March 31, 2006
Enrique was back as the DJ, and there was another full crowd for Friday night at Club Salsa. Composition of the crowd felt more tilted towards beginners than usual. A couple of different parties of my acquaintances and friends outside Salsa were present, which led to me dancing with many more untrained and inexperienced dancers than usual. Normally (this year), I dance with at least one beginner and as many as three beginners each night (at least on nights where I was dancing as usual rather than practicing, DJing or just socializing). I would count 3 of my partners tonight as untrained, 2 as beginners, and 2 more as beginner/improver. Not quite half of my partners were untrained, beginners or barely improvers. All things considered, I was pretty content with the way it went tonight as it gave me time to catch up with various old friends and hear some interesting news.
A Salsa-related news dealt with the Cambridge Rueda group, which apparently won a Rueda competition not so long ago (not sure about the details). Apparently, they have incorporated fairly large number of new Rueda moves since I last saw them; I imagine I would feel pretty lost when I get around to revisiting the Rueda scene.
Embarrassment of riches
March 30, 2006
Pure Salsa - Sally Intermediate
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead (CBL)
1,2,3 open break and bring follower forward and turned around 1/2 with R hand on follower’s back
5,6,7 no lead as leader walks around follower with L-R going over follower’s head and down to follower’s left waist starting on 6 or shortly thereafter – leader keep to R of follower (R-L connection is made at waist level but I’m not sure if this is needed for leading the next part)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward on 1 and bring her back in a continuous motion from 2,3,4,5 etc with L-R with the aim of getting follower to travel and turn 2 counterclockwise with L-R ending behind follower’s back L waist
1,2,3 open break and bring follower forward with leader’s R hand intercepting follower’s R waist from his R side (try to do this by 3 or earlier)
5,6,7 let follower go forward on 5 and lead her into a traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with leader turning 3/4 clockwise on 5,6,7 and changing to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary double turn with L-L at waist level (let go after a turn and reconnect at follower’s back R waist) [note: I had forgotten this bit after the second class.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower into a crucifix position and lead follower to L side and into a 1 3/4 counterclockwise turn (starting from crucifix on 3) using R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hat for follower and as leader gets into CBL position with L-L reconnected in front of follower and lead follower into a traveling full clockwise turn for RUEDA like partner switch done during class. Otherwise 1 1/2 turn is fine.
Pure Salsa - Sally Improvers
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL - emphasis on keeping frame here
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with leader turning 3/4 clockwise and reconnecting with R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L connection made underneath R-R and follower led into a stationary clockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa or reverse CBL (latter was default) – particular emphasis on tension here
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hat for follower (follower L arm styling to get free) and CBL
There were so many people I wanted to dance with tonight that I couldn’t find time to dance with all of them. Some people I would have normally danced with at least once a night left before I had a chance to ask them. There were others I would have loved to dance with more than I ended up dancing with. Amazing. I’m going to have to get back to SOS one of these days (but almost certainly not this weekend) to see if things are really better in London compared to Cambridge. Looking at my schedule though, I’ll probably attend Scala Latina before I get back to SOS.
After having made the fliers, I have made no effort whatsoever to sell tickets for the Tony & Claudia workshops thus far. Incredibly, reservations are being made despite my inaction. I don’t remember things being this easy last two times. Of course, I’m pretty sure I will have to start talking to people in person rather than letting word of mouth do all the work. I also have a nagging suspicion that selling tickets to men might end up being more difficult than finding interested women.
I’m getting hounded with requests for more information on Toque D’Keda’s Lamento Boliviano. As I had long expected, it turned out to be a highly sought out song very quickly. It seems playing it just once last Friday has started the ball rolling, and it will gain more momentum as more people in Cambridge hear it (until it gets overplayed). In fact, it might end up being the best advertisement for the Tony & Claudia’s workshops.
At the urging of Sergio, I purchased a copy of Frankie Martinez’s Isolations & Body Movement DVD. Just watching the 55 or so minutes of the class – no instructions whatsoever and repeated viewing and a big mirror seem necessary to get full use of the DVD – was … exhausting. Some of the basic elements of the body movement exercise are being taught in Thursday classes, but there obviously is no fair comparison between a 3 minute exercise and the intensity of 55+ minute class devoted solely to body movement and isolations. One question I must ask is, “How does one find time – let alone patience – to do this exercise frequently enough to make it useful?” I don’t know if I’m right in thinking this but it may make sense to only use the first 30 minutes or so of the DVD – at least in the beginning. These first 30 minutes are somewhat less complex and involve central body movement without involving extremities like hands and feet very much. I think Sergio was dead on in describing the DVD as a source for a really good workout for many months. Personally, I’m worried that I would lose a lot of body weight if I do these exercises frequently.
Pure Salsa - Sally Intermediate
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead (CBL)
1,2,3 open break and bring follower forward and turned around 1/2 with R hand on follower’s back
5,6,7 no lead as leader walks around follower with L-R going over follower’s head and down to follower’s left waist starting on 6 or shortly thereafter – leader keep to R of follower (R-L connection is made at waist level but I’m not sure if this is needed for leading the next part)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward on 1 and bring her back in a continuous motion from 2,3,4,5 etc with L-R with the aim of getting follower to travel and turn 2 counterclockwise with L-R ending behind follower’s back L waist
1,2,3 open break and bring follower forward with leader’s R hand intercepting follower’s R waist from his R side (try to do this by 3 or earlier)
5,6,7 let follower go forward on 5 and lead her into a traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with leader turning 3/4 clockwise on 5,6,7 and changing to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary double turn with L-L at waist level (let go after a turn and reconnect at follower’s back R waist) [note: I had forgotten this bit after the second class.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower into a crucifix position and lead follower to L side and into a 1 3/4 counterclockwise turn (starting from crucifix on 3) using R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hat for follower and as leader gets into CBL position with L-L reconnected in front of follower and lead follower into a traveling full clockwise turn for RUEDA like partner switch done during class. Otherwise 1 1/2 turn is fine.
Pure Salsa - Sally Improvers
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL - emphasis on keeping frame here
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with leader turning 3/4 clockwise and reconnecting with R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L connection made underneath R-R and follower led into a stationary clockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa or reverse CBL (latter was default) – particular emphasis on tension here
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hat for follower (follower L arm styling to get free) and CBL
There were so many people I wanted to dance with tonight that I couldn’t find time to dance with all of them. Some people I would have normally danced with at least once a night left before I had a chance to ask them. There were others I would have loved to dance with more than I ended up dancing with. Amazing. I’m going to have to get back to SOS one of these days (but almost certainly not this weekend) to see if things are really better in London compared to Cambridge. Looking at my schedule though, I’ll probably attend Scala Latina before I get back to SOS.
After having made the fliers, I have made no effort whatsoever to sell tickets for the Tony & Claudia workshops thus far. Incredibly, reservations are being made despite my inaction. I don’t remember things being this easy last two times. Of course, I’m pretty sure I will have to start talking to people in person rather than letting word of mouth do all the work. I also have a nagging suspicion that selling tickets to men might end up being more difficult than finding interested women.
I’m getting hounded with requests for more information on Toque D’Keda’s Lamento Boliviano. As I had long expected, it turned out to be a highly sought out song very quickly. It seems playing it just once last Friday has started the ball rolling, and it will gain more momentum as more people in Cambridge hear it (until it gets overplayed). In fact, it might end up being the best advertisement for the Tony & Claudia’s workshops.
At the urging of Sergio, I purchased a copy of Frankie Martinez’s Isolations & Body Movement DVD. Just watching the 55 or so minutes of the class – no instructions whatsoever and repeated viewing and a big mirror seem necessary to get full use of the DVD – was … exhausting. Some of the basic elements of the body movement exercise are being taught in Thursday classes, but there obviously is no fair comparison between a 3 minute exercise and the intensity of 55+ minute class devoted solely to body movement and isolations. One question I must ask is, “How does one find time – let alone patience – to do this exercise frequently enough to make it useful?” I don’t know if I’m right in thinking this but it may make sense to only use the first 30 minutes or so of the DVD – at least in the beginning. These first 30 minutes are somewhat less complex and involve central body movement without involving extremities like hands and feet very much. I think Sergio was dead on in describing the DVD as a source for a really good workout for many months. Personally, I’m worried that I would lose a lot of body weight if I do these exercises frequently.
Go with the flow
March 29, 2006
“Hey. You know you’re talking at the floor meeting today, right?”
“I am? Let me check the schedule… You’re right. Hmmm… This is a surprise.”
“You could ask the big guy that you can’t do it today. You know there will be some experts in the audience.”
“Well. I don’t think I want to do that. It sets a bad precedent. Thanks for the reminder. Three hours isn’t too bad. If it were one hour, it would have been tough.”
“Maybe you’ll start preparing every presentations like this every time from now on?”
“No. I think I still would prefer to prepare a week or two in advance.”
As I start preparing slides and organize a presentation, several others stop by to ask me the same question. Apparently, someone asked during coffee whether I would have remembered about the talk. One person exclaimed, “You should put that sort of thing on your calendar. It’s so easy!”
I’m so far from being worried; I know this stuff inside out. I’m so relaxed that I’m near catatonic.
A little under two hours later, I’m ready and I decided to have a leisurely lunch. I join another colleague.
“So are you ready now?”
“Sure. Hey, we haven’t had lunch together in a long time!”
We talk about food and about gaining and losing weight. We both agree that British portions are tiny and not filling.
After a relaxed killer presentation with a captivated and entertained audience (I wonder if Salsa dancing has helped in a small way), another colleague stops by.
“Were you kidding when you said you forgot about the talk?”
“Nope. I have no idea why but I thought this wasn’t due for another couple of months.”
“Well. I really enjoyed it. I understood everything you said.”
“Do you mean you get lost when I get more detailed and technical?”
Anyhow, a good portion of the day was lost. I do what I can to salvage the rest of the workday. Another gem of good news pops up during this salvage process as well as a realization that it would be pointless to stay late at work tonight. I’m in very high spirits as if I had shot of Felix Felicis. I bet I would have a good time dancing tonight if I go out tonight. There’s no need to cut down for sake of cutting down only, especially when all signs point toward having fun.
So I went.
I haven’t been to Wednesday Club Salsa in a while, and I haven’t seen fair number of people who have been regulars on Wednesdays but do not frequent other nights. I was looking forward to seeing them, but alas none of them were there tonight. Oh well. There were plenty of other people to dance with – some new and some familiar. I stayed until shortly before midnight.
As I predicted, it was sparkling fun all night long.
“Hey. You know you’re talking at the floor meeting today, right?”
“I am? Let me check the schedule… You’re right. Hmmm… This is a surprise.”
“You could ask the big guy that you can’t do it today. You know there will be some experts in the audience.”
“Well. I don’t think I want to do that. It sets a bad precedent. Thanks for the reminder. Three hours isn’t too bad. If it were one hour, it would have been tough.”
“Maybe you’ll start preparing every presentations like this every time from now on?”
“No. I think I still would prefer to prepare a week or two in advance.”
As I start preparing slides and organize a presentation, several others stop by to ask me the same question. Apparently, someone asked during coffee whether I would have remembered about the talk. One person exclaimed, “You should put that sort of thing on your calendar. It’s so easy!”
I’m so far from being worried; I know this stuff inside out. I’m so relaxed that I’m near catatonic.
A little under two hours later, I’m ready and I decided to have a leisurely lunch. I join another colleague.
“So are you ready now?”
“Sure. Hey, we haven’t had lunch together in a long time!”
We talk about food and about gaining and losing weight. We both agree that British portions are tiny and not filling.
After a relaxed killer presentation with a captivated and entertained audience (I wonder if Salsa dancing has helped in a small way), another colleague stops by.
“Were you kidding when you said you forgot about the talk?”
“Nope. I have no idea why but I thought this wasn’t due for another couple of months.”
“Well. I really enjoyed it. I understood everything you said.”
“Do you mean you get lost when I get more detailed and technical?”
Anyhow, a good portion of the day was lost. I do what I can to salvage the rest of the workday. Another gem of good news pops up during this salvage process as well as a realization that it would be pointless to stay late at work tonight. I’m in very high spirits as if I had shot of Felix Felicis. I bet I would have a good time dancing tonight if I go out tonight. There’s no need to cut down for sake of cutting down only, especially when all signs point toward having fun.
So I went.
I haven’t been to Wednesday Club Salsa in a while, and I haven’t seen fair number of people who have been regulars on Wednesdays but do not frequent other nights. I was looking forward to seeing them, but alas none of them were there tonight. Oh well. There were plenty of other people to dance with – some new and some familiar. I stayed until shortly before midnight.
As I predicted, it was sparkling fun all night long.
Start of slam dunk session
March 27, 2006
Intermediate – Joe Davids
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with leader turning around (name?) 3/4 clockwise to get L-R behind leader’s back R waist – make R-L connection in front
1,2,3,5,6,7 Pretzel – open break (supposedly only lead needed … everything else is avoiding hitting follower’s head) exchange places with leader and follower staying in the same lane – R-L goes over follower’s head on 2,3 and L-R goes over follower’s head around 4,5,6 – end with R-L behind leader’s back L waist – if possible R foot should be getting ready for 3 o’clock-like turn on 7
1,2,3 keep R-L at waist level throughout (til 7/8) while L-R is kept high throughout – leader turns 1 to 1 1/2 clockwise and get into follower’s lane
5,6,7 prepare and turn 1/2 to full counterclockwise on 6/7 and perform a slam dunk to get follower’s R hand down the center of leader’s back to get both of follower’s hands on leader’s R hand
1,2,3,5,6,7 to left on 1, bring R-L/R to R (to simulate preparation) and turn around 1/2 clockwise with R-L/R up (careful and avoid hitting follower with elbow – useful to keep elbow tucked in high early?) and lead follower into a stationary double turn and bring hands down with fingers pointing up (hand of god)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and Copa (R hand on follower’s hips) for free 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn for follower – leader can make a turn here too
This was devilishly difficult for me as a leader. I’m fairly certain some people in Cambridge use moves similar to this already. I suppose with enough lessons, everyone will know everyone else’s moves eventually.
Improvers – Joe Davids
Another Copa fake
1,2,3 crossed hold with L-L on top – open break and bring follower in like Copa with L-L going over follower’s head
variation 1. both hands on follower’s shoulder
variation 2. L-L intact while R hand on follower’s shoulder
variation 3. both connection intact (leader may want to overtake follower for this one)
5,6,7 lead follower backwards (from the direction leader came from) – possibly very small steps or even stationary depending on amount of room available
1,2,3 New York Jazz style
5,6,7 either lead follower into a 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn or 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (lead depends on hand position)
variation 1. clockwise turn with hands on shoulder – follower is led forward on 5 with slightly more pressure on L shoulder and let go
variation 2. counterclockwise turn with hands on shoulder – follower is led forward on 5, keep hands on shoulder until 6 – on 6 lead follower into counterclockwise turn with a short hold on L shoulder and lead forward on R shoulder
variation 3. clockwise turn with L-L – follower is led forward with L-L raised and with hint of clockwise turn lead
variation 4. counterclockwise with L-L – R hand on follower’s R shoulder, keep L-L low (or lower it) on 5 as follower is led forward and raise L-L on 6 with hint of counterclockwise turn lead
Intermediate classes are good challenges. Some are more immediately useful than others. Improver classes have been giving me new and immediately useful moves. I’m not quite sure how much longer these classes will last given uneven level of attendance. I plan to take advantage of the classes while I can.
Having proper level of tension (perhaps frame is better word – I’m not sure) is such a big problem. I’m pretty sure I don’t have it quite right or know how much is appropriate, but I’m pretty certain most people don’t have it right. I might try to correct them if I were more confident of appropriate level of tension. I feel relieved whenever I get partnered with people with a semblance of tension/frame. Some have stiffer frame – the trouble is I am unconvinced that their level of tension is quite right either.
I also tried to pick Joe’s brain about tension after the class for the write-up I’m working on. Since it has taken so long already, I might as wait until I see Sergio next to pick his brains as well to hear another NY point of view.
shines
bicycle
1,2,3,5 basic
6 L foot slightly to L
7 R foot slide behind L foot
1 L foot cross over in front of R foot and step back
2 R foot slightly to R
3 L foot slide behind R foot
5 R foot cross over in front of L foot and step back
6 L foot slightly to L
7 R foot slide behind L foot
bunny hop – can be done in conjunction with bicycle, spiral and is already a part of half-flare
8 (with R foot positioned crossed behind L foot) L foot step slightly back
slide-step
1 step in place L foot
2 slide forward L foot
3 step (together) in place with R foot while turning around 1/2 clockwise
4 slide forward with R foot (going backwards)
5 step (together) in place with L foot
6 slide forward with L foot (going backwards)
7 step (together) in place with R foot while turning around 1/2 clockwise
8 slide forward with R foot
core beat
step on 1,3,5,7
core beat with slide?
1,2 step in place and slide to L with L foot
3,4 step in place and slide to R with R foot
5,6 step in place and slide to L with L foot
7,8 step in place and slide to R with R foot
syncopated Suzy Q?
maybe this could be thought of as boom-ba-boom-ba-boom on 1,2,3 and on 5,6,7
Intermediate – Joe Davids
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with leader turning around (name?) 3/4 clockwise to get L-R behind leader’s back R waist – make R-L connection in front
1,2,3,5,6,7 Pretzel – open break (supposedly only lead needed … everything else is avoiding hitting follower’s head) exchange places with leader and follower staying in the same lane – R-L goes over follower’s head on 2,3 and L-R goes over follower’s head around 4,5,6 – end with R-L behind leader’s back L waist – if possible R foot should be getting ready for 3 o’clock-like turn on 7
1,2,3 keep R-L at waist level throughout (til 7/8) while L-R is kept high throughout – leader turns 1 to 1 1/2 clockwise and get into follower’s lane
5,6,7 prepare and turn 1/2 to full counterclockwise on 6/7 and perform a slam dunk to get follower’s R hand down the center of leader’s back to get both of follower’s hands on leader’s R hand
1,2,3,5,6,7 to left on 1, bring R-L/R to R (to simulate preparation) and turn around 1/2 clockwise with R-L/R up (careful and avoid hitting follower with elbow – useful to keep elbow tucked in high early?) and lead follower into a stationary double turn and bring hands down with fingers pointing up (hand of god)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and Copa (R hand on follower’s hips) for free 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn for follower – leader can make a turn here too
This was devilishly difficult for me as a leader. I’m fairly certain some people in Cambridge use moves similar to this already. I suppose with enough lessons, everyone will know everyone else’s moves eventually.
Improvers – Joe Davids
Another Copa fake
1,2,3 crossed hold with L-L on top – open break and bring follower in like Copa with L-L going over follower’s head
variation 1. both hands on follower’s shoulder
variation 2. L-L intact while R hand on follower’s shoulder
variation 3. both connection intact (leader may want to overtake follower for this one)
5,6,7 lead follower backwards (from the direction leader came from) – possibly very small steps or even stationary depending on amount of room available
1,2,3 New York Jazz style
5,6,7 either lead follower into a 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn or 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (lead depends on hand position)
variation 1. clockwise turn with hands on shoulder – follower is led forward on 5 with slightly more pressure on L shoulder and let go
variation 2. counterclockwise turn with hands on shoulder – follower is led forward on 5, keep hands on shoulder until 6 – on 6 lead follower into counterclockwise turn with a short hold on L shoulder and lead forward on R shoulder
variation 3. clockwise turn with L-L – follower is led forward with L-L raised and with hint of clockwise turn lead
variation 4. counterclockwise with L-L – R hand on follower’s R shoulder, keep L-L low (or lower it) on 5 as follower is led forward and raise L-L on 6 with hint of counterclockwise turn lead
Intermediate classes are good challenges. Some are more immediately useful than others. Improver classes have been giving me new and immediately useful moves. I’m not quite sure how much longer these classes will last given uneven level of attendance. I plan to take advantage of the classes while I can.
Having proper level of tension (perhaps frame is better word – I’m not sure) is such a big problem. I’m pretty sure I don’t have it quite right or know how much is appropriate, but I’m pretty certain most people don’t have it right. I might try to correct them if I were more confident of appropriate level of tension. I feel relieved whenever I get partnered with people with a semblance of tension/frame. Some have stiffer frame – the trouble is I am unconvinced that their level of tension is quite right either.
I also tried to pick Joe’s brain about tension after the class for the write-up I’m working on. Since it has taken so long already, I might as wait until I see Sergio next to pick his brains as well to hear another NY point of view.
shines
bicycle
1,2,3,5 basic
6 L foot slightly to L
7 R foot slide behind L foot
1 L foot cross over in front of R foot and step back
2 R foot slightly to R
3 L foot slide behind R foot
5 R foot cross over in front of L foot and step back
6 L foot slightly to L
7 R foot slide behind L foot
bunny hop – can be done in conjunction with bicycle, spiral and is already a part of half-flare
8 (with R foot positioned crossed behind L foot) L foot step slightly back
slide-step
1 step in place L foot
2 slide forward L foot
3 step (together) in place with R foot while turning around 1/2 clockwise
4 slide forward with R foot (going backwards)
5 step (together) in place with L foot
6 slide forward with L foot (going backwards)
7 step (together) in place with R foot while turning around 1/2 clockwise
8 slide forward with R foot
core beat
step on 1,3,5,7
core beat with slide?
1,2 step in place and slide to L with L foot
3,4 step in place and slide to R with R foot
5,6 step in place and slide to L with L foot
7,8 step in place and slide to R with R foot
syncopated Suzy Q?
maybe this could be thought of as boom-ba-boom-ba-boom on 1,2,3 and on 5,6,7
Launch of Cambridge Latin Central
March 25, 2006
Latin Collective with Salsa Allegra & Espiritu Latino – Advanced with Tiz & Nikki
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL ending with R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 connect L-L underneath, prepare and lead touch-and-go double clockwise stationary turn for follower ending with L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa (L-L over follower’s head) and R forearm on follower’s back to stop any extra turn by follower on 3, use R-R to lead follower forward on 5 and 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise with a handoff to R-L and toss to reconnect R-R at leader’s back R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break with L showing for L-L connection low while R-R leads follower forward on 2 and then goes over follower’s head on 3 – use R-R for windmill effect and use L-L to continue follower’s traveling clockwise 1 1/2 turn with L-L ending behind follower’s R back waist – switch to R-L (with optional leader’s counterclockwise turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward with R-L still pointing towards the direction the follower came from ~3 with follower turned around 1/2 counterclockwise and bring R-L around along the follower’s line to get R-L wrapped around follower’s waist (R-L connection on follower’s R waist) and get L-R connection made at follower’s front L shoulder
[note: The movement of R-L should be continuous from open break onwards. I don’t think I have this lead down pat yet – I still have R-L pausing at 3 as if I was going to lead a Copa variation. I guess I need a lot more practice to get this right. Maybe I should try open break and slowly bring in R-L as follower is led forward while gets turned around then make a sweeping slow round lead with a start towards follower’s point of origin.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 New York jazz preparation and lead follower forward and into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn (led with L-R and with R-L disconnected)
[note: There was a bit more after this – I think there’s a leader’s turn at the end and maybe a drop catch to R-R, followed by another open break and getting follower wrapped at waist and maybe change to L-R followed by CBL with clockwise traveling turn but I cannot remember for sure. The ending (taught with very little time left) did not make a strong impression for me.]
For me the most useful part of the class was being able to refine touch-and-go double turn (which was okay to begin with) and windmill (which was just beginning to get useful). It’s all about training that cerebellum for muscle memory.
The large hall in Cambridge Guildhall had a very large and slippery dance floor and with very high ceiling and a large elevated stage. I thought it might be too slippery at first but I got used to it fairly quickly. Because of the way the tables and chairs for seating were configured in addition to the bar and entry point, the main dance floor area took up only about 1/2 of the entire hall. Thus the room for dancing was probably comparable to the small hall (without chairs, etc) of Cambridge Guildhall. The large hall itself probably is larger than Mary Ward Hall, which hosts the London SOS.
About 140 people showed up from all over the place – including a very large number of people from outside of Cambridge. Only about 40-60 people partook in the lessons despite the fact that there was no additional cost for taking lessons.
The dance performance was by Tiz and Nikki. La Palomilla by Joe Cuba strikes again; it was the song used for the tonight’s performance, which by the way seemed very well executed and was pleasant to watch.
Dancing was fabulous throughout. For the most part I was sticking to tried and comfortable moves either learned in class (in some cases refined or retooled) as well as improvised over past several weeks. With partner work, I suspect I’m close to exhausting options in discovering interesting new things based upon moves I already know. However, more options for improvisation presumably should reveal themselves, as I learn and become comfortable with new techniques.
A pair of dances with Serap was particularly illuminating (educational), unique and entertaining. Both dances were made up of mostly of shines (at least 50% and as much as 80% if open, semi-open and closed shines are combined). She told me she was using a mirroring approach, which probably gave the dance(s) a choreographed look. The first one felt more at Rumba speed rather than Salsa, and I can’t imagine ever duplicating that dance even if the same song (an unfamiliar tune) were played again. For the second dance, we had some audience who seemed to get a kick out of watching the spectacle of us dancing with a combination of aforementioned pseudo-choreographed looking and highly extended shines and humorous interplay or communication. I briefly became worried that Serap wasn’t enjoying dancing with me, but she reassured me that this was far from true. In retrospect I’m not sure why I even worried because Serap sometimes gets bored with conventional dances without surprises and without freedom to express self. Also she did look like she was having fun with herself and with me with those dances.
I am getting to a point where categorizing myself as beginner, improver, intermediate or advanced is getting laughable. This is because I find myself correcting my technique at beginner levels to intermediate levels all the time. I’m still learning (either in class or simply discovering new moves that I would have seen in a class setting eventually) new improver level moves. I can “lead” a lot of the advanced level routines in many of the “advanced” level classes, but I can lead only a tiny fraction of them in real dances without “doctored” followers. Based upon this, probably the best description for me is intermediate level Salsa dancer. For me this is highly amusing because I had considered myself intermediate as early as 10 months ago (probably wrongly although not without reasons warranted given the state of CBL Salsa in Cambridge then), and I’m light years further along compared to 10 months ago.
Latin Collective with Salsa Allegra & Espiritu Latino – Advanced with Tiz & Nikki
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL ending with R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 connect L-L underneath, prepare and lead touch-and-go double clockwise stationary turn for follower ending with L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa (L-L over follower’s head) and R forearm on follower’s back to stop any extra turn by follower on 3, use R-R to lead follower forward on 5 and 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise with a handoff to R-L and toss to reconnect R-R at leader’s back R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break with L showing for L-L connection low while R-R leads follower forward on 2 and then goes over follower’s head on 3 – use R-R for windmill effect and use L-L to continue follower’s traveling clockwise 1 1/2 turn with L-L ending behind follower’s R back waist – switch to R-L (with optional leader’s counterclockwise turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward with R-L still pointing towards the direction the follower came from ~3 with follower turned around 1/2 counterclockwise and bring R-L around along the follower’s line to get R-L wrapped around follower’s waist (R-L connection on follower’s R waist) and get L-R connection made at follower’s front L shoulder
[note: The movement of R-L should be continuous from open break onwards. I don’t think I have this lead down pat yet – I still have R-L pausing at 3 as if I was going to lead a Copa variation. I guess I need a lot more practice to get this right. Maybe I should try open break and slowly bring in R-L as follower is led forward while gets turned around then make a sweeping slow round lead with a start towards follower’s point of origin.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 New York jazz preparation and lead follower forward and into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn (led with L-R and with R-L disconnected)
[note: There was a bit more after this – I think there’s a leader’s turn at the end and maybe a drop catch to R-R, followed by another open break and getting follower wrapped at waist and maybe change to L-R followed by CBL with clockwise traveling turn but I cannot remember for sure. The ending (taught with very little time left) did not make a strong impression for me.]
For me the most useful part of the class was being able to refine touch-and-go double turn (which was okay to begin with) and windmill (which was just beginning to get useful). It’s all about training that cerebellum for muscle memory.
The large hall in Cambridge Guildhall had a very large and slippery dance floor and with very high ceiling and a large elevated stage. I thought it might be too slippery at first but I got used to it fairly quickly. Because of the way the tables and chairs for seating were configured in addition to the bar and entry point, the main dance floor area took up only about 1/2 of the entire hall. Thus the room for dancing was probably comparable to the small hall (without chairs, etc) of Cambridge Guildhall. The large hall itself probably is larger than Mary Ward Hall, which hosts the London SOS.
About 140 people showed up from all over the place – including a very large number of people from outside of Cambridge. Only about 40-60 people partook in the lessons despite the fact that there was no additional cost for taking lessons.
The dance performance was by Tiz and Nikki. La Palomilla by Joe Cuba strikes again; it was the song used for the tonight’s performance, which by the way seemed very well executed and was pleasant to watch.
Dancing was fabulous throughout. For the most part I was sticking to tried and comfortable moves either learned in class (in some cases refined or retooled) as well as improvised over past several weeks. With partner work, I suspect I’m close to exhausting options in discovering interesting new things based upon moves I already know. However, more options for improvisation presumably should reveal themselves, as I learn and become comfortable with new techniques.
A pair of dances with Serap was particularly illuminating (educational), unique and entertaining. Both dances were made up of mostly of shines (at least 50% and as much as 80% if open, semi-open and closed shines are combined). She told me she was using a mirroring approach, which probably gave the dance(s) a choreographed look. The first one felt more at Rumba speed rather than Salsa, and I can’t imagine ever duplicating that dance even if the same song (an unfamiliar tune) were played again. For the second dance, we had some audience who seemed to get a kick out of watching the spectacle of us dancing with a combination of aforementioned pseudo-choreographed looking and highly extended shines and humorous interplay or communication. I briefly became worried that Serap wasn’t enjoying dancing with me, but she reassured me that this was far from true. In retrospect I’m not sure why I even worried because Serap sometimes gets bored with conventional dances without surprises and without freedom to express self. Also she did look like she was having fun with herself and with me with those dances.
I am getting to a point where categorizing myself as beginner, improver, intermediate or advanced is getting laughable. This is because I find myself correcting my technique at beginner levels to intermediate levels all the time. I’m still learning (either in class or simply discovering new moves that I would have seen in a class setting eventually) new improver level moves. I can “lead” a lot of the advanced level routines in many of the “advanced” level classes, but I can lead only a tiny fraction of them in real dances without “doctored” followers. Based upon this, probably the best description for me is intermediate level Salsa dancer. For me this is highly amusing because I had considered myself intermediate as early as 10 months ago (probably wrongly although not without reasons warranted given the state of CBL Salsa in Cambridge then), and I’m light years further along compared to 10 months ago.
Impersonating as a DJ
March 24, 2006
I manned the DJ booth for over 2 hours from ~9:45 PM to ~12:10 AM. Total number of songs played – 26 Salsa, 4 Bachata and 2 Merengue (Merengue from Vishal’s CD). Among other things, I might have set a new record at Club Salsa Friday night for number of non-Merengue songs (20) played consecutively. I tried to play as many new songs as possible while sprinkling it with a number of familiar songs to prevent a riot with the mob wanting to lynch me. As it happened, I think I did try some people’s patience couple of times. It was … fun.
There were requests for something by Gran Combo, some Salsa tune having to do with the World Cup, and Reggaeton. I couldn’t accommodate any of these requests.
Playlist in approximate order (with comments)
La 33 – Suelta el bongo (1)
La 33 – El tornillo de guillo
Frankie Ruiz – Esta cobardia
Frankie Ruiz – Desnudate mujer (2)
Willie Colon - Idillo
Tabaco y Ron – Sonero de barrio (3)
Tabaco y Ron – Acabo de llegar (4)
Luisito Rosario – Rumba del barrio
N’Klabe – I love Salsa
N’Klabe – Evitare
Domenic Marte – Ven tu (5)
Domenic Marte – Senora
La 33 – La pantera mambo (6)
Eddie Palmieri – Ritmo caliente II (7)
Eddie Palmieri – Tu tu ta ta II
Joe Cuba Sextet – El pito (8)
Sonora Carruseles – Micaela (9)
La 33 – La 33
N’Klabe – Amor de una noche (10)
Orchestra Harlow – La cartera
Merengue tune 1 from Vishal’s CD (11)
Merengue tune 2 from Vishal’s CD
Tito Puente – Hong Kong mambo (12)
Tito Puente & Eddie Palmieri – Picadillo jam
Tito Puente – Maria Cervantes (13)
Grupo Niche – Gotas de lluvia (14)
Grupo Niche – Un alto en el camino
Africando – Betece
Africando – Aicha (15)
Toque D’Keda – Debo pensar
Toque D’Keda – Lamento boliviano (16)
Luisito Rosario – 1-800-Quireme (remix) (17)
(1) I had to start somewhere. There was no need to start with a big splash, but I also wanted to set a tone for introducing new tunes. Many of the La 33 tracks had been played at least once at Club Salsa but on Thursdays only to the best of my knowledge.
(2) I also wanted to get into habit of playing familiar tunes to keep people feeling safe at least some of the time. This song is a part of regular rotation in Enrique's playlist.
(3) I was a little bored with this song, and the reaction was middling at best. I might try playing it again but I don’t think I’ll try to force this one for long.
(4) An example of playing a newer cover version of an old familiar song. Joe Davids might have played the same track recently.
(5) First time I used the DJ mixer to cut an intro off a song. This technique was used four times tonight. First non-Salsa song (Bachata) of the evening.
(6) This song has been played only twice before at Club Salsa (both Thursdays). I think most people found this instantly recognizable though. This is another song better off without the intro.
(7) One person was really impressed with this song. I think it received better response than Tu tu ta ta II – similar to last time I played these songs together.
(8) Before I put this on, I was thinking that this was the riskiest song choice up to that point. I think a few people were confused because they may not have heard the original version before.
(9) It's a punchline.
(10) No complaints about N'Klabe although none of these songs had been played before at Club Salsa (except by me once on a Sunday a while ago).
(11) Some people had been clamoring for Merengue for 10-15 minutes by this point.
(12) I was debating how long I was going to wait before I started playing Tito Puente (and how many of his material). I thought this was a safe starting point given it's also a part of Enrique's normal rotation of songs.
(13) This was a song I really wanted to see other people’s reaction for a long time. There was a big reaction from all spectrums (love it or hate it). I thought I was going to get lynched by the “hate it” crowd in the beginning of the song, but I also received very positive reactions also (both tonight and at the end of Thursday night when I was learning how to cut long intro from songs). I think I’ll wait a little longer before I start playing Cal Tjader on Fridays (or do it in very low doses). Tito Puente is surprisingly controversial and perhaps even divisive. On second thought, I’m pretty sure there are several songs by Tito Puente, which I could have chosen to play tonight with no controversy whatsoever (and I don’t mean songs that is already in the Club Salsa playlist like Hong Kong mambo and Ran kan kan). I would be perfectly willing to play this song many times down people’s throats (and plan to do so) except there are so many other Tito Puente tracks I want to play as well. Oh I forgot. I’m not a regular DJ so I won’t get very many chances – except perhaps through someone like Sally who seemed highly receptive to the idea of taking song requests from me.
(14) I decided not to play more Tito Puente for the moment. I was willing to go as much as 4 or 5 in a row, but I didn't think it likely after first 20-30 minutes of DJing tonight given the crowd.
(15) At least one person found two Africando songs in a row too much. Aicha of course is overplayed to the hilt. I don’t think I would have played it except as a reaction against some people’s reaction to Maria Cervantes. Call it pandering. Just before I started this song, Vishal came to ask if I wanted to be relieved. I think he was ready to step in pretty much right away, but I talked him into letting me stay for 4 more songs.
(16) Only three couples danced to this Bachata song, but it seemed there were quite a number of people who would have loved to have danced to this. This is another song that was asked about afterwards (described as haunting). I was curious to see how this song would do as the second of two Bachata songs in a row.
(17) I might as well end with something new again. This is the only song that I played and danced to - not very well I might add. I know the song pretty well but I also had never danced to it either.
I think it’s safe to say that quite a number of Latin CDs I have is not ready for mass consumption on Fridays. Introduction of new songs will have to be gradual. I tried to take advantage of being a new DJ in the scene to push some limits. Of course given my limited collection (just over 50 CDs), I didn’t have much choice (although I note that I only used 19 of my CDs). I could also say that a DJ with a big reputation would also get more leeway and benefit of doubt for playing something new and different. I could have pushed the boundary a little more tonight but I think it possible that many people felt they were placed far outside their comfort zone with my "compromise" playlist.
A surprising source told me that I should stick to playing certain “new” old tunes because a lot of people don’t realize that they will like these songs with more listening and an open mind. I had been thinking (and saying?) the same and did not require any convincing, but it was very nice to get such reaction from someone who might not be considered part of the progressive or radical (as opposed to conservative or reactionary) part of the Cambridge Salsa scene.
I would have been happy to go another 1/2 hour or so to play some Oscar D’Leon (definitely) and possibly more Tito Puente (what I would have considered less controversial), Eddie Palmieri or Ray Barretto along with maybe one more very different sounding artist/song.
On the whole, I think most people were pretty happy with most of the songs I played. Some people almost certainly had bones to pick about a song here or there depending on their taste. If there were people who were unhappy with the playlist in general, they didn't let me know (not sure if they would have ... although Maria Cervantes with first 20-30 seconds of empty dance floor did provoke some people - eventually 8-10 couples came down to exploit the space and enjoy what they apparently came to realize is a perfectly pleasant and danceable tune).
I managed to get 4 dances after my DJ duty was over. It seemed like many people left early or never came tonight to save energy for tomorrow night. Oh well. I knew this would happen going in. Dancing was okay - as if I had lost my mojo or muse. In all likelihood this was more because I was standing around for so long while DJing and not dancing.
I manned the DJ booth for over 2 hours from ~9:45 PM to ~12:10 AM. Total number of songs played – 26 Salsa, 4 Bachata and 2 Merengue (Merengue from Vishal’s CD). Among other things, I might have set a new record at Club Salsa Friday night for number of non-Merengue songs (20) played consecutively. I tried to play as many new songs as possible while sprinkling it with a number of familiar songs to prevent a riot with the mob wanting to lynch me. As it happened, I think I did try some people’s patience couple of times. It was … fun.
There were requests for something by Gran Combo, some Salsa tune having to do with the World Cup, and Reggaeton. I couldn’t accommodate any of these requests.
Playlist in approximate order (with comments)
La 33 – Suelta el bongo (1)
La 33 – El tornillo de guillo
Frankie Ruiz – Esta cobardia
Frankie Ruiz – Desnudate mujer (2)
Willie Colon - Idillo
Tabaco y Ron – Sonero de barrio (3)
Tabaco y Ron – Acabo de llegar (4)
Luisito Rosario – Rumba del barrio
N’Klabe – I love Salsa
N’Klabe – Evitare
Domenic Marte – Ven tu (5)
Domenic Marte – Senora
La 33 – La pantera mambo (6)
Eddie Palmieri – Ritmo caliente II (7)
Eddie Palmieri – Tu tu ta ta II
Joe Cuba Sextet – El pito (8)
Sonora Carruseles – Micaela (9)
La 33 – La 33
N’Klabe – Amor de una noche (10)
Orchestra Harlow – La cartera
Merengue tune 1 from Vishal’s CD (11)
Merengue tune 2 from Vishal’s CD
Tito Puente – Hong Kong mambo (12)
Tito Puente & Eddie Palmieri – Picadillo jam
Tito Puente – Maria Cervantes (13)
Grupo Niche – Gotas de lluvia (14)
Grupo Niche – Un alto en el camino
Africando – Betece
Africando – Aicha (15)
Toque D’Keda – Debo pensar
Toque D’Keda – Lamento boliviano (16)
Luisito Rosario – 1-800-Quireme (remix) (17)
(1) I had to start somewhere. There was no need to start with a big splash, but I also wanted to set a tone for introducing new tunes. Many of the La 33 tracks had been played at least once at Club Salsa but on Thursdays only to the best of my knowledge.
(2) I also wanted to get into habit of playing familiar tunes to keep people feeling safe at least some of the time. This song is a part of regular rotation in Enrique's playlist.
(3) I was a little bored with this song, and the reaction was middling at best. I might try playing it again but I don’t think I’ll try to force this one for long.
(4) An example of playing a newer cover version of an old familiar song. Joe Davids might have played the same track recently.
(5) First time I used the DJ mixer to cut an intro off a song. This technique was used four times tonight. First non-Salsa song (Bachata) of the evening.
(6) This song has been played only twice before at Club Salsa (both Thursdays). I think most people found this instantly recognizable though. This is another song better off without the intro.
(7) One person was really impressed with this song. I think it received better response than Tu tu ta ta II – similar to last time I played these songs together.
(8) Before I put this on, I was thinking that this was the riskiest song choice up to that point. I think a few people were confused because they may not have heard the original version before.
(9) It's a punchline.
(10) No complaints about N'Klabe although none of these songs had been played before at Club Salsa (except by me once on a Sunday a while ago).
(11) Some people had been clamoring for Merengue for 10-15 minutes by this point.
(12) I was debating how long I was going to wait before I started playing Tito Puente (and how many of his material). I thought this was a safe starting point given it's also a part of Enrique's normal rotation of songs.
(13) This was a song I really wanted to see other people’s reaction for a long time. There was a big reaction from all spectrums (love it or hate it). I thought I was going to get lynched by the “hate it” crowd in the beginning of the song, but I also received very positive reactions also (both tonight and at the end of Thursday night when I was learning how to cut long intro from songs). I think I’ll wait a little longer before I start playing Cal Tjader on Fridays (or do it in very low doses). Tito Puente is surprisingly controversial and perhaps even divisive. On second thought, I’m pretty sure there are several songs by Tito Puente, which I could have chosen to play tonight with no controversy whatsoever (and I don’t mean songs that is already in the Club Salsa playlist like Hong Kong mambo and Ran kan kan). I would be perfectly willing to play this song many times down people’s throats (and plan to do so) except there are so many other Tito Puente tracks I want to play as well. Oh I forgot. I’m not a regular DJ so I won’t get very many chances – except perhaps through someone like Sally who seemed highly receptive to the idea of taking song requests from me.
(14) I decided not to play more Tito Puente for the moment. I was willing to go as much as 4 or 5 in a row, but I didn't think it likely after first 20-30 minutes of DJing tonight given the crowd.
(15) At least one person found two Africando songs in a row too much. Aicha of course is overplayed to the hilt. I don’t think I would have played it except as a reaction against some people’s reaction to Maria Cervantes. Call it pandering. Just before I started this song, Vishal came to ask if I wanted to be relieved. I think he was ready to step in pretty much right away, but I talked him into letting me stay for 4 more songs.
(16) Only three couples danced to this Bachata song, but it seemed there were quite a number of people who would have loved to have danced to this. This is another song that was asked about afterwards (described as haunting). I was curious to see how this song would do as the second of two Bachata songs in a row.
(17) I might as well end with something new again. This is the only song that I played and danced to - not very well I might add. I know the song pretty well but I also had never danced to it either.
I think it’s safe to say that quite a number of Latin CDs I have is not ready for mass consumption on Fridays. Introduction of new songs will have to be gradual. I tried to take advantage of being a new DJ in the scene to push some limits. Of course given my limited collection (just over 50 CDs), I didn’t have much choice (although I note that I only used 19 of my CDs). I could also say that a DJ with a big reputation would also get more leeway and benefit of doubt for playing something new and different. I could have pushed the boundary a little more tonight but I think it possible that many people felt they were placed far outside their comfort zone with my "compromise" playlist.
A surprising source told me that I should stick to playing certain “new” old tunes because a lot of people don’t realize that they will like these songs with more listening and an open mind. I had been thinking (and saying?) the same and did not require any convincing, but it was very nice to get such reaction from someone who might not be considered part of the progressive or radical (as opposed to conservative or reactionary) part of the Cambridge Salsa scene.
I would have been happy to go another 1/2 hour or so to play some Oscar D’Leon (definitely) and possibly more Tito Puente (what I would have considered less controversial), Eddie Palmieri or Ray Barretto along with maybe one more very different sounding artist/song.
On the whole, I think most people were pretty happy with most of the songs I played. Some people almost certainly had bones to pick about a song here or there depending on their taste. If there were people who were unhappy with the playlist in general, they didn't let me know (not sure if they would have ... although Maria Cervantes with first 20-30 seconds of empty dance floor did provoke some people - eventually 8-10 couples came down to exploit the space and enjoy what they apparently came to realize is a perfectly pleasant and danceable tune).
I managed to get 4 dances after my DJ duty was over. It seemed like many people left early or never came tonight to save energy for tomorrow night. Oh well. I knew this would happen going in. Dancing was okay - as if I had lost my mojo or muse. In all likelihood this was more because I was standing around for so long while DJing and not dancing.
Tentative yet wild
March 23, 2006
Sally Intermediate
1,2,3,5,6,7 Basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 Cross body lead (CBL) with follower’s neck flick styling
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward and exchange places (somewhat like Enchufe but linear) with L-R going over follower’s head briefly – keep tension to bring follower back (similar to around the world like footwork for follower maybe?) to CBL position on 7/8
1,2,3,5,6,7 pivot turn (~3/4) for leader to get into open cross body position and switch to R-R (follower behind and to right of leader) – lead follower forward on 5 and into a traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with R-R ending low
1,2,3,5,6,7 make L-L connection and pivot turn for leader (1/2 clockwise) on 1,2,3 – lead follower to a full stationary clockwise turn led with R-R high with leader turning at the end to face the follower (end with crossed hold with L-L on top)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward (reverse CBL) with her turned around half counterclockwise by 3/4 (L-L going over follower’s head and R-R kept low throughout) and continue to lead follower into a traveling counterclockwise turn (with leader traveling along with the follower) with L-L ending in a neck wrap for follower and R-R wrapped around follower’s waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare (using R-R slightly towards leader) and lead follower forward and into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 tricky bit here (not sure if I needed more practice, followers who could turn faster or better ability to multitask or something else) – open break and lead follower forward like reverse CBL but with L-L going over leader’s head (relax shoulders here) as follower overtakes on 3/4 – follower is turned around 1 1/2 clockwise (lead might be L-L lowered and R-R high to turn follower as leader turns full counterclockwise to end in reverse Titanic (if leader turns too early, it’ll be painful for the follower – if leader waits too long to do a safe turn, next sequence gets very messy)
1,2,3,5,6,7 release L-L open break and turn follower full clockwise on 2,3 and hook turn for leader
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hat for follower and end with CBL
It was somewhat of an off night for me once again although there still were several enjoyable dances. Consistency was hard to come by, and I think I might have been a little out of control at times too. There was even a collision with one of my partner’s elbow that left my nose bloodied. By the time I got around to try to practice tonight’s lessons much later in the evening, I had forgotten most of it. Progress is so incremental. I suppose it’s better to have an off night tonight and have a good night on Saturday instead.
Sally noted and helped to correct a posture issue while doing around the world type move during the second hour - it might have been the beyond beginner's class.
Ivan confirmed to me that Guildhall event this Saturday will be held in the big hall. There are no tickets being sold in advance in Cambridge; we’re not sure about London. The level of anticipation (as well as anxiety) seems pretty high.
Ivan and I are still talking about writing something about tension. It feels like everyone’s talking about tension all of sudden – although I suppose it could be that my ears have been sensitized and now perk up whenever the topic comes up. It’s a struggle to write about in part because I want it to be fairly comprehensive and perhaps even authoritative, but I don’t feel all that confident about having or perhaps even knowing the right level of tension needed. Another way of saying this might be that I have an opinion on it, but I’m not sure if it’s correct and I’m not sure if there is a universally correct opinion. It’s also not good at all that I suspect that vast majority of people including those who have been dancing Salsa for quite a while do not have right level of tension. Moreover, even after a fairly extensive talk about tension in the class, few people establish what seem to me reasonable level of tension and (almost) everyone forget about it within 10-20 minutes. So what's needed here? I suppose large quantity of practice is always a good prescription (as Edie suggested, it's quantity that matters not quality?). Keeping a clear and consistent message and repeating it until it sticks for good might be good too. Who knows for sure?
I am invited to guest DJ tomorrow (Friday) night at Club Salsa. I have Salsa and Bachata in my music collection but not Merengue. Vishal will have to supply Merengue if he wants it played.
Sally Intermediate
1,2,3,5,6,7 Basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 Cross body lead (CBL) with follower’s neck flick styling
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward and exchange places (somewhat like Enchufe but linear) with L-R going over follower’s head briefly – keep tension to bring follower back (similar to around the world like footwork for follower maybe?) to CBL position on 7/8
1,2,3,5,6,7 pivot turn (~3/4) for leader to get into open cross body position and switch to R-R (follower behind and to right of leader) – lead follower forward on 5 and into a traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with R-R ending low
1,2,3,5,6,7 make L-L connection and pivot turn for leader (1/2 clockwise) on 1,2,3 – lead follower to a full stationary clockwise turn led with R-R high with leader turning at the end to face the follower (end with crossed hold with L-L on top)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward (reverse CBL) with her turned around half counterclockwise by 3/4 (L-L going over follower’s head and R-R kept low throughout) and continue to lead follower into a traveling counterclockwise turn (with leader traveling along with the follower) with L-L ending in a neck wrap for follower and R-R wrapped around follower’s waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare (using R-R slightly towards leader) and lead follower forward and into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 tricky bit here (not sure if I needed more practice, followers who could turn faster or better ability to multitask or something else) – open break and lead follower forward like reverse CBL but with L-L going over leader’s head (relax shoulders here) as follower overtakes on 3/4 – follower is turned around 1 1/2 clockwise (lead might be L-L lowered and R-R high to turn follower as leader turns full counterclockwise to end in reverse Titanic (if leader turns too early, it’ll be painful for the follower – if leader waits too long to do a safe turn, next sequence gets very messy)
1,2,3,5,6,7 release L-L open break and turn follower full clockwise on 2,3 and hook turn for leader
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hat for follower and end with CBL
It was somewhat of an off night for me once again although there still were several enjoyable dances. Consistency was hard to come by, and I think I might have been a little out of control at times too. There was even a collision with one of my partner’s elbow that left my nose bloodied. By the time I got around to try to practice tonight’s lessons much later in the evening, I had forgotten most of it. Progress is so incremental. I suppose it’s better to have an off night tonight and have a good night on Saturday instead.
Sally noted and helped to correct a posture issue while doing around the world type move during the second hour - it might have been the beyond beginner's class.
Ivan confirmed to me that Guildhall event this Saturday will be held in the big hall. There are no tickets being sold in advance in Cambridge; we’re not sure about London. The level of anticipation (as well as anxiety) seems pretty high.
Ivan and I are still talking about writing something about tension. It feels like everyone’s talking about tension all of sudden – although I suppose it could be that my ears have been sensitized and now perk up whenever the topic comes up. It’s a struggle to write about in part because I want it to be fairly comprehensive and perhaps even authoritative, but I don’t feel all that confident about having or perhaps even knowing the right level of tension needed. Another way of saying this might be that I have an opinion on it, but I’m not sure if it’s correct and I’m not sure if there is a universally correct opinion. It’s also not good at all that I suspect that vast majority of people including those who have been dancing Salsa for quite a while do not have right level of tension. Moreover, even after a fairly extensive talk about tension in the class, few people establish what seem to me reasonable level of tension and (almost) everyone forget about it within 10-20 minutes. So what's needed here? I suppose large quantity of practice is always a good prescription (as Edie suggested, it's quantity that matters not quality?). Keeping a clear and consistent message and repeating it until it sticks for good might be good too. Who knows for sure?
I am invited to guest DJ tomorrow (Friday) night at Club Salsa. I have Salsa and Bachata in my music collection but not Merengue. Vishal will have to supply Merengue if he wants it played.
Guilty pleasures
March 20, 2006
Intermediate - Latin Collective with Joe Davids
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead stationary clockwise double turn for follower with L-R lead ending with 1/2 turn leader’s counterclockwise turn on 7 for a drop catch to end with R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward (while moving slightly to L to make path for the follower) windmill lead for 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn for follower – connect L-L underneath R-R by 7/8
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa with R-R moving around high in counterclockwise motion on 2,3 and around follower’s head to end on her L shoulder while L-L end on follower’s R waist with back of leader’s L hand facing follower’s waist – lead follower forward with L-L on waist and R-R is lowered directly to lead follower into a counterclockwise traveling turn (lowering of R-R might be delayed to make this 1 1/2 turn maybe) – in any case, the idea is to get R-R positioned behind follower’s R waist on 8
[some fun variations can be tried from here – I think this will get covered in next couple of weeks]
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower (delay raising R-R until follower is turned about 1/2 at least)
1,2,3,5,6,7 funny hat (new for me thus awkward – R-R goes over leader’s head with leader’s R elbow pointing sharply along the line towards the follower) with R-R for leader ending with cross body lead
Improvers - Latin Collective with Joe Davids
Third variation of Copa fake was taught along with a repeat of simplest version of last week’s Copa fake possibly with some refinement
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead – switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L over R-R – Copa fake– R-R is used for open break and to bring follower forward on 1,2,3 and is kept low while L-L is raised on 2/3 and kept ahead of follower in Pizza man position – follower is allowed to move forward on 5 and led into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn – follow the hand and turn 3/4 clockwise with L-L lowered to chest level so that L-L ends up behind leader’s R back shoulder blade
1,2,3,5,6,7 get into closed body hold position with R going in between leader and follower (while using a part of R arm to help lift follower’s L hand to top of leader’s shoulder for closed hold) while getting into cross body lead position and lead simple cross body lead with L hand being offered
another variation
5,6,7 after Copa fake and L-L led 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn – leader turns full clockwise on 7 following the follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 get into cross body position - L-L hat for leader and cross body lead
Dancing afterwards was highly enjoyable. It was a lot more fun than it perhaps deserved to be – it was somehow great although there wasn’t any dance that could have been called outstanding from a purely technical standpoint. I almost felt a little guilty (for lack of better words) for having such a good time. My best explanation for what happened is that most of my dance partners were seemingly getting a big kick out of dancing with me all night long and I was feeding off it. I could add that there’s been a lot of this lately. Another possibility is not feeling any pressure about avoiding mistakes contributed and feeling free to try some unusual stunts (e.g. a triple turn as a part of a short combination – done successfully only at the Brit Salsafest prior to tonight). Whatever the reason, I guess I shouldn’t complain.
On a slightly different topic, Joe announced that the Guildhall event this Saturday has been moved to the big hall. If so, the maximum of 186 is no longer valid. I got the impression from this announcement that Joe has either sold large number of tickets (presumably in London) or have detected high level of interest from sources Sally was not counting on. I meant to ask Joe for a clarification on this, but I forgot to ask afterwards. Considering the fact that there were well over 100 people at Sally’s Salsa Romantica Party at the LeL few weeks ago, I guess it’s very possible that sticking to the small hall will lead to many people being turned away. Very interesting. I suppose the worst-case scenario is that there will be plenty of space to dance. In any case, this blurb definitely should come with a disclaimer because I could very well have misunderstood, misinterpreted or misheard parts of Joe’s announcement.
Intermediate - Latin Collective with Joe Davids
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead stationary clockwise double turn for follower with L-R lead ending with 1/2 turn leader’s counterclockwise turn on 7 for a drop catch to end with R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward (while moving slightly to L to make path for the follower) windmill lead for 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn for follower – connect L-L underneath R-R by 7/8
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa with R-R moving around high in counterclockwise motion on 2,3 and around follower’s head to end on her L shoulder while L-L end on follower’s R waist with back of leader’s L hand facing follower’s waist – lead follower forward with L-L on waist and R-R is lowered directly to lead follower into a counterclockwise traveling turn (lowering of R-R might be delayed to make this 1 1/2 turn maybe) – in any case, the idea is to get R-R positioned behind follower’s R waist on 8
[some fun variations can be tried from here – I think this will get covered in next couple of weeks]
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower (delay raising R-R until follower is turned about 1/2 at least)
1,2,3,5,6,7 funny hat (new for me thus awkward – R-R goes over leader’s head with leader’s R elbow pointing sharply along the line towards the follower) with R-R for leader ending with cross body lead
Improvers - Latin Collective with Joe Davids
Third variation of Copa fake was taught along with a repeat of simplest version of last week’s Copa fake possibly with some refinement
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead – switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L over R-R – Copa fake– R-R is used for open break and to bring follower forward on 1,2,3 and is kept low while L-L is raised on 2/3 and kept ahead of follower in Pizza man position – follower is allowed to move forward on 5 and led into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn – follow the hand and turn 3/4 clockwise with L-L lowered to chest level so that L-L ends up behind leader’s R back shoulder blade
1,2,3,5,6,7 get into closed body hold position with R going in between leader and follower (while using a part of R arm to help lift follower’s L hand to top of leader’s shoulder for closed hold) while getting into cross body lead position and lead simple cross body lead with L hand being offered
another variation
5,6,7 after Copa fake and L-L led 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn – leader turns full clockwise on 7 following the follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 get into cross body position - L-L hat for leader and cross body lead
Dancing afterwards was highly enjoyable. It was a lot more fun than it perhaps deserved to be – it was somehow great although there wasn’t any dance that could have been called outstanding from a purely technical standpoint. I almost felt a little guilty (for lack of better words) for having such a good time. My best explanation for what happened is that most of my dance partners were seemingly getting a big kick out of dancing with me all night long and I was feeding off it. I could add that there’s been a lot of this lately. Another possibility is not feeling any pressure about avoiding mistakes contributed and feeling free to try some unusual stunts (e.g. a triple turn as a part of a short combination – done successfully only at the Brit Salsafest prior to tonight). Whatever the reason, I guess I shouldn’t complain.
On a slightly different topic, Joe announced that the Guildhall event this Saturday has been moved to the big hall. If so, the maximum of 186 is no longer valid. I got the impression from this announcement that Joe has either sold large number of tickets (presumably in London) or have detected high level of interest from sources Sally was not counting on. I meant to ask Joe for a clarification on this, but I forgot to ask afterwards. Considering the fact that there were well over 100 people at Sally’s Salsa Romantica Party at the LeL few weeks ago, I guess it’s very possible that sticking to the small hall will lead to many people being turned away. Very interesting. I suppose the worst-case scenario is that there will be plenty of space to dance. In any case, this blurb definitely should come with a disclaimer because I could very well have misunderstood, misinterpreted or misheard parts of Joe’s announcement.
Sunday Bachata and Merengue Class with Cristian & Dee
March 19, 2006
Bachata
There are 8 counts to one measure of music. Leader’s footwork is L-R-L-R(tap) on 1,2,3,4 and R-L-R-L(tap) on 5,6,7,8. Follower’s footwork is R-L-R-L(tap) on 1,2,3,4 and L-R-L-R(tap) on 5,6,7,8.
Basic steps (some of the names used here are made up arbitrarily by me)
side-to-side basic – leader travels to L on 1,2,3 and travels to R on 5,6,7 with feet coming together on 2 and 6.
forward-and-back basic – leader travels forward on 1,2,3 and backwards on 5,6,7 with feet coming together on 2 and 6.
in-place basic – no travel is done and tap involves a slight step forward
back-to-back basic– backward step is initiated on 5 rather than 1. I’m not sure if this is necessary only when 1,2,3,4 is used to transition from side-to-side basic to in-place basic.
At one point I thought this back-to-back-like basic involved utilization of constant tension between leader and follower. I’m not quite sure at this point. I don’t know if this applies to followers as well as leaders, but Dee suggested to me that the tension should be on arms rather than the body. Different partner dances have different conventions regarding frame, tension, etc, and I must say I’m still a bit confused about appropriate level of tension for all dances including Salsa. In any case, Dee also said that tension used for Bachata is different from Salsa.
Instead of using tension (perhaps compression is better word here) to spring follower backwards on 5 and on 1, a subtler signal could be used to indicate continuation of back-to-back basic. Here it involved moving connected hands in inwards motion (from leader’s perspective, not quite 1/4 clockwise with L-R on 1 and not quite 1/4 counterclockwise with R-L on 5. Initiation of back-to-back basic still may involve using tension to spring follower backwards (on 5). I must say this is a bit of guesswork on my part.
in-and-out basic – starting with L-R hold (while doing back-to-back basic) lead an open break on 5, bring follower forward on 6 as follower is turned around 1/2 clockwise on 3 as follower is level with the leader and with leader’s R hand on follower’s R waist (leader stays facing the same way the whole time) – follower is led to step backwards on 1 and is brought forward while turning around 1/2 counterclockwise on 2,3. I must admit that mechanics involved here is not quite the same as in-and-out or Copa in Salsa, but I'm not sure if I want to call this a cuddle basic instead. To get back to side-to-side basic, I think an in-place basic should be used on 5,6,7,8. Alternatively, one could probably go right back to back-to-back basic.
Merengue
Basic steps taught included side basic (L foot to L on 1,5 and L foot in place on 3,7 while R foot is always in place) and forward basic (L foot forward on 1,5 and L foot in place on 3,7 with R foot always in place). Couples turn is done with R foot in place at all times and L foot clockwise rotational forward on 1,3,5,7. While I wasn’t sure that there was an absolute requirement for using 8 beat counts for Merengue (rather than 1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2)
Overview
This event generated level of response well beyond my expectations (as well as expectations of other people I spoke to). It looks like Vishal’s belief that there will be synergy between Tony and Claudia teaching Bachata as well as Cristian and Dee seems well on target thus far. I originally had meant to stay only 30 min or so after the class to go home and eat, but I ended up staying until near 11 PM, and there were a lot of people still dancing by the time I left. Excellent and interesting class and a great response from the Cambridge Latin dance community.
The music played was about 40% Merengue, 30% Bachata and 30% Salsa – at least during the time I was around. This worked out quite well – although I don’t feel I know enough pure Merengue at this point to want to dance it. This format allowed me to hear more variety of Bachata songs than is usual – even compared to Club Salsa on Wednesdays, which plays Salsa about 70% of the time.
Cambridge Bachata scene is getting pretty interesting. I suspect there will be fair bit of fusion between the styles as taught by Cristian & Dee and by Tony & Claudia – in a manner not completely unlike many people in Cambridge switching back and forth between Cuban and CBL styles of Salsa. Now if I could just get some of my Bachata dance partners to start doing traveling turns instead of stationary turns…
Bachata
There are 8 counts to one measure of music. Leader’s footwork is L-R-L-R(tap) on 1,2,3,4 and R-L-R-L(tap) on 5,6,7,8. Follower’s footwork is R-L-R-L(tap) on 1,2,3,4 and L-R-L-R(tap) on 5,6,7,8.
Basic steps (some of the names used here are made up arbitrarily by me)
side-to-side basic – leader travels to L on 1,2,3 and travels to R on 5,6,7 with feet coming together on 2 and 6.
forward-and-back basic – leader travels forward on 1,2,3 and backwards on 5,6,7 with feet coming together on 2 and 6.
in-place basic – no travel is done and tap involves a slight step forward
back-to-back basic– backward step is initiated on 5 rather than 1. I’m not sure if this is necessary only when 1,2,3,4 is used to transition from side-to-side basic to in-place basic.
At one point I thought this back-to-back-like basic involved utilization of constant tension between leader and follower. I’m not quite sure at this point. I don’t know if this applies to followers as well as leaders, but Dee suggested to me that the tension should be on arms rather than the body. Different partner dances have different conventions regarding frame, tension, etc, and I must say I’m still a bit confused about appropriate level of tension for all dances including Salsa. In any case, Dee also said that tension used for Bachata is different from Salsa.
Instead of using tension (perhaps compression is better word here) to spring follower backwards on 5 and on 1, a subtler signal could be used to indicate continuation of back-to-back basic. Here it involved moving connected hands in inwards motion (from leader’s perspective, not quite 1/4 clockwise with L-R on 1 and not quite 1/4 counterclockwise with R-L on 5. Initiation of back-to-back basic still may involve using tension to spring follower backwards (on 5). I must say this is a bit of guesswork on my part.
in-and-out basic – starting with L-R hold (while doing back-to-back basic) lead an open break on 5, bring follower forward on 6 as follower is turned around 1/2 clockwise on 3 as follower is level with the leader and with leader’s R hand on follower’s R waist (leader stays facing the same way the whole time) – follower is led to step backwards on 1 and is brought forward while turning around 1/2 counterclockwise on 2,3. I must admit that mechanics involved here is not quite the same as in-and-out or Copa in Salsa, but I'm not sure if I want to call this a cuddle basic instead. To get back to side-to-side basic, I think an in-place basic should be used on 5,6,7,8. Alternatively, one could probably go right back to back-to-back basic.
Merengue
Basic steps taught included side basic (L foot to L on 1,5 and L foot in place on 3,7 while R foot is always in place) and forward basic (L foot forward on 1,5 and L foot in place on 3,7 with R foot always in place). Couples turn is done with R foot in place at all times and L foot clockwise rotational forward on 1,3,5,7. While I wasn’t sure that there was an absolute requirement for using 8 beat counts for Merengue (rather than 1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2)
Overview
This event generated level of response well beyond my expectations (as well as expectations of other people I spoke to). It looks like Vishal’s belief that there will be synergy between Tony and Claudia teaching Bachata as well as Cristian and Dee seems well on target thus far. I originally had meant to stay only 30 min or so after the class to go home and eat, but I ended up staying until near 11 PM, and there were a lot of people still dancing by the time I left. Excellent and interesting class and a great response from the Cambridge Latin dance community.
The music played was about 40% Merengue, 30% Bachata and 30% Salsa – at least during the time I was around. This worked out quite well – although I don’t feel I know enough pure Merengue at this point to want to dance it. This format allowed me to hear more variety of Bachata songs than is usual – even compared to Club Salsa on Wednesdays, which plays Salsa about 70% of the time.
Cambridge Bachata scene is getting pretty interesting. I suspect there will be fair bit of fusion between the styles as taught by Cristian & Dee and by Tony & Claudia – in a manner not completely unlike many people in Cambridge switching back and forth between Cuban and CBL styles of Salsa. Now if I could just get some of my Bachata dance partners to start doing traveling turns instead of stationary turns…
London 5 Star Heathrow Congress Contest - londonsalsa.co.uk
March 20, 2006
The entry for yesterday's Bachata/Merengue class will be posted tomorrow.
There's another contest courtesy of londonsalsa.co.uk for pair of tickets to a Salsa Congress - 5 Star Salsa Congress at Heathrow London this time. Contest rules are a little scrambled right now but it should get straightened out soon.
My favorite excerpts from the Edie the Salsafreak profile are her advices -
In a dance partnership, it is not the quality of time you spend rehearsing, but the quantity of time that counts.
Interesting... Not much experience on this but I think I see the point...
Dance with at least one beginner every night you go out. This gives them a chance to improve and gain confidence, makes you a new friend, changes a person`s life forever, and shows the world that you`re not above helping someone out who is now where you were once at.
Check.
The entry for yesterday's Bachata/Merengue class will be posted tomorrow.
There's another contest courtesy of londonsalsa.co.uk for pair of tickets to a Salsa Congress - 5 Star Salsa Congress at Heathrow London this time. Contest rules are a little scrambled right now but it should get straightened out soon.
My favorite excerpts from the Edie the Salsafreak profile are her advices -
In a dance partnership, it is not the quality of time you spend rehearsing, but the quantity of time that counts.
Interesting... Not much experience on this but I think I see the point...
Dance with at least one beginner every night you go out. This gives them a chance to improve and gain confidence, makes you a new friend, changes a person`s life forever, and shows the world that you`re not above helping someone out who is now where you were once at.
Check.
Call her Salsa doctor
March 17, 2006
One of the worst things that could happen to an experienced leader might be to find that he cannot find a way to make dancing enjoyable for his dance partner and to think that this situation may never change. Did such a thought come to my mind? Was I correct with my assessment? Yes and probably no. The effect of having such a thought was a feeling of sadness with a tinge of resignation.
I couldn't decide what was happening. Perhaps the bubble broke. Maybe the late start (~11 PM) was to blame. It could be a part of natural mood swings - sometimes up and sometimes down. I could try to blame it on the curry again. In some small way, all the talk of tension might have contributed - it certainly has been occupying my mind a lot lately including at the start of the evening. Another explanation is that the attempt at being experimental may have reached level of madness. All of the dances early in the evening felt like a struggle - some bigger than others. As this continued dance after dance, I was feeling more and more bewildered and unsure about how to remedy this.
Remedy came in the name of Sally, who brought a semblance of sanity back for me. I think this had to be the second time I used Sally for a "safety dance" to help me figure out my bearings and raise confidence. Not all dances thereafter were technically "good", but I still felt securely anchored rather than lost adrift. Thanks Sally. Some of the dances became an amusing exercise and a self-imposed challenge - hopefully without sacrificing fun factor for both me and my dance partner. By the end, I was feeling very relaxed - possibly relaxed to the point of eliciting boredom (I hope not - it might have been "simple" but I also thought it was revelatory for me in some ways). I might add that it also led me back to thinking about tension/connection again.
p.s. Enrique was absent tonight. Having anticipated this, I had considered bringing my CDs in but ultimately decided against it. I regretted this because for many reasons tonight would have been as ideal a night as any to hijack the DJ booth (or at least make some input using my collection). I think I will try to bring my CDs next time Enrique will miss Friday.
--
Upcoming special events in Cambridge
Sunday 19th March (Launch Night)
Sundays Latinos
at Club Salsa
Bachata and Merengue monthly lessons with Cristian & Dee
8 PM - 9 PM
Dancing til late
Entry: £3
Saturday 25th March
Cambridge Latin Central
at Guildhall (map)
7 - 8:20 PM Salsa classes at 4 levels w/ guest teachers from London
8:30 PM - 1 AM Dancing
Salsa Showcase by Tiz & Nikki (London)
Price: £12 non-members, £9 member or with flyer, £6 NUS
tickets(186 max) available at the venue only(?)
One of the worst things that could happen to an experienced leader might be to find that he cannot find a way to make dancing enjoyable for his dance partner and to think that this situation may never change. Did such a thought come to my mind? Was I correct with my assessment? Yes and probably no. The effect of having such a thought was a feeling of sadness with a tinge of resignation.
I couldn't decide what was happening. Perhaps the bubble broke. Maybe the late start (~11 PM) was to blame. It could be a part of natural mood swings - sometimes up and sometimes down. I could try to blame it on the curry again. In some small way, all the talk of tension might have contributed - it certainly has been occupying my mind a lot lately including at the start of the evening. Another explanation is that the attempt at being experimental may have reached level of madness. All of the dances early in the evening felt like a struggle - some bigger than others. As this continued dance after dance, I was feeling more and more bewildered and unsure about how to remedy this.
Remedy came in the name of Sally, who brought a semblance of sanity back for me. I think this had to be the second time I used Sally for a "safety dance" to help me figure out my bearings and raise confidence. Not all dances thereafter were technically "good", but I still felt securely anchored rather than lost adrift. Thanks Sally. Some of the dances became an amusing exercise and a self-imposed challenge - hopefully without sacrificing fun factor for both me and my dance partner. By the end, I was feeling very relaxed - possibly relaxed to the point of eliciting boredom (I hope not - it might have been "simple" but I also thought it was revelatory for me in some ways). I might add that it also led me back to thinking about tension/connection again.
p.s. Enrique was absent tonight. Having anticipated this, I had considered bringing my CDs in but ultimately decided against it. I regretted this because for many reasons tonight would have been as ideal a night as any to hijack the DJ booth (or at least make some input using my collection). I think I will try to bring my CDs next time Enrique will miss Friday.
--
Upcoming special events in Cambridge
Sunday 19th March (Launch Night)
Sundays Latinos
at Club Salsa
Bachata and Merengue monthly lessons with Cristian & Dee
8 PM - 9 PM
Dancing til late
Entry: £3
Saturday 25th March
Cambridge Latin Central
at Guildhall (map)
7 - 8:20 PM Salsa classes at 4 levels w/ guest teachers from London
8:30 PM - 1 AM Dancing
Salsa Showcase by Tiz & Nikki (London)
Price: £12 non-members, £9 member or with flyer, £6 NUS
tickets
UCL showcase
March 17, 2006
A video of a Salsa showcase by UCL. I know some of the performers/choreographers so I might be more interested than otherwise. Music used include "The Pink Panther Theme" by Henry Mancini and "La Pantera Mambo" (based on H. Mancini) and "Que Rico Boogaloo" by La 33.
A video of a Salsa showcase by UCL. I know some of the performers/choreographers so I might be more interested than otherwise. Music used include "The Pink Panther Theme" by Henry Mancini and "La Pantera Mambo" (based on H. Mancini) and "Que Rico Boogaloo" by La 33.
Connecting dots
March 16, 2006
Sally Intermediate
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 Cross body lead [CBL] ending with L-R hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with 2 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower (R hand on follower’s L shoulder on 1 as follower is “opened up” with L shoulder further behind R shoulder on 1 and R hand on follower’s L shoulder is used to help with the extra turn – by 3 follower’s L shoulder is more or less pointing forward along the line) and approximately 1/4 turn clockwise with hand switch to R-R
1,2,3 turn follower half clockwise to end in Titanic (perpendicular to the line) with L-L connection made while follower is turning (show of L hand might help but I think it may depend more on the leader’s ability)
5,6,7 lead follower into a stationary clockwise turn with L-L ending on follower’s R waist (back of leader’s L hand or even wrist is placed on the waist) and R-R pointing forward – leader is positioned slightly to R of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward on 1 with L-L on waist and bring her back turned around 1/2 clockwise and switch to R-L, then lead follower forward on 5 and into a traveling (not too much – might want to play with 2 o’clock approach) counterclockwise turn for follower low ending in a wrap
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare (bringing R-L up around 3) and lead follower to a stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn ending with switch to L-L (was there a turn for leader on 7?)
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard Copa with L-L going over follower’s head and R hand on follower’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a touch-and-go double turn with R-R connection made early above L-L and ending with L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo with R-R toss underneath L-L (clockwise motion for lead) to and reconnect R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 reverse cross body lead ending with simultaneous turn on 6,7 (clockwise for follower and counterclockwise for leader) to end with crossed hold with R-R still on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo with L-L toss underneath R-R (clockwise motion – felt strange for me and probably will need some practice to make it seem natural) to get L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 reverse cross body lead into Titanic on 3/4 (parallel to the line) – no further leading by the leader but leader spins full counterclockwise while traveling to L with follower’s L hand at waist level and stays in contact with leader’s waist during the turn (L-L is temporarily disconnected and reconnected after the completion of the turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 one more turn (stationary counterclockwise) for leader on 1,2,3 (L-L is disconnected again and R-L is established) – use R-L to lead follower to L and into a free 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (going back towards where she came from on previous 1 – sort of like a very delayed Copa LA style)
I think this might be the longest routine I was ever taught. A small but arguably the most difficult part was covered last week also – this made the routine more manageable. I was nearing brain overload by the end still. I have no idea how others did because I needed every milligram of my attention to get the routine to work during the class. I didn’t get to try the full routine after the class because I got into an intense discussion with Ivan during the second hour of class, and I got into that experimental mode again during the club hours. In fact, I had completely forgotten the last part of the routine until I left Club Salsa and started writing the description of the routine on my laptop. This is a bit unfortunate because it would have been interesting to see how the last bit would have worked independent of the rest. Err – I just realized I forgot about couple of hand tosses (which I might add are decent break points for taking the whole routine into 3 parts – further breakdowns and variations are possible of course). Hmm. hand tosses are something I haven’t really practiced much and perhaps should start playing with. Sally’s really packing in a lot of material into her class last couple of weeks. So many things to try and so little time.
As I mentioned above, I got into a long talk with Ivan. The biggest topic? Tension. This topic will require a separate post of its own. It might take quite some time though (I’m thinking in terms of weeks rather than days). Another big topic? Let’s call it on-2. It looks like I’m not the only person looking forward to Sergio returning and possibly teaching on-2 in Cambridge. Other dance-related topics included Argentine Tango. The number of words spoken between Ivan and me (more by Ivan than me as I’m much better at listening than talking) tonight might amount to more than all other word spoken between me and everyone else at Club Salsa in 2006 thus far. I think this in part illustrates how much talking I do at Club Salsa more than anything else.
Dancing tonight was mostly on experimental mode again. By the way, even though I say it’s experimental, vast majority of the material is based upon what I was taught, and I am simply adding a dash of simple and possibly original (or things I don’t recall being taught) transitory move or leading a class-taught move in a slightly different way and/or with more flourish (which may or may not look good). Being familiar with a very large number of moves and variations probably may make playing around with learned moved easier. Often I think it’s a wonder that so many of my dance partners follow my made-up leads without question and sometimes with apologies because they think they didn’t do it right. These apologies happen even when I’m pretty sure it was caused by my hesitation or last-minute change of heart about a particular move I was about to lead. I guess I must be doing it right most of the time. If it weren’t for the fact that many of these things work with complete strangers in London, I probably would have stopped this experiment long ago. Of course, this experiment has been growing quite a bit and only a small fraction has been tried in London.
Ivan thought that it was nice to see that I was trying something different as opposed to sticking endlessly to a set of predetermined moves and that my lead probably was okay as I seemed to be keeping my dance partners in line (of course, it would be difficult to tell for sure without actually dancing with me). My biggest issue according to Ivan still seems be posture. In my opinion, some of this could be because of distance between my dance partners and me at various moments, but I wonder if some of it is something I do deliberately thinking that it feels good and therefore I mistakenly think that it probably looks okay too. Keeping appropriate distances may help to make leads more precise as well. Sally made essentially the same comment to me during the class.
Word of the day. Salsa handle. Sea horse is good too.
If it weren’t for the fact that I always liked song selections by Sally and Ivan (well…at least after I started accumulating my own collection of CDs, etc), I would suspect that choice of the music they play is influenced by my rants. Actually, I am probably justified in having this suspicion. Anyone can go up to a DJ and say something like, “I really like that song you just played. What is it called?” This will almost certainly result in that song getting more airplay. I imagine that most nights go without anyone talking to a Salsa DJ to compliment his/her choice of music in Cambridge. Criticism on the other hand…
I don’t think I am ready to cut it down to one Salsa lesson a week – and probably not for quite a while. I suppose I never even considered cutting it down to one Salsa night a week for foreseeable future. If nothing else, this is so that I stay in shape and maintain high stamina for Salsa dancing. Something like a six month sabbatical at this point will cause a severe setback. What’s scary is that going back to three lessons a week is not out of question. Cutting down is surprisingly and ridiculously difficult.
Sally Intermediate
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 Cross body lead [CBL] ending with L-R hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with 2 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower (R hand on follower’s L shoulder on 1 as follower is “opened up” with L shoulder further behind R shoulder on 1 and R hand on follower’s L shoulder is used to help with the extra turn – by 3 follower’s L shoulder is more or less pointing forward along the line) and approximately 1/4 turn clockwise with hand switch to R-R
1,2,3 turn follower half clockwise to end in Titanic (perpendicular to the line) with L-L connection made while follower is turning (show of L hand might help but I think it may depend more on the leader’s ability)
5,6,7 lead follower into a stationary clockwise turn with L-L ending on follower’s R waist (back of leader’s L hand or even wrist is placed on the waist) and R-R pointing forward – leader is positioned slightly to R of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward on 1 with L-L on waist and bring her back turned around 1/2 clockwise and switch to R-L, then lead follower forward on 5 and into a traveling (not too much – might want to play with 2 o’clock approach) counterclockwise turn for follower low ending in a wrap
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare (bringing R-L up around 3) and lead follower to a stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn ending with switch to L-L (was there a turn for leader on 7?)
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard Copa with L-L going over follower’s head and R hand on follower’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a touch-and-go double turn with R-R connection made early above L-L and ending with L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo with R-R toss underneath L-L (clockwise motion for lead) to and reconnect R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 reverse cross body lead ending with simultaneous turn on 6,7 (clockwise for follower and counterclockwise for leader) to end with crossed hold with R-R still on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo with L-L toss underneath R-R (clockwise motion – felt strange for me and probably will need some practice to make it seem natural) to get L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 reverse cross body lead into Titanic on 3/4 (parallel to the line) – no further leading by the leader but leader spins full counterclockwise while traveling to L with follower’s L hand at waist level and stays in contact with leader’s waist during the turn (L-L is temporarily disconnected and reconnected after the completion of the turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 one more turn (stationary counterclockwise) for leader on 1,2,3 (L-L is disconnected again and R-L is established) – use R-L to lead follower to L and into a free 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (going back towards where she came from on previous 1 – sort of like a very delayed Copa LA style)
I think this might be the longest routine I was ever taught. A small but arguably the most difficult part was covered last week also – this made the routine more manageable. I was nearing brain overload by the end still. I have no idea how others did because I needed every milligram of my attention to get the routine to work during the class. I didn’t get to try the full routine after the class because I got into an intense discussion with Ivan during the second hour of class, and I got into that experimental mode again during the club hours. In fact, I had completely forgotten the last part of the routine until I left Club Salsa and started writing the description of the routine on my laptop. This is a bit unfortunate because it would have been interesting to see how the last bit would have worked independent of the rest. Err – I just realized I forgot about couple of hand tosses (which I might add are decent break points for taking the whole routine into 3 parts – further breakdowns and variations are possible of course). Hmm. hand tosses are something I haven’t really practiced much and perhaps should start playing with. Sally’s really packing in a lot of material into her class last couple of weeks. So many things to try and so little time.
As I mentioned above, I got into a long talk with Ivan. The biggest topic? Tension. This topic will require a separate post of its own. It might take quite some time though (I’m thinking in terms of weeks rather than days). Another big topic? Let’s call it on-2. It looks like I’m not the only person looking forward to Sergio returning and possibly teaching on-2 in Cambridge. Other dance-related topics included Argentine Tango. The number of words spoken between Ivan and me (more by Ivan than me as I’m much better at listening than talking) tonight might amount to more than all other word spoken between me and everyone else at Club Salsa in 2006 thus far. I think this in part illustrates how much talking I do at Club Salsa more than anything else.
Dancing tonight was mostly on experimental mode again. By the way, even though I say it’s experimental, vast majority of the material is based upon what I was taught, and I am simply adding a dash of simple and possibly original (or things I don’t recall being taught) transitory move or leading a class-taught move in a slightly different way and/or with more flourish (which may or may not look good). Being familiar with a very large number of moves and variations probably may make playing around with learned moved easier. Often I think it’s a wonder that so many of my dance partners follow my made-up leads without question and sometimes with apologies because they think they didn’t do it right. These apologies happen even when I’m pretty sure it was caused by my hesitation or last-minute change of heart about a particular move I was about to lead. I guess I must be doing it right most of the time. If it weren’t for the fact that many of these things work with complete strangers in London, I probably would have stopped this experiment long ago. Of course, this experiment has been growing quite a bit and only a small fraction has been tried in London.
Ivan thought that it was nice to see that I was trying something different as opposed to sticking endlessly to a set of predetermined moves and that my lead probably was okay as I seemed to be keeping my dance partners in line (of course, it would be difficult to tell for sure without actually dancing with me). My biggest issue according to Ivan still seems be posture. In my opinion, some of this could be because of distance between my dance partners and me at various moments, but I wonder if some of it is something I do deliberately thinking that it feels good and therefore I mistakenly think that it probably looks okay too. Keeping appropriate distances may help to make leads more precise as well. Sally made essentially the same comment to me during the class.
Word of the day. Salsa handle. Sea horse is good too.
If it weren’t for the fact that I always liked song selections by Sally and Ivan (well…at least after I started accumulating my own collection of CDs, etc), I would suspect that choice of the music they play is influenced by my rants. Actually, I am probably justified in having this suspicion. Anyone can go up to a DJ and say something like, “I really like that song you just played. What is it called?” This will almost certainly result in that song getting more airplay. I imagine that most nights go without anyone talking to a Salsa DJ to compliment his/her choice of music in Cambridge. Criticism on the other hand…
I don’t think I am ready to cut it down to one Salsa lesson a week – and probably not for quite a while. I suppose I never even considered cutting it down to one Salsa night a week for foreseeable future. If nothing else, this is so that I stay in shape and maintain high stamina for Salsa dancing. Something like a six month sabbatical at this point will cause a severe setback. What’s scary is that going back to three lessons a week is not out of question. Cutting down is surprisingly and ridiculously difficult.
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars
March 13, 2006
or the Day My Nose Bled
I arrived at Club Salsa in spectacularly good mood. The end of the last week was really tough, and most of the weekend was quite hellish as well. I probably hit rock bottom on Saturday afternoon confronted with difficult questions and situations seemingly beyond my control while still feeling the aftereffects of my illness. Indecisions and procrastinations dominated; I slogged through each problem one at a time while other problems kept gnawing away in back of my mind. The blog entry for Friday was the first to be completed. Next to be completed was an answer to an annoying and tricky question asked by my fairy godfather. Other work was not completed until well past 2 AM with exhaustion and hunger setting in and with my mind dazed and confused. Another piece for Tony & Claudia workshop was completed on Sunday. A lot of annoying clutter both physical and mental at work was cleaned up, and correspondences with the Prince of West I had been avoiding were re-initiated and completed. A delightful reply came from my fairy godfather – I suspect that this probably was the big turning point, which perhaps led to me making a decision on another dilemma – a decision that does not solve the problem but at least gave me a peace of mind and a semblance of control. I suppose most things are rarely or never fully resolved so simply getting to a point of being able to manage or at least feeling in control of the situation is as about as ideal as it usually gets. Finally, my nose bled this afternoon signaling the end of my illness; my nose always bleeds when I am nearly or completely cured of my cold/flu. Looking back, I wonder if I would have as good a time as I did tonight if it weren’t for having overcome difficulties of last several days. Looking back, outside factors absolutely always had a great deal of effect on my Salsa dancing - my meeting with the venerable Emperor of Mars last year (not disclosed here) and the amazing SOS evening after going through another very rough weekend of massive problem fixing and after having sown seed for meeting with Tony & Claudia (not fully disclosed here either) are excellent examples. Because of special circumstances surrounding this evening, it is very difficult to imagine that there will be many evenings in future that will top this one. It would be very nice if there will be a lot more like this though – possibly even if I have to go through Inferno.
Intermediate Joe Davids of Latin Collective (with Russell)
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with leader turning full counterclockwise on 7 to get back to open and reconnecting with L-R (optional)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead double turn ending (R hand behind back waist) with 1/2 turn leader’s counterclockwise turn on 7 with L-R drop at R shoulder and connect R-R at waist level
1,2,3,5,6,7 show L hand early, open break and bring follower forward with R-R going over follower’s head and L-L connection low – let follower go forward on 5 – check (or block) with L-L low to lead follower backwards while follower also turns full counterclockwise (I think tension is pretty important here) keeping L-L low (R-R is high but is mostly decorative) – stay behind follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R going over follower’s head on 1 (something like an open cross body position here on 8/1) – something like a back basic (I think footwork is more by feel here rather than there being an orthodox step – it depends on how follower moves too) – lead follower forward (leading with L-L on waist) on 5 and into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn with L-L brought high after about 1/2 turn and then with leader turning full counterclockwise on 7 or so (I suppose depending on how far follower has turned)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break (crossed hold – really doesn’t matter which connection is higher) and Copa (body lead with L hand on follower’s R waist/hip) so that follower does a free 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn (Copa steps) and leader can do something like a full clockwise turn to get back to open or closed position – possibly even cross body lead position
This was a mind-blower. It was not an easy one – I could barely do it only occasionally in normal speed – but I couldn’t have been in a better shape for it. It was a great challenge and fun to try to pull off on the dance floor during the social hours. While I never got around to doing the routine from beginning to the end, quite a few of the bits and pieces worked very nicely and delightfully.
Vishal thought the routine seemed very orthodox yet looked spectacular. I couldn’t say if it looked spectacular when I did it (as I don’t get to see how I dance), but it was certainly a lot of fun and it felt very natural.
Improvers
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead – switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L over R-R – Copa fake + something else I don’t remember what Joe called it – it’s somewhat similar to Reverse cross body lead – with L-L goes forth forward instead of back like Copa and is led to 1 1/2 clockwise turn (tension here seemed very important – more so than reverse cross body lead with 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower with R-R high)
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L hat for leader and cross body lead
a variation
1,2,3,5,6,7 stop follower from turning further on previous 8 with R hand on follower’s back and full pivot turn clockwise on 1,2,3 and hat for leader with back basic on 5,6,7
Dancing tonight was amazingly good. I would consider an evening really good if I have one or two spectacularly good dance that both my partner and I enjoyed tremendously. Tonight, I think nearly half of the dances had that feel. This was not limited to dances with experienced followers – some of the dances with beginners were also spot-on. I probably danced like a madman on fire. I’m not sure if it looked good, especially to a purist, but I think many of the dances tonight were full of electricity. I suppose I did run out of energy after a while – not having a dinner while dancing til close to midnight should do it.
As I was about to leave, I complimented Joe about the classes tonight and said that I really enjoyed them. Joe in his reply mentioned that one other person mentioned that his mind felt completely scrambled by the first class. I replied that it was indeed challenging but also very exciting. Russell chimed in and said something about how some of those moves are led by feel (presumably as opposed to a set of predetermined and reproducible footwork, etc). Joe also said something along the lines of there being only about 50 Londoners, with whom he dance with regularly and have appropriate level of tension for him to dance and lead the way he wants to. I in reply mentioned that I dance with so many Cuban style followers that I’m thoroughly used to not having any tension – and that this really hasn’t bothered me much as long as I stay away from trying to lead many multiple turns as part of a combination. I suppose I don’t need or haven’t felt the need for the tension thus far, but it does add a great deal of options as I have been noticing over last several weeks. I wonder how it would feel to dance with Joe’s fifty women?
Some shines (from today and over past few lessons)
Suzy Q plus – I am pretty sure that Sally uses this one too although I don’t think I ever got it quite right until tonight – the way it was taught by both Joe and Sally seemed essentially identical
1,2,3 Suzy Q
5,6,7,8,1 Suzy Suzy Q
3 plus (R foot cross over in front of L foot)
5,6,7 Suzy Q
half flare
1 L foot cross over in front of R foot
2 R foot slide to R
3 R foot slide back and transfer weight
4 L foot slide to L
5 L foot slide back and transfer weight
6 R foot slide to R
7 R foot slide back and transfer weight
8 L foot slightly back
1 L foot basic forward
spiralflare and double spiral flare
turn 1/4 and Suzy Q followed by R foot kick on 5 followed by another 1/4 turn, etc
hook step
turn 1/4 while L foot cross over R foot on 1, R foot slide slightly to R, L foot point forward, etc
Other shines dones thus far include Sailor, heel heel toe toe, suzy Q, core beats, zombie, etc. Maybe I should ask Joe for a list of names.
It’s difficult to imagine that my mood will turn black again by next time I go out dancing. I suppose a slight downturn is a possibility (especially considering the unusual high of today), but I should hope that some residual magic lingers on.
or the Day My Nose Bled
I arrived at Club Salsa in spectacularly good mood. The end of the last week was really tough, and most of the weekend was quite hellish as well. I probably hit rock bottom on Saturday afternoon confronted with difficult questions and situations seemingly beyond my control while still feeling the aftereffects of my illness. Indecisions and procrastinations dominated; I slogged through each problem one at a time while other problems kept gnawing away in back of my mind. The blog entry for Friday was the first to be completed. Next to be completed was an answer to an annoying and tricky question asked by my fairy godfather. Other work was not completed until well past 2 AM with exhaustion and hunger setting in and with my mind dazed and confused. Another piece for Tony & Claudia workshop was completed on Sunday. A lot of annoying clutter both physical and mental at work was cleaned up, and correspondences with the Prince of West I had been avoiding were re-initiated and completed. A delightful reply came from my fairy godfather – I suspect that this probably was the big turning point, which perhaps led to me making a decision on another dilemma – a decision that does not solve the problem but at least gave me a peace of mind and a semblance of control. I suppose most things are rarely or never fully resolved so simply getting to a point of being able to manage or at least feeling in control of the situation is as about as ideal as it usually gets. Finally, my nose bled this afternoon signaling the end of my illness; my nose always bleeds when I am nearly or completely cured of my cold/flu. Looking back, I wonder if I would have as good a time as I did tonight if it weren’t for having overcome difficulties of last several days. Looking back, outside factors absolutely always had a great deal of effect on my Salsa dancing - my meeting with the venerable Emperor of Mars last year (not disclosed here) and the amazing SOS evening after going through another very rough weekend of massive problem fixing and after having sown seed for meeting with Tony & Claudia (not fully disclosed here either) are excellent examples. Because of special circumstances surrounding this evening, it is very difficult to imagine that there will be many evenings in future that will top this one. It would be very nice if there will be a lot more like this though – possibly even if I have to go through Inferno.
Intermediate Joe Davids of Latin Collective (with Russell)
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with leader turning full counterclockwise on 7 to get back to open and reconnecting with L-R (optional)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead double turn ending (R hand behind back waist) with 1/2 turn leader’s counterclockwise turn on 7 with L-R drop at R shoulder and connect R-R at waist level
1,2,3,5,6,7 show L hand early, open break and bring follower forward with R-R going over follower’s head and L-L connection low – let follower go forward on 5 – check (or block) with L-L low to lead follower backwards while follower also turns full counterclockwise (I think tension is pretty important here) keeping L-L low (R-R is high but is mostly decorative) – stay behind follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R going over follower’s head on 1 (something like an open cross body position here on 8/1) – something like a back basic (I think footwork is more by feel here rather than there being an orthodox step – it depends on how follower moves too) – lead follower forward (leading with L-L on waist) on 5 and into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn with L-L brought high after about 1/2 turn and then with leader turning full counterclockwise on 7 or so (I suppose depending on how far follower has turned)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break (crossed hold – really doesn’t matter which connection is higher) and Copa (body lead with L hand on follower’s R waist/hip) so that follower does a free 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn (Copa steps) and leader can do something like a full clockwise turn to get back to open or closed position – possibly even cross body lead position
This was a mind-blower. It was not an easy one – I could barely do it only occasionally in normal speed – but I couldn’t have been in a better shape for it. It was a great challenge and fun to try to pull off on the dance floor during the social hours. While I never got around to doing the routine from beginning to the end, quite a few of the bits and pieces worked very nicely and delightfully.
Vishal thought the routine seemed very orthodox yet looked spectacular. I couldn’t say if it looked spectacular when I did it (as I don’t get to see how I dance), but it was certainly a lot of fun and it felt very natural.
Improvers
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead – switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L over R-R – Copa fake + something else I don’t remember what Joe called it – it’s somewhat similar to Reverse cross body lead – with L-L goes forth forward instead of back like Copa and is led to 1 1/2 clockwise turn (tension here seemed very important – more so than reverse cross body lead with 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower with R-R high)
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L hat for leader and cross body lead
a variation
1,2,3,5,6,7 stop follower from turning further on previous 8 with R hand on follower’s back and full pivot turn clockwise on 1,2,3 and hat for leader with back basic on 5,6,7
Dancing tonight was amazingly good. I would consider an evening really good if I have one or two spectacularly good dance that both my partner and I enjoyed tremendously. Tonight, I think nearly half of the dances had that feel. This was not limited to dances with experienced followers – some of the dances with beginners were also spot-on. I probably danced like a madman on fire. I’m not sure if it looked good, especially to a purist, but I think many of the dances tonight were full of electricity. I suppose I did run out of energy after a while – not having a dinner while dancing til close to midnight should do it.
As I was about to leave, I complimented Joe about the classes tonight and said that I really enjoyed them. Joe in his reply mentioned that one other person mentioned that his mind felt completely scrambled by the first class. I replied that it was indeed challenging but also very exciting. Russell chimed in and said something about how some of those moves are led by feel (presumably as opposed to a set of predetermined and reproducible footwork, etc). Joe also said something along the lines of there being only about 50 Londoners, with whom he dance with regularly and have appropriate level of tension for him to dance and lead the way he wants to. I in reply mentioned that I dance with so many Cuban style followers that I’m thoroughly used to not having any tension – and that this really hasn’t bothered me much as long as I stay away from trying to lead many multiple turns as part of a combination. I suppose I don’t need or haven’t felt the need for the tension thus far, but it does add a great deal of options as I have been noticing over last several weeks. I wonder how it would feel to dance with Joe’s fifty women?
Some shines (from today and over past few lessons)
Suzy Q plus – I am pretty sure that Sally uses this one too although I don’t think I ever got it quite right until tonight – the way it was taught by both Joe and Sally seemed essentially identical
1,2,3 Suzy Q
5,6,7,8,1 Suzy Suzy Q
3 plus (R foot cross over in front of L foot)
5,6,7 Suzy Q
half flare
1 L foot cross over in front of R foot
2 R foot slide to R
3 R foot slide back and transfer weight
4 L foot slide to L
5 L foot slide back and transfer weight
6 R foot slide to R
7 R foot slide back and transfer weight
8 L foot slightly back
1 L foot basic forward
spiral
turn 1/4 and Suzy Q followed by R foot kick on 5 followed by another 1/4 turn, etc
hook step
turn 1/4 while L foot cross over R foot on 1, R foot slide slightly to R, L foot point forward, etc
Other shines dones thus far include Sailor, heel heel toe toe, suzy Q, core beats, zombie, etc. Maybe I should ask Joe for a list of names.
It’s difficult to imagine that my mood will turn black again by next time I go out dancing. I suppose a slight downturn is a possibility (especially considering the unusual high of today), but I should hope that some residual magic lingers on.
Talk about obsession
March 10, 2006
Friday evening at Club Salsa. It's packed as usual. There are a lot of familiar faces - yet a lot of faces missing as well. I was told about another party/celebration elsewhere. Some no longer live in Cambridge. Some don't come as often as they used to. The fact that there are many nights of Salsa in Cambridge may be a contributing factor. Changes in style preference may be another factor. When I started learning Salsa in Cambridge about a year and half ago, Club Salsa was open on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays only, and Fridays attracted the most number of people as well as the best dancers. Fridays is still the most packed night of them all, but good dancers generally can count on finding quality dance partners they like as well as more room to dance on many other nights, including Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at Club Salsa. Even Sundays can be pretty good, especially for those who bring their own practice partners.
After just over a year and half, I seem to have become something of an old-timer and a fixture. I think I can count people who coming to Club Salsa in Cambridge at the same time as me (plus or minus 3 months) and is still a regular using just my two hands. I suppose this pattern is probably typical; of people who started learning Salsa in Cambridge in last 6 months, only a handful will stick around after 1-2 years. The absolute number of people who stay could be higher since there are a lot more people who are learning now compared to when I started. Also the standard of Salsa dancing the new people are seeing is arguably higher (by this I merely mean that there are a lot more spins and turn patterns based on CBL being used and not necessarily that people are dancing "better" or having more fun), so this probably will raise new people's expectations of "minimum" or "high" standard. It would not surprise me at all if much larger number of new people will become more proficient and comfortable with leading and following multiple spins, etc. between now and a year from now compared to people who started learning one year ago. After all, the larger size of the Salsa community and higher "normal" standard of London presumably have been the greatest factors in determining how much further and faster Londoners progressed compared to people in smaller communities like Cambridge.
In reality, I'm not an old-timer compared to quite a number of people who are still regulars. There are many people who have been dancing Salsa for 3+ years, 5+ years and even 10+ years in Cambridge. Ivan had mentioned in passing about the current scene being the most vibrant and liveliest since 2001. I have no idea how things were in 2001, but presumably this means many of the real old-timers were around to experience this "golden age". I suppose this may mean that I started learning Salsa in Cambridge during "dark ages", a "bust phase" or an interregnum. Ebb and flow. Who knows? Maybe in two years time, there will be a decline and fall of interest in Salsa in Cambridge. Nothing lasts forever. Another possibility is that the definition of "most vibrant and liveliest" is merely in the eye of the beholder. Some people probably consider the present scene inferior to one or two years ago - this might have more to do with celestial bodies rising and falling in the sky though. In any case, I should try to learn more about the Salsa scene in Cambridge around 2001.
I didn't dance as much as I typically do. This was noticed by at least one person. I'm not sure if this was because of lack of inspiration or desire to socialize more or feeling pensive. I guess all three contributed although they no doubt complete the story.
There was a case of mistaken identity, which had fooled me for about a month or possibly even longer. I was flabbergasted yet found the situation quite hilarious. This situation still needs rectifying.
I arrived fairly late (more work!) while Johnny and Serap left fairly early this evening, but we managed to share a good laugh over what little we managed to converse about.
There was an interesting exchange with Enrique about a song, which he liked a lot and which I found confusing and complicated rhythmically. He thought I might be paying too much attention to piano. Is this a common problem? I'm not sure if this explanation correctly or completely diagnose my confusion - I don't think I lock into a single instrument but rather try to listen to the structure of the song as a whole as Sergio once recommended to me. Sometimes I might pay more attention to one instrument or another depending on the song - I never really thought about the piano consciously. I might be paying attention to individual percussion instruments less than some people - I'm not sure. in any case, it's a very intriguing comment, which I may need to thought about more. If nothing else, I probably will be listening more carefully for the piano now (if I haven't been doing it already without realizing it). There are definitely songs I find easier than others, and songs that makes me a little nervous because of transitions or false expectations of transitions, etc.
[Addendum: I have this song (or at least one version of it) in my collection. "Avisale a Mi Contrario" performed by Tabaco y Ron. It took me couple of days to realize this and few more to confirm it.]
As for my dancing, I think it's getting quite … baroque. Possibly a better word is irregular. Exploratory is probably appropriate, and spontaneous is another possibility. Some might say it's getting a character or personality. It certainly keeps evolving. Some or all of the above may apply. I certainly have been doing a lot of improvising without really being sure that it would work for the follower (and trying the same new things with different dance partners to see if it works with others). Many of my dance partners now trust my leads completely (to the point where they apologize even when my lead felt a little dubious often because of hesitation - I always try to tell them that my lead was a little weird but I don't know if this always gets communicated with loud music and my soft voice) and simply think that I'm just doing something proper that they're not familiar with. In case this is wrongly taken to mean that my dance partners should start consider my leads dubious, I should add that it's almost always best and probably more enjoyable for both if the follower trusts the lead and follow it rather than being doubtful, which could lead to self-leading, etc. I think most of the improvisation must be okay because my partners usually move in the directions I'm leading them and seemingly without struggling. For a long time, I thought my footwork was my strong point while leading with my hands was my weak point. Now I find my hands reliable most of the time but my feet sometimes would feel dodgy, especially when I feel a need to concentrate extra on leading a partner who's not feeling confident for whatever reason while still leading more complicated turn patterns. I also do some funny things with my feet when I'm feeling completely comfortable - it's possible that all those shine works have made me feel that I could play around with normal footwork or that I sometimes do it out of boredom or something about the music inspired me to do it - whether it was appropriate or not. I suppose it's fine for now, but it might come back to bite me if I were to try to go back to the basics in order to put additional layers and refinements. I don't know if I'm right to think this but I sometimes wonder if the easiest solution is to learn to dance on-2, which might force me to go back to basic footwork.
Someone mentioned to me that my descriptions of turn patterns were useful. Wow. All this time, I thought it did not help anyone but me. I also wondered if anyone was able to decipher it. I guess it would help the most the person who took the same class as me.
Possibly because of my mention of owning 50 Latin CDs (as well as frequent mention of song names), I'm now beginning to get questions about songs being played at the moment, etc. Of course, all the DJs in Cambridge (even if they're not professionals) have more Salsa music than I do. At best, one out of ten songs that gets played at Club Salsa is in my collection. It's possible that I have the biggest collection in Cambridge other than DJs and teachers. It's probable that I have purchased more Latin CDs in last quarter year compared to everyone else in Cambridge. I'm guessing that this rate of CD buying is not going to last.
Disclaimer. I think some of what I write is pretty fascinating - at least to me. I guess some others find it interesting too since they take time to read it. Of course, there are many possible motivations for people checking it out - I don't know all the reasons and I might prefer not to know some of the reasons. Personally, I find it more comforting if less people read it because I equate larger audience with more controversy, which I like to avoid. Writing longer entries probably gives me more rope to hang myself (as well as keeping me away from doing other stuff), but sometimes I'm just compelled to go on. One person suggested that I was venting at other people. I like to think that I don't other people maliciously as a habit, but writing certainly can be therapeutic and relieve tension sometimes. Not always - sometimes it's a struggle to write something remotely satisfactory.
Friday evening at Club Salsa. It's packed as usual. There are a lot of familiar faces - yet a lot of faces missing as well. I was told about another party/celebration elsewhere. Some no longer live in Cambridge. Some don't come as often as they used to. The fact that there are many nights of Salsa in Cambridge may be a contributing factor. Changes in style preference may be another factor. When I started learning Salsa in Cambridge about a year and half ago, Club Salsa was open on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays only, and Fridays attracted the most number of people as well as the best dancers. Fridays is still the most packed night of them all, but good dancers generally can count on finding quality dance partners they like as well as more room to dance on many other nights, including Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at Club Salsa. Even Sundays can be pretty good, especially for those who bring their own practice partners.
After just over a year and half, I seem to have become something of an old-timer and a fixture. I think I can count people who coming to Club Salsa in Cambridge at the same time as me (plus or minus 3 months) and is still a regular using just my two hands. I suppose this pattern is probably typical; of people who started learning Salsa in Cambridge in last 6 months, only a handful will stick around after 1-2 years. The absolute number of people who stay could be higher since there are a lot more people who are learning now compared to when I started. Also the standard of Salsa dancing the new people are seeing is arguably higher (by this I merely mean that there are a lot more spins and turn patterns based on CBL being used and not necessarily that people are dancing "better" or having more fun), so this probably will raise new people's expectations of "minimum" or "high" standard. It would not surprise me at all if much larger number of new people will become more proficient and comfortable with leading and following multiple spins, etc. between now and a year from now compared to people who started learning one year ago. After all, the larger size of the Salsa community and higher "normal" standard of London presumably have been the greatest factors in determining how much further and faster Londoners progressed compared to people in smaller communities like Cambridge.
In reality, I'm not an old-timer compared to quite a number of people who are still regulars. There are many people who have been dancing Salsa for 3+ years, 5+ years and even 10+ years in Cambridge. Ivan had mentioned in passing about the current scene being the most vibrant and liveliest since 2001. I have no idea how things were in 2001, but presumably this means many of the real old-timers were around to experience this "golden age". I suppose this may mean that I started learning Salsa in Cambridge during "dark ages", a "bust phase" or an interregnum. Ebb and flow. Who knows? Maybe in two years time, there will be a decline and fall of interest in Salsa in Cambridge. Nothing lasts forever. Another possibility is that the definition of "most vibrant and liveliest" is merely in the eye of the beholder. Some people probably consider the present scene inferior to one or two years ago - this might have more to do with celestial bodies rising and falling in the sky though. In any case, I should try to learn more about the Salsa scene in Cambridge around 2001.
I didn't dance as much as I typically do. This was noticed by at least one person. I'm not sure if this was because of lack of inspiration or desire to socialize more or feeling pensive. I guess all three contributed although they no doubt complete the story.
There was a case of mistaken identity, which had fooled me for about a month or possibly even longer. I was flabbergasted yet found the situation quite hilarious. This situation still needs rectifying.
I arrived fairly late (more work!) while Johnny and Serap left fairly early this evening, but we managed to share a good laugh over what little we managed to converse about.
There was an interesting exchange with Enrique about a song, which he liked a lot and which I found confusing and complicated rhythmically. He thought I might be paying too much attention to piano. Is this a common problem? I'm not sure if this explanation correctly or completely diagnose my confusion - I don't think I lock into a single instrument but rather try to listen to the structure of the song as a whole as Sergio once recommended to me. Sometimes I might pay more attention to one instrument or another depending on the song - I never really thought about the piano consciously. I might be paying attention to individual percussion instruments less than some people - I'm not sure. in any case, it's a very intriguing comment, which I may need to thought about more. If nothing else, I probably will be listening more carefully for the piano now (if I haven't been doing it already without realizing it). There are definitely songs I find easier than others, and songs that makes me a little nervous because of transitions or false expectations of transitions, etc.
[Addendum: I have this song (or at least one version of it) in my collection. "Avisale a Mi Contrario" performed by Tabaco y Ron. It took me couple of days to realize this and few more to confirm it.]
As for my dancing, I think it's getting quite … baroque. Possibly a better word is irregular. Exploratory is probably appropriate, and spontaneous is another possibility. Some might say it's getting a character or personality. It certainly keeps evolving. Some or all of the above may apply. I certainly have been doing a lot of improvising without really being sure that it would work for the follower (and trying the same new things with different dance partners to see if it works with others). Many of my dance partners now trust my leads completely (to the point where they apologize even when my lead felt a little dubious often because of hesitation - I always try to tell them that my lead was a little weird but I don't know if this always gets communicated with loud music and my soft voice) and simply think that I'm just doing something proper that they're not familiar with. In case this is wrongly taken to mean that my dance partners should start consider my leads dubious, I should add that it's almost always best and probably more enjoyable for both if the follower trusts the lead and follow it rather than being doubtful, which could lead to self-leading, etc. I think most of the improvisation must be okay because my partners usually move in the directions I'm leading them and seemingly without struggling. For a long time, I thought my footwork was my strong point while leading with my hands was my weak point. Now I find my hands reliable most of the time but my feet sometimes would feel dodgy, especially when I feel a need to concentrate extra on leading a partner who's not feeling confident for whatever reason while still leading more complicated turn patterns. I also do some funny things with my feet when I'm feeling completely comfortable - it's possible that all those shine works have made me feel that I could play around with normal footwork or that I sometimes do it out of boredom or something about the music inspired me to do it - whether it was appropriate or not. I suppose it's fine for now, but it might come back to bite me if I were to try to go back to the basics in order to put additional layers and refinements. I don't know if I'm right to think this but I sometimes wonder if the easiest solution is to learn to dance on-2, which might force me to go back to basic footwork.
Someone mentioned to me that my descriptions of turn patterns were useful. Wow. All this time, I thought it did not help anyone but me. I also wondered if anyone was able to decipher it. I guess it would help the most the person who took the same class as me.
Possibly because of my mention of owning 50 Latin CDs (as well as frequent mention of song names), I'm now beginning to get questions about songs being played at the moment, etc. Of course, all the DJs in Cambridge (even if they're not professionals) have more Salsa music than I do. At best, one out of ten songs that gets played at Club Salsa is in my collection. It's possible that I have the biggest collection in Cambridge other than DJs and teachers. It's probable that I have purchased more Latin CDs in last quarter year compared to everyone else in Cambridge. I'm guessing that this rate of CD buying is not going to last.
Disclaimer. I think some of what I write is pretty fascinating - at least to me. I guess some others find it interesting too since they take time to read it. Of course, there are many possible motivations for people checking it out - I don't know all the reasons and I might prefer not to know some of the reasons. Personally, I find it more comforting if less people read it because I equate larger audience with more controversy, which I like to avoid. Writing longer entries probably gives me more rope to hang myself (as well as keeping me away from doing other stuff), but sometimes I'm just compelled to go on. One person suggested that I was venting at other people. I like to think that I don't other people maliciously as a habit, but writing certainly can be therapeutic and relieve tension sometimes. Not always - sometimes it's a struggle to write something remotely satisfactory.
Looking for Iris (or rainbow)
March 9, 2006
Sally Intermediate
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead ending with switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 reverse cross body lead ending with free traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower and hook turn for leader (L hand could be on follower’s R forearm on 3 for additional help in leading)
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body leading with 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn for follower with L-R high
1,2,3 continue leading follower into full counterclockwise turn with L-R repositioned and kept at follower’s neck level while getting into cross body lead position and offer R hand at follower’s eye level
5,6,7 lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with all connections intact and high
1,2,3,5,6,7 drop L-R and reconnect immediately underneath R-L while doing a pivot half turn and switch to R-R by leader’s back R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 turn follower 1/2 clockwise into Titanic (somehow showing L hand by count 2 to help reconnect L-L) on 1,2,3 (leader turns 1/2 clockwise too) and then lead follower into full counterclockwise turn with L-L ending on follower’s R waist and R-R in front (leader is positioned to R of follower on 8)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead is with L-L on follower’s waist on 1 (R-R is let go) – lead follower forward on 1 and turn her around 1/2 clockwise on 2,3 while getting into open cross body position – lead follower forward on 5 and then into a full traveling counterclockwise turn with L-L low into a wrap (would leading follower to 2 o’clock on 5 help?)
1,2,3,5,6,7 repeat above (no need to let go R-R since it’s never involved this time)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward on 1 again and bring L-L around (I think keeping it straight in between leader and follower) thus follower turns around 1/2 counterclockwise while leader turns 1/2 clockwise into another open cross body position – offer R in front at eye level on 3 to reconnect R-R – lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with both connections intact
1,2,3,5,6,7 reverse cross body lead (let go L-L) and lead follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower and hook turn for leader
I was in another morose mood because of an outside issue not having to do with the class or with people who were at Club Salsa tonight. In many ways, I found dancing and music tonight exceptionally nice and to my liking, so for fairly long stretches of time, I was forgetful and was having a good time. Unfortunately this didn’t always last – especially when I took long breaks in between dances (as well as in the beginning and the end). I guess my face is easy to read for some – Sally for one seemed to notice this once during our “warm-up” dance and also at the end of the evening. I suppose outside factors always had an effect on my Salsa outings. I don’t know if this sort of thing is affecting me more than it used to. If so, is it because the issues are of greater magnitude or is it because Salsa is not having as big a palliative effect as it used to? I also feel as if I should apologize for making it second Thursday in a row where I probably was looking less than upbeat.
I met some interesting newcomers as well as someone I should have known for a while and an old friend I haven’t seen in a while and good for a lively and expansive chat ending with talk of petals - pretty weird.
Apparently, Ivan will no longer be teaching regularly on Thursdays. His partnership with Sally will continue for workshops. Perhaps Ivan is trying to cut down on Salsa like me because of his studies or some other obligation. This is just pure speculation on my part by the way - perhaps he'll choose to give his own explanation. It’s definitely a loss for Thursday classes, but I suspect Pure Salsa and their classes will remain great because everyone knows that Sally is an excellent instructor and she has shown that she can teach quality classes without Ivan. Still, I would miss not seeing Ivan personally – similar to the way that I miss not seeing Johnny & Serap now that I stopped making Friday classes a weekly habit. Mmm. I guess it’s a little different because I still would see Johnny & Serap by going to the club hours on Fridays (as I probably will tomorrow). At some point and perhaps not too far in the future, I will no doubt leave Cambridge and presumably go back to the USA. I am going to miss a lot of people (ones I am free to name as well as not) in this small community when that time comes.
I saw a flier advertising what appears to be a monthly Bachata & Merengue classes to be held at Club Salsa on Sundays to be taught by Cristian and MerenSalsa Productions. The first of these classes will be held on March 19th. Presumably Cristian’s classes will start with absolute beginners, at least at the outset. For me, this makes it even easier to decide upon having a Bachata and a Salsa workshop with Tony & Claudia on April 18th, instead of organizing two Bachata workshops including one for absolute beginners. Thus far everyone, whom I spoke to and who attended Tony & Claudia’s encore workshop, seemed very enthusiastic about their return. It seems that circumstances beyond my control are making it easier for me to make decisions on things I have been procrastinating about.
The evening ended with me walking to the car park only to realize that I had left my car on a street some distance away because I was distracted when I arrived earlier in the evening. Somehow this is all very fitting and telling.
About 98-99% back health-wise. It just lingers. It’s beyond my control.
Disclaimer. The tone of this post may appear to be on a downbeat side, but this really does not reflect upon the quality of the evening in general. As I noted in a sentence near the beginning, I thought the dancing and music tonight were top notch.
p.s. I wonder if I set a new record for name dropping with this post? Writing this entry cheered me up considerably in the end - even though I couldn't call it good writing because it's far too messy, unfocused and possibly incomprehensible. Psychotherapy?
Sally Intermediate
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead ending with switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 reverse cross body lead ending with free traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower and hook turn for leader (L hand could be on follower’s R forearm on 3 for additional help in leading)
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body leading with 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn for follower with L-R high
1,2,3 continue leading follower into full counterclockwise turn with L-R repositioned and kept at follower’s neck level while getting into cross body lead position and offer R hand at follower’s eye level
5,6,7 lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with all connections intact and high
1,2,3,5,6,7 drop L-R and reconnect immediately underneath R-L while doing a pivot half turn and switch to R-R by leader’s back R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 turn follower 1/2 clockwise into Titanic (somehow showing L hand by count 2 to help reconnect L-L) on 1,2,3 (leader turns 1/2 clockwise too) and then lead follower into full counterclockwise turn with L-L ending on follower’s R waist and R-R in front (leader is positioned to R of follower on 8)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead is with L-L on follower’s waist on 1 (R-R is let go) – lead follower forward on 1 and turn her around 1/2 clockwise on 2,3 while getting into open cross body position – lead follower forward on 5 and then into a full traveling counterclockwise turn with L-L low into a wrap (would leading follower to 2 o’clock on 5 help?)
1,2,3,5,6,7 repeat above (no need to let go R-R since it’s never involved this time)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward on 1 again and bring L-L around (I think keeping it straight in between leader and follower) thus follower turns around 1/2 counterclockwise while leader turns 1/2 clockwise into another open cross body position – offer R in front at eye level on 3 to reconnect R-R – lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with both connections intact
1,2,3,5,6,7 reverse cross body lead (let go L-L) and lead follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower and hook turn for leader
I was in another morose mood because of an outside issue not having to do with the class or with people who were at Club Salsa tonight. In many ways, I found dancing and music tonight exceptionally nice and to my liking, so for fairly long stretches of time, I was forgetful and was having a good time. Unfortunately this didn’t always last – especially when I took long breaks in between dances (as well as in the beginning and the end). I guess my face is easy to read for some – Sally for one seemed to notice this once during our “warm-up” dance and also at the end of the evening. I suppose outside factors always had an effect on my Salsa outings. I don’t know if this sort of thing is affecting me more than it used to. If so, is it because the issues are of greater magnitude or is it because Salsa is not having as big a palliative effect as it used to? I also feel as if I should apologize for making it second Thursday in a row where I probably was looking less than upbeat.
I met some interesting newcomers as well as someone I should have known for a while and an old friend I haven’t seen in a while and good for a lively and expansive chat ending with talk of petals - pretty weird.
Apparently, Ivan will no longer be teaching regularly on Thursdays. His partnership with Sally will continue for workshops. Perhaps Ivan is trying to cut down on Salsa like me because of his studies or some other obligation. This is just pure speculation on my part by the way - perhaps he'll choose to give his own explanation. It’s definitely a loss for Thursday classes, but I suspect Pure Salsa and their classes will remain great because everyone knows that Sally is an excellent instructor and she has shown that she can teach quality classes without Ivan. Still, I would miss not seeing Ivan personally – similar to the way that I miss not seeing Johnny & Serap now that I stopped making Friday classes a weekly habit. Mmm. I guess it’s a little different because I still would see Johnny & Serap by going to the club hours on Fridays (as I probably will tomorrow). At some point and perhaps not too far in the future, I will no doubt leave Cambridge and presumably go back to the USA. I am going to miss a lot of people (ones I am free to name as well as not) in this small community when that time comes.
I saw a flier advertising what appears to be a monthly Bachata & Merengue classes to be held at Club Salsa on Sundays to be taught by Cristian and MerenSalsa Productions. The first of these classes will be held on March 19th. Presumably Cristian’s classes will start with absolute beginners, at least at the outset. For me, this makes it even easier to decide upon having a Bachata and a Salsa workshop with Tony & Claudia on April 18th, instead of organizing two Bachata workshops including one for absolute beginners. Thus far everyone, whom I spoke to and who attended Tony & Claudia’s encore workshop, seemed very enthusiastic about their return. It seems that circumstances beyond my control are making it easier for me to make decisions on things I have been procrastinating about.
The evening ended with me walking to the car park only to realize that I had left my car on a street some distance away because I was distracted when I arrived earlier in the evening. Somehow this is all very fitting and telling.
About 98-99% back health-wise. It just lingers. It’s beyond my control.
Disclaimer. The tone of this post may appear to be on a downbeat side, but this really does not reflect upon the quality of the evening in general. As I noted in a sentence near the beginning, I thought the dancing and music tonight were top notch.
p.s. I wonder if I set a new record for name dropping with this post? Writing this entry cheered me up considerably in the end - even though I couldn't call it good writing because it's far too messy, unfocused and possibly incomprehensible. Psychotherapy?
Tony & Claudia Bachata DVD Promotional Tour 2 1/2
March 8, 2006
I like to think I work fast. Tony works faster and without procrastinating.
Here's the new Bachata DVD Tour information.
The new advanced DVD will be ready by then.
We have yet to decide upon what the format of the workshop on April 18th (Tuesday) will be.
I don't know how this will affect my determination to cut down on Salsa.
What's my motivation? Obligation? Ego-trip? Love of challenge? Boredom? Excitement? Hanging out with internationally recognized Salsa celebrity? Getting credit for introducing Bachata to Cambridge (just kidding, really!)? Profit? Self-destruction? Insanity? Inertia?
--
Added later in the day...
Some feedback I received regarding the last workshop included - do better job starting and finishing classes as advertised, make change of partners optional for Bachata, make change of partners optional for Salsa.
I think I will advertise the schedule as follows:
workshop 1 - 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
workshop 2 - 8:50 PM - 9:50 PM (note 20 min break between two classes)
club - til late
Perhaps I should say that change of partner is optional for those who request it? Would anyone have problem with this? How about not changing partners at all (and perhaps ask people to bring a partner)? Would it discourage people from attending? As some people may be aware, some Congresses offer so-called Salsa master classes that accept couples only as students.
If we were to do a Bachata and a Salsa workshop like last time, would a lot of people be hesitant about taking a Bachata workshop, which would presumably be targeted mainly for people who already know the basics? I think there are people who are familiar enough with Tony & Claudia's Bachata style to teach absolute basics for a friend or possibly a small group of people for free if there's enough energy, time, etc.
It might be worth noting that there are at least few different styles of Bachata out there. Cristian obviously knows his Bachata from Dominican Republic, and my impression was that he does it a bit differently compared to Tony & Claudia (I apologize in advance if this is a gross misrepresentation). There are other people who dance Bachata confidently in a style distinct from Tony & Claudia although I don't know where they learned it. Someone named Inaki Fernandez is apparently considered a big name for Bachata in UK so some people might be doing it Inaki's way. There probably are other Bachata instructors in UK too. Presumably there are other people who learned Bachata in Dominican Republic as well.
I like to think I work fast. Tony works faster and without procrastinating.
Here's the new Bachata DVD Tour information.
The new advanced DVD will be ready by then.
We have yet to decide upon what the format of the workshop on April 18th (Tuesday) will be.
I don't know how this will affect my determination to cut down on Salsa.
What's my motivation? Obligation? Ego-trip? Love of challenge? Boredom? Excitement? Hanging out with internationally recognized Salsa celebrity? Getting credit for introducing Bachata to Cambridge (just kidding, really!)? Profit? Self-destruction? Insanity? Inertia?
--
Added later in the day...
Some feedback I received regarding the last workshop included - do better job starting and finishing classes as advertised, make change of partners optional for Bachata, make change of partners optional for Salsa.
I think I will advertise the schedule as follows:
workshop 1 - 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
workshop 2 - 8:50 PM - 9:50 PM (note 20 min break between two classes)
club - til late
Perhaps I should say that change of partner is optional for those who request it? Would anyone have problem with this? How about not changing partners at all (and perhaps ask people to bring a partner)? Would it discourage people from attending? As some people may be aware, some Congresses offer so-called Salsa master classes that accept couples only as students.
If we were to do a Bachata and a Salsa workshop like last time, would a lot of people be hesitant about taking a Bachata workshop, which would presumably be targeted mainly for people who already know the basics? I think there are people who are familiar enough with Tony & Claudia's Bachata style to teach absolute basics for a friend or possibly a small group of people for free if there's enough energy, time, etc.
It might be worth noting that there are at least few different styles of Bachata out there. Cristian obviously knows his Bachata from Dominican Republic, and my impression was that he does it a bit differently compared to Tony & Claudia (I apologize in advance if this is a gross misrepresentation). There are other people who dance Bachata confidently in a style distinct from Tony & Claudia although I don't know where they learned it. Someone named Inaki Fernandez is apparently considered a big name for Bachata in UK so some people might be doing it Inaki's way. There probably are other Bachata instructors in UK too. Presumably there are other people who learned Bachata in Dominican Republic as well.
Part 4 of the twenty week plan
March 6, 2006
Latin Collective Intermediate (Joe Davids with Russell)
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 double turn for follower with L-R with leader turning 1/2 clockwise on 7 with swivel turn and changing to R-R (keep R hand behind R waist throughout as it is where it ends up anyway) at leader’s back R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward on leader’s R side with L hand shown to follower very early to make connection by 3 (R-R goes over follower’s head as follower is brought forward and level with leader – it’s better if leader does not move back for leading purposes or look back until follower is level to avoid awkward collision of arm with follower’s face), then lead follower forward (2 o’clock) on 5 with L-L (R-R supposedly should not be used for leading – although I sometimes found myself doing this anyway) and bring follower into a wrap with full counterclockwise turn with L-L low and R-R over follower’s head
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn with L-L kept low and R-R high and R-R hat for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L is let go and R hand goes to top of follower’s vertebrae (not at neck level!) pointing down with full hand connection (as opposed to finger connection) – cross body lead with follower turning under arm 1 1/2 counterclockwise (I think follower’s neck bends towards R on 5 and is brought back to normal position as she turns – I’m not 100% sure)
Improver Class did basic Copa, Cuddle (in my opinion the difference between Copa and Cuddle was quite subtle with Copa being kept more straight in line/slot and with Cuddle involving bringing follower more off line and to R. For me, Cuddle was more difficult possibly because of its supposed Cuban origin. For whatever it’s worth, I think Cuban style is very nice too – I just don’t know how to do it well), and Copa fake.
I enjoyed the class as well as social dancing afterwards. I asked Joe about one of the song he used for the class and learned that the song is by Mongo Santamaria and is called Mongo Mambo – I think I’ve heard of this song title before. A Mongo Santamaria CD had not been particularly high on my list of wanted CD, but maybe I should reconsider.
I’m thinking I’m about 96-97% back health-wise.
Disclaimer. It’s quite possible that steadily improving health (although not quite perfect yet) is having an effect in my enjoyment of dancing etc. Without going into details, I could attest that happenings outside the Salsa Club (related or not) often has fair bit of effect on how much fun I have. However, one of the things I decided very early on when I started this blog was to keep my personal details outside Salsa out of it and to reveal very little about myself – I’m still doing this in some ways but not in other ways. One of the suggestions that were made to me regarding what I write about in this blog was to share my experiences (and impressions?) about what I learned as I learned Salsa while respecting other people's private lives. Because of privacy issues, I often try to be very vague or even misleading with what I write. Of course, if people witness what I write about, then they could sometimes guess who I am talking about even if I don’t name the person, but most of the times I think and hope that what I wrote was perfectly harmless. I know I’m not perfect, but I sincerely believe I that I try most of the time. People acting in "public" capacity were deemed okay to talk about - as long as it's not done maliciously. Finally, I add that my impressions and opinions sometime change or evolve over time - just like the way I dance change over time as I learn more things and experiment. Similarly, I don't think it should be surprising that the way I write and things I write about in this blog change over time - sometimes gradually and sometimes abruptly.
p.s. My copy of La-33 arrived in the mail - I had a little over one round of listening and enjoyed it a great deal. I'm sure Sergio Mejia would be pleased to hear this. I probably should update my collection list - 50 Latin CDs now…
[Addendum: To hear more context behind the Sergio Mejia comment, see here and here.]
Latin Collective Intermediate (Joe Davids with Russell)
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 double turn for follower with L-R with leader turning 1/2 clockwise on 7 with swivel turn and changing to R-R (keep R hand behind R waist throughout as it is where it ends up anyway) at leader’s back R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward on leader’s R side with L hand shown to follower very early to make connection by 3 (R-R goes over follower’s head as follower is brought forward and level with leader – it’s better if leader does not move back for leading purposes or look back until follower is level to avoid awkward collision of arm with follower’s face), then lead follower forward (2 o’clock) on 5 with L-L (R-R supposedly should not be used for leading – although I sometimes found myself doing this anyway) and bring follower into a wrap with full counterclockwise turn with L-L low and R-R over follower’s head
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn with L-L kept low and R-R high and R-R hat for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L is let go and R hand goes to top of follower’s vertebrae (not at neck level!) pointing down with full hand connection (as opposed to finger connection) – cross body lead with follower turning under arm 1 1/2 counterclockwise (I think follower’s neck bends towards R on 5 and is brought back to normal position as she turns – I’m not 100% sure)
Improver Class did basic Copa, Cuddle (in my opinion the difference between Copa and Cuddle was quite subtle with Copa being kept more straight in line/slot and with Cuddle involving bringing follower more off line and to R. For me, Cuddle was more difficult possibly because of its supposed Cuban origin. For whatever it’s worth, I think Cuban style is very nice too – I just don’t know how to do it well), and Copa fake.
I enjoyed the class as well as social dancing afterwards. I asked Joe about one of the song he used for the class and learned that the song is by Mongo Santamaria and is called Mongo Mambo – I think I’ve heard of this song title before. A Mongo Santamaria CD had not been particularly high on my list of wanted CD, but maybe I should reconsider.
I’m thinking I’m about 96-97% back health-wise.
Disclaimer. It’s quite possible that steadily improving health (although not quite perfect yet) is having an effect in my enjoyment of dancing etc. Without going into details, I could attest that happenings outside the Salsa Club (related or not) often has fair bit of effect on how much fun I have. However, one of the things I decided very early on when I started this blog was to keep my personal details outside Salsa out of it and to reveal very little about myself – I’m still doing this in some ways but not in other ways. One of the suggestions that were made to me regarding what I write about in this blog was to share my experiences (and impressions?) about what I learned as I learned Salsa while respecting other people's private lives. Because of privacy issues, I often try to be very vague or even misleading with what I write. Of course, if people witness what I write about, then they could sometimes guess who I am talking about even if I don’t name the person, but most of the times I think and hope that what I wrote was perfectly harmless. I know I’m not perfect, but I sincerely believe I that I try most of the time. People acting in "public" capacity were deemed okay to talk about - as long as it's not done maliciously. Finally, I add that my impressions and opinions sometime change or evolve over time - just like the way I dance change over time as I learn more things and experiment. Similarly, I don't think it should be surprising that the way I write and things I write about in this blog change over time - sometimes gradually and sometimes abruptly.
p.s. My copy of La-33 arrived in the mail - I had a little over one round of listening and enjoyed it a great deal. I'm sure Sergio Mejia would be pleased to hear this. I probably should update my collection list - 50 Latin CDs now…
[Addendum: To hear more context behind the Sergio Mejia comment, see here and here.]
Rabo Karabekian sneaking off to the Museum of Modern Art
March 4, 2006
The original plan was to leave very early in the evening so that I can have a leisurely dinner, followed by taking a class (perhaps not Salsa), then dance all night. Of course this is not what happened because there was fair bit of work to be done - just like the way it will be tomorrow, except there will be even more to do and there will be no Salsa tomorrow. Between getting lost few times (taking wrong turn towards Chingsford and missing Seven Sisters Road several times and ending up in places like the Old Church Road/Ridgeway and Bolelyn Road/Ball’s Pond Road - London isn’t the easiest city to navigate), having a fastest/simplest dinner possible and the longest line for ATM, it was a bit after 11 PM by the time I gave my money to Joe at the entrance.
The Rocket (166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB) is apparently part of the London Metropolitan University For those who will be going to this place for the first time, this fact might be quite useful for finding the venue in part because the sign for the Rocket is very small – practically invisible. Look for a building designed by Daniel Libeskind. The other useful thing to note is that the Rocket is very close to Holloway Road Tube stop towards the central London – maybe about 100 yards away. Finding the venue in the maps in the internet isn’t the easiest thing in the world either. Let me help here.
My understanding is that the Rocket is bigger than the Scala, so I was slightly surprised to find the venue smaller than I expected. A big caveat is that one of the main room was closed for soundproofing work (as noted in the fliers) so two Salsa programs (SalsaMax and Viva Cuba) were merged into a single room. This merged Salsa room had a main dance floor somewhat larger than the size of the dance floor at the LeL but with fewer obstructions. Additional area (corridors, etc) was also used for dancing by some people. Even so, the total area for Salsa tonight seemed somewhat smaller than Mary Ward Hall. I have no idea how big the temporarily closed room is. As for the other two rooms (Brazilian Beach Bums and Urban Latino rooms), I only took a passing look – just enough to get an impression that the main attraction by far was Salsa.
Now I wonder just how small Scala is. I am even more curious to find out how small Bar Salsa is. Surely, Bar Salsa must have a dance floor at least comparable in size to Clarendon Grill.
Ventilation did not seem to be a problem – I don’t know if air conditioning was on, but I wasn’t really straining myself tonight either. In any case, I felt pretty comfortable with the temperature, etc all night. While there seemed to be plenty of volume in the music system, I don’t think the sound system ever felt strained. Another way to put it would be that it was loud but it didn’t feel too loud.
There were plenty of people dancing although it never felt out of control either. There were a number of people from Cambridge, but I recognized even more people from SOS and other London venues. I like to think that I'm pretty good at remembering faces, names, etc but sometimes it feels like people are better at remembering me than the other way around - at least one person remembered that I am from Cambridge, but I had no clear recollection of this person. Maybe my memory isn't what it used to be.
The official version of the event by Joe seems pretty accurate. I knew about a competing event at the Colloseum but not about yet another second competing event.
There was a perfomance by Rafael and Abbey. They really move very well with airy qualities – floating more than flying or gliding. I think I must have seen Rafael before somewhere although he didn’t leave a big impression before with his (social) dancing – probably because I wasn’t paying attention as usual.
Despite some mishaps, I ended up having a pretty good time once again. A few highlights come to mind. One was hearing La Palomilla by Joe Cuba during the last hour - I won't get into reasons why this was a highlight. Maybe one of these days, I’ll hear Porque Adore by Markolino Dimond/Frankie Dante. There were quite a number of dances I really enjoyed tonight, but one really stood out from the beginning to the end. The beginning – When the song starts. I look around for prospective dance partners. About 15 meters away, I spot one of my favorite partners from SOS. I catch her eyes and I give a simple questioning look and a shadow of a smile (no verbalizing or any kind of body gesture), which is enough to get her to smile back and walk towards me to dance with me. The dance itself felt spot on and it seems hardly possible that we could be much more in synch. I can’t speak for her but I felt like we were dancing as if our mind had melded together. A curious parallel (probably wildly inaccurate yet seemingly appropriate somehow) that came to my mind was about Rabo Karabekian sneaking off to Museum of Modern Art with Marilee in Kurt Vonnegut’s Bluebeard. The end - a squeeze, hug and a comment, “I have no idea how anyone could be unhappy or complain about dancing with you.” I don’t think there was nothing flashy or spectacular or showy about the dance, but it felt amazingly intimate, effortless, frozen in time yet timeless and dreamy.
Disclaimer. This post is probably full of error and omission. I find that every dance has qualities that are enjoyable. I mainly picked and highlighted one from tonight because it's unusual to have a dance leading me to think of an obscure literary reference. I apologize if these disclaimers are beginning to sound like a parody and a joke.
The original plan was to leave very early in the evening so that I can have a leisurely dinner, followed by taking a class (perhaps not Salsa), then dance all night. Of course this is not what happened because there was fair bit of work to be done - just like the way it will be tomorrow, except there will be even more to do and there will be no Salsa tomorrow. Between getting lost few times (taking wrong turn towards Chingsford and missing Seven Sisters Road several times and ending up in places like the Old Church Road/Ridgeway and Bolelyn Road/Ball’s Pond Road - London isn’t the easiest city to navigate), having a fastest/simplest dinner possible and the longest line for ATM, it was a bit after 11 PM by the time I gave my money to Joe at the entrance.
The Rocket (166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB) is apparently part of the London Metropolitan University For those who will be going to this place for the first time, this fact might be quite useful for finding the venue in part because the sign for the Rocket is very small – practically invisible. Look for a building designed by Daniel Libeskind. The other useful thing to note is that the Rocket is very close to Holloway Road Tube stop towards the central London – maybe about 100 yards away. Finding the venue in the maps in the internet isn’t the easiest thing in the world either. Let me help here.
My understanding is that the Rocket is bigger than the Scala, so I was slightly surprised to find the venue smaller than I expected. A big caveat is that one of the main room was closed for soundproofing work (as noted in the fliers) so two Salsa programs (SalsaMax and Viva Cuba) were merged into a single room. This merged Salsa room had a main dance floor somewhat larger than the size of the dance floor at the LeL but with fewer obstructions. Additional area (corridors, etc) was also used for dancing by some people. Even so, the total area for Salsa tonight seemed somewhat smaller than Mary Ward Hall. I have no idea how big the temporarily closed room is. As for the other two rooms (Brazilian Beach Bums and Urban Latino rooms), I only took a passing look – just enough to get an impression that the main attraction by far was Salsa.
Now I wonder just how small Scala is. I am even more curious to find out how small Bar Salsa is. Surely, Bar Salsa must have a dance floor at least comparable in size to Clarendon Grill.
Ventilation did not seem to be a problem – I don’t know if air conditioning was on, but I wasn’t really straining myself tonight either. In any case, I felt pretty comfortable with the temperature, etc all night. While there seemed to be plenty of volume in the music system, I don’t think the sound system ever felt strained. Another way to put it would be that it was loud but it didn’t feel too loud.
There were plenty of people dancing although it never felt out of control either. There were a number of people from Cambridge, but I recognized even more people from SOS and other London venues. I like to think that I'm pretty good at remembering faces, names, etc but sometimes it feels like people are better at remembering me than the other way around - at least one person remembered that I am from Cambridge, but I had no clear recollection of this person. Maybe my memory isn't what it used to be.
The official version of the event by Joe seems pretty accurate. I knew about a competing event at the Colloseum but not about yet another second competing event.
There was a perfomance by Rafael and Abbey. They really move very well with airy qualities – floating more than flying or gliding. I think I must have seen Rafael before somewhere although he didn’t leave a big impression before with his (social) dancing – probably because I wasn’t paying attention as usual.
Despite some mishaps, I ended up having a pretty good time once again. A few highlights come to mind. One was hearing La Palomilla by Joe Cuba during the last hour - I won't get into reasons why this was a highlight. Maybe one of these days, I’ll hear Porque Adore by Markolino Dimond/Frankie Dante. There were quite a number of dances I really enjoyed tonight, but one really stood out from the beginning to the end. The beginning – When the song starts. I look around for prospective dance partners. About 15 meters away, I spot one of my favorite partners from SOS. I catch her eyes and I give a simple questioning look and a shadow of a smile (no verbalizing or any kind of body gesture), which is enough to get her to smile back and walk towards me to dance with me. The dance itself felt spot on and it seems hardly possible that we could be much more in synch. I can’t speak for her but I felt like we were dancing as if our mind had melded together. A curious parallel (probably wildly inaccurate yet seemingly appropriate somehow) that came to my mind was about Rabo Karabekian sneaking off to Museum of Modern Art with Marilee in Kurt Vonnegut’s Bluebeard. The end - a squeeze, hug and a comment, “I have no idea how anyone could be unhappy or complain about dancing with you.” I don’t think there was nothing flashy or spectacular or showy about the dance, but it felt amazingly intimate, effortless, frozen in time yet timeless and dreamy.
Disclaimer. This post is probably full of error and omission. I find that every dance has qualities that are enjoyable. I mainly picked and highlighted one from tonight because it's unusual to have a dance leading me to think of an obscure literary reference. I apologize if these disclaimers are beginning to sound like a parody and a joke.
Music – Take #1618
March 3, 2006
Sometimes I harp on about too much familiar music being played and not hearing enough new material at Club Salsa. More often than not, I suspect I am just being an ass and don’t really know what I really like. At least some of the times, it’s great to hear the old familiar standbys. In fact, it’s probably easy to argue that old standbys are great most of the time. While new material (in form of either genuinely new music as well as rediscovered old music) should be incorporated all the time, it is probably better to do this gradually rather than to try to shock by playing nothing but new and unfamiliar music. Who knows what the ideal number of new music is though? One professional London DJ suggested 30% as the upper limit for playing new music on a given night. Frankly, it would be very difficult to fill a set of something like 3-5 hour set with 30% new music because this would entail getting a steady and fast inflow of new music as well as digesting the music to determine if it would work well for Salsa dancers. And just what is meant by 30% new? New for the DJ or new for the audience? If the DJ do not know the audience well, how would he or she even know how to determine if something is new or not? I have been acquiring fair number of Salsa CDs over past several months, and finding good songs is a lot of work. In the case of old new music, the percentage of usable Salsa songs is often very low – sometimes I would go through an entire CD and not be sure there’s anything I could use. In the case of new music, the songs sometimes all sound the same and it takes a long time to decide if one song is really better than others. Sometimes it would take dozens of hearings to make me think that a song sounds really good. Of course, this may mean that other people may also need to hear the song dozens of times or more to decide that they like it too! So what does a DJ to do? Keep playing the song over and over again while hoping that it will catch on eventually? Playing a DJ is an easy job, but there are many things one can do to do a terrible job at it. Avoiding things like not intruding on the song (e.g. by fusing songs together, not ending songs properly or looping or fusing or other unnecessary tricks) might be easy (especially if the skill for doing such is not there to begin with), but successful song selection is more difficult and certainly not as simple as playing whatever it is that I like. And it’s certainly much easier to criticize as a listener and to think that I can do a better job.
I’m about 95% back – maybe more. Complete recovery would probably take one more week.
I arrived shortly after 10 PM. I kept my expectations low. I guess I must have been in a better mood or at got myself into a better mood because I had a pretty good time. Of course, I almost always have a decent time even in the worst of days. I’m not saying I’m going to do my utmost to come back on Fridays every week, but I think it’ll be really pleasant to visit now and then.
There was another Birthday dance. I stayed out of this one too.
Random thought of the day. It’s sometimes very surprising and pleasant when people seemingly are being nice to me for no apparent reason. Sometimes I ask myself what did I do to deserve it?
Disclaimer. I’m guessing that contents of this post are not especially objectionable. But who knows? I apologize in advance for any offence taken. I might as well apologize in advance for future posts, which probably won’t seem as rosy. I’m sure my viewpoints about music will keep evolving also.
Sometimes I harp on about too much familiar music being played and not hearing enough new material at Club Salsa. More often than not, I suspect I am just being an ass and don’t really know what I really like. At least some of the times, it’s great to hear the old familiar standbys. In fact, it’s probably easy to argue that old standbys are great most of the time. While new material (in form of either genuinely new music as well as rediscovered old music) should be incorporated all the time, it is probably better to do this gradually rather than to try to shock by playing nothing but new and unfamiliar music. Who knows what the ideal number of new music is though? One professional London DJ suggested 30% as the upper limit for playing new music on a given night. Frankly, it would be very difficult to fill a set of something like 3-5 hour set with 30% new music because this would entail getting a steady and fast inflow of new music as well as digesting the music to determine if it would work well for Salsa dancers. And just what is meant by 30% new? New for the DJ or new for the audience? If the DJ do not know the audience well, how would he or she even know how to determine if something is new or not? I have been acquiring fair number of Salsa CDs over past several months, and finding good songs is a lot of work. In the case of old new music, the percentage of usable Salsa songs is often very low – sometimes I would go through an entire CD and not be sure there’s anything I could use. In the case of new music, the songs sometimes all sound the same and it takes a long time to decide if one song is really better than others. Sometimes it would take dozens of hearings to make me think that a song sounds really good. Of course, this may mean that other people may also need to hear the song dozens of times or more to decide that they like it too! So what does a DJ to do? Keep playing the song over and over again while hoping that it will catch on eventually? Playing a DJ is an easy job, but there are many things one can do to do a terrible job at it. Avoiding things like not intruding on the song (e.g. by fusing songs together, not ending songs properly or looping or fusing or other unnecessary tricks) might be easy (especially if the skill for doing such is not there to begin with), but successful song selection is more difficult and certainly not as simple as playing whatever it is that I like. And it’s certainly much easier to criticize as a listener and to think that I can do a better job.
I’m about 95% back – maybe more. Complete recovery would probably take one more week.
I arrived shortly after 10 PM. I kept my expectations low. I guess I must have been in a better mood or at got myself into a better mood because I had a pretty good time. Of course, I almost always have a decent time even in the worst of days. I’m not saying I’m going to do my utmost to come back on Fridays every week, but I think it’ll be really pleasant to visit now and then.
There was another Birthday dance. I stayed out of this one too.
Random thought of the day. It’s sometimes very surprising and pleasant when people seemingly are being nice to me for no apparent reason. Sometimes I ask myself what did I do to deserve it?
Disclaimer. I’m guessing that contents of this post are not especially objectionable. But who knows? I apologize in advance for any offence taken. I might as well apologize in advance for future posts, which probably won’t seem as rosy. I’m sure my viewpoints about music will keep evolving also.
iDJ Tony update for April
March 3, 2006
He tells me he is back in UK from April 14th onwards, presumably until the London Five Star Salsa Congress, which starts on April 28th.
An interesting snippet from Tony taken out of context - Intermediate level in Salsa in Italy is higher than in UK because you have to dance a minimum of 3 years to be considered intermediate.
Hmm. I'm a little disappointed to learn that I'm not yet at intermediate level with Salsa. I guess that makes me … an improver? Well - it's just a name - a fairly meaningless one at that, no?
So… tell me what you're interested in. I'll try not to be grumpy and most certainly won't bite. I'll listen to all suggestions - including "Enough already!" and "I'd be interested if you're not involved."
DJ selection at the moment: on my iPod - "Machito Forever" by Tito Puente (from "50 Years of Swing"). alternate track on my head - "I'm Tired" sung by Madeleine Kahn (from "Blazing Saddles").
He tells me he is back in UK from April 14th onwards, presumably until the London Five Star Salsa Congress, which starts on April 28th.
An interesting snippet from Tony taken out of context - Intermediate level in Salsa in Italy is higher than in UK because you have to dance a minimum of 3 years to be considered intermediate.
Hmm. I'm a little disappointed to learn that I'm not yet at intermediate level with Salsa. I guess that makes me … an improver? Well - it's just a name - a fairly meaningless one at that, no?
So… tell me what you're interested in. I'll try not to be grumpy and most certainly won't bite. I'll listen to all suggestions - including "Enough already!" and "I'd be interested if you're not involved."
DJ selection at the moment: on my iPod - "Machito Forever" by Tito Puente (from "50 Years of Swing"). alternate track on my head - "I'm Tired" sung by Madeleine Kahn (from "Blazing Saddles").
How to shred dancer's ego
March 2, 2006
Ivan & Sally Intermediate
crossed hold R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with full counterclockwise traveling turn ending with R-R outstretched to R (something like a semi-Titanic)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower back and then to right as leader gets into open cross body position then lead full counterclockwise turn for follower into Titanic
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower into stationary double clockwise turn with R-R high (switch to L-R either after the first turn or after the second turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 into cross body lead with R-L over follower’s head (keep all connections high) – L-R down on 5 and lead follower into stationary/backwards full clockwise turn back into cross body position
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body start and lead follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise (?) turn to get back into open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with traveling 1/2 clockwise turn for follower all connections intact with leader turning full clockwise (L-R briefly disconnected and reconnected under R-L as R-L itself is disconnected – after leader’s turn, L-R ends behind leader’s back R waist)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and exchange places (it might be somewhat like Enchufe) and leader turns full clockwise – briefly let go L-R but reconnect it so that L-R ends behind leader’s back R waist again
1,2,3,5,6,7 exchange places again (forward step recommended for leader on 1) and bring follower around (needs to keep tension on 4 onwards – follower’s motion is something like end of cross body lead but going backwards in time)
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead and 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower (body swerve for follower)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break, close in and rotate as a unit (1/2 turn to full turn clockwise)
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard cross body lead
I guess I must have been pretty low in energy tonight. It was a schizophrenic type of night – I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to be there tonight. I might have spent close to an hour and possibly more just sitting around after the class. Heck, this might have lasted for close to two hours had Sally not recruited me for her beyond beginner class. In the end, I danced with three people altogether, and I felt like I had to really make an effort to do this. To get myself to ask for my first dance, I told myself that I would try to dance on-2. Unfortunately, my attempt at dancing on-2 was no more successful than my first attempt back at Blackpool prior to taking any on-2 lessons. This is not to say that my attempt at dancing on-1 was flawless – there were times I was unsure about my timing and wasn’t able to use the music to confirm that I was on time or to correct myself.
I might be about 95% back physically – maybe 90%. Actually, it’s more of a mental problem, no?
It doesn’t take much to take mojo out of a dancer. All you need to do is to wear down his/her confidence – this is really easy because imaginary problems about dancing are often just as difficult to solve as real problems. Just tell the person that he or she is not good, and his/her confidence will be bruised. This might sound too simple and crude, but it doesn’t take much to sow seeds of doubt and ego is a very delicate thing. Repeat often for best effects. Similar effects can be achieved by doing the same but more implicitly – one very simple method would be to merely refusing a dance with the person. It really works even for a grizzled battle-tested leader who has received thousand no’s to a dance and is well aware that people say no for million different reasons. A more subtle and devious approach could involve willfully leading moves slightly beyond your dance partner’s ability and mangling the move deliberately and blaming your partner for the failed move. Conversely, a follower could reciprocate by pretending that the leader’s technique was missing something. I would never consider doing this and I wonder if anyone’s capable of such deeds, but who knows? Act unimpressed and even downright bored. Better yet, act sympathetic and helpful while being misleading and acting disappointed. This type of devious tricks probably would work especially well if the malicious person is considered to be an “expert.” I of course do not condone this type of activities. Perhaps mentioning these types of scenarios (real or imaginary) will help to immunize.
I am not sure if I can risk another disappointing SOS again. I guess the Rocket is a possibility. Friday at Club Salsa? Maybe…
Disclaimer: The tone of this post might seem unenthusiastic or even negative. If so, I want to say that this does not necessarily reflect upon anything anyone did or did not do at Club Salsa today or anytime in the past - it's all in my head. After all, Salsa is not the only thing that lifts or crashes my mood, which has been relentlessly downbeat for some time. Some parts of the post seem to me very problematic at multiple levels, and it might have been much better to leave them out. I guess editing problematic writing was never my strong suit. If any of this is objectionable, let it reflect badly on me and no one else. I'm already cowering in fear.
Ivan & Sally Intermediate
crossed hold R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with full counterclockwise traveling turn ending with R-R outstretched to R (something like a semi-Titanic)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower back and then to right as leader gets into open cross body position then lead full counterclockwise turn for follower into Titanic
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower into stationary double clockwise turn with R-R high (switch to L-R either after the first turn or after the second turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 into cross body lead with R-L over follower’s head (keep all connections high) – L-R down on 5 and lead follower into stationary/backwards full clockwise turn back into cross body position
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body start and lead follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise (?) turn to get back into open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead with traveling 1/2 clockwise turn for follower all connections intact with leader turning full clockwise (L-R briefly disconnected and reconnected under R-L as R-L itself is disconnected – after leader’s turn, L-R ends behind leader’s back R waist)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and exchange places (it might be somewhat like Enchufe) and leader turns full clockwise – briefly let go L-R but reconnect it so that L-R ends behind leader’s back R waist again
1,2,3,5,6,7 exchange places again (forward step recommended for leader on 1) and bring follower around (needs to keep tension on 4 onwards – follower’s motion is something like end of cross body lead but going backwards in time)
1,2,3,5,6,7 cross body lead and 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower (body swerve for follower)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break, close in and rotate as a unit (1/2 turn to full turn clockwise)
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard cross body lead
I guess I must have been pretty low in energy tonight. It was a schizophrenic type of night – I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to be there tonight. I might have spent close to an hour and possibly more just sitting around after the class. Heck, this might have lasted for close to two hours had Sally not recruited me for her beyond beginner class. In the end, I danced with three people altogether, and I felt like I had to really make an effort to do this. To get myself to ask for my first dance, I told myself that I would try to dance on-2. Unfortunately, my attempt at dancing on-2 was no more successful than my first attempt back at Blackpool prior to taking any on-2 lessons. This is not to say that my attempt at dancing on-1 was flawless – there were times I was unsure about my timing and wasn’t able to use the music to confirm that I was on time or to correct myself.
I might be about 95% back physically – maybe 90%. Actually, it’s more of a mental problem, no?
It doesn’t take much to take mojo out of a dancer. All you need to do is to wear down his/her confidence – this is really easy because imaginary problems about dancing are often just as difficult to solve as real problems. Just tell the person that he or she is not good, and his/her confidence will be bruised. This might sound too simple and crude, but it doesn’t take much to sow seeds of doubt and ego is a very delicate thing. Repeat often for best effects. Similar effects can be achieved by doing the same but more implicitly – one very simple method would be to merely refusing a dance with the person. It really works even for a grizzled battle-tested leader who has received thousand no’s to a dance and is well aware that people say no for million different reasons. A more subtle and devious approach could involve willfully leading moves slightly beyond your dance partner’s ability and mangling the move deliberately and blaming your partner for the failed move. Conversely, a follower could reciprocate by pretending that the leader’s technique was missing something. I would never consider doing this and I wonder if anyone’s capable of such deeds, but who knows? Act unimpressed and even downright bored. Better yet, act sympathetic and helpful while being misleading and acting disappointed. This type of devious tricks probably would work especially well if the malicious person is considered to be an “expert.” I of course do not condone this type of activities. Perhaps mentioning these types of scenarios (real or imaginary) will help to immunize.
I am not sure if I can risk another disappointing SOS again. I guess the Rocket is a possibility. Friday at Club Salsa? Maybe…
Disclaimer: The tone of this post might seem unenthusiastic or even negative. If so, I want to say that this does not necessarily reflect upon anything anyone did or did not do at Club Salsa today or anytime in the past - it's all in my head. After all, Salsa is not the only thing that lifts or crashes my mood, which has been relentlessly downbeat for some time. Some parts of the post seem to me very problematic at multiple levels, and it might have been much better to leave them out. I guess editing problematic writing was never my strong suit. If any of this is objectionable, let it reflect badly on me and no one else. I'm already cowering in fear.
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