November 30, 2005 (updated December 8, 2005)
Trying to find up-to-date information on good places to go dancing is a challenge. Internet has made searching easier but popularity of various venues can be highly fluid. Even the venerable Jimmy Anton's Social in New York has been going strong only for about 12 years, and it would have been possible to find out that Jimmy's is the place to be for last 5 years or so via internet. London's SOS cannot have been existence for more than a decade or so (a pure guess on my part), and hint of its reputation could have been garnered using Salsa chat forums like one operated by Salsa Mafia for last couple of years and starting this year via general club listing and review site londonsalsa.co.uk. In Cambridge, Club Salsa (now the center of LA style Salsa in Cambridge) has been around for about 2 years, and JC's latindance website offers well-updated listing of Salsa venues and dates although no explicit review of Cambridge venues exists (of course, it may be possible to get an idea from my blog). For Washington DC, Clarendon Grill apparently is the premier weekly spot and has been for couple of years at least; it's possible to guess that this is the case after extensive internet research. However, this was quite difficult in part because there is not a single website devoted to listing all venues let alone review various venues and also because of existence of many outdated information floating about.
During my research into DC Salsa, I found two cool websites called greatdance.com and stuckonsalsa.com. I liked these website mainly because they were comprehensive and allowed me to get a good picture of Salsa scene in Washington DC area as whole, rather than simply advertise their own events (not that there's anything wrong with such an approach).
As its name suggests, greatdance.com covers many types of dances, not just Salsa. The forum operated by greatdance.com may be of interest to DC and visiting dancers. Avid readers of Salsa Mafia might be amused by this thread, which lists places to go for Salsa dancing as of a month ago (and therefore already outdated) - hint: the list itself is not the source of amusement by the way. The calendar operated by greatdance.com (in a format similar to that of salsanewyork.com) looked great and pretty when I first started my research about Salsa in DC back in September, but it content seems to be getting increasingly out-of-date.
Within a short period of time, stuckonsalsa.com seemingly has become the liveliest of the DC Salsa websites. The website itself is sprawling with Salsa-related material and is updated very frequently. Although the website is a little messy, I really liked the content - I think the enthusiasm and energy of Earl Rush (the founder of stuckonsalsa.com) is evident throughout the website. Like greatdance.com, stuckonsalsa.com has list of DC weekly Salsa events (this list is currently up-to-date). It has a forum, which only got started in the beginning of December 2005. One of the more incredible part of the website included profiles of large number of regular DC Salseros/Salseras apparently posted with permission.
List of weekly Salsa venues in DC seems to get outdated very quickly and it takes fair amount of effort for anyone to keep track. It seems to me that venues (usually restaurants, taverns, lounges, etc) where Salsa dancing is held does a good job of keeping up-to-date information on what's going on. So in the list I'm making below, I give links to both the venues and promoters when possible. Short commentaries are attached (along with links leading to my personal impression of the venue).
Clarendon Grill - Mondays - Seemingly the best weekly spot DC has to offer currently as implicitly suggested by the amusing thread mentioned above, by another older post I read in a private forum, and also confirmed by Sergio, who has done some research of his own. Read my post for my impression of the venue. It is located in Arlington, and the closest Metro station is Clarendon about 1 min walk away.
Barking Dog - Tuesdays - This is the apparent leader of Tueday battle royale in Bethesda. Also refer to my post for more details. The closest Metro station is Bethesda about 2-3 min walk away.
South Beach Restaurant - Tuesdays and Thursdays - Thursdays might be better bet - also located in Bethesda about 5 min walk from Metro station.
Divino's Lounge - Fridays - Apparently they also operate on Mondays but no longer Tuesdays. It gets very crowded with non-dancers on Fridays until much later. I stopped by for about two hours. Divino's is also located in Bethesda about 1 min walk from the Metro station.
In the aforementioned amusing thread, DC spots like Yuca on Saturdays and H2O (map) or another nearby DC venue on Fridays hosted by Eileen Torres (also see this profile and updates) were also recommended. It would seem that the information regarding Yuca was already one month outdated before the post was made while H2O may have become a mostly non-Salsa venue (merengue, reggaeton, etc) within a month after the post and one week prior to my arrival - I'm not sure about this.
Other recently recommended spots include Zanzibar on the waterfront on Wednesdays in DC and Cecilia's on Thursdays and Fridays in Arlington.
Other potential DC Salsa spots include Cafe Citron and venerable Habana Village.
Finally, a new venture from stuckonsalsa.com is a monthly Salsa social starting in December. It seems promising but who knows how long it will last if at all considering the volatile up-and-down nature of Salsa in Washington DC. Based upon what I have seen and heard, special events hosted by stuckonsalsa.com is more likely to bring out large number of good dancers compared to weekly club nights.
Salsa in Washington D.C. II – Barking Dog
November 29, 2005
Unseasonably warm weather persisted to this evening although a somewhat heavy rain made a short dash from parked car to the Barking Dog a scramble. The pub downstairs appeared downright empty, and the dance floor upstairs did not feel packed either compared to Clarendon Grill. Just as Sergio said last night, the cover fee was twice as expensive as Clarendon Grill ($10 versus $5). After paying the cashier, I was presented with a glowing paper bracelet as receipt on top of a stamp I received on back of my hand presumably as proof of age at the entrance.
The first thing I noticed was the layout of the dance floor, which had a small square wood floor area in the middle with columns on four corners just outside of the wood floor. The wood floor, which could accommodate perhaps 10-12 couples, was surrounded by much larger space covered with tile floors. Also, the temperature inside was not as warm as it was at Clarendon Grill; having no fan was not as a big an issue as it was last night and extra clothing I brought was not used.
Beginner class was still unfinished when arrived, so I went downstairs to visit the toilet, in which I encountered a huge man dressed only in his briefs and getting ready to jump into a rather garish suit. Later I found that this man is the DJ for the evening. Everything about this DJ was big, including his booming voice, which he used liberally throughout the evening with earthshaking volume over which no conversation was possible – at least for me. He also had a strange habit of making random strange gurgling noises – one of my dance partner commented, “Oh, he does that all the time.” without blinking an eye.
The regular instructor for the Tuesdays at Barking Dog is Michelle Reyes, whom Sergio apparently knows fairly well and is a part of a clique that regularly attends Jimmy Anton’s Social in New York (more on this later). However, Michelle was nowhere in sight tonight. Instead of their regular intermediate class (of which I had fairly low expectations based upon the lessons at Clarendon Grill), another woman came out to introduce Casino Rueda for the students. Initially it seemed that I was the only one who had any experience with Rueda among approximately 30 people who were there – however, it turned out there were at least one other who knew something of Rueda and drifted in and out of the circle. Predictably, we did not get very far – I don’t think the instructor had a very big ambition about teaching Rueda tonight. The moves taught are listed below with minimal description.
Basic step (Guapea but not named) – This was done with partners facing each other at all times. Both step back on 1 and come together on 5.
Dame (the instructor pronounced the word very softly – even more so than with any other commands she used – without a microphone and with music on, she was inaudible – an incredible fact in my opinion for a Rueda caller)
High Five – Turn and face backwards to do a high five clap with next follower on 1 (R to R), then finish Guapea
High Ten – Turn and face backwards and do patty cake clap (using both hands - L with R and vice versa) with next follower on 1, then finish Guapea
Fly – Turn and face backwards and clap (I don’t think they jumped) on 1, then finish Guapea
Fly doble – Like Fly but clap on 1 and on 2, then finish Guapea
Besito – Turn and face backwards and kiss air on 1, then finish Guapea
Bota? Vuelta? – Guapea until about 5, then lead follower to spin clockwise for her to face her new partner while leader turns counterclockwise to face his next follower for a Dame
Initially I considered sitting out of the lesson when I realized that they would be doing Rueda with complete beginners. But then I decided that I didn’t really have anything better to do.
Despite heavy rain tonight, Sergio showed up once again to lend “support”. Whatever the reason, it was very nice to have a familiar face around and at least at one point observe his dancing and marvel at his ability to improvise and lead his partner to all sorts of unexpected movements. He had talked about going to New York next weekend to attend among other events, Jimmy Anton’s Social. Apparently in New York, these so-called socials are the place to go for dancing rather than clubs, which attract large share of people who are there for drinking, etc rather than dancing Salsa. A good resource for finding good places to dance apparently can be found in a website called salsanewyork.com and in particular its calendar. Details of events page is also useful. I had been to this website several times previously over the past year but Sergio’s comments gave me additional context to look at the contents of the website with more concrete purpose. I suppose a problem for me would be that I suspect most people there dance on-2, which I haven’t had an opportunity to start learning. In any case, I can’t go to New York for this event this year since I will be back in Cambridge by next weekend.
About halfway through the club hours, there was a performance with tonight’s Rueda instructor as one of the participant. The performers were six women, three in red and three in black but otherwise in seemingly identical dresses. The performance started off with what looked like Offbeat dancing rather than Salsa dancing followed by some rudimentary partner dancing done in unison followed by fairly simple Rueda with some stylizations. I think the big emphasis was on doing stylizations in unison by the women in red playing follower’s part.
The club part of the evening started fairly well – probably slightly better than in Clarendon Grill last night when the first hour from both were compared to each other possibly because I was feeling more relaxed tonight. It might have helped that I recognized some of the faces tonight from Clarendon Grill last night. I was hoping that dancing went better as evening went along as it did in Clarendon Grill. Unfortunately, things more or less plateaued at about the level reached by the halfway point and the start of the Offbeat-Rueda demonstration. Overall, I would guess that Clarendon Grill had many more flashier dancers. Still overall, tonight still was enjoyable with plusses including fairly large pool of decent if not outstanding dance partners throughout the evening and reasonable amount of space equivalent to Club Salsa on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Unseasonably warm weather persisted to this evening although a somewhat heavy rain made a short dash from parked car to the Barking Dog a scramble. The pub downstairs appeared downright empty, and the dance floor upstairs did not feel packed either compared to Clarendon Grill. Just as Sergio said last night, the cover fee was twice as expensive as Clarendon Grill ($10 versus $5). After paying the cashier, I was presented with a glowing paper bracelet as receipt on top of a stamp I received on back of my hand presumably as proof of age at the entrance.
The first thing I noticed was the layout of the dance floor, which had a small square wood floor area in the middle with columns on four corners just outside of the wood floor. The wood floor, which could accommodate perhaps 10-12 couples, was surrounded by much larger space covered with tile floors. Also, the temperature inside was not as warm as it was at Clarendon Grill; having no fan was not as a big an issue as it was last night and extra clothing I brought was not used.
Beginner class was still unfinished when arrived, so I went downstairs to visit the toilet, in which I encountered a huge man dressed only in his briefs and getting ready to jump into a rather garish suit. Later I found that this man is the DJ for the evening. Everything about this DJ was big, including his booming voice, which he used liberally throughout the evening with earthshaking volume over which no conversation was possible – at least for me. He also had a strange habit of making random strange gurgling noises – one of my dance partner commented, “Oh, he does that all the time.” without blinking an eye.
The regular instructor for the Tuesdays at Barking Dog is Michelle Reyes, whom Sergio apparently knows fairly well and is a part of a clique that regularly attends Jimmy Anton’s Social in New York (more on this later). However, Michelle was nowhere in sight tonight. Instead of their regular intermediate class (of which I had fairly low expectations based upon the lessons at Clarendon Grill), another woman came out to introduce Casino Rueda for the students. Initially it seemed that I was the only one who had any experience with Rueda among approximately 30 people who were there – however, it turned out there were at least one other who knew something of Rueda and drifted in and out of the circle. Predictably, we did not get very far – I don’t think the instructor had a very big ambition about teaching Rueda tonight. The moves taught are listed below with minimal description.
Basic step (Guapea but not named) – This was done with partners facing each other at all times. Both step back on 1 and come together on 5.
Dame (the instructor pronounced the word very softly – even more so than with any other commands she used – without a microphone and with music on, she was inaudible – an incredible fact in my opinion for a Rueda caller)
High Five – Turn and face backwards to do a high five clap with next follower on 1 (R to R), then finish Guapea
High Ten – Turn and face backwards and do patty cake clap (using both hands - L with R and vice versa) with next follower on 1, then finish Guapea
Fly – Turn and face backwards and clap (I don’t think they jumped) on 1, then finish Guapea
Fly doble – Like Fly but clap on 1 and on 2, then finish Guapea
Besito – Turn and face backwards and kiss air on 1, then finish Guapea
Bota? Vuelta? – Guapea until about 5, then lead follower to spin clockwise for her to face her new partner while leader turns counterclockwise to face his next follower for a Dame
Initially I considered sitting out of the lesson when I realized that they would be doing Rueda with complete beginners. But then I decided that I didn’t really have anything better to do.
Despite heavy rain tonight, Sergio showed up once again to lend “support”. Whatever the reason, it was very nice to have a familiar face around and at least at one point observe his dancing and marvel at his ability to improvise and lead his partner to all sorts of unexpected movements. He had talked about going to New York next weekend to attend among other events, Jimmy Anton’s Social. Apparently in New York, these so-called socials are the place to go for dancing rather than clubs, which attract large share of people who are there for drinking, etc rather than dancing Salsa. A good resource for finding good places to dance apparently can be found in a website called salsanewyork.com and in particular its calendar. Details of events page is also useful. I had been to this website several times previously over the past year but Sergio’s comments gave me additional context to look at the contents of the website with more concrete purpose. I suppose a problem for me would be that I suspect most people there dance on-2, which I haven’t had an opportunity to start learning. In any case, I can’t go to New York for this event this year since I will be back in Cambridge by next weekend.
About halfway through the club hours, there was a performance with tonight’s Rueda instructor as one of the participant. The performers were six women, three in red and three in black but otherwise in seemingly identical dresses. The performance started off with what looked like Offbeat dancing rather than Salsa dancing followed by some rudimentary partner dancing done in unison followed by fairly simple Rueda with some stylizations. I think the big emphasis was on doing stylizations in unison by the women in red playing follower’s part.
The club part of the evening started fairly well – probably slightly better than in Clarendon Grill last night when the first hour from both were compared to each other possibly because I was feeling more relaxed tonight. It might have helped that I recognized some of the faces tonight from Clarendon Grill last night. I was hoping that dancing went better as evening went along as it did in Clarendon Grill. Unfortunately, things more or less plateaued at about the level reached by the halfway point and the start of the Offbeat-Rueda demonstration. Overall, I would guess that Clarendon Grill had many more flashier dancers. Still overall, tonight still was enjoyable with plusses including fairly large pool of decent if not outstanding dance partners throughout the evening and reasonable amount of space equivalent to Club Salsa on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Curse of Brit Salsafest created by londonsalsa.co.uk
November 29, 2005
I won again. Yuck.
Now I may be forced to hold off on purchasing a ticket to the Brit Salsafest and risk not getting a group discount by purchasing tickets with other people in Cambridge and also risk the price of tickets going up at the end of the year.
Three names were drawn from the pot. Probably no more than 50 people entered the contest meaning I may have had 6% chance of becoming a semi-finalist. I guess 6% is not bad but winning a game of pure chance has never been my forte so winning two londonsalsa.co.uk contests within a span of 5 weeks almost makes me wonder if the contest was rigged.
Because 6 more weeks of contest remain before winners are announced on January 9th, there likely will be up to 24 semi-finalists in all. Assuming there will be only one winner (which seems reasonable), chances of a semi-finalist winning outright will be approximately 4%. Chances of becoming a semi-finalist should be pretty high; I'm guessing 25% at most with persistence and without cheating (cheating probably will be easy to detect for Phil assuming he cares).
To enter, go to londonsalsa.co.uk to find the relevant article, and send Phil an e-mail with correct answer to his trivia question about various Salsa personalities interviewed. Enter the contest now and enter often; I couldn't care less who the other semi-finalists are as this has absolutely no effect on my chance of winning. This week's interviewed personalities include Shelley, whom I recognize from SOS -- some people have told me that Cambridge Salsa community is small, but I'm beginning to think that UK Salsa community (or even European or World Salsa community) might end up looking very small and incestuous.
By the way, it appears that Phil's site is quickly becoming a vanity site for various Salsa personalities to reveal their personal information with Phil acting as host of webzine. With Salsa Mafia site down indefinitely once again, his forum is seeing fair bit of use as well. On a related topic, I am now including the state of Salsa Mafia site (up or down) in the sidebar mostly to amuse myself.
I won again. Yuck.
Now I may be forced to hold off on purchasing a ticket to the Brit Salsafest and risk not getting a group discount by purchasing tickets with other people in Cambridge and also risk the price of tickets going up at the end of the year.
Three names were drawn from the pot. Probably no more than 50 people entered the contest meaning I may have had 6% chance of becoming a semi-finalist. I guess 6% is not bad but winning a game of pure chance has never been my forte so winning two londonsalsa.co.uk contests within a span of 5 weeks almost makes me wonder if the contest was rigged.
Because 6 more weeks of contest remain before winners are announced on January 9th, there likely will be up to 24 semi-finalists in all. Assuming there will be only one winner (which seems reasonable), chances of a semi-finalist winning outright will be approximately 4%. Chances of becoming a semi-finalist should be pretty high; I'm guessing 25% at most with persistence and without cheating (cheating probably will be easy to detect for Phil assuming he cares).
To enter, go to londonsalsa.co.uk to find the relevant article, and send Phil an e-mail with correct answer to his trivia question about various Salsa personalities interviewed. Enter the contest now and enter often; I couldn't care less who the other semi-finalists are as this has absolutely no effect on my chance of winning. This week's interviewed personalities include Shelley, whom I recognize from SOS -- some people have told me that Cambridge Salsa community is small, but I'm beginning to think that UK Salsa community (or even European or World Salsa community) might end up looking very small and incestuous.
By the way, it appears that Phil's site is quickly becoming a vanity site for various Salsa personalities to reveal their personal information with Phil acting as host of webzine. With Salsa Mafia site down indefinitely once again, his forum is seeing fair bit of use as well. On a related topic, I am now including the state of Salsa Mafia site (up or down) in the sidebar mostly to amuse myself.
Salsa in Washington D.C. I – Clarendon Grill
November 28, 2005
Clarendon Grill in Arlington according to some has arguably the best Salsa dancing on non-special evenings in Washington D.C. area. Initially I was skeptical and underwhelmed because of the level of lessons being taught in the intermediate class, but things got better as the evening progressed and I ended up having a pretty good time.
Drop-in lessons were taught by Keith Givens (or someone who I assumed was him) of Latin Motion Company. I watched the end of the Beginners class and participated in their Intermediate class, which I estimated was roughly equivalent in difficulty to Level III classes in Cambridge. Male dancers outnumbered female dancers by at least 50% in this class. Changing of partners was done without any organization. I ended up participating about 50% of the time although I wasn’t too bothered by this because the routine taught was very easy for me. I would guess that in order to progress beyond intermediate level in DC, you would have to take class outside drop-in classes at Clubs unlike in Cambridge or in London.
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower led with L-R high
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic with a hat for the leader with L-R followed by L arm outstretched to side for leader’s styling during 1,2,3 and establish R-R connection
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with full clockwise traveling turn for follower with R-R high and stopped with L hand on follower’s L shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare (or in place if going by the way it was taught tonight) on 1,2,3 and lead stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower with R-R high
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic while giving hat to follower using R-R on 1 and 5 and with L-L and 3 and 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic while giving hat to leader with R-R on 1 and get back to open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower with both hand connections intact with L-R kept low and R-R raised to end in hammerlock/setenta position – keep L-R close to follower’s back waist at the end
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower – after the first 1/2 turn for follower, both leader and follower make a full turn (follower continues clockwise while leader turns counterclockwise) with both hand connections intact
Initially the routine continued on as described below but they ran out of time.
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic?
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard cross body ending with leader turning 1/2 clockwise on 7 with L-R ending behind leader’s back R waist and leader facing away from follower’s line
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break followed by leader placing his R hand on follower’s oncoming R waist to signal follower to turn back with a full counterclockwise turn – I think leader did a 1 1/4 counterclockwise turn as well to get back into open position instead of simply turning 1/4 clockwise to get back to open but I’m not completely sure about this
The dance floor was okay but not great. The main floor was small-to-medium sized and could accommodate a little over 20 couples without getting unmanageable; the main area was approximately equal to the three danceable areas of Club Salsa combined but smaller than Fisher Hall, St. Columba’s Hall, St. Paul’s, etc. Floor quality was about St. Columba’s Hall level with penalty point for chewing gum stuck to the floors. I spied some dancers bringing a personal stock of talcum powder; I don’t remember seeing this anywhere else before. Dancing spilled over to areas outside the main floor with as many as 9 or 10 couples dancing outside the main floor. My biggest complaint was that the venue was the warmest I have been to and had no AC or fans. Bringing a towel or even an extra shirt would have been a very good idea. To top it off, the weather tonight was unusually warm and I was quite comfortable walking around in my long-sleeve shirt only – with my coat serving only as excess baggage. I had expected the temperature here to be colder than in UK, but apparently Northeast USA is enjoying an unusually warm weather thus far in last month or so.
Club dancing was pretty good. Better dancers did not arrive until later in the evening. Sergio stopped by for not quite two hours. I’m guessing that some of my dance partners would have felt at home at SOS although the general atmosphere here did not quite reach such level tonight. I also estimate that some of the couples would have been considered good everywhere I have visited thus far. Conversely, I would guess that many of the dancers in Cambridge would have been considered very good here, and the finest in Cambridge would be equal to the finest at Clarendon Grill.
Clarendon Grill in Arlington according to some has arguably the best Salsa dancing on non-special evenings in Washington D.C. area. Initially I was skeptical and underwhelmed because of the level of lessons being taught in the intermediate class, but things got better as the evening progressed and I ended up having a pretty good time.
Drop-in lessons were taught by Keith Givens (or someone who I assumed was him) of Latin Motion Company. I watched the end of the Beginners class and participated in their Intermediate class, which I estimated was roughly equivalent in difficulty to Level III classes in Cambridge. Male dancers outnumbered female dancers by at least 50% in this class. Changing of partners was done without any organization. I ended up participating about 50% of the time although I wasn’t too bothered by this because the routine taught was very easy for me. I would guess that in order to progress beyond intermediate level in DC, you would have to take class outside drop-in classes at Clubs unlike in Cambridge or in London.
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower led with L-R high
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic with a hat for the leader with L-R followed by L arm outstretched to side for leader’s styling during 1,2,3 and establish R-R connection
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with full clockwise traveling turn for follower with R-R high and stopped with L hand on follower’s L shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare (or in place if going by the way it was taught tonight) on 1,2,3 and lead stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower with R-R high
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic while giving hat to follower using R-R on 1 and 5 and with L-L and 3 and 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic while giving hat to leader with R-R on 1 and get back to open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower with both hand connections intact with L-R kept low and R-R raised to end in hammerlock/setenta position – keep L-R close to follower’s back waist at the end
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower – after the first 1/2 turn for follower, both leader and follower make a full turn (follower continues clockwise while leader turns counterclockwise) with both hand connections intact
Initially the routine continued on as described below but they ran out of time.
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic?
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard cross body ending with leader turning 1/2 clockwise on 7 with L-R ending behind leader’s back R waist and leader facing away from follower’s line
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break followed by leader placing his R hand on follower’s oncoming R waist to signal follower to turn back with a full counterclockwise turn – I think leader did a 1 1/4 counterclockwise turn as well to get back into open position instead of simply turning 1/4 clockwise to get back to open but I’m not completely sure about this
The dance floor was okay but not great. The main floor was small-to-medium sized and could accommodate a little over 20 couples without getting unmanageable; the main area was approximately equal to the three danceable areas of Club Salsa combined but smaller than Fisher Hall, St. Columba’s Hall, St. Paul’s, etc. Floor quality was about St. Columba’s Hall level with penalty point for chewing gum stuck to the floors. I spied some dancers bringing a personal stock of talcum powder; I don’t remember seeing this anywhere else before. Dancing spilled over to areas outside the main floor with as many as 9 or 10 couples dancing outside the main floor. My biggest complaint was that the venue was the warmest I have been to and had no AC or fans. Bringing a towel or even an extra shirt would have been a very good idea. To top it off, the weather tonight was unusually warm and I was quite comfortable walking around in my long-sleeve shirt only – with my coat serving only as excess baggage. I had expected the temperature here to be colder than in UK, but apparently Northeast USA is enjoying an unusually warm weather thus far in last month or so.
Club dancing was pretty good. Better dancers did not arrive until later in the evening. Sergio stopped by for not quite two hours. I’m guessing that some of my dance partners would have felt at home at SOS although the general atmosphere here did not quite reach such level tonight. I also estimate that some of the couples would have been considered good everywhere I have visited thus far. Conversely, I would guess that many of the dancers in Cambridge would have been considered very good here, and the finest in Cambridge would be equal to the finest at Clarendon Grill.
Cambridge Rueda website is up and running
November 28, 2005
Rhona & Helen's spiffy new Cambridge Rueda group website is up and running and has some nice content, including a brief history of Casino Rueda in Cambridge. Top on my wish list for their website is the names of all moves currently being used by the group. Link to this site will be available on the sidebar of this blog from now on.
Cambridge Rueda has moved to St. Phillips School at 2 Vinery Road (see map). Schedule remains the same as before, Thursdays from 7 PM to 9 PM with Intermediates from 7 PM onwards and Beginners from 8 PM to 9 PM.
Rhona & Helen's spiffy new Cambridge Rueda group website is up and running and has some nice content, including a brief history of Casino Rueda in Cambridge. Top on my wish list for their website is the names of all moves currently being used by the group. Link to this site will be available on the sidebar of this blog from now on.
Cambridge Rueda has moved to St. Phillips School at 2 Vinery Road (see map). Schedule remains the same as before, Thursdays from 7 PM to 9 PM with Intermediates from 7 PM onwards and Beginners from 8 PM to 9 PM.
Beyond beginner Salsa patterns
[note added May 27, 2006 - Do not use these diagrams especially for Copa - I find them problematic for one reason or another.]
November 27, 2005
This is the second half of Salsa patterns I had wanted to write for beginning students for a long time. This post attempts to explain cross body lead, Copa and Enchufe mainly for the leader with more emphasis on footwork. The first half dealt with basic forward-and-back step, back-to-back step and pivot turns.
As was the case in Part I, feet shaded in gray have the weight of the body on them. Men’s feet are pointing up, and women’s feet (smaller footprint compared to men’s footprint) are pointing down in the beginning of the routines (during beat 1 as shown and also in beat 8 in previous measure/bar not shown). Gray rectangle marks the line of dance as used by cross body lead style or LA style.
Figure 6. Cross body lead (CBL, X-body, etc)
Start with open hold or closed hold on 8, at which all feet are set together.
1 L foot forward
2 R foot to side R (and start turning 1/4 counterclockwise)
3 L foot together and complete body/feet movement of 1/4 turn counterclockwise while opening up room along the line in which the follower will travel during the next half measure
5 R foot in place (sideway or backward movement is allowed but is not recommended. Many beginners will feel a strong urge to take a step in either direction (more likely backwards) because it can help with keeping timing. If such movement is made, make the distance as small as possible)
6 L foot in place or start turning slightly towards the follower
7 (and 8) R foot turn toward follower to get into open or closed hold while dragging L foot along to end with feet together
Having leader’s body positioned thus on 3/4 (at 90 degree angle to each other) is a key signal to the follower that cross body lead will be led. However, this body positioning should be considered an “indicator” signal rather than an “execution” signal. The “execution” signal is made on 5 (a slight pressure on follower’s shoulder with R hand when starting with closed hold or a gentle pull forward along follower’s line with R-L when starting with open hold). Even after either of the execution signal, cross body lead can be aborted with a “blocking” maneuver involving absorbing of follower’s forward movement with L-R near the start of 6, which is a signal for the follower to move back to her original position without completing the cross body lead.
It’s possible to argue that cross body lead is equivalent to Cuban move Dile que no. The difference between the two is that Dile que no involves the follower moving in circular motion while cross body lead involves the follower moving in a line. The circular movement versus linear movement is one the biggest difference between Salsa Cubana and Salsa LA-on 1.
Cross body lead has many variations, stylizations, etc. The diagram as drawn above would not have changed for cross body lead with 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn for the follower during 5,6,7. If a cross body lead with 1 1/2 clockwise turn for the follower is lead, follower would starting turning towards her right on 6 (instead of turning left). Follower could also turn only 1 turn instead of 1/2 or 1 1/2 turn to end with a wrap (starting with open hold with all connections kept intact) or end with Titanic or its variations (starting with crossed hold). Cross body lead is thus a very important foundation or basic building block to learning LA style Salsa on-1 (and NY style on-2 also).
Figure 7. Copa (in-and-out, reverse cross body lead ending with follower going back, etc)
Copa and its variations are performed with crossed hold, doubly crossed hold, R-R hold or L-L hold. In Cambridge (which I’m sure is not unique), Copa is most often taught to new students with crossed hold with L-L on top.
1 L foot slightly back to initiate open break
2 R foot forward and towards L (stepping in front of R foot) as R-R gently pulls follower forward while L-L is lifted high and starts going over follower’s head – also leader starts turning 1/4 clockwise to face the follower’s line
3 L foot together (Often, teachers will get leader and follower to assume a Titanic-like position here with both arms outstretched and the body of the leader situated behind follower’s body with both facing the more-or-less the same direction. I think this parallel body positioning is okay but I think follower’s feet are naturally positioned along the line as shown in the diagram above. Also, when leading a traditional Copa (in which the follower goes back where she came from as is the case here), having R hand (or R-R) on follower’s R shoulder or R waist can make it easier for less experienced followers to know that she will be going back on 5,6,7 and thus reduce chance of stumbling.)
5 R foot in place (avoid any unnecessary movement) – lead follower back along her line toward her original position
6 L foot in place (and possibly starting turning toward left or counterclockwise) – lead follower to turn counterclockwise to get back to open position by 8/1 (strictly speaking 1/2 turn is allowed but pretty much everyone leads a 1 1/2 traveling turn for the follower) with L-L high
7 R foot step forward towards the follower as leader turns 1/4 counterclockwise (or complete this turn) with L foot dragged along to have both feet together by 8.
Copa is another basic albeit slightly more advanced routine compared to cross body lead. As is the case with cross body lead, many variations, entrances and exits exist for Copa. For example, instead of leading follower back to her original position on 5,6,7, leaders can lead follower to continue towards the direction she was moving to on 1,2,3 usually with 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn (led with R-R high in this case instead of L-L when started with crossed hold as described in the example above).
Figure 8. Enchufe modified for Salsa LA/NY style
Start with open hold or L-R hold.
1 L foot slightly back to initiate open break (L-R preparation motion is possible)
2 R foot forward and to left (crossing over in front of L foot) with L-R high
3 L foot forward and start turning clockwise and L-R is gradually brought down
4 complete clockwise turn to face follower
5 R foot basic backward step (I’m showing the simplest option here. Starting hook turn is another option)
6 weight on L foot (not shown in diagram above)
7 R foot back (forward) together
Some differences exist but this is Enchufe modified to fit a linear style of LA and NY. In Salsa Cubana, leader and follower moves in circular motion with the couple generally turning about 1/3 turn clockwise as a unit instead of 1/2 turn clockwise (and exchange of places) as shown in the diagram above. Also, in Cuban Enchufe, leader and follower often step forward on 1 – although some teachers (notably Rhona & Helen) step in place on 1 and use a preparatory motion, which is closer to open break depicted above. In Casino Rueda, enchufe involves exchange of places between the leader and follower, which is somewhat like 1/2 turn as a unit but is not exactly the same. I don’t think of this LA-fied Enchufe as standard LA move and do not use it much, but it can be useful because of its simplicity and similarity to Cuban Enchufe, which makes it especially useful when dancing with someone who is familiar with Cuban style Salsa but not so with LA style Salsa.
November 27, 2005
This is the second half of Salsa patterns I had wanted to write for beginning students for a long time. This post attempts to explain cross body lead, Copa and Enchufe mainly for the leader with more emphasis on footwork. The first half dealt with basic forward-and-back step, back-to-back step and pivot turns.
As was the case in Part I, feet shaded in gray have the weight of the body on them. Men’s feet are pointing up, and women’s feet (smaller footprint compared to men’s footprint) are pointing down in the beginning of the routines (during beat 1 as shown and also in beat 8 in previous measure/bar not shown). Gray rectangle marks the line of dance as used by cross body lead style or LA style.
Figure 6. Cross body lead (CBL, X-body, etc)
Start with open hold or closed hold on 8, at which all feet are set together.
1 L foot forward
2 R foot to side R (and start turning 1/4 counterclockwise)
3 L foot together and complete body/feet movement of 1/4 turn counterclockwise while opening up room along the line in which the follower will travel during the next half measure
5 R foot in place (sideway or backward movement is allowed but is not recommended. Many beginners will feel a strong urge to take a step in either direction (more likely backwards) because it can help with keeping timing. If such movement is made, make the distance as small as possible)
6 L foot in place or start turning slightly towards the follower
7 (and 8) R foot turn toward follower to get into open or closed hold while dragging L foot along to end with feet together
Having leader’s body positioned thus on 3/4 (at 90 degree angle to each other) is a key signal to the follower that cross body lead will be led. However, this body positioning should be considered an “indicator” signal rather than an “execution” signal. The “execution” signal is made on 5 (a slight pressure on follower’s shoulder with R hand when starting with closed hold or a gentle pull forward along follower’s line with R-L when starting with open hold). Even after either of the execution signal, cross body lead can be aborted with a “blocking” maneuver involving absorbing of follower’s forward movement with L-R near the start of 6, which is a signal for the follower to move back to her original position without completing the cross body lead.
It’s possible to argue that cross body lead is equivalent to Cuban move Dile que no. The difference between the two is that Dile que no involves the follower moving in circular motion while cross body lead involves the follower moving in a line. The circular movement versus linear movement is one the biggest difference between Salsa Cubana and Salsa LA-on 1.
Cross body lead has many variations, stylizations, etc. The diagram as drawn above would not have changed for cross body lead with 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn for the follower during 5,6,7. If a cross body lead with 1 1/2 clockwise turn for the follower is lead, follower would starting turning towards her right on 6 (instead of turning left). Follower could also turn only 1 turn instead of 1/2 or 1 1/2 turn to end with a wrap (starting with open hold with all connections kept intact) or end with Titanic or its variations (starting with crossed hold). Cross body lead is thus a very important foundation or basic building block to learning LA style Salsa on-1 (and NY style on-2 also).
Figure 7. Copa (in-and-out, reverse cross body lead ending with follower going back, etc)
Copa and its variations are performed with crossed hold, doubly crossed hold, R-R hold or L-L hold. In Cambridge (which I’m sure is not unique), Copa is most often taught to new students with crossed hold with L-L on top.
1 L foot slightly back to initiate open break
2 R foot forward and towards L (stepping in front of R foot) as R-R gently pulls follower forward while L-L is lifted high and starts going over follower’s head – also leader starts turning 1/4 clockwise to face the follower’s line
3 L foot together (Often, teachers will get leader and follower to assume a Titanic-like position here with both arms outstretched and the body of the leader situated behind follower’s body with both facing the more-or-less the same direction. I think this parallel body positioning is okay but I think follower’s feet are naturally positioned along the line as shown in the diagram above. Also, when leading a traditional Copa (in which the follower goes back where she came from as is the case here), having R hand (or R-R) on follower’s R shoulder or R waist can make it easier for less experienced followers to know that she will be going back on 5,6,7 and thus reduce chance of stumbling.)
5 R foot in place (avoid any unnecessary movement) – lead follower back along her line toward her original position
6 L foot in place (and possibly starting turning toward left or counterclockwise) – lead follower to turn counterclockwise to get back to open position by 8/1 (strictly speaking 1/2 turn is allowed but pretty much everyone leads a 1 1/2 traveling turn for the follower) with L-L high
7 R foot step forward towards the follower as leader turns 1/4 counterclockwise (or complete this turn) with L foot dragged along to have both feet together by 8.
Copa is another basic albeit slightly more advanced routine compared to cross body lead. As is the case with cross body lead, many variations, entrances and exits exist for Copa. For example, instead of leading follower back to her original position on 5,6,7, leaders can lead follower to continue towards the direction she was moving to on 1,2,3 usually with 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn (led with R-R high in this case instead of L-L when started with crossed hold as described in the example above).
Figure 8. Enchufe modified for Salsa LA/NY style
Start with open hold or L-R hold.
1 L foot slightly back to initiate open break (L-R preparation motion is possible)
2 R foot forward and to left (crossing over in front of L foot) with L-R high
3 L foot forward and start turning clockwise and L-R is gradually brought down
4 complete clockwise turn to face follower
5 R foot basic backward step (I’m showing the simplest option here. Starting hook turn is another option)
6 weight on L foot (not shown in diagram above)
7 R foot back (forward) together
Some differences exist but this is Enchufe modified to fit a linear style of LA and NY. In Salsa Cubana, leader and follower moves in circular motion with the couple generally turning about 1/3 turn clockwise as a unit instead of 1/2 turn clockwise (and exchange of places) as shown in the diagram above. Also, in Cuban Enchufe, leader and follower often step forward on 1 – although some teachers (notably Rhona & Helen) step in place on 1 and use a preparatory motion, which is closer to open break depicted above. In Casino Rueda, enchufe involves exchange of places between the leader and follower, which is somewhat like 1/2 turn as a unit but is not exactly the same. I don’t think of this LA-fied Enchufe as standard LA move and do not use it much, but it can be useful because of its simplicity and similarity to Cuban Enchufe, which makes it especially useful when dancing with someone who is familiar with Cuban style Salsa but not so with LA style Salsa.
Photographs from the Bachata Workshop
November 27, 2005
Shown below are photographs taken from the Bachata workshop and show. The images shown here were not modified from the versions I received from the photographer. I thank the photographer for taking and sending me these images. Some of these photographs are also available in the Club Salsa gallery.
Shown below are photographs taken from the Bachata workshop and show. The images shown here were not modified from the versions I received from the photographer. I thank the photographer for taking and sending me these images. Some of these photographs are also available in the Club Salsa gallery.
Absolute beginner Salsa patterns
[note added May 27, 2006 - This is fairly useless and in the case of last diagram less than useless.]
November 25, 2005
I have been meaning to write a post for beginner Salsa students for quite some time. This post deals with material that is often covered by beginners class in Cambridge (and probably in many other places).
Figure 1. Basic forward-and-back or Mambo from closed position
Feet movement described below and for all figures is for men/leader.
1 L foot forward
2 weight on R foot in place
3 L foot back together
5 R foot backward
6 weight on L foot in place
7 R foot back (forward) together
In closed position, men (leader) hold women (follower) by a hold similar to Ballroom hold. Leader’s R hand is placed under follower’s L shoulder. Follower’s L hand is placed on top of leader’s R arm. Leader’s L hand holds follower’s R hand without using thumbs – at about follower’s waist level is fine.
Feet shaded in gray have the weight of the body on them. Men’s feet are pointing up, and women’s feet (smaller footprint compared to men’s footprint) are pointing down. Gray rectangle marks the line of dance as used by cross body lead style or LA style.
Leader’s weight is on L foot on 1, 3, and 6 and on R foot on 2, 5 and 7. Follower’s weight is on R foot on 1, 3 and 6 and on L foot on 2, 5 and 7. When dancing Salsa on-1 and not performing shines, aforementioned is true almost all the time. For leaders, Salsa dancing on-1 can be done 100% of the time with the feet rule described above.
Figure 2. Basic forward-and-back or Mambo from open position
1 L foot forward
2 weight on R foot in place
3 L foot back together
5 R foot backward
6 weight on L foot in place
7 R foot back (forward) together
In open position, leader’s R hand holds follower’s L hand and leader’s L hand holds follower’s R hand. Both connections are made at about follower’s waist level. Distance between leader and follower in open hold is larger compared to closed hold position.
Figure 3. Basic back-to-back
1 L foot backward
2 weight on R foot in place
3 L foot back together
5 R foot backward
6 weight on L foot in place
7 R foot back (forward) together
Back-to-back is usually started from open position. For beginner, it may be helpful to note that the hand-to-hand connection is briefly let go or disconnected on the side in which the leader and follower’s feet step backwards. Always start back-to-back step on-1 with leader’s L foot going back and L-R being disconnected. Always end back-to-back step to get back into forward-and-back or Mambo step after reconnecting R-L on 7/8, followed by L foot going forward on 1.
Figure 4. Basic back-to-back with feet and body “opening up”
1 L foot backward
2 weight on R foot in place
3 L foot back together
5 R foot backward
6 weight on L foot in place
7 R foot back (forward) together
In back-to-back basic as done in Figure 3, leader and follower are always facing each other with feet, body and face. In this more “open” back-to-back basic, feet and body of leader and follower face away from each other by up to about 1/4 turn. In this diagram above, body turn is about 1/8 turn.
Figure 5. Men's pivot turn followed by women's pivot turn
1 L foot forward (and turned to right or towards 3’o clock)
2 R foot in place but pointing backwards
3 turn clockwise to face the follower ending with feet together
5 R foot backward
6 weight on L foot in place
7 R foot back (forward) together
In beginner’s class, teachers usually would not ask leaders for a turn during 1,2,3. However, I decided to include it here in part because the mechanics used by leader’s turn during 1,2,3 described here is identical to follower’s turn during 5,6,7. The turns being made here does not need to be a “3’o clock turn” but rather a “12’o clock turn” type, in which L foot forward steps forward without initiating a clockwise turn motion on 1 (for leader) or on 5 (for follower).
November 25, 2005
I have been meaning to write a post for beginner Salsa students for quite some time. This post deals with material that is often covered by beginners class in Cambridge (and probably in many other places).
Figure 1. Basic forward-and-back or Mambo from closed position
Feet movement described below and for all figures is for men/leader.
1 L foot forward
2 weight on R foot in place
3 L foot back together
5 R foot backward
6 weight on L foot in place
7 R foot back (forward) together
In closed position, men (leader) hold women (follower) by a hold similar to Ballroom hold. Leader’s R hand is placed under follower’s L shoulder. Follower’s L hand is placed on top of leader’s R arm. Leader’s L hand holds follower’s R hand without using thumbs – at about follower’s waist level is fine.
Feet shaded in gray have the weight of the body on them. Men’s feet are pointing up, and women’s feet (smaller footprint compared to men’s footprint) are pointing down. Gray rectangle marks the line of dance as used by cross body lead style or LA style.
Leader’s weight is on L foot on 1, 3, and 6 and on R foot on 2, 5 and 7. Follower’s weight is on R foot on 1, 3 and 6 and on L foot on 2, 5 and 7. When dancing Salsa on-1 and not performing shines, aforementioned is true almost all the time. For leaders, Salsa dancing on-1 can be done 100% of the time with the feet rule described above.
Figure 2. Basic forward-and-back or Mambo from open position
1 L foot forward
2 weight on R foot in place
3 L foot back together
5 R foot backward
6 weight on L foot in place
7 R foot back (forward) together
In open position, leader’s R hand holds follower’s L hand and leader’s L hand holds follower’s R hand. Both connections are made at about follower’s waist level. Distance between leader and follower in open hold is larger compared to closed hold position.
Figure 3. Basic back-to-back
1 L foot backward
2 weight on R foot in place
3 L foot back together
5 R foot backward
6 weight on L foot in place
7 R foot back (forward) together
Back-to-back is usually started from open position. For beginner, it may be helpful to note that the hand-to-hand connection is briefly let go or disconnected on the side in which the leader and follower’s feet step backwards. Always start back-to-back step on-1 with leader’s L foot going back and L-R being disconnected. Always end back-to-back step to get back into forward-and-back or Mambo step after reconnecting R-L on 7/8, followed by L foot going forward on 1.
Figure 4. Basic back-to-back with feet and body “opening up”
1 L foot backward
2 weight on R foot in place
3 L foot back together
5 R foot backward
6 weight on L foot in place
7 R foot back (forward) together
In back-to-back basic as done in Figure 3, leader and follower are always facing each other with feet, body and face. In this more “open” back-to-back basic, feet and body of leader and follower face away from each other by up to about 1/4 turn. In this diagram above, body turn is about 1/8 turn.
Figure 5. Men's pivot turn followed by women's pivot turn
1 L foot forward (and turned to right or towards 3’o clock)
2 R foot in place but pointing backwards
3 turn clockwise to face the follower ending with feet together
5 R foot backward
6 weight on L foot in place
7 R foot back (forward) together
In beginner’s class, teachers usually would not ask leaders for a turn during 1,2,3. However, I decided to include it here in part because the mechanics used by leader’s turn during 1,2,3 described here is identical to follower’s turn during 5,6,7. The turns being made here does not need to be a “3’o clock turn” but rather a “12’o clock turn” type, in which L foot forward steps forward without initiating a clockwise turn motion on 1 (for leader) or on 5 (for follower).
Special Latin Night at Club Salsa featuring Tony Lara & Claudia Loiacano
November 21, 2005
Que una aventura or what an adventure!
The evening starts – I meet Tony & Claudia
Aside from some e-mails, the evening began in earnest when I set out for Tesco at Bar Hill to pick up some plastic champagne glasses at 4 PM. After a short detour at home, I arrived at Sauce bar/restaurant next to Club Salsa at 5 PM. Here I was dismayed to find that Tandoori Station Restaurant did not open until 6 PM – a small screw-up by me as I had told people to be there as early as 5:30 PM. Just as I was about to order a drink, Tony rang my mobile phone from his parked car. About 5 minutes later, we met face to face for the first time, and the first thought that came to my mind was “Wow. He’s shorter than me!”
Small talk at the Sauce
Fortunately the late opening time for Tandoori Station Restaurant did not affect anyone except for Tony & Claudia as the Baranco members I invited and still waiting on did not reply early (and ended up not coming) while the only other people who had planned on being at the dinner called in transit to let me know that they were delayed by traffic conditions. This gave me some time to chitchat for nearly an hour at Sauce over coffee, tea, and soft drink with Tony and me talking mostly as Claudia’s English was limited. Some vital statistics for Tony was clarified – he’s fully Spanish (as opposed to half-Spanish as one person suggested to me) and the girl pictured behind him in his Salsa Mafia ID is indeed his fiancé, Daniella.
High comedy at Tandoori Station
At 5:55 PM, Tandoori Station Restaurant was still completely dark. Then almost like magic, the friendly waiter I recognized came up the stairs and lit up the restaurant and let us in. Another moody waiter, who greatly amused Tony throughout the hour, took over at this point and seated us. As I was perusing over the menu, the friendly waiter came back to inform me that Vishal wanted to speak to me. I went back with the waiter and was handed a phone. Uh oh. “Hi Vishal. What’s up?” “Hi. I’m still stuck in Stansted. It’ll take me another 40 minutes to get to Club Salsa. I will get there before 7 PM.” Hmmm. I had expected to have the Club open by 6:30 PM as the workshop was supposed to have started at 7 PM. Oh well. We’ll just have to improvise.
Enrique was the first to get there – on time (6:15 PM) as he had informed me earlier in the day, and talks turned to DJ issues. We ordered drinks, appetizers and food – not very much for Tony & Claudia as they didn’t want to eat too much before teaching a class. As it was, curry joke ended up being a frequent refrain during the workshop. If there is to be next time, I’ll take them to Sauce for tapas instead although I’m not sure how it would stand up to Tony’s Spanish standard. Cristian arrived with a friend of his next and naturally the talk turned into general discussion of Bachata (teaching, et al.). Finally Rhona arrived last for a coffee.
As it turned out, our main dish did not appear until 6:40 PM, which I wolfed down. Even before I was done eating, people started arriving and coming into the Tandoori Station Restaurant to escape the frigid weather. After I finished eating, I went outside to let early arrivals that Vishal was delayed, and I suggested them to chat with people they know in Tandoori Station Restaurant. As more people piled in, I was imagining that we were playing a game to see how many people we could fit into the restaurant before the moody waiter's head exploded in frustration. In the end, we had well over 20 people inside Tandoori Station Restaurant before Vishal finally arrived shortly after 7 PM to let everyone in.
First workshop starts 30 minutes late
I think there must have been some running around with little purpose as people settled down. I had the bar staff and other helpful volunteers serve complimentary sparkling wine to people attending the workshop. So the workshop did not get started until around 7:30 PM. As it was, some people were more than 30 minutes late as 2-3 people joined in after the late start with some joining in as much as 10-15 minute into the first workshop!
Workshop I
Steps described below are for leaders as usual. In many of the steps, followers are doing mirror image steps.
Avoid ballroom hold as the standard hold. R hand on follower’s spine close to neck, especially for dip-like situations. Keep L-R pointing to the ground unless playing around with moving L-R up and down, etc.
Basic (stationary)
1 weight on L foot
2 weight on R foot
3 weight on L foot
4 hip action – first to L and then to R
5 weight on R foot
6 weight on L foot
7 weight on R foot
8 hip action – first to R and then to L
Basic (side-to-side)
1 L foot to L
2 R foot close
3 L foot to L
4 hip action
5 R foot to R
6 L foot close
7 R foot to R
8 hip action
Basic (forward and back)
1 L foot step forward (small step)
2 R foot close
3 L foot step forward (small step)
4 hip action
5 R foot step backwards (small step)
6 L foot close
7 R foot step backwards (small step)
8 hip action
Side turn
move away from follower during previous 5,6,7,8 to give room
1 L foot point to L
2 R foot to L with turn (traveling) 1/2 counterclockwise
3,4 L foot to L with turn (traveling) 1/2 counterclockwise ending with hip action
5 R foot point to R
6 L foot to R with turn (traveling) 1/2 clockwise
7,8 R foot to R with turn (traveling) 1/2 clockwise ending with hip action
When leading follower into side turn, use L-R high with fingers pointing down. L-R is high for leader’s turn also except with fingers pointing up. This is standard leading technique.
Broken turn
probably start from stationary basic
1 L foot forward R and start to turn right (clockwise) and turning as a unit
2 R foot backward L and continue turning as a unit
3 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
4 hip action – at this point, overall rotation is 1/2 clockwise as a unit
5 R foot backward L and restart turning clockwise as a unit
6 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
7 R foot backward L and continue turning as a unit
8 hip action – full clockwise turn from 1
Other moves included swinging while going down and up. And choreographed dip sequences including full sweeping type dip taking all 8 beats, wave inducing dip done twice in 8 beats, and a shorter sweeping dip during first 4 beats followed by shoulder wiggling by the follower.
Late start unfortunately meant there was quite a bit of waiting done by the people who came only for the second workshop. I suspect they might have gotten some useful tip from watching for an extended amount of time, so I didn’t feel too terrible about this. I think with the first workshop, we were one or two men short and asked couple of extra men hanging about to join in. For the second workshop, we were three women short, so three extras from beginners workshop were rounded up.
Workshop II
Sharper clockwise turn as a unit
1,2,3,4 short going down and up ending with weight on L foot
5 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
6 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
7 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
8 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
1 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
2 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
3 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
4 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
5 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
6 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
7 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
8 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
one-and-two
1 L foot to L
2 R foot close – keep weight on L foot
3 R foot to R
4 L foot close – keep weight on R foot
5 L foot to L
6 R foot close
7 L foot to L
8 R foot close
1 R foot to R
2 L foot close – keep weight on R foot
3 L foot to L
4 R foot close – keep weight on L foot
5 R foot to R
6 L foot close
7 R foot to R
8 L foot close
name?
1 L foot to L and point diagonally to front L – keep weight on R foot
2 L foot return to original position = closed
3 L foot to L (still doing diagonal pointing?)
4 R foot close
5 R foot to R and point diagonally to front R – keep weight on L foot
6 R foot return to original position = closed
7 R foot to R (still doing diagonal pointing?)
8 L foot close
A longer sequence
make distance to lead a turn for the follower during previous 5,6,7,8
1,2,3,4 side turn for follower with both hands high together initially and ending with L hand trapping both of follower’s hands
5,6,7,8 R hand goes in between follower’s hands and back of R hand is used to bring follower’s L hand down to leader’s R waist (this involves small rolling of leader’s R hand around follower’s wrist) – footwork is side-to-side basic
1,2,3,4 back of leader’s L hand is used to do with follower’s R hand what was done during previous 5,6,7,8 so that her R hand ends up on leader’s L waist – footwork is side-to-side basic – both of follower’s hands end up on leader’s waist
5,6,7,8 dip both hands in between follower’s arms and bring follower’s hand/arm up with down, out, up and in motion (R hand counterclockwise motion and L hand clockwise motion) and get follower’s hands (or better yet wrists) to land on leader’s shoulders (L on R and R on L)
1,2,3,4 walk away from each other ending with open-like hold and doing what is rather like open break but with both feet level
5,6,7,8 bring follower in and lead follower into a full counterclockwise turn (Tony said like Enchufe but I’m not sure if this was accurate) with L-R high initially and ending with a wrap (and wiggle on 8)
1,2,3,4 unwrap follower (letting go with L-R) – so follower is going clockwise with her R hand pointing outwards in the end
5,6,7,8 roll follower back in (counterclockwise turn for her) and end with both hands on her waist hold – optional Rattlesnake (shuffling of feet) for the follower at the end
Dip sequence from Workshop was repeated except with an additional variation involving using both hands to hold follower on her back.
The steps and sequences described above were taken from memory. Tony gave me a free DVD for my troubles and I’ll certainly watch it to review things. However, I don’t think I will describe the moves in the DVD in detail because it feels like cheating. This is not to say that describing things from memory is different ultimately but I simply feel more comfortable doing it my way.
A brief panic as the after-party gets underway
The second workshop ends close to 10 PM, so each workshop ended up being slightly over an hour each. Since the club was supposed to have started at 9 PM, this was not great news for people who paid for club entry only. Music starts playing and I spy some people already getting their coats! I was also disappointed to find only a small number of people who showed up for the after party only (Thanks to all those who showed up, by the way). It’s a minor disaster if not enough people stay behind for some dancing. And then, Tony comes to rescue by asking about the show and presenting me with an incentive for people to stay longer and dance. I started spreading the word (with help from Vishal) that Tony & Claudia will perform a show in about 30 minutes and that it will be worth staying extra for. I then proceeded to grab people who I thought were more likely to leave for a dance or two to help convince them to stay longer. So for more than half of the songs during the next 40 minutes or so (including the song immediately after the show), I was the first one on the dance floor – lead by example. It worked. I don’t think anyone left until the show, and once everyone started dancing the momentum carried through for quite some time. For some of the songs, I think we had essentially 100% of the people on the dance floor. I would have argued that the level of dancing would have compared favorably to any night in Club Salsa – not too crowded but far from empty with mixed level dancers but with pretty high average by Club Salsa standard. I felt like I was fumbling a bit during the workshop, but I was pleased to note that I was able to use many of the steps immediately without a lot of awkwardness.
Bachata show
What’s left to say but that we’ll all need more practice. However, I felt that most of the routines that were done during the show were eminently doable. This is a good thing.
Success – not an overwhelming success but a success that met expectations
Workshop was great. My only complaint regarding the workshop is with the couple who booked for two spots last week without paying and did not show up tonight. In retrospect, it almost felt like a scam for the woman in the couple to get dances with me that night. I can’t believe that I get to say, “I hate it when those women use me for my body only.” Only other disappointment was the gate receipt for attendance for after-party only was dismal and much below what I had expected.
Fortunately, there still were enough people staying around to make dancing very good – I enjoyed many good dances and even one dance with a non-Salsa dancer (by this I only mean not LA and not Cuban either) was made energetic and interesting. Dancing with Claudia (to Salsa) was special – her touches were even lighter than the lightest I have experienced in both Cambridge and London. Another Cambridge dancer described the experience as dancing with air.
Financial report
I had always planned to treat this like a private party and was planning on losing some money on this venture. I was more concerned about having and providing good time.
The amount of loss was completely acceptable albeit on the high end of acceptable; I may post receipts and expenses (but not in too much detail) later this week. Meanwhile, the amount of good will generated by doing this was – priceless. Same goes for the amount of fun I had simply organizing it and pulling it off.
An encore?
It's possible. Tony & Claudia talked about doing another mini-tour in February after Brit-Salsafest and a Congress in Zurich. I’ll have to see how things play out over next few weeks. Tony and I’ll be keeping in touch – if I end up going to Brit-Salsafest, I’ll be sure to stop and say hello to them both.
First, I thought I was smart about having chosen tonight as the workshop night but now…
Biggest regret? I won’t be here this week to show off my new Bachata moves to people who did not come tonight’s event to show off and let them see what they missed. Then again, it is possible that Bachata will have established a solid beachhead by the time I return in 2+ weeks with some people even coming up with new moves.
[November 22 update: In addition to many congratulations I received last night, several more people e-mailed this morning to compliment me for the event.]
ticket design
My original intent was for people to keep their tickets possibly as a keepsake or memento, but this did not happen in part because of scrambling in the beginning. Not that there was any big danger of anyone showing up with a fake ticket, but I held off until now to display the designs for the tickets until the event was completed.
Front
Back
Que una aventura or what an adventure!
The evening starts – I meet Tony & Claudia
Aside from some e-mails, the evening began in earnest when I set out for Tesco at Bar Hill to pick up some plastic champagne glasses at 4 PM. After a short detour at home, I arrived at Sauce bar/restaurant next to Club Salsa at 5 PM. Here I was dismayed to find that Tandoori Station Restaurant did not open until 6 PM – a small screw-up by me as I had told people to be there as early as 5:30 PM. Just as I was about to order a drink, Tony rang my mobile phone from his parked car. About 5 minutes later, we met face to face for the first time, and the first thought that came to my mind was “Wow. He’s shorter than me!”
Small talk at the Sauce
Fortunately the late opening time for Tandoori Station Restaurant did not affect anyone except for Tony & Claudia as the Baranco members I invited and still waiting on did not reply early (and ended up not coming) while the only other people who had planned on being at the dinner called in transit to let me know that they were delayed by traffic conditions. This gave me some time to chitchat for nearly an hour at Sauce over coffee, tea, and soft drink with Tony and me talking mostly as Claudia’s English was limited. Some vital statistics for Tony was clarified – he’s fully Spanish (as opposed to half-Spanish as one person suggested to me) and the girl pictured behind him in his Salsa Mafia ID is indeed his fiancé, Daniella.
High comedy at Tandoori Station
At 5:55 PM, Tandoori Station Restaurant was still completely dark. Then almost like magic, the friendly waiter I recognized came up the stairs and lit up the restaurant and let us in. Another moody waiter, who greatly amused Tony throughout the hour, took over at this point and seated us. As I was perusing over the menu, the friendly waiter came back to inform me that Vishal wanted to speak to me. I went back with the waiter and was handed a phone. Uh oh. “Hi Vishal. What’s up?” “Hi. I’m still stuck in Stansted. It’ll take me another 40 minutes to get to Club Salsa. I will get there before 7 PM.” Hmmm. I had expected to have the Club open by 6:30 PM as the workshop was supposed to have started at 7 PM. Oh well. We’ll just have to improvise.
Enrique was the first to get there – on time (6:15 PM) as he had informed me earlier in the day, and talks turned to DJ issues. We ordered drinks, appetizers and food – not very much for Tony & Claudia as they didn’t want to eat too much before teaching a class. As it was, curry joke ended up being a frequent refrain during the workshop. If there is to be next time, I’ll take them to Sauce for tapas instead although I’m not sure how it would stand up to Tony’s Spanish standard. Cristian arrived with a friend of his next and naturally the talk turned into general discussion of Bachata (teaching, et al.). Finally Rhona arrived last for a coffee.
As it turned out, our main dish did not appear until 6:40 PM, which I wolfed down. Even before I was done eating, people started arriving and coming into the Tandoori Station Restaurant to escape the frigid weather. After I finished eating, I went outside to let early arrivals that Vishal was delayed, and I suggested them to chat with people they know in Tandoori Station Restaurant. As more people piled in, I was imagining that we were playing a game to see how many people we could fit into the restaurant before the moody waiter's head exploded in frustration. In the end, we had well over 20 people inside Tandoori Station Restaurant before Vishal finally arrived shortly after 7 PM to let everyone in.
First workshop starts 30 minutes late
I think there must have been some running around with little purpose as people settled down. I had the bar staff and other helpful volunteers serve complimentary sparkling wine to people attending the workshop. So the workshop did not get started until around 7:30 PM. As it was, some people were more than 30 minutes late as 2-3 people joined in after the late start with some joining in as much as 10-15 minute into the first workshop!
Workshop I
Steps described below are for leaders as usual. In many of the steps, followers are doing mirror image steps.
Avoid ballroom hold as the standard hold. R hand on follower’s spine close to neck, especially for dip-like situations. Keep L-R pointing to the ground unless playing around with moving L-R up and down, etc.
Basic (stationary)
1 weight on L foot
2 weight on R foot
3 weight on L foot
4 hip action – first to L and then to R
5 weight on R foot
6 weight on L foot
7 weight on R foot
8 hip action – first to R and then to L
Basic (side-to-side)
1 L foot to L
2 R foot close
3 L foot to L
4 hip action
5 R foot to R
6 L foot close
7 R foot to R
8 hip action
Basic (forward and back)
1 L foot step forward (small step)
2 R foot close
3 L foot step forward (small step)
4 hip action
5 R foot step backwards (small step)
6 L foot close
7 R foot step backwards (small step)
8 hip action
Side turn
move away from follower during previous 5,6,7,8 to give room
1 L foot point to L
2 R foot to L with turn (traveling) 1/2 counterclockwise
3,4 L foot to L with turn (traveling) 1/2 counterclockwise ending with hip action
5 R foot point to R
6 L foot to R with turn (traveling) 1/2 clockwise
7,8 R foot to R with turn (traveling) 1/2 clockwise ending with hip action
When leading follower into side turn, use L-R high with fingers pointing down. L-R is high for leader’s turn also except with fingers pointing up. This is standard leading technique.
Broken turn
probably start from stationary basic
1 L foot forward R and start to turn right (clockwise) and turning as a unit
2 R foot backward L and continue turning as a unit
3 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
4 hip action – at this point, overall rotation is 1/2 clockwise as a unit
5 R foot backward L and restart turning clockwise as a unit
6 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
7 R foot backward L and continue turning as a unit
8 hip action – full clockwise turn from 1
Other moves included swinging while going down and up. And choreographed dip sequences including full sweeping type dip taking all 8 beats, wave inducing dip done twice in 8 beats, and a shorter sweeping dip during first 4 beats followed by shoulder wiggling by the follower.
Late start unfortunately meant there was quite a bit of waiting done by the people who came only for the second workshop. I suspect they might have gotten some useful tip from watching for an extended amount of time, so I didn’t feel too terrible about this. I think with the first workshop, we were one or two men short and asked couple of extra men hanging about to join in. For the second workshop, we were three women short, so three extras from beginners workshop were rounded up.
Workshop II
Sharper clockwise turn as a unit
1,2,3,4 short going down and up ending with weight on L foot
5 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
6 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
7 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
8 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
1 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
2 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
3 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
4 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
5 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
6 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
7 R foot back L and start turning as a unit
8 L foot forward R and continue turning as a unit
one-and-two
1 L foot to L
2 R foot close – keep weight on L foot
3 R foot to R
4 L foot close – keep weight on R foot
5 L foot to L
6 R foot close
7 L foot to L
8 R foot close
1 R foot to R
2 L foot close – keep weight on R foot
3 L foot to L
4 R foot close – keep weight on L foot
5 R foot to R
6 L foot close
7 R foot to R
8 L foot close
name?
1 L foot to L and point diagonally to front L – keep weight on R foot
2 L foot return to original position = closed
3 L foot to L (still doing diagonal pointing?)
4 R foot close
5 R foot to R and point diagonally to front R – keep weight on L foot
6 R foot return to original position = closed
7 R foot to R (still doing diagonal pointing?)
8 L foot close
A longer sequence
make distance to lead a turn for the follower during previous 5,6,7,8
1,2,3,4 side turn for follower with both hands high together initially and ending with L hand trapping both of follower’s hands
5,6,7,8 R hand goes in between follower’s hands and back of R hand is used to bring follower’s L hand down to leader’s R waist (this involves small rolling of leader’s R hand around follower’s wrist) – footwork is side-to-side basic
1,2,3,4 back of leader’s L hand is used to do with follower’s R hand what was done during previous 5,6,7,8 so that her R hand ends up on leader’s L waist – footwork is side-to-side basic – both of follower’s hands end up on leader’s waist
5,6,7,8 dip both hands in between follower’s arms and bring follower’s hand/arm up with down, out, up and in motion (R hand counterclockwise motion and L hand clockwise motion) and get follower’s hands (or better yet wrists) to land on leader’s shoulders (L on R and R on L)
1,2,3,4 walk away from each other ending with open-like hold and doing what is rather like open break but with both feet level
5,6,7,8 bring follower in and lead follower into a full counterclockwise turn (Tony said like Enchufe but I’m not sure if this was accurate) with L-R high initially and ending with a wrap (and wiggle on 8)
1,2,3,4 unwrap follower (letting go with L-R) – so follower is going clockwise with her R hand pointing outwards in the end
5,6,7,8 roll follower back in (counterclockwise turn for her) and end with both hands on her waist hold – optional Rattlesnake (shuffling of feet) for the follower at the end
Dip sequence from Workshop was repeated except with an additional variation involving using both hands to hold follower on her back.
The steps and sequences described above were taken from memory. Tony gave me a free DVD for my troubles and I’ll certainly watch it to review things. However, I don’t think I will describe the moves in the DVD in detail because it feels like cheating. This is not to say that describing things from memory is different ultimately but I simply feel more comfortable doing it my way.
A brief panic as the after-party gets underway
The second workshop ends close to 10 PM, so each workshop ended up being slightly over an hour each. Since the club was supposed to have started at 9 PM, this was not great news for people who paid for club entry only. Music starts playing and I spy some people already getting their coats! I was also disappointed to find only a small number of people who showed up for the after party only (Thanks to all those who showed up, by the way). It’s a minor disaster if not enough people stay behind for some dancing. And then, Tony comes to rescue by asking about the show and presenting me with an incentive for people to stay longer and dance. I started spreading the word (with help from Vishal) that Tony & Claudia will perform a show in about 30 minutes and that it will be worth staying extra for. I then proceeded to grab people who I thought were more likely to leave for a dance or two to help convince them to stay longer. So for more than half of the songs during the next 40 minutes or so (including the song immediately after the show), I was the first one on the dance floor – lead by example. It worked. I don’t think anyone left until the show, and once everyone started dancing the momentum carried through for quite some time. For some of the songs, I think we had essentially 100% of the people on the dance floor. I would have argued that the level of dancing would have compared favorably to any night in Club Salsa – not too crowded but far from empty with mixed level dancers but with pretty high average by Club Salsa standard. I felt like I was fumbling a bit during the workshop, but I was pleased to note that I was able to use many of the steps immediately without a lot of awkwardness.
Bachata show
What’s left to say but that we’ll all need more practice. However, I felt that most of the routines that were done during the show were eminently doable. This is a good thing.
Success – not an overwhelming success but a success that met expectations
Workshop was great. My only complaint regarding the workshop is with the couple who booked for two spots last week without paying and did not show up tonight. In retrospect, it almost felt like a scam for the woman in the couple to get dances with me that night. I can’t believe that I get to say, “I hate it when those women use me for my body only.” Only other disappointment was the gate receipt for attendance for after-party only was dismal and much below what I had expected.
Fortunately, there still were enough people staying around to make dancing very good – I enjoyed many good dances and even one dance with a non-Salsa dancer (by this I only mean not LA and not Cuban either) was made energetic and interesting. Dancing with Claudia (to Salsa) was special – her touches were even lighter than the lightest I have experienced in both Cambridge and London. Another Cambridge dancer described the experience as dancing with air.
Financial report
I had always planned to treat this like a private party and was planning on losing some money on this venture. I was more concerned about having and providing good time.
The amount of loss was completely acceptable albeit on the high end of acceptable; I may post receipts and expenses (but not in too much detail) later this week. Meanwhile, the amount of good will generated by doing this was – priceless. Same goes for the amount of fun I had simply organizing it and pulling it off.
An encore?
It's possible. Tony & Claudia talked about doing another mini-tour in February after Brit-Salsafest and a Congress in Zurich. I’ll have to see how things play out over next few weeks. Tony and I’ll be keeping in touch – if I end up going to Brit-Salsafest, I’ll be sure to stop and say hello to them both.
First, I thought I was smart about having chosen tonight as the workshop night but now…
Biggest regret? I won’t be here this week to show off my new Bachata moves to people who did not come tonight’s event to show off and let them see what they missed. Then again, it is possible that Bachata will have established a solid beachhead by the time I return in 2+ weeks with some people even coming up with new moves.
[November 22 update: In addition to many congratulations I received last night, several more people e-mailed this morning to compliment me for the event.]
ticket design
My original intent was for people to keep their tickets possibly as a keepsake or memento, but this did not happen in part because of scrambling in the beginning. Not that there was any big danger of anyone showing up with a fake ticket, but I held off until now to display the designs for the tickets until the event was completed.
Front
Back
Another pleasurable evening at SOS – I just need to stop myself from getting used to it
November 20, 2005
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic (!)
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead (!)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a double stationary clockwise turn with L-R high – leader turns 1/2 clockwise on 7/8 and switch to R-R by leader’s R waist
1,2,3 open break and R-R goes over follower’s head and behind her as L-L connection in front is made
5,6,7 brief L-L connection is used primarily to lead follower into a 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn with R-R high (try to do as little leading with R-R as possible)
1,2,3 leader turns 1/2 clockwise with R-R high and get into open cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn with R-R – R-R had an interesting movement, starting high and swung down low with clockwise motion and then brought up again
1,2,3 open break and get into reverse cross body lead position with L-L offered low at about waist level with R-R at about shoulder level
5,6,7 lead follower into traveling full clockwise turn with R-R high and L-L low ending with L-L wrap
1,2,3 open break (! – I kept getting this wrong after the class) and turn follower around for a 1/2 turn clockwise into cross body lead position – this is an unusual maneuver and the instructors suggested that R-R ending on her back shoulder could help in stabilizing the follower if she ends up off balance
5,6,7 lead follower to a 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn with both hands up with hand switch so that L-L ends up on top of R-R
1,2,3 open break again and turn follower into a full counterclockwise turn with L-L pointing forward at the end
5,6,7 lead follower into a free counterclockwise turn and leaders perform a counterclockwise turn as well starting on around 6 but ending so that R hand ends up on back of follower’s shoulder
1,2,3 move around as past follower (via in front of or to left of the follower) while changing follower’s line around 180 degrees and get into a new cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower into a simple cross body lead finish with newly established line
Shine of the day
1,2,3 Suzy Q
4 R foot in front and to L of L foot
5 L foot behind and to R of R foot
6,7,8 Suzy Q as if it were 5,6,7
1 kick to front L with L foot
2 L foot lands back in more or less original position
3 R foot in place more or less
4 L foot cross behind R foot
5 R foot slightly to front R
6 L foot move in front and diagonally to left of R foot with a little distance (a foot or slightly more)
7,8 shimmy
1 L foot step to front
3 R foot cross in front of L foot
5,6,7 something like Johnny’s crazy leg routine – L foot step in front, R foot to R, L foot to L, R foot to L closing in, L foot to R closing in further
1 L foot to front L on heel
2 L toe wiggle to R
3 L foot cross behind R foot
4 R foot slightly to R
5 L foot to L and prepare for turn
6,7,8 turn clockwise (probably on L foot and landing on R foot)
1,2,3 basic forward
Male to female ratio was close to 2:1. Something like 19 to 10 sounds about right as I remember seeing two women in a row without a break once in a while – maybe two or three times for the whole lesson. Considering this, I thought I came out of the lesson in fine shape (except for the trouble spot mentioned above – which became trouble only after the lessons during club hours). It was amusing and gratifying to see what I perceived as a relief from many of the followers coming to be after some rough or poor leading by a few previous leaders they had practiced with prior to their turn with me. I think Sean, who joined me in level III, was getting a similar welcome as well.
Some of the highlights included recognition from a few people, with whom I danced with previously and who seemed to have a quite positive impression of me. A couple of these followers even asked me to dance before I asked – I was about to ask in both cases so I have no complaints whatsoever. Pretty much all dances were good and I thought the last two dances in particular left me finished on a very high note. Lowlights included a stretch of two or three songs in a row in the middle where I kept losing my timing. In the last of such cases, I was accused of dancing on-2!!! (Otherwise she said she enjoyed it). I’m not sure if I was dancing on-2, but this is not a good thing if I am dancing on-2 and not recognizing it. Perhaps the most bizarre incident involved what seemed like a feud between my partner at the time and a nearby leader. I’m not sure if I obtained a complete picture but the conversation went something like this.
Me (just after the collision between my partner and him) – “Are you okay?”
Her (glaring at the guy) – “Yeah. I’ll just get even with him later.”
This exchange left me quite confused. I tried to move away from this guy while still dancing – moving away into a different area involving traveling of 4-5 meters. A weird thing was that he seemed to keep following us as I tried to move away from him. Maybe I misunderstood or misheard my partner’s comment and the fact that the other guy seemed to be following us was nothing but a coincidence or of him simply taking advantage of open space vacated by us. Strange…
The start of the journey was a bit of a scramble with work, driving to pick up Sean, e-mail communications with Tony, phone conversation with Tony, and meeting up with Johnny & Serap all had to be squeezed into less than a hour. Also, an accident on M11 made the journey to SOS longer than usual (rather like last time). Fortunately there was no mix up with our food at the Fish & Chips place this time around, so after wolfing down our food we were only 5 minutes late with the instructors still dividing up the classes upon our arrival.
Some topics that came up during the drive to and back that I would have liked to cover in this post but didn't have time includes the following. A workshop being prepared by Johnny & Serap. Serap’s dancing experience with Robert Charlemagne. Johnny's adventure in taking an on-2 class with Nelson Flores. Fixation of some Salsa mafia forum regulars on learning to dance on-2. Cha cha and Rumba being taught on-2 in my CDC Ballroom classes and how this was causing havoc with some Salsa regulars I see in the Ballroom class. About how going to SOS is like going to a dance with a "clean slate." Maybe I'll get back to these topics when I have a little more time.
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic (!)
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead (!)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a double stationary clockwise turn with L-R high – leader turns 1/2 clockwise on 7/8 and switch to R-R by leader’s R waist
1,2,3 open break and R-R goes over follower’s head and behind her as L-L connection in front is made
5,6,7 brief L-L connection is used primarily to lead follower into a 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn with R-R high (try to do as little leading with R-R as possible)
1,2,3 leader turns 1/2 clockwise with R-R high and get into open cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn with R-R – R-R had an interesting movement, starting high and swung down low with clockwise motion and then brought up again
1,2,3 open break and get into reverse cross body lead position with L-L offered low at about waist level with R-R at about shoulder level
5,6,7 lead follower into traveling full clockwise turn with R-R high and L-L low ending with L-L wrap
1,2,3 open break (! – I kept getting this wrong after the class) and turn follower around for a 1/2 turn clockwise into cross body lead position – this is an unusual maneuver and the instructors suggested that R-R ending on her back shoulder could help in stabilizing the follower if she ends up off balance
5,6,7 lead follower to a 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn with both hands up with hand switch so that L-L ends up on top of R-R
1,2,3 open break again and turn follower into a full counterclockwise turn with L-L pointing forward at the end
5,6,7 lead follower into a free counterclockwise turn and leaders perform a counterclockwise turn as well starting on around 6 but ending so that R hand ends up on back of follower’s shoulder
1,2,3 move around as past follower (via in front of or to left of the follower) while changing follower’s line around 180 degrees and get into a new cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower into a simple cross body lead finish with newly established line
Shine of the day
1,2,3 Suzy Q
4 R foot in front and to L of L foot
5 L foot behind and to R of R foot
6,7,8 Suzy Q as if it were 5,6,7
1 kick to front L with L foot
2 L foot lands back in more or less original position
3 R foot in place more or less
4 L foot cross behind R foot
5 R foot slightly to front R
6 L foot move in front and diagonally to left of R foot with a little distance (a foot or slightly more)
7,8 shimmy
1 L foot step to front
3 R foot cross in front of L foot
5,6,7 something like Johnny’s crazy leg routine – L foot step in front, R foot to R, L foot to L, R foot to L closing in, L foot to R closing in further
1 L foot to front L on heel
2 L toe wiggle to R
3 L foot cross behind R foot
4 R foot slightly to R
5 L foot to L and prepare for turn
6,7,8 turn clockwise (probably on L foot and landing on R foot)
1,2,3 basic forward
Male to female ratio was close to 2:1. Something like 19 to 10 sounds about right as I remember seeing two women in a row without a break once in a while – maybe two or three times for the whole lesson. Considering this, I thought I came out of the lesson in fine shape (except for the trouble spot mentioned above – which became trouble only after the lessons during club hours). It was amusing and gratifying to see what I perceived as a relief from many of the followers coming to be after some rough or poor leading by a few previous leaders they had practiced with prior to their turn with me. I think Sean, who joined me in level III, was getting a similar welcome as well.
Some of the highlights included recognition from a few people, with whom I danced with previously and who seemed to have a quite positive impression of me. A couple of these followers even asked me to dance before I asked – I was about to ask in both cases so I have no complaints whatsoever. Pretty much all dances were good and I thought the last two dances in particular left me finished on a very high note. Lowlights included a stretch of two or three songs in a row in the middle where I kept losing my timing. In the last of such cases, I was accused of dancing on-2!!! (Otherwise she said she enjoyed it). I’m not sure if I was dancing on-2, but this is not a good thing if I am dancing on-2 and not recognizing it. Perhaps the most bizarre incident involved what seemed like a feud between my partner at the time and a nearby leader. I’m not sure if I obtained a complete picture but the conversation went something like this.
Me (just after the collision between my partner and him) – “Are you okay?”
Her (glaring at the guy) – “Yeah. I’ll just get even with him later.”
This exchange left me quite confused. I tried to move away from this guy while still dancing – moving away into a different area involving traveling of 4-5 meters. A weird thing was that he seemed to keep following us as I tried to move away from him. Maybe I misunderstood or misheard my partner’s comment and the fact that the other guy seemed to be following us was nothing but a coincidence or of him simply taking advantage of open space vacated by us. Strange…
The start of the journey was a bit of a scramble with work, driving to pick up Sean, e-mail communications with Tony, phone conversation with Tony, and meeting up with Johnny & Serap all had to be squeezed into less than a hour. Also, an accident on M11 made the journey to SOS longer than usual (rather like last time). Fortunately there was no mix up with our food at the Fish & Chips place this time around, so after wolfing down our food we were only 5 minutes late with the instructors still dividing up the classes upon our arrival.
Some topics that came up during the drive to and back that I would have liked to cover in this post but didn't have time includes the following. A workshop being prepared by Johnny & Serap. Serap’s dancing experience with Robert Charlemagne. Johnny's adventure in taking an on-2 class with Nelson Flores. Fixation of some Salsa mafia forum regulars on learning to dance on-2. Cha cha and Rumba being taught on-2 in my CDC Ballroom classes and how this was causing havoc with some Salsa regulars I see in the Ballroom class. About how going to SOS is like going to a dance with a "clean slate." Maybe I'll get back to these topics when I have a little more time.
Bachata quick plug
November 20, 2005
For those still deciding on whether to try learning Bachata this Monday, click here for a link to Tony's Bachata website.
For those still deciding on whether to try learning Bachata this Monday, click here for a link to Tony's Bachata website.
Ballroom Beginner Fast track week 7 - Beginners practice - Beginners social
November 19, 2005
Tango
slow L foot forward
slow R foot forward
quick L foot forward
quick R foot at level with L foot but set a little apart with body and/or head turned to left (partner faces the same direction)
quick L foot to left
quick R foot to left across L foot via in front of L foot
slow L foot to left and set apart again – now looking forward
slow L foot forward
slow R foot forward
quick L foot forward
quick R foot forward and quickly followed by L foot cross over in front of R foot via behind R foot
slow? turn as a unit about half counterclockwise as R foot backward
speed? L foot back
speed? R foot together (or at least level)
I went into Ballroom Tango section of the class without much interest because I suspected that Argentine Tango would be a lot more interesting. I can’t say I learned anything here to change my mind. It also seemed very late in the term to start learning a new dance.
Samba
Volta something
from end of Whisk
I think this was not syncopated
L foot cross over in front of R foot and the body turns 1/4 counterclockwise while L-R is lifted for leading follower into doing a mirror image
R foot move behind L foot and to left front with another body turn of 1/4 counterclockwise is followed quickly by L foot crossing over in front of R foot
R foot to R is followed quickly by L foot crossing over in front of R foot
R foot to R is followed quickly by L foot crossing over in front of R foot
R foot move behind L foot and forward as the body turns 1/4 clockwise with L-R raised again for leading follower into doing a mirror image
L foot move behind R foot and to right front with another body turn of 1/4 clockwise followed quickly by R foot crossing over in front of L foot
L foot to L is followed quickly by R foot crossing over in front of L foot
L foot to L is followed quickly by R foot crossing over in front of L foot
this is followed by
L foot start for Whisk
Waltz
some turn (name?)
1 R foot forward
2 L foot to L forward as the couple turn clockwise as a unit
3 R foot together
1 L foot back and turn as a unit up to half turn clockwise
2 R foot forward
3 L foot to left (not together!)
next step should be
1 R foot back
I don't think I have made this move comfortable by the end of the day.
Jive
New York turn was apparently new for this class while the enchufe doble like maneuver hasn’t been taught yet. I taught the move to a couple I chatted wtih during the Beginners practice.
In Beginners practice, it became apparent that the Quickstep turn involving lockstep was not taught for the Dancesport Beginners (and possibly Saturday Beginners fast track as well). Apparently they learned a turn move similar to the one done in Waltz today.
I’m not sure which I dislike more – somewhat sloppy steps by some in the fast track social class or some of the too-rigid and inflexible Dancesport students.
Beginner’s social was okay but not great. About 30 people were there, of which one third were CDC committee members. I felt that the Beginners social was no better than Beginners practice both as a dance event and as a social event. I would have been better off trying to make it to a Barn Dance I had been invited to but couldn't go because of combination of many factors that made it difficult for me to commit to it in the first place. Oh well.
Foxtrot made a single comeback during the social. One of my partner obviously missed the first class of the term in which steps for Foxtrot was taught for about 15 min, so I ended up coaching her through the song. Even with a quick perfunctory demonstration, I was pleasantly surprised that I still remembered the steps well enough to make it work after not having done Foxtrot for well over a month. I had rather liked Foxtrot, and I am a little sorry that they did not do more of it this term.
This is the last Ballroom class, etc for the Michaelmas term for me as I’m going away next week. I’m not sure whether I want to continue with Ballroom next term after more than two months of break.
Tango
slow L foot forward
slow R foot forward
quick L foot forward
quick R foot at level with L foot but set a little apart with body and/or head turned to left (partner faces the same direction)
quick L foot to left
quick R foot to left across L foot via in front of L foot
slow L foot to left and set apart again – now looking forward
slow L foot forward
slow R foot forward
quick L foot forward
quick R foot forward and quickly followed by L foot cross over in front of R foot via behind R foot
slow? turn as a unit about half counterclockwise as R foot backward
speed? L foot back
speed? R foot together (or at least level)
I went into Ballroom Tango section of the class without much interest because I suspected that Argentine Tango would be a lot more interesting. I can’t say I learned anything here to change my mind. It also seemed very late in the term to start learning a new dance.
Samba
Volta something
from end of Whisk
I think this was not syncopated
L foot cross over in front of R foot and the body turns 1/4 counterclockwise while L-R is lifted for leading follower into doing a mirror image
R foot move behind L foot and to left front with another body turn of 1/4 counterclockwise is followed quickly by L foot crossing over in front of R foot
R foot to R is followed quickly by L foot crossing over in front of R foot
R foot to R is followed quickly by L foot crossing over in front of R foot
R foot move behind L foot and forward as the body turns 1/4 clockwise with L-R raised again for leading follower into doing a mirror image
L foot move behind R foot and to right front with another body turn of 1/4 clockwise followed quickly by R foot crossing over in front of L foot
L foot to L is followed quickly by R foot crossing over in front of L foot
L foot to L is followed quickly by R foot crossing over in front of L foot
this is followed by
L foot start for Whisk
Waltz
some turn (name?)
1 R foot forward
2 L foot to L forward as the couple turn clockwise as a unit
3 R foot together
1 L foot back and turn as a unit up to half turn clockwise
2 R foot forward
3 L foot to left (not together!)
next step should be
1 R foot back
I don't think I have made this move comfortable by the end of the day.
Jive
New York turn was apparently new for this class while the enchufe doble like maneuver hasn’t been taught yet. I taught the move to a couple I chatted wtih during the Beginners practice.
In Beginners practice, it became apparent that the Quickstep turn involving lockstep was not taught for the Dancesport Beginners (and possibly Saturday Beginners fast track as well). Apparently they learned a turn move similar to the one done in Waltz today.
I’m not sure which I dislike more – somewhat sloppy steps by some in the fast track social class or some of the too-rigid and inflexible Dancesport students.
Beginner’s social was okay but not great. About 30 people were there, of which one third were CDC committee members. I felt that the Beginners social was no better than Beginners practice both as a dance event and as a social event. I would have been better off trying to make it to a Barn Dance I had been invited to but couldn't go because of combination of many factors that made it difficult for me to commit to it in the first place. Oh well.
Foxtrot made a single comeback during the social. One of my partner obviously missed the first class of the term in which steps for Foxtrot was taught for about 15 min, so I ended up coaching her through the song. Even with a quick perfunctory demonstration, I was pleasantly surprised that I still remembered the steps well enough to make it work after not having done Foxtrot for well over a month. I had rather liked Foxtrot, and I am a little sorry that they did not do more of it this term.
This is the last Ballroom class, etc for the Michaelmas term for me as I’m going away next week. I’m not sure whether I want to continue with Ballroom next term after more than two months of break.
Massive class for Johnny & Serap level IV
November 18, 2005
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for the follower with R hand holding both of follower's hands - the routine was started with open hold and hand transfer was done during the cross body lead. I think Johnny made the switch during follower's turn, which might be the best place for it for looks. However, for practical purposes the switch could be done earlier on 4 or 5 or even near the end of the turn. For now, I'd suggest doing the switch whenever convenient.
1,2,3 leader makes stationary clockwise turn with R-L/R high and end with open cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower into a traveling a full counterclockwise traveling turn with R-L/R resting on follower's R shoulder - leader is facing the same direction as the follower on 8
1,2,3 step in place (or slight twisting of follower's body - with leader moving along with it - for up to 1/4 counterclockwise twist and back)
5,6,7 lead follower into a stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn with R-L/R high
open hold
1,2,3 open break on 1 and exchange places with follower (with leader moving across the follower from her left side) with L-R high and R-L disconnected and get back into open - this is somewhat similar in overall movement as Casino enchufe, especially as Rhona & Helen do it
5,6,7 1/2 hook turn (clockwise) for the leader as L-R is tossed across follower's body (or to down and right from leader's point of view) and offer R hand at R waist to reconnect with R-R (follower's hand should be doing a large sweeping clockwise arc (from her point of view - from leader's point of view, it would look counterclockwise)
1,2,3 open break on 1 and bring follower forward on 2,3 with L-L connection being made in front as R-R goes over follower's head and behind her
5,6,7 using R-R to initiate lead (bring it towards leader's body), lead follower into a traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn with R-R quickly disconnected and L-L kept high
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic and bring L-R high for leading follower into a full pivot clockwise turn on 5,6,7 with R-L kept low to place follower into a hammerlock/Setenta position
1,2,3 open break and bring follower to right side while leading her into a half counterclockwise turn
5,6,7 move to follower's right side with R-L high and L-R temporarily disconnected via in front of follower - L-R connection is remade by follower's L waist
1,2,3 open break followed by leading follower into a full traveling counterclockwise turn with L-R high (L-R needs to go up quickly and may need a somewhat sweeping half counterclockwise motion starting from close to leader's L waist) and follower moving across from leader's left side - try to end up behind the follower
5,6,7 bring follower back from leader's right side (leader needs to move to her left to make room for this) with wrap intact
1,2,3 twisting start to cross body lead ending with open cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower into a traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with L-R high (and R-L disconnected)
Massive number of people was present at the class, many of whom were new. I'm not sure what caused this; Johnny didn't know either. I'm guessing a massive coincidence, but I won't know and I won't be here next week to see if this was a one-time thing or something more lasting.
Club itself was very crowded as well - seemingly a little more so than the usual Friday standard. I had to act quickly to get some wanted dances early and stay behind late to get some more with reasonable amount of space. Then again, that's normal for Friday no matter what, and I use this opportunity to get to know some of the regulars better. The highlight (or the most memorable) of dancing involved me getting so flustered and low in confidence during a dance (in which I was running into the stairs, etc) and asking a bystander to count 1,2,3,5,6,7 to the music to make sure that I was dancing in time. He did so and said my timing was fine. Whew!
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for the follower with R hand holding both of follower's hands - the routine was started with open hold and hand transfer was done during the cross body lead. I think Johnny made the switch during follower's turn, which might be the best place for it for looks. However, for practical purposes the switch could be done earlier on 4 or 5 or even near the end of the turn. For now, I'd suggest doing the switch whenever convenient.
1,2,3 leader makes stationary clockwise turn with R-L/R high and end with open cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower into a traveling a full counterclockwise traveling turn with R-L/R resting on follower's R shoulder - leader is facing the same direction as the follower on 8
1,2,3 step in place (or slight twisting of follower's body - with leader moving along with it - for up to 1/4 counterclockwise twist and back)
5,6,7 lead follower into a stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn with R-L/R high
open hold
1,2,3 open break on 1 and exchange places with follower (with leader moving across the follower from her left side) with L-R high and R-L disconnected and get back into open - this is somewhat similar in overall movement as Casino enchufe, especially as Rhona & Helen do it
5,6,7 1/2 hook turn (clockwise) for the leader as L-R is tossed across follower's body (or to down and right from leader's point of view) and offer R hand at R waist to reconnect with R-R (follower's hand should be doing a large sweeping clockwise arc (from her point of view - from leader's point of view, it would look counterclockwise)
1,2,3 open break on 1 and bring follower forward on 2,3 with L-L connection being made in front as R-R goes over follower's head and behind her
5,6,7 using R-R to initiate lead (bring it towards leader's body), lead follower into a traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn with R-R quickly disconnected and L-L kept high
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic and bring L-R high for leading follower into a full pivot clockwise turn on 5,6,7 with R-L kept low to place follower into a hammerlock/Setenta position
1,2,3 open break and bring follower to right side while leading her into a half counterclockwise turn
5,6,7 move to follower's right side with R-L high and L-R temporarily disconnected via in front of follower - L-R connection is remade by follower's L waist
1,2,3 open break followed by leading follower into a full traveling counterclockwise turn with L-R high (L-R needs to go up quickly and may need a somewhat sweeping half counterclockwise motion starting from close to leader's L waist) and follower moving across from leader's left side - try to end up behind the follower
5,6,7 bring follower back from leader's right side (leader needs to move to her left to make room for this) with wrap intact
1,2,3 twisting start to cross body lead ending with open cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower into a traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with L-R high (and R-L disconnected)
Massive number of people was present at the class, many of whom were new. I'm not sure what caused this; Johnny didn't know either. I'm guessing a massive coincidence, but I won't know and I won't be here next week to see if this was a one-time thing or something more lasting.
Club itself was very crowded as well - seemingly a little more so than the usual Friday standard. I had to act quickly to get some wanted dances early and stay behind late to get some more with reasonable amount of space. Then again, that's normal for Friday no matter what, and I use this opportunity to get to know some of the regulars better. The highlight (or the most memorable) of dancing involved me getting so flustered and low in confidence during a dance (in which I was running into the stairs, etc) and asking a bystander to count 1,2,3,5,6,7 to the music to make sure that I was dancing in time. He did so and said my timing was fine. Whew!
Lesson number 6 - Sally
November 17, 2005
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard cross body lead with leader hook turn with L-R going over leader’s head and switch to R-R hold in open position (I found this version of hook turn with L-R high a little difficult and ended up letting go the connection fairly early, which in turn led to preparation for double turn rushed if R-R connection was fumbled – it may simply need getting used to)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary double clockwise turn
1,2,3 give follower a R-R hat with R hand going to follower’s shoulder and L-L connection is made as leader initiate cross body lead
5,6,7 lead follower into a traveling full counterclockwise turn as is done in lasso and with R-R connection re-made by 5/6 and thus ending in a wrap (L-L goes over follower’s head) – leader ends up to right of follower (or follower should be to the left of leader)
1,2,3 lead with R-R to move follower backwards with L-L going up to clear room for follower’s head moving backwards on 1, then rotate around each other while always facing the same direction as 8/1 on 2,3 with R-R going over leader’s head during this time with leader moving to follower’s left into an open cross body lead position by 3/4 (L-L is positioned behind leader’s R waist and is about to be disconnected)
5,6,7 lead follower into a traveling full counterclockwise turn as is done in lasso again but only using R-R only
1,2,3 same body/feet rotating movement as in previous 1,2,3 but this time with R-R disconnected and follower’s R hand temporarily trapped between leaders L arm and body and leader’s R hand is placed in front of follower’s R waist by 3/4
5,6,7 use R hand on follower’s R waist to lead follower into a 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn and end with both hands on follower’s hips by 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with free 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn for the follower led with both hands on follower’s hips during 1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead ending with open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break on 1, get into reverse cross body lead position on 2,3 and lead follower to half turn clockwise with both hand connections intact on 5,6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead followed by full counterclockwise traveling turn for the follower with both hands ending on follower’s shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 in place on 1,2,3 and lead follower to a stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn to get back into open position
dip
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard cross body lead with 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn for the follower with leader following closely on 5,6,7 and ending almost on top of the follower in a variation of closed position – leader’s R hand reaches down from follower’s L shoulder on 7/8
1,2,3 “lunge” forward on 1 with follower arching backwards – probably should bring follower back up starting on 3 to be able to do a proper 5,6,7
5,6,7 turn half turn clockwise as a unit and do back basic
[note: I think I would be extremely reluctant to try this dip except with followers who know this dip and even then I am not sure if I will feel completely comfortable. One my bigger concern is that R hand reaching down from follower’s L shoulder position is going to be next to useless in keeping the follower upright if the follower loses balance and fall backwards.]
My form seemed a little off compared to last night. Then again, I was keeping things simpler much of last night while dancing with more experienced followers.
I will be missing Sally’s class for next 3 weeks as I’ll be in the USA for a little over 16 days starting next Wednesday. I guess after tomorrow’s lesson, I’ll be missing Johnny & Serap’s class for 3 weeks as well. I will almost certainly be doing some reporting of Salsa scene in the Washington D.C. area.
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard cross body lead with leader hook turn with L-R going over leader’s head and switch to R-R hold in open position (I found this version of hook turn with L-R high a little difficult and ended up letting go the connection fairly early, which in turn led to preparation for double turn rushed if R-R connection was fumbled – it may simply need getting used to)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary double clockwise turn
1,2,3 give follower a R-R hat with R hand going to follower’s shoulder and L-L connection is made as leader initiate cross body lead
5,6,7 lead follower into a traveling full counterclockwise turn as is done in lasso and with R-R connection re-made by 5/6 and thus ending in a wrap (L-L goes over follower’s head) – leader ends up to right of follower (or follower should be to the left of leader)
1,2,3 lead with R-R to move follower backwards with L-L going up to clear room for follower’s head moving backwards on 1, then rotate around each other while always facing the same direction as 8/1 on 2,3 with R-R going over leader’s head during this time with leader moving to follower’s left into an open cross body lead position by 3/4 (L-L is positioned behind leader’s R waist and is about to be disconnected)
5,6,7 lead follower into a traveling full counterclockwise turn as is done in lasso again but only using R-R only
1,2,3 same body/feet rotating movement as in previous 1,2,3 but this time with R-R disconnected and follower’s R hand temporarily trapped between leaders L arm and body and leader’s R hand is placed in front of follower’s R waist by 3/4
5,6,7 use R hand on follower’s R waist to lead follower into a 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn and end with both hands on follower’s hips by 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with free 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn for the follower led with both hands on follower’s hips during 1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead ending with open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break on 1, get into reverse cross body lead position on 2,3 and lead follower to half turn clockwise with both hand connections intact on 5,6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead followed by full counterclockwise traveling turn for the follower with both hands ending on follower’s shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 in place on 1,2,3 and lead follower to a stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn to get back into open position
dip
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard cross body lead with 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn for the follower with leader following closely on 5,6,7 and ending almost on top of the follower in a variation of closed position – leader’s R hand reaches down from follower’s L shoulder on 7/8
1,2,3 “lunge” forward on 1 with follower arching backwards – probably should bring follower back up starting on 3 to be able to do a proper 5,6,7
5,6,7 turn half turn clockwise as a unit and do back basic
[note: I think I would be extremely reluctant to try this dip except with followers who know this dip and even then I am not sure if I will feel completely comfortable. One my bigger concern is that R hand reaching down from follower’s L shoulder position is going to be next to useless in keeping the follower upright if the follower loses balance and fall backwards.]
My form seemed a little off compared to last night. Then again, I was keeping things simpler much of last night while dancing with more experienced followers.
I will be missing Sally’s class for next 3 weeks as I’ll be in the USA for a little over 16 days starting next Wednesday. I guess after tomorrow’s lesson, I’ll be missing Johnny & Serap’s class for 3 weeks as well. I will almost certainly be doing some reporting of Salsa scene in the Washington D.C. area.
Conversation with Mauricio – Check your ego at the entrance
November 16, 2005
How should one dance Salsa? Aficionados have many different viewpoints and arguments regarding this. I have been reading various people’s opinions about this, and I had been thinking about writing a treatise on this matter except I lack an interesting central thesis. This line of thinking was rekindled briefly because of a conversation I had with Mauricio near the end of Cristian and co.’s classes and the beginning of the Club hours tonight. I had hoped that I could write about some of the discussions we had but even this seems daunting. Maybe I’ll have more time during my vacation starting next week. One thing that came out of the conversation was that I was inspired to dance a little differently than usual and make stronger effort to endow unique flavor or style as well as distinct move combinations to different dances with different dance partners. Generally this led to simpler dances with most people and made the dancing tonight interesting in a very nice way.
This is not to say there were no clunkers; one dance in particular was annoying, deflating and humbling all at once. In my estimation, my dance partner for this dance was a beginner who was taught cross body lead a few times but was not proficient with it – I thought her mechanics for cross body lead was somewhat similar to Dile que no because she was following it with a noticeable arc rather moving in a straight line as is standard in LA style. Because it quickly became evident that she did not know how to follow any but simplest leads and also because she did not seem to be a natural dancer who could move and follow more complicated moves without having learned the move, I decided to keep the dance very simple. I think I even stopped using cross body leads because the way it was done was unsatisfactory. To my surprise, keeping things simpler led to what seemed to be an indignation followed by her initiating moves that I did not lead. It is more unusual but sometimes some followers seem to prefer to be tossed around, overwhelmed and even treated slightly roughly rather than have a well-controlled dance. I don’t think I told her that she wasn’t doing cross body lead properly when she started saying that I should do cross body lead and that insisting that she knew how to do it – and to which I replied “But you’re not doing it well,” which I suppose wasn’t a diplomatic reply. After couple more self-leading and what increasingly seemed an increasing disdain and hostility toward me possibly as a dancer, leader and/or person, I in exasperation told her, “You know – I’m one of the best dancers in this club tonight.” She replied, “YOU are the best dancer here?” I said, “No, no. Not THE best. One of the better ones.” She then said, “Oh, I guess I should feel really lucky.” Ouch. Score one for her. I’m not sure what I could have done or should have done, but boasting certainly was not a good idea and was counterproductive. I should add that it was dubious claim in the first. What does being one of the best mean? Would being a top 5 in a room of 25 qualify? Different people will also have varying opinions who is good and who isn't based upon subjective criteria (sometimes without knowing enough to judge well). So what did I learn from this? Don't boast - it likely won't impress and I don't think it would be a good thing if it works.
How should one dance Salsa? Aficionados have many different viewpoints and arguments regarding this. I have been reading various people’s opinions about this, and I had been thinking about writing a treatise on this matter except I lack an interesting central thesis. This line of thinking was rekindled briefly because of a conversation I had with Mauricio near the end of Cristian and co.’s classes and the beginning of the Club hours tonight. I had hoped that I could write about some of the discussions we had but even this seems daunting. Maybe I’ll have more time during my vacation starting next week. One thing that came out of the conversation was that I was inspired to dance a little differently than usual and make stronger effort to endow unique flavor or style as well as distinct move combinations to different dances with different dance partners. Generally this led to simpler dances with most people and made the dancing tonight interesting in a very nice way.
This is not to say there were no clunkers; one dance in particular was annoying, deflating and humbling all at once. In my estimation, my dance partner for this dance was a beginner who was taught cross body lead a few times but was not proficient with it – I thought her mechanics for cross body lead was somewhat similar to Dile que no because she was following it with a noticeable arc rather moving in a straight line as is standard in LA style. Because it quickly became evident that she did not know how to follow any but simplest leads and also because she did not seem to be a natural dancer who could move and follow more complicated moves without having learned the move, I decided to keep the dance very simple. I think I even stopped using cross body leads because the way it was done was unsatisfactory. To my surprise, keeping things simpler led to what seemed to be an indignation followed by her initiating moves that I did not lead. It is more unusual but sometimes some followers seem to prefer to be tossed around, overwhelmed and even treated slightly roughly rather than have a well-controlled dance. I don’t think I told her that she wasn’t doing cross body lead properly when she started saying that I should do cross body lead and that insisting that she knew how to do it – and to which I replied “But you’re not doing it well,” which I suppose wasn’t a diplomatic reply. After couple more self-leading and what increasingly seemed an increasing disdain and hostility toward me possibly as a dancer, leader and/or person, I in exasperation told her, “You know – I’m one of the best dancers in this club tonight.” She replied, “YOU are the best dancer here?” I said, “No, no. Not THE best. One of the better ones.” She then said, “Oh, I guess I should feel really lucky.” Ouch. Score one for her. I’m not sure what I could have done or should have done, but boasting certainly was not a good idea and was counterproductive. I should add that it was dubious claim in the first. What does being one of the best mean? Would being a top 5 in a room of 25 qualify? Different people will also have varying opinions who is good and who isn't based upon subjective criteria (sometimes without knowing enough to judge well). So what did I learn from this? Don't boast - it likely won't impress and I don't think it would be a good thing if it works.
Ballroom Beginner Fast track week 6
November 16, 2005
Today, I went back to St Paul's School on Wednesday instead of St. Columba's Hall on Saturday because of lack of Beginners practice last weekend. As I remembered, the floor is nicer at St. Paul's and less densely packed with people. Unfortunately, this advantage was offset by there being about 4-5 excess men and about 20-25% of men having to sit out at a given time. I guess it was bound to happen at some point.
Jive
American turn
coming back from turn change to R-R
and toss R-R to initiate free clockwise turn sometime during the first chasse
name? (done in week 4 and useful for explanation of new move)
leading follower to clockwise turn with L-R connected
lift L-R high (gradually) as chasse is initiated - so during 5-8 and 1-4 after the turn, follower is moving away from the leader to his left
L-R is lifted high again during the chasse on 1-4 segment to get back to basic position
new move (name?)
leading follower to clockwise turn with L-R connected
lift L-R high (gradually) as chasse is initiated - so during 5-8 and 1-4 after the turn, follower is moving away from the leader to his left
don't lift L-R during next 1-4 - instead R foot cross over to forward left as body is turned clockwise to face the partner and R hand placed on follower's back (follower lifts her L hand high) for the last step of chasse - so follower goes back to left on 5-8
This is somewhat like Enchufe doble but not quite.
Jive really messes me up. Just doing the basics is a struggle because of its speed. I haven't figured out how steps corresponds to the beat/measure of the music.
Samba
Whisk (dancing to the syncopated beat)
1 slow L foot to L
3.5 R foot cross behind L foot
4 L foot in place
5 slow R foot to R
6.5 L foot cross behind R foot
7 R foot in place
Government walk (not syncopated)
1 slow L foot to L (and facing L, which is now forward)
3 quick R foot back
4 quick L foot back (staying ahead of R foot)
5 slow R foot forward (in front of L foot)
7 quick L foot back
8 quick R foot back (stayind ahead of L foot)
See Introduction to Brazilian Samba an explanation of the Samba beat. I am not using their counting system here, but I think it still may be useful.
Quickstep
Finally a turn!
1 slow R foot forward L across (like lock step)
3-4 lock step chasse (quick-quick-slow - I'm guessing 3, 3.5, 4)
5 slow R foot forward L across (lock step start again)
7-8 diagonal chasse but turn as a unit counterclockwise before or as chasse is initiated (chasse done at probably 7, 7.5, 8)
1 slow (nothing?)
3-4 standard chasse to R (R foot first) with another turn counterclockwise as a unit before or as chasse is initiated
5 slow (nothing?)
7-8 standard chasse to L (L foot first) with another turn counterclockwise as a unit before or as chasse is initiated
(ends up with a 1/4 turn overall counterclockwise)
followed by basic step
1 slow (R foot back)
3-4 standard chasse
etc.
I still feel that there isn't very much freedom with Quickstep although forced awkwardness of turning around in the corners can now be removed with the new turn step. For now, I am stuck doing a few basic on the long runway followed by the turn move learned today, followed by one basic on the short runway followed by the turn move again, then repeat. Maybe I'll discover some variations later but I can't think of anything yet.
Nothing new for Waltz. However with things learned thus far, I am finding quite a bit of flexibility in step choice. I am also leaving most of my partners feeling a little dizzy with a lot more turns than they are used to with most other leaders.
Today, I went back to St Paul's School on Wednesday instead of St. Columba's Hall on Saturday because of lack of Beginners practice last weekend. As I remembered, the floor is nicer at St. Paul's and less densely packed with people. Unfortunately, this advantage was offset by there being about 4-5 excess men and about 20-25% of men having to sit out at a given time. I guess it was bound to happen at some point.
Jive
American turn
coming back from turn change to R-R
and toss R-R to initiate free clockwise turn sometime during the first chasse
name? (done in week 4 and useful for explanation of new move)
leading follower to clockwise turn with L-R connected
lift L-R high (gradually) as chasse is initiated - so during 5-8 and 1-4 after the turn, follower is moving away from the leader to his left
L-R is lifted high again during the chasse on 1-4 segment to get back to basic position
new move (name?)
leading follower to clockwise turn with L-R connected
lift L-R high (gradually) as chasse is initiated - so during 5-8 and 1-4 after the turn, follower is moving away from the leader to his left
don't lift L-R during next 1-4 - instead R foot cross over to forward left as body is turned clockwise to face the partner and R hand placed on follower's back (follower lifts her L hand high) for the last step of chasse - so follower goes back to left on 5-8
This is somewhat like Enchufe doble but not quite.
Jive really messes me up. Just doing the basics is a struggle because of its speed. I haven't figured out how steps corresponds to the beat/measure of the music.
Samba
Whisk (dancing to the syncopated beat)
1 slow L foot to L
3.5 R foot cross behind L foot
4 L foot in place
5 slow R foot to R
6.5 L foot cross behind R foot
7 R foot in place
Government walk (not syncopated)
1 slow L foot to L (and facing L, which is now forward)
3 quick R foot back
4 quick L foot back (staying ahead of R foot)
5 slow R foot forward (in front of L foot)
7 quick L foot back
8 quick R foot back (stayind ahead of L foot)
See Introduction to Brazilian Samba an explanation of the Samba beat. I am not using their counting system here, but I think it still may be useful.
Quickstep
Finally a turn!
1 slow R foot forward L across (like lock step)
3-4 lock step chasse (quick-quick-slow - I'm guessing 3, 3.5, 4)
5 slow R foot forward L across (lock step start again)
7-8 diagonal chasse but turn as a unit counterclockwise before or as chasse is initiated (chasse done at probably 7, 7.5, 8)
1 slow (nothing?)
3-4 standard chasse to R (R foot first) with another turn counterclockwise as a unit before or as chasse is initiated
5 slow (nothing?)
7-8 standard chasse to L (L foot first) with another turn counterclockwise as a unit before or as chasse is initiated
(ends up with a 1/4 turn overall counterclockwise)
followed by basic step
1 slow (R foot back)
3-4 standard chasse
etc.
I still feel that there isn't very much freedom with Quickstep although forced awkwardness of turning around in the corners can now be removed with the new turn step. For now, I am stuck doing a few basic on the long runway followed by the turn move learned today, followed by one basic on the short runway followed by the turn move again, then repeat. Maybe I'll discover some variations later but I can't think of anything yet.
Nothing new for Waltz. However with things learned thus far, I am finding quite a bit of flexibility in step choice. I am also leaving most of my partners feeling a little dizzy with a lot more turns than they are used to with most other leaders.
Win a ticket to Brit Salsafest
November 14, 2005
Londonsalsa.co.uk will be holding another series of contests with a pair of tickets to Brit Salsafest at Blackpool in 3rd to 5th of February 2006. The contest itself (with similar format as previous contests) has not started yet, but I suspect it will start soon - I'm guessing later this week.
This is an interesting prize with disturbingly high chance of winning, which may force one to give up a whole weekend or more, which otherwise would have been spent doing (arguably) important work. It also may be worth noting that winning tickets do not include accomodations.
Higher retail value of the prize compared to the DVDs, which might have increased level of competition (arguably already low, especially considering that one person may have won two separate prizes in six competitions sponsored by londonsalsa.co.uk thus far), could be offset by most Salsaholics already having purchased a ticket.
I think I am somewhat afraid to enter the contest because winning pretty much would force me to go to this Congress. From a different point of view, I was and am still considering going, and I'm not sure if I like the idea of putting off a purchase because I might be able to get the tickets for free.
Also, what do I do with the extra ticket if I happen to win?
Londonsalsa.co.uk will be holding another series of contests with a pair of tickets to Brit Salsafest at Blackpool in 3rd to 5th of February 2006. The contest itself (with similar format as previous contests) has not started yet, but I suspect it will start soon - I'm guessing later this week.
This is an interesting prize with disturbingly high chance of winning, which may force one to give up a whole weekend or more, which otherwise would have been spent doing (arguably) important work. It also may be worth noting that winning tickets do not include accomodations.
Higher retail value of the prize compared to the DVDs, which might have increased level of competition (arguably already low, especially considering that one person may have won two separate prizes in six competitions sponsored by londonsalsa.co.uk thus far), could be offset by most Salsaholics already having purchased a ticket.
I think I am somewhat afraid to enter the contest because winning pretty much would force me to go to this Congress. From a different point of view, I was and am still considering going, and I'm not sure if I like the idea of putting off a purchase because I might be able to get the tickets for free.
Also, what do I do with the extra ticket if I happen to win?
Not Sombrero, but something a lot more complicated - Johnny & Serap Level IV
November 11, 2005
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic on 1,2,3 followed by leading follower to a pivot turn full clockwise with both hands on 5,6,7
1,2,3 Copa variation – open break on 1, follower is pulled forward on 2,3 as L-R goes over follower’s head and R-L is placed on follower’s R shoulder as reverse cross body position as positioned like Titanic is achieved on 4 (follower is turned about 1/4 counterclockwise)
5,6,7 follower is lead back to her original position as is done in standard Copa with 1 3/4 counterclockwise turn with L-R high and R-L let go
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic with L-R hold
1,2,3 pivot turn full clockwise for leader as switch to R-R is made [my own comment: it probably will help if leader shows L hand at shoulder level to prompt the follower to keep her hand up as well - I recall something like this being recommended by Sergio]
5,6,7 R-R is tossed to left (as if initiating a free clockwise turn for the follower) and leader catches follower’s L hand with his L hand and lead follower back into a full counterclockwise turn instead – end with crossed hold with R-R on top
1,2,3 forward basic
5,6,7 back basic as follower is led into a pivot turn (a little over full turn but not quite 1 1/4) with both hands up – R-R goes over follower’s head as is done in the Cuban move Sombrero but L-L is placed on leader’s R shoulder instead of over his head and on his L shoulder
1,2,3 R-R is disconnected and is offered at waist level under L-L as leader gets into cross body lead position
5,6,7 Another student (a follower) pointed out to me that it is very helpful to get R-R raised high as quickly as possible for this part – with both hands high, follower is lead into a 2 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn
1,2,3 leader turns 1/2 clockwise to face away from partner with R-R connected and L-L disconnected and get into open cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower into another 2 1/2 clockwise turn with R-R coming down rapidly after follower’s first full turn so that R-R ends behind follower’s back L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead and unwrap by leading follower into a simple 1/2 counterclockwise turn [this part was obtained after the end of class]
Johnny & Serap seemed to be making a very good effort to let people know of revised content/program for their classes. I thought their approach looked well thought out and may turn out quite effective. I especially liked the way they showed the level IV class, things they were teaching in level II and level III classes, at the end, which I found to be an elegant and gentle alternative to simply telling and directing individual students to different classes. Now why didn’t I think of using such a method? One follower I worked with near the end told me that she should really be doing level II class after seeing the demonstrations, so this approach could turn out really effective if used regularly. On a side note, I was amused to find that their level III class included some material I learned in Johnny & Serap’s advanced class back in February or March, which indicates to me that they are trying to make their level III class somewhat more difficult than their old "intermediate" class. By the way, I could do this particular routine of theirs from level III today fairly easily now if I skip on the stylizations, but it took me months of practice after the class and much trial and error just to get to that level.
Club hours were on the whole a very good by Cambridge standards yet I somehow found myself strangely not fully satisfied in the end. It’s possible that having gone to SOS two weekends in a row may have caused this by raising my dance satisfaction threshold. I really must stop myself from going to SOS too much so that I don’t get too accustomed to it. My best guess is that even with a dance composed of endless combinations, I'm probably considered an easy and comfortable lead at SOS - easy enough that many followers there probably would be able to handle such dances all night long. However, same type of dance seems to leave many people in Cambridge exhausted and even bewildered. Because I have gotten used to doing combinations after combinations with little break at SOS and also with some people in Cambridge, I found myself having to force myself to slow things down in the middle of the dance. Not long ago, I had reached a point where I probably was easy to follow for most people who understand cross body lead, but now I probably am becoming a challenge as I constantly strive to push the boundaries. It probably does not help that no one regularly attends all the lessons I attend, even though I now only go to two lessons a week at most in Cambridge. On top of that, sometimes some of followers would find some lessons too difficult and flail about wildly that I at one point had to fight an urge to kiss and hug one of better followers after a good turn in gratitude. This feeling might have come about in part because shortly before this, I received a powerful blow to my nose with an elbow during practice; I don't recall anyone hitting me so hard in the face since I was involved in a highly one-sided fight when I was in fifth grade of elementary school (I am not counting collisions with projectiles such as a football or basketball). In case I sound as if I think I have become too good for Cambridge, I should mention that there are also good many people in Cambridge who can follow pretty much everything I lead, and it's quite possible that many of them think my technique, timing, etc have rough edges. In order to perfect leading techniques, one needs to practice with followers who know how to follow well (and ideally be able to receive useful feedback from them). However, it would seem many stars have to be aligned correctly to get a good dance even with the best followers, including plenty of space, having both partners well warmed up, and familiarity with each other's styles. Meeting the first two requirements is often difficult; especially on Fridays where you might get one to three song window on a given night. And to get familiarized, I might need two or three such chances in a course of a month or two (because at the pace I'm going, I most likely will be adding few more tricky routines that would require smoothening out). Even when a routine seems to work well, it could be difficult to find minor adjustments needed to make the routine look and feel good rather than "fudged". After all, just because *I* think a dance worked well doesn't mean that my dance partner would have thought the same. In Cambridge, one of the best solutions to this problem is to get a good regular dance partner through CDC Salsa team; I had considered trying out for the Salsa team back in September but too many factors led me to give up on that idea. I think it is possible to get a regular partner by other methods but I haven't managed to find one - this could be due to my commitment phobia. Another option would be to go to SOS regularly. However, I don’t think I’m overstating things if I say that going to SOS on weekly basis so that it no longer becomes a big deal will lead to finding what-I-now-call-good days in Cambridge a bore. Also, I cannot depend on weekly trips (or more than one trip a week) to London to get my Salsa fix; my work is suffering enough already from my current dance schedule (and Bachata workshop organization makes it even worse – fortunately, the workshop should be a one-time affair).
Another item of note is a birthday dance done tonight. I was all set to participate until I saw the first two participants raising the bar to a very high level with some exceptional displays that I lost nerve and bailed out. I think I might have found a little more courage if I had a little more dance experience with the birthday girl – so that I would have assurances about some of the routines I considered doing working out reasonably well without causing any embarrassment. If I had to guess, I think pretty much everything I tried probably would have worked because the birthday girl is a very good follower, but small lingering doubts, bright lights and a large audience combined to kill any resolve I had. Call me a coward if you wish. About 4 or 5 more brave souls participated in the birthday dance with not a small number of guys passing on the opportunity possibly with reasons similar to mine, including several guys who I thought would have done a very good job and really should have danced with her. Vishal for one probably was dumbfounded and dismayed that I and some others chickened out and did not participate.
Bachata event ticket sale is going well. There seems to be healthy level of interest. I'm not sure if the workshop will be sold out in advance, and I am no longer sure if an advanced sell-out is necessary. I guess a contingency I have to prepare myself for is too many people showing up without booking. What if there are extra 1-6 people? Do I squeeze them in? What if there are extra 10 people showing up unannounced? Compared to this, not having enough people will be less of a headache as it won't require any decision on my part. The most memorable exchange made regarding the workshop went something like this -
me - "Hi. Here's more information on the Bachata workshop I told you about the other day. Take a flier."
X (looking at the picture on the flier) - "Who's the girl?"
me - "The two people in the picture are the instructors. They are based in Italy. They have a very good reputation. The guy is also a very well-known DJ, perhaps the most popular in Europe - certainly very popular in UK."
X (still fixated on the picture) - "Ok whatever. I'm there! Whoooo-a!"
Let's just say that this was not a unique reaction - although I got similar reactions only from people I have become pretty good acquaintances.
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic on 1,2,3 followed by leading follower to a pivot turn full clockwise with both hands on 5,6,7
1,2,3 Copa variation – open break on 1, follower is pulled forward on 2,3 as L-R goes over follower’s head and R-L is placed on follower’s R shoulder as reverse cross body position as positioned like Titanic is achieved on 4 (follower is turned about 1/4 counterclockwise)
5,6,7 follower is lead back to her original position as is done in standard Copa with 1 3/4 counterclockwise turn with L-R high and R-L let go
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic with L-R hold
1,2,3 pivot turn full clockwise for leader as switch to R-R is made [my own comment: it probably will help if leader shows L hand at shoulder level to prompt the follower to keep her hand up as well - I recall something like this being recommended by Sergio]
5,6,7 R-R is tossed to left (as if initiating a free clockwise turn for the follower) and leader catches follower’s L hand with his L hand and lead follower back into a full counterclockwise turn instead – end with crossed hold with R-R on top
1,2,3 forward basic
5,6,7 back basic as follower is led into a pivot turn (a little over full turn but not quite 1 1/4) with both hands up – R-R goes over follower’s head as is done in the Cuban move Sombrero but L-L is placed on leader’s R shoulder instead of over his head and on his L shoulder
1,2,3 R-R is disconnected and is offered at waist level under L-L as leader gets into cross body lead position
5,6,7 Another student (a follower) pointed out to me that it is very helpful to get R-R raised high as quickly as possible for this part – with both hands high, follower is lead into a 2 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn
1,2,3 leader turns 1/2 clockwise to face away from partner with R-R connected and L-L disconnected and get into open cross body lead position
5,6,7 lead follower into another 2 1/2 clockwise turn with R-R coming down rapidly after follower’s first full turn so that R-R ends behind follower’s back L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead and unwrap by leading follower into a simple 1/2 counterclockwise turn [this part was obtained after the end of class]
Johnny & Serap seemed to be making a very good effort to let people know of revised content/program for their classes. I thought their approach looked well thought out and may turn out quite effective. I especially liked the way they showed the level IV class, things they were teaching in level II and level III classes, at the end, which I found to be an elegant and gentle alternative to simply telling and directing individual students to different classes. Now why didn’t I think of using such a method? One follower I worked with near the end told me that she should really be doing level II class after seeing the demonstrations, so this approach could turn out really effective if used regularly. On a side note, I was amused to find that their level III class included some material I learned in Johnny & Serap’s advanced class back in February or March, which indicates to me that they are trying to make their level III class somewhat more difficult than their old "intermediate" class. By the way, I could do this particular routine of theirs from level III today fairly easily now if I skip on the stylizations, but it took me months of practice after the class and much trial and error just to get to that level.
Club hours were on the whole a very good by Cambridge standards yet I somehow found myself strangely not fully satisfied in the end. It’s possible that having gone to SOS two weekends in a row may have caused this by raising my dance satisfaction threshold. I really must stop myself from going to SOS too much so that I don’t get too accustomed to it. My best guess is that even with a dance composed of endless combinations, I'm probably considered an easy and comfortable lead at SOS - easy enough that many followers there probably would be able to handle such dances all night long. However, same type of dance seems to leave many people in Cambridge exhausted and even bewildered. Because I have gotten used to doing combinations after combinations with little break at SOS and also with some people in Cambridge, I found myself having to force myself to slow things down in the middle of the dance. Not long ago, I had reached a point where I probably was easy to follow for most people who understand cross body lead, but now I probably am becoming a challenge as I constantly strive to push the boundaries. It probably does not help that no one regularly attends all the lessons I attend, even though I now only go to two lessons a week at most in Cambridge. On top of that, sometimes some of followers would find some lessons too difficult and flail about wildly that I at one point had to fight an urge to kiss and hug one of better followers after a good turn in gratitude. This feeling might have come about in part because shortly before this, I received a powerful blow to my nose with an elbow during practice; I don't recall anyone hitting me so hard in the face since I was involved in a highly one-sided fight when I was in fifth grade of elementary school (I am not counting collisions with projectiles such as a football or basketball). In case I sound as if I think I have become too good for Cambridge, I should mention that there are also good many people in Cambridge who can follow pretty much everything I lead, and it's quite possible that many of them think my technique, timing, etc have rough edges. In order to perfect leading techniques, one needs to practice with followers who know how to follow well (and ideally be able to receive useful feedback from them). However, it would seem many stars have to be aligned correctly to get a good dance even with the best followers, including plenty of space, having both partners well warmed up, and familiarity with each other's styles. Meeting the first two requirements is often difficult; especially on Fridays where you might get one to three song window on a given night. And to get familiarized, I might need two or three such chances in a course of a month or two (because at the pace I'm going, I most likely will be adding few more tricky routines that would require smoothening out). Even when a routine seems to work well, it could be difficult to find minor adjustments needed to make the routine look and feel good rather than "fudged". After all, just because *I* think a dance worked well doesn't mean that my dance partner would have thought the same. In Cambridge, one of the best solutions to this problem is to get a good regular dance partner through CDC Salsa team; I had considered trying out for the Salsa team back in September but too many factors led me to give up on that idea. I think it is possible to get a regular partner by other methods but I haven't managed to find one - this could be due to my commitment phobia. Another option would be to go to SOS regularly. However, I don’t think I’m overstating things if I say that going to SOS on weekly basis so that it no longer becomes a big deal will lead to finding what-I-now-call-good days in Cambridge a bore. Also, I cannot depend on weekly trips (or more than one trip a week) to London to get my Salsa fix; my work is suffering enough already from my current dance schedule (and Bachata workshop organization makes it even worse – fortunately, the workshop should be a one-time affair).
Another item of note is a birthday dance done tonight. I was all set to participate until I saw the first two participants raising the bar to a very high level with some exceptional displays that I lost nerve and bailed out. I think I might have found a little more courage if I had a little more dance experience with the birthday girl – so that I would have assurances about some of the routines I considered doing working out reasonably well without causing any embarrassment. If I had to guess, I think pretty much everything I tried probably would have worked because the birthday girl is a very good follower, but small lingering doubts, bright lights and a large audience combined to kill any resolve I had. Call me a coward if you wish. About 4 or 5 more brave souls participated in the birthday dance with not a small number of guys passing on the opportunity possibly with reasons similar to mine, including several guys who I thought would have done a very good job and really should have danced with her. Vishal for one probably was dumbfounded and dismayed that I and some others chickened out and did not participate.
Bachata event ticket sale is going well. There seems to be healthy level of interest. I'm not sure if the workshop will be sold out in advance, and I am no longer sure if an advanced sell-out is necessary. I guess a contingency I have to prepare myself for is too many people showing up without booking. What if there are extra 1-6 people? Do I squeeze them in? What if there are extra 10 people showing up unannounced? Compared to this, not having enough people will be less of a headache as it won't require any decision on my part. The most memorable exchange made regarding the workshop went something like this -
me - "Hi. Here's more information on the Bachata workshop I told you about the other day. Take a flier."
X (looking at the picture on the flier) - "Who's the girl?"
me - "The two people in the picture are the instructors. They are based in Italy. They have a very good reputation. The guy is also a very well-known DJ, perhaps the most popular in Europe - certainly very popular in UK."
X (still fixated on the picture) - "Ok whatever. I'm there! Whoooo-a!"
Let's just say that this was not a unique reaction - although I got similar reactions only from people I have become pretty good acquaintances.
My fifth lesson with Sally (her sixth overall at Club Salsa)
November 10, 2005
closed hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with leader turning 1/2 clockwise with L-R going over leader’s head and dropped on 7 and follower’s R hand is caught with leader’s R hand by 8/1 at leader’s R waist level
1,2,3 open break followed by R-R going over follower’s head and keep connection low while L-L connection is made in front or ahead of follower’s line
5,6,7 lead follower forward on 5 and into a traveling full clockwise turn with L-L high and R-R low ending with L-L ending on follower’s R shoulder
1,2,3 forward left on 1 and back on 2,3 while turning as a unit 1/2 counterclockwise – follower is still in front of leader and both are now parallel to the follower’s line
5,6,7 keeping R-R low, lead follower into 1 1/4 traveling counterclockwise turn with L-L high ending up facing the follower – R-R wraps up behind follower’s L waist
1,2,3 L-L goes over follower’s head and is disconnected while leader moves around follower’s R side as R-R too is disconnected and both of leader’s hands hold the follower at the waist level
5,6,7 give follower a free clockwise spin [my own option: leader do a hook turn after follower initiates turn]
1,2,3,5,6,7 do a free pivot turn followed by hook turn (both clockwise) with hands ready for crossed hold with L-L on top
1,2,3 establish crossed hold with L-L on top and open break on 1 followed by a pull with L-L going over follower’s head for beat 4 Titanic into a reverse cross body lead (or Copa) position
5,6,7 lead follower into a 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 give follower a hat and cross body lead
Bachata ticket sale is going fairly well. Beginner workshop is essentially half full. Half of the slots for men’s place for the improver Bachata have been booked also. Only a couple of slots for women’s place have been booked though, so I still will need to keep a close watch on this matter. In any case, I now suspect I can keep my losses to under 100 pounds without too much problem, and breaking even seems well within reach although I won’t know for certain until around 10 PM on November 21st.
It seems Thursday club scene at Club Salsa is slowly gaining steam – I’ll probably know with more certainty after few more weeks. Somewhat like Wednesday at Club Salsa, Thursday night at Club Salsa seems to be becoming a dancer’s venue. The fact that it does not as crowded as it gets on Friday allows improved chance of nice relaxed dances without constantly in fear worrying about other people bumping into you (or my partner hurtling into someone else – I’m excluding myself because I haven’t stepped on anyone else for a very long time … I think the last time I stepped on someone’s foot might have been early in the summer this year and I don’t think there was another incident before that for at least 2-3 months). The key word here is ‘constantly’ because there being more space does not mean that you can ignore your surroundings and make gigantic steps or stumble about without watching the space into which you and/or your partner are entering. As it was, someone stepped on my Achilles heel despite there being fairly large volume of space for everyone.
A(n esoteric) discussion tonight about Salsa dancing involved dancing along the line, which is pretty standard for LA or CBL style. This was brought about because I was telling my opposite that many in Cambridge are unable to keep to the line. The reply I got was that it’s fine to ignore and break the line rule as long as you are aware that you are doing so. This wasn’t much of an argument because I agree with my opposite’s statement in general. However I think I can argue that this breaking of the rule works much better when both parties (leader and follower) are well aware of the line rule as they proceed to break the rule.
A bemused reader of this blog asked me whether I was going to write about certain friends of the reader dancing ballroom dance to Salsa tonight. It seemed a little silly to me because the music and the dance they were dancing did not matc, which meant that they were not getting proper practice. But this is a free country and I'm not going to stop them doing what they seem to be enjoying; just as I am not going to yell at people who dance Salsa to a Bachata song or a Merengue song.
Lastly, I think it would be worthwhile to learn more Cuban style Salsa, which depends very little on cross body lead or Dile que no. It would be good to have a bit more in my Salsa repertoire that does not use cross body lead. So what do I do? Do I start taking classes from Nelson Batista? I’m not sure but this will have to wait until next year at the earliest.
closed hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with leader turning 1/2 clockwise with L-R going over leader’s head and dropped on 7 and follower’s R hand is caught with leader’s R hand by 8/1 at leader’s R waist level
1,2,3 open break followed by R-R going over follower’s head and keep connection low while L-L connection is made in front or ahead of follower’s line
5,6,7 lead follower forward on 5 and into a traveling full clockwise turn with L-L high and R-R low ending with L-L ending on follower’s R shoulder
1,2,3 forward left on 1 and back on 2,3 while turning as a unit 1/2 counterclockwise – follower is still in front of leader and both are now parallel to the follower’s line
5,6,7 keeping R-R low, lead follower into 1 1/4 traveling counterclockwise turn with L-L high ending up facing the follower – R-R wraps up behind follower’s L waist
1,2,3 L-L goes over follower’s head and is disconnected while leader moves around follower’s R side as R-R too is disconnected and both of leader’s hands hold the follower at the waist level
5,6,7 give follower a free clockwise spin [my own option: leader do a hook turn after follower initiates turn]
1,2,3,5,6,7 do a free pivot turn followed by hook turn (both clockwise) with hands ready for crossed hold with L-L on top
1,2,3 establish crossed hold with L-L on top and open break on 1 followed by a pull with L-L going over follower’s head for beat 4 Titanic into a reverse cross body lead (or Copa) position
5,6,7 lead follower into a 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 give follower a hat and cross body lead
Bachata ticket sale is going fairly well. Beginner workshop is essentially half full. Half of the slots for men’s place for the improver Bachata have been booked also. Only a couple of slots for women’s place have been booked though, so I still will need to keep a close watch on this matter. In any case, I now suspect I can keep my losses to under 100 pounds without too much problem, and breaking even seems well within reach although I won’t know for certain until around 10 PM on November 21st.
It seems Thursday club scene at Club Salsa is slowly gaining steam – I’ll probably know with more certainty after few more weeks. Somewhat like Wednesday at Club Salsa, Thursday night at Club Salsa seems to be becoming a dancer’s venue. The fact that it does not as crowded as it gets on Friday allows improved chance of nice relaxed dances without constantly in fear worrying about other people bumping into you (or my partner hurtling into someone else – I’m excluding myself because I haven’t stepped on anyone else for a very long time … I think the last time I stepped on someone’s foot might have been early in the summer this year and I don’t think there was another incident before that for at least 2-3 months). The key word here is ‘constantly’ because there being more space does not mean that you can ignore your surroundings and make gigantic steps or stumble about without watching the space into which you and/or your partner are entering. As it was, someone stepped on my Achilles heel despite there being fairly large volume of space for everyone.
A(n esoteric) discussion tonight about Salsa dancing involved dancing along the line, which is pretty standard for LA or CBL style. This was brought about because I was telling my opposite that many in Cambridge are unable to keep to the line. The reply I got was that it’s fine to ignore and break the line rule as long as you are aware that you are doing so. This wasn’t much of an argument because I agree with my opposite’s statement in general. However I think I can argue that this breaking of the rule works much better when both parties (leader and follower) are well aware of the line rule as they proceed to break the rule.
A bemused reader of this blog asked me whether I was going to write about certain friends of the reader dancing ballroom dance to Salsa tonight. It seemed a little silly to me because the music and the dance they were dancing did not matc, which meant that they were not getting proper practice. But this is a free country and I'm not going to stop them doing what they seem to be enjoying; just as I am not going to yell at people who dance Salsa to a Bachata song or a Merengue song.
Lastly, I think it would be worthwhile to learn more Cuban style Salsa, which depends very little on cross body lead or Dile que no. It would be good to have a bit more in my Salsa repertoire that does not use cross body lead. So what do I do? Do I start taking classes from Nelson Batista? I’m not sure but this will have to wait until next year at the earliest.
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