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.