Followed by a smaller class with few followers - Johnny & Serap Advanced

April 1, 2005

The partner dancing routine was unusually short yet still difficult. I'm having easier time remembering shines so I'm going to continue recording them.

closed hold (open is okay too)
1,2,3,5,6,7,1,2,3,5,6,7 basic (allowing partner time to stylize or practice their shine)
1,2,3 get into cross body lead
5,6,7 finish cross body lead while I turn clockwise 180 while changing to R-R hold
1,2,3 push partner back on 1, pull partner forward on 2, turn clockwise 180 as R hand catches partner's waist and L hand catches partner's L hand high (latter by 3/4) and turn partner to face the direction where she came from
5,6,7 turn partner 360 (or slightly more) counterclockwise moving back to where she came from on step 1
1,2,3 (Coca cola-like) give myself a hat on 1 as L foot steps forward and to left, R foot step forward and to right (so partner's legs are essentially sandwiched between my two legs) and R hand goes to partner's back to get to tight closed hold on 2, turn pivoting on R foot up to 270 counterclockwise while at the same time scooping/bringing partner along with you for this turn on 3 - this is very difficult!
5,6,7 finish as if this were the end of cross body lead thus continuing counterclockwise motion/momentum (somewhat irregular)

shine of the day (footwork only - not used in long routine - this one felt a bit fluffy at least the way I was doing it)
1 L foot over in front on R
2 R foot step back
3 L foot slide long to L
5 R foot to hook position
6 L foot slightly move over to R
7 R foot slide long to R
1 L foot toe (no weight on it) the ground slightly to left of and behind R foot
2 L foot toe the ground again at a point slightly more to R
3 L foot slide long to L
5 R foot toe the ground slightly to right of and behind L foot
6 R foot toe the ground again at a point slightly more to L
7 R foot slide long to R
7 R foot slide long to R
1 L foot toe the ground slightly to left of and behind R foot
2 L foot toe the ground again at a point slightly more to R
3 R foot jump (slightly) forward while L foot slide to left
5 R foot somewhat long to left (over and in front of L foot)
6 L foot over and behind R foot toeing the ground
7 R foot jump (slightly) to where L foot was (more or less) while L foot slide to L
1 back to basic

Male to female ratio has been even worse for Weds Intermediate classes with Cristian and Dee for past two weeks. It's not all bad especially in smaller classes because this meant I got to dance more with Serap, who gives excellent feedback.

[Edited partner routine on April 28, 2005 for clarification - still not ideal]

Hmm… These notes are not very useful as is. I think the lesson for the partner routine must have been like this -

1,2,3,5,6,7,1,2,3,5,6,7 basic for leader, follower has some footwork styling
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with leader turning 3/4 clockwise on 6,7 to get back to open hold position with hold switched to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 Standard Copa - switching to L-L and R hand landing on follower's waist on 3/4 followed by leading follower to a 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 This was called Coca cola-like that night. I'm not sure if follower's legs need to be sandwiched - it might be a different variation of a similar technique. Similar effect can be achieved with R foot behind follower on 2 (with tight hold) and turning as a couple in a counterclockwise rotation on 3, followed by normal cross body ending

[new edition added January 30, 2006]