La Pantera Mambo & Merecumbe

August 21, 2006

Intermediate with Tiz

The main theme today was wrap (and check?). These served mostly as reminders and elaborations of moves I have seen before (and as such were extremely good).

1,2,3,5,6,7 open hold start with open break into CBL position with R-L hold only – lead follower forward on 5 with slight downward lead and bring R-L towards leader’s stomach (as if to impale himself) on 6 to lead follower into a wrap position – this ends with R-L across follower’s stomach on her R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 bringing follower backwards (possibly for exchanging places or simply reorienting/exchanging positions) involves for follower a step across to L on 1 and backwards on 2 thus the lead needs to be to get follower to move to her left on 1 then to bring her backwards on 2 (as opposed to yanking her backwards which is no good) – for this class follower was simply led back on 2,3 and end with back basic – leader could turn towards follower on 3 in this case

1,2,3,5,6,7 similar kind of wrap could be done with both connections intact – again start with open break and into CBL position but with both holds intact – even in this case all lead is done with R-L (and L-R should be almost all decorative and maneuvered to avoid hitting follower in the head – in this case L-R goes above and around follower’s head) with lead forward on 5 and impale-like lead on 6 for wrap with R-L across follower’s stomach on her R waist L-R on follower’s L side (just above shoulder level)
1,2,3,5,6,7 for this class, follower was led to L on 1 and backwards on 2 with leader taking follower’s position and ending facing her (same idea as previous move)

1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hold with free L hand showing – open break into Copa with L-L connection made (R-R connection is broken and free R hand could go either to follower’s shoulder or hip with different ways of doing R-R leads) – lead follower forward on 4 (? weird…I think this might be 5… 4 might be more appropriate if it’s a fake – I’m not really sure) and into Copa turn (traveling counterclockwise) but with L-L low for wrap
1,2,3,5,6,7 follower is led to L on 1 and back to R on 2,3 and into stationary 1 1/2 clockwise turn on 5,6,7 with L-L kept low for at least first 1/2 turn (I guess this may feel different than some other methods I have seen in part because R hand is not used here) (ended with L-L hat for leader)

1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold L-L on top – open break start and into CBL position and same lead as before (result is traveling full counterclockwise turn for follower) with L-L ending just above follower’s L shoulder and R-R just above follower’s R shoulder (with R hand ending on follower’s R shoulder) and in continuous motion…
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to turn around 1/2 counterclockwise on 1,2,3 in place (it’s a continuous lead with constant pressure for forward and turning movement – and I think follower’s footwork reflects this – the idea here is to keep follower stationary) – in this case, we ended with leading follower into 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn with L-L high

1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hold – open break start into CBL position and lead follower into full traveling counterclockwise turn with same lead as before with R-R ending just above follower’s R shoulder (leader’s forearm is on follower’s R shoulder – also free L hand on follower’s L shoulder) and in continuous motion…
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to turn around 1/2 counterclockwise with leader positioned to R of follower and bring follower backwards on 5,6,7 with leader stepping forward and turning right (clockwise) with R-R high to face follower (could end with R-R hat for leader and continue to next move)

(continued from one of above)
1,2,3,5,6,7 hand toss on 2 to bring follower’s hands up and bring L hand to follower’s L waist across follower’s stomach on 3 – lead follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn (free turn) remembering that her turn does not start until 6 … I believe Tiz’s original intent was to finish this with around-the-world on next 1,2,3 with CBL finish)

I was almost 20 minutes late thus missed the shine section.

Not sure why, but the dancing tonight ended up being more satisfying in many ways than SOS last night. It could be that I was a little more focused and better tuned with the music tonight. This of course does not mean that I did not enjoy last night (far from it) or that tonight was an exceptional night (probably not true either). I just mean that I had more instances where I ended the dance thinking, “That was quite well done by my current standard.” or “That was one of my best dances with X, Y or Z.”

Quote of the day - "Sorry folks. I was playing it at -20%"

But it was still too fast. It was stopped after less than a minute. I Love Salsa - N'Klabe.

One detail about the Rocket and the Scala this coming weekend gave me a pause - 8 showcases at each event. Too many. Arguably 8 too many.