April 10, 2006
Intermediate - Joe Davids of Latin Collective
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL cross pass ending facing follower (follower is in front and to right)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and get around behind follower and into CBL position – this would have been fairly difficult except I already use a similar routine regularly in my social dancing – R hand on follower’s stomach/belly on 2, both hands on follower’s waists on 3 as leader gets behind follower, R hand on follower’s back somewhere between 5 and 7, L hand is offered in front by 7 for L-R connection (follower is facing the same direction the whole time without turning and ideally should be doing haircomb with her L hand at the end to get back to closed hold)
1,2,3,5,6,7,1,2,3 the aim here is lead follower to do something that might be called cross-walk. Using L-R (possibly with help of R on her back), lead follower to step crossed back on 1 and cross in front on 3 (thus lead is back on 1 and forward on 3), then follower to do cross-cross-cross (thus lead is push-pull-push … or maybe lead follower toward her right-left-right), then another cross-cross-cross (lead here is pull-push-pull) – there is a bit about R foot in front, which might help to block her path forward but depending on the follower’s movement, leader might have to inch forward to accommodate her movement … this will need some practice
5,6,7 get that R foot out of follower’s path and lead follower into traveling counterclockwise 1 1/2 turn while leader also does counterclockwise turn to get back to facing the follower – I am so bad with these simultaneous turn and I tend to wait until follower is pretty much done turning … because most followers are pretty slow with their turns and will often do something to cause me to lose my balance if I try to turn at the same time. This means I end up giving myself very little time and thus leaving me no time to recover for next part
1,2,3,5,6,7 bring L-R down and offer R to reconnect R-L at follower’s shoulder level – open break (?) and bring follower forward on 2,3 – keep R-L essentially on follower’s shoulder as follower is led into 1/2 clockwise traveling turn – I think L-R is briefly raised during follower’s turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 hmmm. I’m really unsure about this part. I think it might be leader’s pivot turn to get into CBL position followed by something - this wasn't the most difficult part but least practiced
Not exactly impossible but very challenging even at slow speed.
Improvers
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic Mambo
1,2,3,5,6,7 high cross pass – step in place on 1 maybe and step to side on 2,3 – L-R is positioned so that leader’s L arm is pointing up near leader’s body with the L hand and fingers pointing away from leader’s body to make a gate for the follower – lead follower through the gate using R hand on follower’s back to lead her forward on 5 (normal CBL steps for follower), while a modified hook turn is used by the leader to get back facing the follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 connect R-L – basic on 1,2,3 with hands coming down – lead follower into broken left turn – lead is to left on 5 and slowly raising both hands and positioned to follower’s right side by 7 – follower’s turn is completed during 1,2,3 [note: timing for broken left for follower is 5,6,7,1,2,3 rather than leader’s timing of 1,2,3,5,6,7.]
option 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 as follower completes her broken left turn, leader does a full pivot clockwise turn (L-R is lowered to shoulder level around 2 as follower’s turn is completed while R-L is still dancing up and down for clearance – R-L hat is possible although I would need a lot more practice for this maneuver – if this hat works, CBL can be done. Otherwise, get the R-L hat done at a later time for a more leisurely CBL on next 1,2,3,5,6,7
option 2
1,2,3,5,6,7 as follower completes her broken left turn, leader does a 1/2 pivot clockwise turn and split connections and bring them down to leader’s waist level (R-L on L side and L-R on R side) followed by 1/2 counterclockwise turn on 5,6,7 while maintaining R-L connection and briefly disconnecting L-R before reconnecting
1,2,3,5,6,7 start of Copa – let go R-L and step forward on 5 with raised R hand clearing follower and do a 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with L-R also let go after the first 1/2 turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 get back into CBL position and into closed hold position and end with simple CBL
Last week’s improvers class wasn’t a stroll on the beach either. This was the biggest Monday class to date. There won’t be a Monday class next week – presumably because of Scala Latina.
Sergio’s broken left is still difficult but no longer feels impossible. A key fact, which I did not understand fully last week, is that the swivel turn is initiated immediately after 3 rather than on 4. This is how it goes with emphasis on staying in balance throughout.
modified broken left as described by Sergio
1 L foot forward
2 R foot in place
3 L foot back (straight back so that it is slightly to L of and behind R foot) – start swivel turn right away – keep head looking forward until the last moment and presumably until swivel turn is essentially over – immediately start turning counterclockwise on L foot as head is turned around and is sneaking to look forward again – all this is happening from beat 3 (or 3.5 or whatever) and goes through 4 and just before 5
5 head is looking forward again – R foot is on toes (or on balls of the foot) slightly to R and behind L foot – all or most of weight is on L foot
7 L foot forward (so that positioning would be back to the original position on 1)
traditional broken left (to help compare and contrast with the modified version above)
1 L foot forward
2 R foot in place
3 L foot back (pointing backwards or 6 o'clock so the body is turned 1/4 counterclockwise already and one could be facing backwards so that head is turned 1/2 counterclockwise)
5 R foot step slightly in front of L foot (pointing to ~ 3 o'clock)
6 step on L foot but now pointing to 12 o'clock
7 R foot together with L foot to get back to original position
So the modified version entails a faster turnaround and more time spent facing the follower. This could make leading of broken left different - leader would have to be ready for a slow turn of traditional and faster turn. I wasn't sure how the followers in the improvers class were dealing with broken left tonight but many were done with their turn before 1 - almost certainly because they were anticipating the lead and started turning before 7 (they might have started turning on 6).
I am now committed to attending the Scala Latina on Sunday, but transportation method is now completely up in the air as the plan for a coach has fell through. Driving is always an option, but perhaps I also should consider joining another group on the train too. Scala Latina might give me a nice assessment of how my dancing is coming along. Most followers in Cambridge are either too familiar with my moves and/or are too inexperienced so the quality of my leads is a bit tricky to assess. Also there haven’t been very many opportunities to try dancing at my maximum capacity without feeling tentative for extended amount of time recently.
Core Beat
step on 1, 3, 5, 7
Pachanga
starting with feet apart, slide in and out on 1, 3, 5, 7
Double Right
pivot turn on 1,2,3 and hook turn on 5,6,7
Double Left
1 forward
2 in place
3 turn 1/2 counterclockwise as step back (toes pointing back)
4,5,6,7,8 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn on L foot on the spot
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