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.
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