good Salsa y Bachata in a non-judgmental environment came out to party with us! Special Shout-out to our guests from North Carolina, South Carolina, & Florida, and Delaware in the house as well as our supporters from DC, MD, & VA!
Workshops were packed and enthusiastic. Juan Aristy taught a spirited Bachata Class that gave students some turn patterns and footwork to impress their partner. I asked a student who was taking a short break on the sidelines what he thought and he said that it was interesting because this was Bachata that was more Salsa inspired because of the turnpatterns instead of Traditional (code word for Dominican Style). He said it was good to learn about both styles although his preference was more organic Traditional Style. Alright then- lately I’ve been learning a whole lot about Bachata Dance Politics and styles and I’m taking notes of preferences and people’s insights. Tommy Smith drilled beginners with the fundamentals of timing and executing simple turns & CBLs. Irene taught more complex TurnPatterns & Footwork for the Intermediate Salseros with the help of Edwin Sorto. Psyon challenged students with a monster of a turnpattern which was barely 6 8-counts but was probably much more advanced than usual. He used me as his assistant in class to teach the turnpattern and although I could follow it, I had serious doubts the students assembled (particularly the leads) could process it. Amazingly, most of them were able to execute the essence of the tricky turnpattern fairly well during rotations. Good stuff.
The music in the main Ballroom was predictably EN FUEGO courtesy of the Knock out Tag Team of DJ Vino & DJ Tico! Great mix of Deep Mambo, Salsa Classica, Guaguancos, Salsa Romantica with only the barest sprinkling of Bachata. Brandon Bachata made his debut as the Host/DJ of our Bachata Invasion in the 2nd Ballroom and the feedback was unanimous- He ROCKED THE FREAKING HOUSE! Needless to say, He will be invited back and regularly.
Sexy Hot Dance Routine from Baltimore’s Brasilian Samba Dance Company Les Racines Dance! The ladies costumes were GORGEOUS and their shaking- I mean Dancing- kept the audience entertained!
Mr. Mambo’s gave a Mr. Mambo Style Birthday Salsa Dance to Beautiful Veteran of the DC Salsa Scene Lina Kaing!
Special Thanks to the Percussive Musicians who joined us and accented our DJ Set with their instruments- LOVE IT! Apparently, so did many of our dancers who joined in playing on their drums and cowbells to form a rotating cast of impromptu bandmembers!
Shout-out to the wonderful photographers present to take amazing pics AND dance- Andy, Ken, & Eamonn! Their pics should be up and posted over the next 2 weeks!
Last but not least, Much love to Mr. Mambo’s Angels, our loyal volunteers in the house- Keva, Anne, & Alexia!
