For many Latinos, dancing mambo, cha-cha, salsa, and merengue is a pastime–a way to escape everyday life. But for Addie Diaz, 32, dancing is everyday life.

She has been a professional dancer, instructor, and choreographer for six and a half years [as of 1999]. And, as if that weren’t enough, Diaz has doubled as a full-time executive assistant at Viacom [MTV/Nickelodeon] since 1994.

"I basically do everything [related to dance] after a full day of work," says Diaz, who is of Puerto Rican decent.

The New York native performed onstage in the United States and abroad, and on such TV shows as Sabado Gigante. She also runs the Addie Diaz [Addie-tude] Dance Company. Composed of six dancers, which has performed in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Switzerland. In 1988, she was featured in an HBO documentary on partner dancing.

One of her favorite gigs was the 1995-1996 tour of the Combinacion Perfecta, a revue of popular Latin songs from well known musicians. Diaz’s dancing accompanied the performances of such stars as Marc Anthony, India, Tito Puente, Oscar de Leon, Celia Cruz, and Tony Vega. The Combinacion Perfecta tour took Diaz from Madison Square Garden in New York to the Hollywood Bowl in California. She has also toured Columbia with the Show.

Besides being a talented dancer, Diaz is a clever businesswoman. Her latest business venture is a series of instructional videos on mambo dancing called Addie-tude. They are due out this month and will be available on the web at Addie-tude.com.

With two careers and two children, Diaz keeps a busy schedule. She begins the day getting three-year-old son Devin ready for pre-K and 14-year-old Jazmin ready for high school. Then it’s off to 1515 Broadway, where she schedules meetings and organizes the business affairs of an executive in Nickelodeon’s accounting division.

She says she never imagined a career as a dancer. "It just happened," she says. In 1992, while performing in an amateur dance contest, dancer Evelyn Leon approached her and asked her to join her company. "I went into it for fun," Diaz says. Then I realized I could get paid to do what I love.

How does she manage two careers and two children? "Hard work," Diaz says. She tries to plan her weekend performances around her children so that she can spend time with them. But she is quick to note that she doesn’t do it alone: "I have a very supportive mother who is an enormous help to me." Besides, she adds, dancing is a way to connect with her roots.