Palladium Ballroom

The Palladium Ballroom was a New York City night club. The US mambo craze that started in 1948 began at the Palladium Ballroom. On March 15, 1946, it opened at the northeast corner of Broadway and 53rd Street.^[1]

Big Three

In 1948, the Palladium Ballroom gained in stature because of the Big Three acts:

Dámaso Pérez Prado's "Mambo No. 5

" (1952) was a cross-over hit.

Dancers and dances

The Palladium was known for its dancers as well as its music, fueled by weekly dance competitions and pie contests along with a Female Best Leg Contest. Ability to dance, not class or color, was the

chachachá, merengue, and the pachanga

. These became as popular as the mambo.

At its height, the Palladium attracted Hollywood and Broadway stars, especially on Wednesday nights, which included a free dance lesson. Dance instructors such as "Killer Joe" Piro — who briefly served as master of ceremonies when Federico Pagani was not available — Augie and Margo were featured dancers there. Pedro Aguilar, better known as Cuban Pete, and Millie Donay appeared internationally. Carmen Marie Padilla offered mass dance lessons.

Jazz musicians, celebrities and Latin bands

The Palladium was near jazz clubs on West

jazz-fusion group Weather Report. The song appears on their album Heavy Weather

, and features a driving Latin rhythm.

Mambo declines

By the early 1960s, tastes had shifted, ending the Palladium's run in 1966. Dancers' and music fans' enthusiasm for the music was not diminished. The

Bronx. These venues hosted "the scene" after the Palladium. Pagani was an advisor for Nuestra Cosa (Our Latin Thing ) at the Cheetah and The Red Garder with Symphony Sid Torrin.('Mambo Kings'). Pagani produced and was responsible for all the Latin concerts In Madison Square Garden

.