DIRECTORY OF "ON 2" MAMBO PERFORMING GROUPS

The New York/New Jersey metropolitan area represents the center of the New York style of "On 2 mambo dancing", and we have a number of excellent performing groups who present their choreography here and around the country and world.  Below is a listing of most of these professional groups, and how to contact them.  This information is provided for local, national and international promoters and directors who may wish to hire them to perform at an event such as a social, club, festival or international congress.  It is also for dancers who may wish to audition for their team, and for anyone who would like to express appreciation for their dancing, or get further information about their activities, studios and teaching.  Many of these groups are associated with salsa/mambo studios and instructors who are reviewed by Manny Siverio in our Dancer's Magazine , in his section on Instructors .   

Only those groups are included below which exclusively use the timing and style of On 2 mambo represented by the www.SalsaNewYork.com  web site, as described in the Definition Section .  Our style is what's called "New York Style" or "Eddie Torres Style" (starting on the 1st beat of the measure, ladies forward with right foot and men back with left foot, stepping on 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and breaking on the 2nd and 6th beats, danced in a line or slot).  The groups are listed along with the name(s) of the choreographers/instructors who direct their actual dance training and performing.  Please note that some groups go through "inactive periods" when they are not performing for a while, and then they reappear on the scene a while later with new choreography and sometimes new performers. 

Groups are chosen when they reach a "professional level" over a lengthy period of time, usually a few years, and they appear within the local On 2 mambo community at various socials, clubs, corporate events or a congress, so that we and other local On 2 dancers are familiar with them.  "Professional level" means that the group's (1) choreography is sophisticated, (2) the presentation is polished and sharp, (3)  the individual performers have completely learned the routine and execute it well technically, automatically and without mistakes, (4)  the individual performers clearly are performing for the audience, with true "performance expressions" on their faces, and are not preoccupied with getting the steps right or watching their fellow performers so as not to get lost, and (5) the performers are completely "into the dance" and are not appearing self-conscious or nervous.  All this means that the director has chosen especially talented dancers to perform, and then has rehearsed and drilled them very intensively.  We have in mind the skill level of performers in a Broadway show, a ballroom competition, or some of the best teams of a salsa congress.  SalsaNewYork chooses the groups by asking them if they'd like to be represented in our Instructor Directory (please do not ask).

Many of the pictures of these performing groups are from www.MambOn2.com , taken either by host Pablo Munoz or staff photographer Liz Hernandez, or from www.MamboPics.com taken by Amir Shimoni.  The NY/NJ mambo community owes a lot of gratitude to Pablo, Liz and Amir for so beautifully recording the dancers and performances of our teams.  Be sure to check out www.MambOn2.com and www.MamboPics.com to see the many great pictures of performers & social dancers they have taken over the last several years. 

If you are a performer, see our section Making & Caring For Performance CDs.  This describes how to make a proper CD for performing to, how to care for it and how to deliver it to the DJ, so that the song plays all the way through and doesn't skip or stop playing and, thereby, ruin your performance routine.

Directory of Adult Performing Groups

Abakua Latin Dance Company              Addie-Tude Dance Company              Caribbean Soul Dancers              Carlos Konig Dancers

 Con Sazon                     DulceBembe              Duplessey's Dance Companies              Eddie Torres Dancers             

             Griselle Ponce              Jimmy Anton Dancers              Karisma Dance Company              Latin Jazz Ensemble                

Lorenz Latin Dancers        Mambo D & Glenda              Mambo's Finest Dance Company              Mario B. Dance Inc.

   Piel Canela Dancers              Pzazz Dance Company              Revelation Dancers              Rhythm Divas             

Santo Rico Dance Company & Xibicion Santo Rico

              Tropical Image Dancers              Vitico "La Majia" Dancers              Yamulee Dance Company         

Directory of Youth Performing Groups

David Melendez Starlite Dance Teams -  Heartbreak Boyz, Junior Heartbreak Boyz , Sweethearts, Fuerza Gigante        

The Side Street Kids

Tropical Image Youth Dance Groups

Estrellitas de Yamulee