Saladeen, a native of Chicago, learned to dance at a very young age, spending time with his Puerto Rican friends listening and dancing to Latin music. At the age of twelve, in 1953, Saladeen formed a Latin dance duo called the Mambo Deuces with “Cha-Cha” George. Saladeen and George became the top exhibition dancers in Chicago during the 1950’s. During this time, Saladeen was also training as a boxer and fought 36 fights undefeated from 1953 to 1963. Saladeen moved to Los Angeles for 12 years and became a Muslim Minister, studying and teaching Islam. Saladeen returned to Chicago in 1979. In 1980 Saladeen began deejaying with the Mambo Family and began to dance again. In the early 1990s, Saladeen and other dancers from the Mambo Family formed Cultural Expressions, “a multi-cultural group that celebrates the state of well-being through music, form and dance.” Saladeen first arrived at the Old Town School of Folk Music in 1992 to take piano lessons and not long after that was teaching Latin Dance, moving effortlessly between salsa, mambo, cha-cha, merengue, cumbia, and Latin jazz.
Started at the Old Town School in April of 1997
