Melonee's story...

My name is Melonee, and I’m an African American woman who
loves to dance and loves all kinds of music. I’ve always been
involved in all kinds of physical activities. I danced ballet, tap
and jazz as a child, I was a cheerleader in high school, and was
an addict to hip hop clubs in my early twenties.

Now, I’m solely dedicated to working out 5 times a week at the
gym. I like working out, but it slowly turns into a weekly routine.
Working out is now something that I HAVE to do. I’ve always
been a person that gets bored very easily so I always try to keep
myself busy. I was tired of the hip-hop clubs and my weekends
were kind of boring from just doing the same-o-thing. So I was
on a mission to find something fun to do!

I read in a local newspaper about salsa lessons for five dollars at
The Boathouse. My best friend, Niqol, and I went together. We
were so excited to learn something new; something that none of
our friends knew how to do. We thought we were going to be the
only African American women doing salsa. But when we got
there, we were shocked, but refreshed, to see so many different
nationalities. The diversity was great. I had never seen anyone
do salsa dancing. I had listened to the music before and I liked
it, but I didn’t realize it was salsa music. I was in for a surprise!

I had no idea how my life was about to change. On March 29,
1998, Niqol and I took our first lesson at The Boathouse with
Laura Canellius, and it was great! I was so excited to learn more.
I made sure that I went every weekend. I would dance as much
as I could. I would even ask the guys (the “good dancers”) to
dance and ask them to critique how I was dancing. I wouldn’t
have ever asked a guy to dance in any other kind of club,
especially a hip hop club, where everyone is trying their best to
be cool.
But I was determined to get this dance! I would stay late and
wait for the “good dancers” to come so that I could study their
style and fancy footwork. I remember I saw Eddie Lewis dancing
with Albert Torres. I was totally amazed. I said to myself, “some
day I’m going to dance really good and look as stylish as she
does”. She was the best dancer in the whole place (and still is
one of the best) - what an inspiration! Since then, I have taken
classes with only the best! - Salsa Brava, Albert Torres, Laura
Canellius, Josie Neglia and Alex DeSilva. These instructors have
really influenced me and have created the Salsa Monster in me!

One day Albert Torres asked me to dance! I thought to myself “I
can’t believe I’m dancing with one of the most well-known
salseros in LA! I felt like I had won the “Salsa-of-the-Year
Award” or something. I was so honored. And what a gentleman
Albert is! He told me that I was a beautiful dancer. I couldn’t
believe it! For the first time I felt like I had accomplished my
goal of conquering salsa dancing. I never thought that
I could go to a club by MYSELF and have so much fun! Now, I
can walk into most of the salsa clubs in Los Angeles and know
most of the people there. I guess I’m a part of the “in crowd”
now. I also can’t believe that people come up to me and tell me
what a great dancer I am. I think to myself, “what do these
people see?”, “are they serious?”. I’m just having a good time
dancing and feeling every beat of the music. I still don’t know
how to do a lot of fancy turns and moves and I don’t plan on
becoming a professional salsa dancer. I’ll continue taking classes
and simply enjoy myself!

I love salsa, its history (which I learned from Salsa Brava and
the SalsaWeb), and everything that comes with it. I share the
dance with all of my family and friends and I try to inspire them.
I have grown to love it so much and I have met some of the
nicest people. I’m hooked for life! I’m a fanatic! I’m truly a
salsaholic!!