Maria Torres is a New York City mambo instructor and performer best known for her longtime partnership with Eddie Torres, the Mambo King. As Eddie’s wife and dance partner, Maria has been part of the teaching and performance history behind Eddie Torres-style salsa On2, especially the women’s styling, shines and partnerwork that shaped generations of New York mambo dancers.
Maria worked with Eddie through much of his career, performing on major stages and teaching mambo in New York. Her classes have centered on open-floor shines and partnerwork, with careful attention to rhythm, styling, connection and practical details for both followers and leaders.
Her teaching is known for clear breakdowns, warmth and an eye for how dancers move inside the partnership. She builds shines from slower music to faster tempos, rotates students so everyone gets practice, and gives students enough structure to feel the music without losing the social feeling of mambo.
Today, Eddie and Maria Torres continue to keep their mambo lessons available through in-person classes and recorded class options. Maria’s work belongs alongside Eddie’s because she helped shape how New York-style mambo was taught, polished and passed on to later dancers.