Johnny & Serap’s Big Salsa Party

October 22, 2005

Dips and Tricks

Dip 1
closed hold
This was seen couple of times before, once in Johnny's class and once in Ivan's workshop

Dip 2
open hold
1,2,3 open break followed by leading follower to a full counterclockwise turn with L-R high and R-L thus resulting in a wrap
5,6,7 unwrap follower with R-L (letting go L-R) clockwise [Note: This is very similar to Casino Rueda move, Babosa] – show L hand for follower on 8
1,2,3 lead follower to wrap herself back into the same wrap with counterclockwise turn (lead is a slight pull followed by a small counterclockwise motion with R-L) – make L-R connection at shoulder level in front
5,6,7 allow follower to lean oh-so-slightly onto you 4/5 then unwrap

Dip 3
probably shifting from open hold
1,2,3 both hands on followers hips (the button move – I’m not sure if I described this in a previous Sergio class) and get into cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower to a 1 1/2 (to 1 3/4) counterclockwise turn with R hand ending on follower’s back – footwork goes in place on 5, step to L on 6, R foot cross over to L on 7 and L foot to side L for a support position on 8 – I think dip occurs on 7/8 with similar twisting motion used in dip 1

Trick (whoa! – try this only with partner you’ve practice this with)
R-R hold
1,2,3 prepare follower
5,6,7 lead follower to a full clockwise turn with R-R high
1,2,3 lead follower to sweetheart’s position (push with R-R on 1 and pull on 2 and switch places in a manner similar to Casino Rueda move, Once, with R-R ending behind follower’s R waist)
5,6,7 go back to original position
1,2,3 same as above except R-R ends up on follower’s R shoulder and there is no real exchange of places in lower half of the body for the leader (upper body could lean to L)
5,6,7 lead follower back to original position and lean to L
1,2,3 lead follower to L like Once again with a simply lean to R
4 lead follower to duck(!) as she gets ready to move back in a backwards walk of sort
5,6,7 as follower ducks and walks backwards, lift R leg/foot and have it go over follower’s body and try very hard to avoid decapitating your dance partner

As far as I was concerned, this party was an unqualified success. It was almost like being at SOS, except with a lot more familiar faces. The floor was like an ice rink and was fun to glide on. The biggest improvement I could think of was a strong powerful fan to help cool down. It would have been fun to have my Bachata event held here (University Sports & Social Center) because of larger space, but it would have caused a logistical nightmare (unknown level of interest, increased cost, scheduling conflict, etc). I’m pretty certain that I wasn’t the only one among Salsa dancers in Cambridge, who was very happy with how this party turned out. There were many very good dancing all around, and some of the dances I observed made my jaw drop almost to the floor. Between this party and ballroom today, I got 7 hours of dancing, which left me quite exhausted in the end.