Several months ago, when I spoke to Angel Rodriguez, my old NY Mambo Society buddy, about a possible future visit to LA, I was especially concerned about bringing his brand of Mambo to LA for one reason: there's not much of it! I’ve always felt that Los Angeles could benefit from exposure to new, multi-flavored influences from the various styles of Mambo brought by a variety of New York based instructors and dancers.

One Monday night at El Floridita in Hollywood, California, this summer, I was introduced to a very fine dancer, Michele Bernhardt (who, I was told, danced on 2). We danced several times and I had lots of fun! Michele has a style similar to many New York dancers and as we talked and got to know each other, it turned out that she was originally from New York! We spoke at length, about New York and our dance-related associations, acquaintances and friends from back home, when the name Angel Rodriguez came up. When I asked if he was the same Angel who is married to the gorgeous Mambo performer, Addie Rodriguez, she replied that not only is he the very same person but that he and Michele are also old friends, and that he had just decided to finally come to LA. I was elated that I would finally get to see my Mambo buddy once more!

Within a few days Angel called me, wanting to get together in LA the following Monday, so I called all the folks from my little Mambo family to invite them to join us at El Floridita as well. My regular dance partner Chantal Sagouspe, a wonderful dancer and great follower (she was assigned to work with Chayanne, as the dance coach on the film "Dance with Me") was already on her way back to her home base in Fresno when I called. She said, regretfully, that she had an important function to attend the next day, and would have to get a decent head start on the 4-hour drive. Everyone else in the gang was ready to Mambo!

I arrived a little late, along with Adrienne Tripp, an experienced dance world professional with a passion for Salsa, who directed the First International Salsa Festival/Salsaweb World Championship Amateur Salsa Dance Competition, at the legendary Hollywood Palladium. When we arrived, I immediately noticed Chantal on the dance floor with Harry Bowens... She had decided to stay after all, to meet and dance with Angel and the rest of us and then leave at first light to Fresno! Then I looked around and saw Angel surrounded by many people, all of them vying for his attention. I was happy to see both of them and thought of how much fun this night would be, filled with great Mambo dancing!

When Angel and I got together at one of the tables we hugged each other and tried to catch up on old times. Frankly, it was a little hard to speak with him because he was mobbed. It seemed that everyone knew that here was a great New York Mambo dancer/instructor/performer. When we finally did have a chance to speak he mentioned that he was finishing a book about Mambo dancing called "Free Your Soul, It’s a Mambo Thing: Salsa." I was so delighted to hear that he had nearly completed the manuscript - and that I would be one of the first people to read it! We continued to discuss his other projects (instructional videos and ear training tapes) and then got a chance to dance, at last!

At one point I showed him my old Mambo Society shine list that I always carry in my wallet. I immediately went to the dance floor with my "Mambo Men" Errol Lewis and Harry, joined by Chantal to complete the "Mambo Squad" and showed him the shines routine that we performed at the Hollywood Palladium for the show segment of the Galavision-sponsored Salsa event this summer. Angel jumped in to do the routine as well! I felt a little guilty, though, because I didn't get into the Mambo Society shine routine with Angel at the beginning, and this was my own shine routine. Well, he stepped back, liked what he saw and then commenced to do a very cool and intricate shine routine of his own! It was great, and we continued to dance and play, apparently delighting our audience, till we closed the place! When the enjoyable night was over, we arranged to get together for Angel to hold an exclusive workshop on his own brand of advanced turns.

The next night, Angel came over to the Dance America studio where I rehearsed and trained the Mambo Squad (Mambo Men and Women, LA's first "only on 2" dance company), and he held a private workshop for us on his unique brand of slick turn patterns. Everyone had a great time and picked up a couple of cool turns to practice in later weeks. Afterward, we decided to go to St. Marks and just let loose. Angel got to hear Johnny Polanco y su Conjunto Amistad and appreciated my sentiment that this group is a high caliber band, full of very talented musicians. The evening turned into another of our fun Mambo nights! We said our good-byes that night, as Angel had an early date the next day with a little boy and the Jurassic Park attraction at Universal Studios!

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