Millie Donay
(Carmela Dante DeFrancesco)
February 23, 1934 - July 16, 2007
The world mourns the loss of one of America’s
pioneer female Latin dance legends, Millie Donay (Carmela Dante DeFrancesco),
who succumbed to colon cancer Monday, July 16, 2007, in New Jersey.
Millie
met Cuban Pete
at the Palladium Ballroom around 1950, and there was instant chemistry,
so much so that she asked him to dance. Initially a phenomenal Lindy
Hopper, he taught her the Mambo and the clave, to which she added jazzy
Lindy moves, and the rest is Latin dance history.
Dancing
to the fiery sounds of all the major Latin bands, Cuban Pete and Millie
electrified the world with their daring, innovative rhythmic moves and
custom, original routines, catapulting the Mambo to an international
craze. Every Wednesday night, hordes of people flocked to the Palladium
Ballroom on 54th and Broadway, to watch their scintillating Mambo, double
Mambo, Rumba, and the sexy, steamy Guajira, danced to Love for Sale.
Millie is most famous for her creation of body rolls, especially one
where she turned her back to the audience as she tapped her derriere.
No one has since been able to perfect that particular move - it brought
the house down! This dynamic duo put Latiin dance on the map!
They performed
at Carnegie Hall, The Apollo Theater, Waldorf Astoria, Copacabana, Astor
Hotel, the Latin Quarter in Boston with Xavier Cugat, and Madison Square
Garden for Israeli President Ben Gurion. They appeared in the film,
“Mambo Madness,” were featured in LIFE magazine,
appeared on the Nat King Cole Telethon, Art Raymond Poncho Show, the
José Curbelo Show, and toured for Arthur Murray Dance Studios
training their Latin department. They danced in nightclubs from coast-to-coast,
and in Canada, achieving international stardom. They danced in the Catskill
Mountains, at all of the major hotels, in jamborees and exhibitions,
and every Thursday night at Cory’s, receiving thunderous applause
and standing ovations.
Cuban Pete and Millie parted ways in 1956, but remained
friends through the years. They have one daughter, Denise, named after
their good friend, actress Denise Darcel.
After a
short solo career, during which time she fronted Perez Prado in Las
Vegas. From 1957-1960, she paired with Marilyn Winters, creating the
first and only two-woman, side-by-side Latin dance team.
Millie
returned to dancing solo before meeting and marrying Michael Dante DeFrancesco,
with whom she had three sons. In 1992, she appeared and co-choreographed
with Cuban Pete in the film, “Mambo Kings,” and
a special event at the Nevele Hotel. She participated in Latin dance
panels, quorums, television documentaries, and hosted Latin dance events
in the Northeast region.
She is survived by her daughter, Denise Gerard, sons
Joseph, Michael, and Anthony DeFrancesco, daughters-in-law Tammy and
Kelly, granddaughters Gina Gerard, Jordan, Nicole and Carmelina DeFrancesco,
and grandsons Michael and Raymond DeFrancesco.
A private service will be held Saturday, July 21, 2007.
There will be a Memorial held in her honor in New York City in the near
future, details to follow. In lieu of flowers, family members request
donations be made in her memory to:
Side Street Kids
1310 Unionport Road
Bronx, New York 10462
Attn: Toni & Carlos Mendoza
Tel: 718-595-1000
Email: sidestreetkids@hotmail.com
Harbor Conservatory
Latin Dance Program
One East 104th Street
New York, New York 10029
Attn: Nina Olsen
Tel: 212-427-2244, ext. 577
Email: nolson@boysharbor.org
Condolences to her family may be sent to:
Ms.
Denise Gerard
19 Oregon Avenue
Jackson, NJ 08527
Email: dag1229@aol.com
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on / Esta página fue actualizada el
31-Dec-2007
