Millie Donay (born Carmela Dante Di Stefano; February 23, 1934 – July 16, 2007) was an American professional Latin dancer, a pioneer of

Mambo dance Mambo is a Latin dance of Cuba which was developed in the 1940s when the music genre of the same name became popular throughout Latin America. The original ballroom dance which emerged in Cuba and Mexico was related to the danzón, albeit fast ...

."Millie Donay"
, an obituary Her first partner (1950–1956) was Pedro "Cuban Pete" Aguilar of the

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.''New York Post'', March 14, 1946; p ...

. Among many other places, they performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

Waldorf Astoria The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultz ...

, and in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

for Israeli President

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the name ...

. They trained the teachers of the Arthur Murray Dance Studios in Latin dances. During 1957–1960, she and Marilyn Winters formed a Latin dance team.

Filmography

*'' Mambo Madness'', featured with Cuban Pete. *''

Mambo Kings ''The Mambo Kings'' is a 1992 musical drama film based on the 1989 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel '' The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love'' by Oscar Hijuelos. The film was directed and produced by Arne Glimcher, and stars Armand Assante, Antonio Ba ...

'', featured and co-choreographed with Cuban Pete.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donay, Millie American female dancers 1934 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American dancers 20th-century American women 21st-century American women