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.
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