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.