40 minutes late - SOS level 3

June 19, 2005

I got there at 7:40 PM, meaning I missed 2/3 of the class and presumably at least 1/2 of the partner dancing depending on how long the shine part lasted. I think I got the gist of the routine but I never got to a point where I could use this routine. Navigating streets of London is still an enormous challenge. Even if I get familiarized with landmarks so that I wouldn’t get lost, I still should give myself 90 min to get here (in part to account for potential traffic problems).

1,2,3 start of cross body lead
5,6,7 lead follower to a 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with L-R high and turn myself around 1/2 turn counterclockwise on 7/8 and release L-R so that R-R connection is made at waist level on R side by 8 – leader and follower are facing same direction with leader in front
1,2,3 lead follower forward (there probably is an open break to start with) with R-R pointing forward and L-L connection made at waist level by 3/4 – by 4, leader and follower are nearly side-by-side with follower slightly behind and to right of the leader
5,6,7 continue leading follower forward (there probably is a full counterclockwise turn involved here) – I think R-R ends up at shoulder level (pointed forward and/or to right) while L-L lands on follower’s L shoulder by 8
1,2,3 prepare follower – R-R is lowered, then raised again
5,6,7 lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise turn and on 7/8 turn around 1/2 counterclockwise with L-L high and R-R low (note: I think it was actually a 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn for leaders, but I never managed because of lack of practice time) – situation is similar to that we were in at first beat 8 with leader and follower facing the same direction with leader in front, except that L-L is over leader’s L shoulder and R-R is by leader’s R waist
1,2,3 another open break while L-L goes over leader’s head to R side to chest level (higher than R-R) then leading follower to just behind leader’s position on R side
5,6,7 lead follower (using R-R forward with L-L steady first, then doing a counterclockwise motion with R-R starting from L side to R side with L-L initially high) to full clockwise turn for a wrap – by 8, L-L is more or less pointing towards L and maybe slightly behind while R-R connection is centered around front L waist of follower and leader is positioned slightly to R side of follower
1,2,3 L-L is moved toward the follower’s waist as follower is led to 1/2 turn counterclockwise and center of R-R connection is shifted to R waist of follower – by 4 positioning is essentially middle of cross body lead – let go R-R?
5,6,7 lead follower to a 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn and give myself a hat with L-L on 8
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard cross body lead

I think I am a much better salsa dancer than last time I was here. However, I also felt that I was no better than an average run-of-the-mill leader in the dance hall tonight. I also wasn’t sure if my dance partner’s had any more fun than they did with me of old. In any case, this was another great practice both qualitatively and quantitatively. Even the worst follower provided a source of amusement – by inexplicably going in circles (Cuban style) with no input from me, she ended up twisting me enough while in a closed position to make me fall into her arms. There were no interruptions caused by Merengue, Latin R&B or pop and only a one interruption by Bachata (two if you count their mixer at the beginning). That reminds me… a free Bachata lesson was learned thanks to this mixer (of more experienced students and less experienced students)!

start on 1,2,3,4 by going towards left, and go back to right on 5,6,7,8 with Bachata tick on 4 and on 8

followers can be led to turn counterclockwise on 5,6,7,8 with L-R high and rolling wrist while leaders turn is easier on 1,2,3,4 (also counterclockwise)

presumably same can be done while going forward (1,2,3,4 for leaders) or backwards (5,6,7,8 for leaders)