Ivan returns

January 4, 2006

Ivan & Sally Intermediate

1,2,3,5,6,7 basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower a double stationary clockwise turn (led with L-R high) ending in hammerlock (this was at one point a bit of a fiasco even though I had done this type of thing many times – maybe it’s because even the simplest double turns don’t happen very often in Salsa classes in Cambridge)
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead and lead follower into traveling 2 1/2 counterclockwise turn with all connections intact (I think L-R can be kept high the whole time) – need to have the follower turned 1/4 counterclockwise to face leader on 3 and leader needs to be sure to be in proper cross body position at this point – no further footwork is needed after 3 except to get back to open position on 7/8 – also be sure to keep R-L down until the final turn and raise it only at the last possible moment so as to not cause follower discomfort
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader does a pivot turn (full clockwise) on 1,2,3 to get back into open hold – no footwork for 5,6,7 as arm-lock and a flip follower’s arms to get back into closed hold
(note: I didn’t quite get this arm-lock and flip but what might be happening here is that follower is pulled towards the leader with leader’s arm flexed, then leader’s arms go over and around outside of follower’s arms, then follower’s arms are flipped upwards with back of hands – again, I’m not sure about this)
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead while leading follower to travel without leader following and stylize
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 a complicated cross body lead done with L-R hold only – from 2 to 5, tension between leader and follower is maintained throughout – leader is turned 1/4 counterclockwise into cross body position with free R hand positioned across the body and pointing upwards on 2 – follower is led forward and turned around 1/2 counterclockwise while leader turns counterclockwise 3/4 on 3 thus both are facing the same direction with leader in front with L-R wrapped and positioned by leader’s R waist – leader moves to his left with crossover footwork on 5 (or maybe slightly earlier?) while follower is led forward and turned around like end of normal cross body lead

The warm up was amusing. I had seen the same warm-up at the workshop led by Ivan and Sally last May but had forgotten about it. The last time I saw it, I thought it looked new-age and hippie-like. Now, it reminded me of exercises being done at a Frankie Martinez class (view or download trailer from here) – presumably practicing body isolation.

Near the end, Ivan talked about treating each dance differently – or at least dance according to the music and differentiate the way one dances with a romantic music as opposed to a more funky or lively (my words here) music, etc. This is still not that common in Cambridge as it really isn’t easy. I know I don’t manage all the time – or even try all the time. This reminded me of one dance I had at SOS last weekend when my partner at the time commented mid-dance that my lead was good but that I needed to be listening to the music. At that time, I took it to mean that I was not in time to the music (I actually was pretty sure I knew the timing of the music although I thought it possible that I was not necessarily perfectly keeping in time all the time). Now that I think of it more I think she may have meant that I was dancing without any passion. If that was what she meant (I think there is a good chance), then I have no argument because I was concentrating merely on leading lightly while practicing many different moves while dispensing with adding anything else to the dance.

There was a double-episode of Rome, which made me miss about 3/4 hours of club hours. By the time I got back to Club Salsa, things already were winding down. I only ended up staying for about half and hour and only had two dances, which could be a record low number since I started asking people for dances – I’m pretty sure I danced more than twice every time I went Salsa dancing in 2005. I also didn't have much opportunity to talk to anyone about Tony & Claudia encore. Oh well. There’s always tomorrow.