Mama Nellie

January 9th in Ypsilanti was the scene for by far the best night of salsa ever dedicated to one person.  That night 250+ people came in from all over the Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Ohio to pay tribute to one of Detroit’s icons of the salsa community.  In short, the Dance Pavilion was the place, salsa was the dance, and the guest of honor was of course Mama Nellie!!

It became clear very early how many people would come out to honor Nellie.  The open dancing didn’t even start yet and the salsa class was packed!  It was a great start to what would be a memorable evening.  Following the class people began to fill the 2800 square feet of dance floor and it was on!!  The dance floor was as a giant whirl of salsa. Beginner, advanced, On1, On2, On whatever…  it was all there. The place was jumpin’ while DJs Marc, Koki and Samer kept the music thumpin'.  There was no way you could not feel the heat and excitement of this night.  Then came the moment we were all there for the tribute to Mama Nellie.