To scattered applause

August 14, 2006

Intermediate with Tiz – first hour

Shines (names?) were all variation on a theme
1 L foot cross over R foot
2 R foot in place
3 L foot to normal (during 2,3 body is repositioned to face 10-11 o’clock)
4 R foot small kick
5 R foot back in place
6 L foot slide forward (10-11 o’clock) with R foot following
7,8 variation 1 – R foot simply follows then basic (probably moving to R to get back to original position)
variation 2 – R foot follows then L and R legs bends outwards slightly with body going down a little and recovering then basic
variation 3 – R foot follows then L foot slides further to L with lowered center of gravity and L foot crosses in front of R foot with no weight on it before getting back to basic
variation 4 – R foot follows then body roll then getting back to basic

1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to stationary clockwise turn with both connections intact high
1,2,3,5,6,7 keep this tight - Copa (with L-R going over follower’s head) ending with over and under to get L-R behind follower’s R waist (keep all connections intact til the end … L-R goes down while R-L stays high)
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL position (from open break??) lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn (keeping L-R low until it’s safe to raise it of course) with leader doing 1/2 clockwise turn at the end for drop catch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward with R-R going over and L-L connection made in front of follower – lead follower to full traveling clockwise turn (raising L-L and letting go) with R-R across follower’s stomach and by her L waist (leader’s palm facing away with nice tight connection for next move) – leader ends in position slightly to L of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to turn full counterclockwise stationary on 1,2,3 (lead R-R downwards and switch position) to end R-R behind follower’s L waist on 3/4 – then lead follower to turn 1/2 clockwise stationary on 5,6,7 with another downwards lead to get back follower to face leader

Intermediate with Tiz – second hour

1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hold – prepare and lead follower to clockwise turn with leader adjusting hand position (it ends up being positioned under follower’s hand during her turn) to end in drop catch for L-R with leader in position facing away from follower’s line (thus leader has turned about 1/4 counterclockwise)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward (behind leader) – get R elbow on follower’s R forearm to lead follower into 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn (like normal CBL finish) – I think L-R needs to go high first – to get back to open position
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and into CBL position as R-L goes over follower’s head (to end like a neck wrap) – lead follower into 1/2 clockwise traveling turn ending with R-L right by follower’s R shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 forward on 1 with L-R going down and 1/2 counterclockwise turn on 2,3 with L-R going over follower’s head (R-L stays at about the same level throughout) – at this point connections are crossed behind leader’s neck – leader turns full counterclockwise on 5,6,7 to bring follower around 1/2 counterclockwise (somewhat like CBL finish) [I think R-L is let go at some point]
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower into double stationary clockwise hammerlock turn - to end with R-L behind follower’s R waist of course
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and into reverse CBL position? – lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn with R-L coming up after initial 1/2 turn to end in neck wrap – make L-R connection in front
1,2,3,5,6,7 was there Mambo jazz? – I’m not sure how it finished – it may have been leading a simple 1/2 traveling clockwise turn for follower to get back to open position

Vishal had asked me to DJ again. I had been thinking about asking to do it today anyway so I accepted. Below is the result.

Playlist

Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon (1)*
Que Pana – Lebron Brothers (2)*
Malanga Amarilla – Cachao (3)*
Brujeria – El Gran Combo (-4%) (4)*
Rumba Del Barrio – Luisito Rosario (-3%)
Mambo Mongo – Mongo Santamaria (-4%) (5)
Un Verano En New York – El Gran Combo (-4%) (6)*
Que Bueno Baila Usted – Oscar D’Leon (-4%) (7)*
Get It Up – Eurocuban Project (-4%)
Juana Pena – Willie Colon (-4%)
Asia Mood – Tito Puente (-4%)*
Anacaona – Cheo Feliciano (-2%)
El Cantante – Hector Lavoe (8)*

(1) I think this one brought a smile to Joe, who proceeded to dance to this one before departing. Sergio later translated part of the lyrics to me (it’s better not to know), and it’s possible that Joe was amused by lack of political correctness of this song.
(2) I wasn’t quite sure how people would dance to this song, which is a little too slow for Salsa … I think it’s best described as Boogaloo, and some danced Cha Cha to it, which probably works well.
(3) I need to play this even louder next time – volume on the CD is quite weak. It definitely will be played again. Often.
(4) I guess I haven’t played this before, but this should have been very familiar to Club Salsa regulars unlike the other songs played to this point.
(5) I really like this tune. This was my second time playing this song. Joe used this song during practice, but he played it much slower.
(6) Back to playing new stuff.
(7) Another song I haven’t played before but it is an old Club Salsa favorite.
(8) I danced to this one for my second dance of the evening (the first one was in between two classes). To make the story a little longer – the bouncer guy came down to let me know that we should close the club at 11 PM (there never was very many people to start for the club hours). I checked the time, and it was 10:50 PM with about two minutes left on Anacaona. I made a snap decision to play El Cantante, then made a reservation for the dance with Mimi. At the end of Anacaona, I yelled that the next song is the last song of the evening before starting the song and then starting my dance with Mimi. Few others started dancing to this song but gave up after about 2/3 way through it, so I was the only one still dancing to the very end. At the end, someone or some people decided to give applause - genuine or sarcastic? - who cares? My best guess is that this was something of a congratulations for having a chutzpah to play such song and dance from start to end of it. Someone also asked how long the song was, to which I replied, “10 minutes and 35 seconds.” Contrary to Agnes’s prediction couple of months ago, no one tried to kill me.

Summary - 12 songs. 11 Salsa. 1 Boogaloo (Cha Cha). 8 new songs into my playlist. I had a blast.

Quote of the day – “Well if that’s not temptation … don’t know what is.”

Flatterer!