Is This Salsa or Is This Mambo?

While some people will try to tell you that they are the same, they are as different as night and day. Ten years ago when we did MamboMania1 the music was predominantly Mambo, now it's mostly Salsa! We'll have a few classes to teach you some of the classic moves that work in both Salsa AND Mambo!

What Is MamboMania?

MM9 is a weekend of workshops, dances and shows. Each version of MamboMania has been bigger than the last and has featured the hottest Mambo/Salsa dancers in the U.S. In past years we had dancers fly in from Texas, Denver, San Francisco and the real great teachers like the late Bobby Medeiros from Miami, 7 time US Latin champs Liz Curtis from New York and Ron Montez from San Diego, plus local stars Renee Victor, Joe Cassini, Laura Canellias, Enio & Terryl. Last year we went international with Giacomo & Melissa from Italy and 2 days of teaching and an evening of jamming. This year we bring in the two hottest teachers from London- Ramiro Zapata the Bolivian with the crazy fast feet and his own cool Rueda moves and Cuban born Homero Gonzalez who trained at the Instituto Nacional. Add live percussionists for the seminar and a fabulous show for the evening dance and you have the ingredients for a totally hot Salsa/Latin weekend.

How Does It Work?

Dancers are divided by level into 2 to 5 rooms (as necessary) a beginners room, intermediate, professional/advanced. Each instructor will teach a 75 minute class to each level, Each instructor will teach a different aspect of Salsa or Mambo. The lunch session will have live percussionists who will play to help those who are "rhythmically impaired".

What's Different This Year?

Salsa has changed tremendously in the last few years, teachers are focusing more on good leading and advanced partnering. This workshop will offer very specialized workshops in creating speed and power, advanced partnering and "show moves" that will make you the hottest Salsa dancer around!

The Evening Jam Session

Pull out your finest club threads on Saturday night, we're gonna dance til we drop! Lot's of LA's best Salseros will join us for a chance to jam. Around 11:00 pm you're going to see the debut of Salsa Caliente by Enio's Latin AllStars you will see the result of thousands of hours of individual training, truly a million dollar show- dancers doing what they love! We'll call on Ramiro & Homero to show you what they do and even call some Ruedas.

Can't Tell A Timbale From A Tumbao?

Can't tell the difference between a Charanga, a Cha Cha, and a Cumbia? On Saturday we will bring in live musicians from some of the best bands in town to teach you the differences between a Bomba and a Bachata. If you have trouble hearing a rhythm or want to make your solo dancing better, our dancers will show you how to interpret the subtle differences between a Salsa and a Mambo, how to dance on clave and just plain how to find the rhythm. Watch how different dancers interpret the same music and walk out a better dancer!

The Classes- The Teachers!

Anybody can teach moves- but these teachers can give you a style and speed boost you can't imagine. These are the best of the best! International Champions, Feather Award Winners, Dance Celebrities! In the Sunday floating workshop you'll be able to get a personal critique from the teacher of your choice or ask any question of them. This is a two day intensive workshop suited for the beginner to the professional. If you're tired of the same old moves, this weekend will be for you.

The Day Sessions

Because we are expecting large numbers for this event, several days prior to the actual event we will determine the correct number of rooms necessary without the classes being too crowded. In the past we have used from 1 to 5 rooms either at Let's Dance, the Joslyn Center around the corner or the Almansor Court Banquet Center just off Chapel. While the students practice or rest after each class for 15 minutes, the teachers will rotate to each room. The classrooms and any last minute schedule adjustments will be announced on our website (www.lets-dance-la.com), in class or by fax prior to the event. Although we have a suggested schedule, we allow these fantastic teachers to deviate as they know best.

Rueda

In 1989 we introduced Los Angeles to Salsa Rueda, the club rage in Miami. Miami superstar Bobby Medeiros came out and showed us not only how to dance in a circle but also how to dance with two guys or two girls. In Miami, one school in particular teaches over 900 Rueda students per day. The climactic scene of Dance With Me features some hot Rueda dancing. Saturday we'll learn some especially cool new rueda moves and in the evening do several giant ruedas. Rueda is very popular now in England and Holland. Homero teaches many of the original Havana Rueda moves while Ramiro has invented scores of really cool new moves. Both of them will call Ruedas on Saturday so don't miss this once in a lifetime chance.

Why Just Do It Once?

Ok it's Monday you're feet are wrecked, the throbbing in your head is a conga beat. You have 4 days to recover cause we're doing it again- next week! In San Francisco! On Friday afternoon we're taking a luxury coach up to the biggest club in California- the 1000 person Starlight in Sunnyvale. Although some of the teachers will be different, the format will be the same. Come up and meet the 800 Salseros who regularly attend the Starlight dances.On Sunday we'll drive back and be home by midnight.