No longer a well-hidden secret

June 5, 2006

1st hour of Intermediate with Tiz

R-L hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead double turn over and under – end with R-L behind follower’s R waist [note: I found New York hold to be more troublesome than Ballroom hold here] – leader ends slightly to R of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break – overtake – and move into follower’s previous spot with 1/2 counterclockwise turn with either R-L high initially or R-L initially on leader’s R hip and let go briefly

L-L hold (fingers pointing down could be useful but is not the only way)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead double turn over and under – end with L-L behind follower’s R waist – leader ends slightly to L of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead with rock step and into CBL position and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn

2nd hour of Intermediate with Tiz

R-L hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead double turn over and under – end with R-L behind follower’s R waist – let go R-L after completion of pulling the zipper on 5-6 and leader does swivel turn on 7 and reconnect R-L – leader ends slightly to R of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower into Copa position with R hand on follower’s R hip with L hand offered in front of follower’s head – lead follower forward letting her catch the L hand for a traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn

R-L hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead double turn over and under – end with R-L behind follower’s R waist – let go R-L after completion of pulling the zipper on 5-6 and leader does swivel turn on 7 and reconnect R-L – leader ends slightly to R of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower into Copa position but it’s a Copa fake with R-L moving high 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn (it’s somewhat like reverse CBL) with leader getting back into semi-open or closed position

L-L hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead double turn over and under – end with L-L behind follower’s R waist– let go L-L after completion of pulling the zipper on 5-6 and leader does swivel turn on 7 and reconnect L-L – leader ends slightly to R of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and into reverse CBL position and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn with L-L leading follower forward (across leader’s chest?) along her line on 5 before going up (somewhat like windmill but was not so dramatic)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader does half broken left turn-like to turn 1/2 counterclockwise and gets into casate (marriage) position and back basic together
1,2,3,5,6,7 back basic together and lead follower into free 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn with arm-in-arm lead

L-L hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead double turn over and under – end with L-L behind follower’s R waist– let go L-L after completion of pulling the zipper on 5-6 and leader does swivel turn on 7 and reconnect L-L – leader ends slightly to L of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL and traveling full counterclockwise turn with L-L in crucifix position and R hand on or across follower’s front waist/stomach
1,2,3,5,6,7 swivel follower back into open position with L-L being placed behind follower’s R waist again on 1 (!) and then basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead with rock step and into CBL position and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn

The lessons and the material were fine. I don’t know about the leaders, but the ability of followers tonight left something to be desired (tension, balance, lightness, etc). Few followers would have had okay chance of following the class material in club setting, and more than a few of the followers struggled with the material in controlled class setting at slow tempo. I think some of these people would have struggled badly in the Improver class – nothing new here but this seems more pronounced last couple of weeks. I used the phrase health hazard last week in last week’s first draft, which I ended up taking it out, and the same phrase resurfaced in my mind.

Since there is no input from the instructors regarding placement of students in different level of classes, it would be interesting (for lack of better words) to see if self-selection will happen in an efficient not-too-negative manner. For now, words like punishment or torture chamber rather than learning come to my mind. The material itself for me was easy to understand as it was essentially a minor variation of things I already knew fairly well at least at intellectual level but it was difficult to get a good practice to enhance my muscle memory.

I became very tired of the class so I stayed off the dance floor for an early part of the club hours. After having gone through another SOS outing where I found most of my dance partners lacking in something or another, it was difficult to get my enthusiasm high tonight. In any case, the strike if there ever was one is broken.

Initially when I started dancing, I stayed away from people in the Intermediate class and started with a follower in the Improver class – perhaps to make a point. I ended up only with four different dance partners – all of whom are more or less known quantity to me.

Dancing was okay, and I felt somewhat better by the end, but there was no cavalry riding in for a rescue this time. There was not much opportunity to try to move normally. I wonder if tolerable will become the most common word to describe better than average Club Salsa night from now on.

An interesting recent development is that some better followers now do the most unexpected things. One of the more interesting explanations involves my partners thinking that I know some leads that they know. Because my lead has become more precise, subtle, complex, etc., they might be making unexpected (to me) responses or follows when my lead is a little off. For now it’s just a speculation – I could be completely off base here.

I don’t think that Salsa dancing is getting worse in Cambridge – if anything the opposite is true. However, I think it’s generally getting more frustrating for me and I doubt that incremental improvements in my abilities will not make things much better.

Of course, all this could be temporary. I have had some slumps before. To be completely sure, I’ll have to see what I think in another month or two. I’m not optimistic.

Is the appearance of people with ability to spin and forceful leads without much regard for music or Salsa dance conventions new to Cambridge? I suppose to laypeople, they look fine dancing with other people who cannot dance to music either.

The instructors today were Tiz at Intermediate, Joe at Improver and Russell at Beginner. Apparently they will rotate around. It would appear that the class is now reset to week 1. I made a comment about this to Joe, and he replied, “These are with new variations.” True enough, but was it a spin or contradiction? I suppose it really doesn’t matter. There are so many new people in square one that starting back from week 1 makes some sense. It’s not like anyone with very small number of exceptions properly learned the material during the first go-around.