A very long routine completed - Johnny & Serap Advanced

July 29, 2005

open hold
1,2,3 R-L alarde (hat) on 1 and keep it there (follower could be facing slightly towards R of the line on 1) and get into cross body lead position – aim L-R slightly towards L of the line on 3
5,6,7 lead follower to a reverse or inside 1 1/2 turn (L-R is aimed towards R of the line on 5 and is raised while letting go with R-L) – facing each other on 8
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic and get back into open hold
1,2,3 R-L alarde (hat) again on 1 and keep it there and get into cross body lead position – similar to the first 1,2,3 except I think L-R can be more extended this time
5,6,7 lead follower to an inside 1/2 turn keeping all connection (optional: R-L can say on follower’s shoulder if we are to follow last week’s model) – facing each other on 8 with a twisted hold with R-L on top
1,2,3 open break on 1 (today’s version involved simply stooping slightly on 1) and overtake on 2,3 while turning follower about 1/2 turn counterclockwise (?) with R-L ending in front of follower’s R shoulder and L-R in front of follower’s L shoulder (we are both facing the same direction with follower on my R)
5,6,7 turn follower around in 1/2 counterclockwise walk (both are using crossing over step on 5 – the aim for the leader is to get out of the way and get into cross body lead position by beat 8 towards the direction the follower was facing on 1)
1,2,3 stylized slide on 1 then get into cross body position is probably the best here – R-L stays on follower’s R neck/shoulder while L-R is extended behind follower on her R side to achieve another twisting motion (with follower facing slightly towards the R of the line on 1) … aim L-R slightly towards L of the line once again
5,6,7 lead follower to a reverse or inside 1 1/2 turn (L-R is aimed towards R of the line on 5 and is raised while letting go with R-L) – on 7, leader does a pivot clockwise 1/2 turn while letting go L-R and catch follower’s R hand with my R hand – both facing same direction with leader in front and to right of follower on 8
1,2,3 this is a tricky bit – R-R is tossed (very gently) while the follower is led so that she does not do a free turn but instead step forward with her L hand in front of her so that I catch her L hand with my R hand to reconnect R-L -- I'm not at all sure that any kind of toss can be used here and I’m not totally sure that the last connection is R-L. Instead, it might be L-L [note added July 30 – there probably is open break start on 1 and then pulling follower forward on 2 and the toss probably happens on 2/3 to R forward direction of follower’s line. This is my best solution at the moment.]
5,6,7 lead follower to a full counterclockwise turn - R-L probably goes to R on 5 as follower is lead forward, then in counterclockwise motion at waist level so that R-L does a kind of waist wrap of the follower and is centered on follower’s R front waist – both facing same direction with follower in front and slightly (?) to left of the leader on 8
1,2,3 unwrap follower by leading follower to a 1/2 clockwise turn and switch to L-L [note added on July 30 – In my analysis, this unwrap is probably initiated on 1 and the follower probably wants to use a hook turn to turn, and switch to L-L can be done by 3.]
5,6,7 lead follower forward on 5 and lead her to a free spin clockwise and do a spin myself (either direction would work although clockwise would entail waiting a little longer)

I suspect that such a long routine was completed in this class due to a multitude of factors including (1) reverse (inside) turn after cross body start, which is somewhat unusual and should have been difficult for new students (and there were many people in today’s class), was done three different times with very similar starting point so that even the newbies got a chance to get comfortable with it and (2) A well-regarded leader came to the class (for the very first time) and I think Johnny and Serap probably wanted to make sure that he got his money’s worth.

I got into a conversation about the UK Salsa congress with someone who already has booked. I’ve been thinking about it for couple of weeks but haven’t committed. I’m not sure if going to a congress would make it too big a deal for me; there’s interruption to work to consider; and there’s the L factor (this might be ovethinking it). Most of the competent leaders seemed pretty uninspired and left without dancing very much tonight. So somewhat like on Wednesday, I tried to pick on as many new faces as possible, many of them beginners but also few not-so-bad intermediate followers whom I found enjoyable to dance with. I think one particular cute-looking intermediate was picked as a target by some of the better leaders after they saw her dancing a couple of decent dances with me. One wild dance with an overly enthusiastic but completely un-lead-able woman was particularly memorable. I somehow ended up staying around to closing time (last song was a possibly unintentional jitterbug bonus for the ballroom crowd).