Uh oh - another long slump?

May 21, 2006

Not so long ago, I stated that I think I understand Ivan better. Today I think I might be able to say I understand Sergio’s modus operandi (for not dancing very much) better. I think I could see myself doing the same if I were in the same position. But I am not – I still have ways to go and a great deal to learn about dancing Salsa.

When I arrived at Mary Ward House and saw the sign "SOS moved to Royal Sonesta Hotel - South side," I thought about going back. I never had good luck dancing at the south side room. One of these days, I'll turn around and go home if I see that sign.

There was no reason to ask about taking level 4 shine because Leon was there (Mauro's shines and partner work is plenty interesting - they are like level 3 1/2). Leon apparently heard only this morning (became this afternoon later in his public announcement) about Mary Ward House being unavailable because of some filming work.

I sat around waiting for others to arrive - I arrived quite early. As expected, Johnny, Serap, Vera and few others from Cambridge filed in. Only yesterday, Vera and I were saying that we'll probably run into each other sooner or later - it took less than 24 hours. Vera asked, "Did you bring Sergio with you?" I replied, "No, he decided to do some work instead."

Shine with Mauro

1,2,3,5 broken left turn (more like Sergio’s version than Joe Davids)
6 slide forward L and R foot toe behind L foot (turning about 45 degree to L)
7 R foot slide back and L foot toe in front of R foot (like bunny hop)
1,2,3,4 heel heel toe then R foot cross over L foot
5 L foot cross over R foot
6 R foot heel
7 L foot heel
8 R foot toe
1 L foot slide wide L
2 R foot in place or slightly to R and L foot cross over in front of R foot
3 R foot slightly to R and L foot come around and cross over behind R foot
5,6,7 R foot to L, then slide wide R, then slide behind L foot (similar to half-flare motion) followed by basic Mambo

Partner work with Mauro & Eva (level III SOS)

1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL end in semi-open position (L-R hold only)
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa-like start with L-R going around and over follower and with R hand on follower’s R waist (or top of hip) – then instead of Copa, get around follower from behind and into CBL position (R-L connection can be made briefly at waist but not essential) while getting follower back to face the way she was facing on 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (L-R high) with leader turning 1/2 clockwise for slam dunk or drop pass to connect R-R at leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 This kind of move is why I am not a fan of Mauro’s “surprise” moves – they may be doable but only with partners who know what’s going on. Otherwise, it can be problematic and could easily hurt the follower. I hardly ever dance with anyone who is likely to follow this move, so it is useless for now. I didn’t bother trying this move with anyone during club hours because most of my partners were not connecting with me very well. I did try it with Vera (who attended the level 4 class and thus did not see this coming), and it caused her a little discomfort (hopefully nothing serious). Ouch. I can very well imagine hearing the words, "Hey! I like Vera. I would like you to keep her in one piece. Thank you very much," come tomorrow at Club Salsa. Anyway, here is what is next… open break and bring follower forward with R-R going over follower on 3 … so far no problem … bring R-R down on 4 to turn follower full clockwise with R-R ending in front of her L waist by 5 (leader’s R foot cross over behind L foot on 5), then bring R-R back and up on 6 for follower to turn around and do 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader’s pivot turn while connecting L-L (I like this part a lot so I should try to find another way to get into this position) to get into CBL position – then lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn with R-R low and L-L high (so R-R ends behind follower’s L waist)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and into Copa-like position again (just like in the second bar), then instead of Copa, get around follower from behind and into CBL position with R-R briefly disconnected and reconnected in a simple manner by follower’s L (front) waist while getting follower back to face the way she was facing on 1 (L-L is kept relatively high throughout)
1,2,3,5,6,7 in place CBL step and lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn with L-L high

This could be followed by L-L hat and CBL or around-the-world type of move (somewhat akin to rotating CBL).

Dancing was again uneven – to a point of being extremely disappointing. Speaking only of dances with non-Cambridge people, I think I had only one (maybe two) dance, which I think was enjoyed by both me and my partner. There were three or four dances, which I felt was more or less okay but not great for me (and I suspect was just okay for my partners as well). There were two fairly sloppy dance, which I enjoyed anyway mostly because of nice rapport with my partner. Maybe three to five dances were something of a chore for me but seemed to be enjoyed by my partner. Pretty much everything else (including 4 dances with beginners!) was annoying, tortuous, nightmarish or hellish for me; I don't really know how it was for my partner. I don’t ever recall dancing with so many raw beginners at SOS; I have had dances with complete beginners only once or twice at SOS in all my previous trips combined. When was the last time I had three disappointing Salsa nights in a row? This is horrible especially considering that my goal has been to become a very good social dancer and be able to have good time dancing Salsa with most people. I am also seriously wondering if I am getting worse in some important ways despite or because of accumulation of (imperfect?) moves and technique. Actually, the trouble could be that I know just enough to know and be annoyed by many imperfections of my dance partners while I don’t know enough to make my dances exceptional for followers without serious flaws in technique (at least by my standards). Heck, after a deflating night like tonight, I would be happy if better followers I danced with found me at least tolerable if not decent.

A scary thought. I’m beginning to recognize quite a large number of regulars in the London scene. More I dance (and supposedly improve), fewer and fewer of these familiar faces remain as people I would ask for a dance without reservation. Meanwhile, there have been precious few new interesting partners and a whole lot of unimpressive to terrible dances when I pick partners more or less at random. I really hope that this was caused by the location - SOS being held at the South hall of the hotel.

"Random" overheard conversation.

X (concerned) - "You look so thin!"

Y - "It must be these pants."

It reminded me of a conversation from recent past. Don't ask me why, but I find them fascinating.

A - "I love the way her skirt moves when she spins!"

me - "Are you having skirt envy?"

A - "No. I never wear skirts."