September 30, 2006
I came in during the tail end of the Rueda lesson. I didn’t partake in the class although I briefly tried to help someone with a move.
Some of the early part of the evening was spent dancing Rueda in 3 or 4 couple settings. Many songs played early on were Cuban. Johnny was the DJ for the first couple of hours, and I took over for the most of the second half.
Johnny rather than me played my favorite stretch of songs tonight. The songs were Swing La Moderna – Ray Barretto, My Favorite Things – New Swing Sextet, Cachondea – Joe Cuba Sextet (w/ Cheo Feliciano). I only have one of these three songs and have been looking to get the other two for some time now. I have heard Swing La Moderna only once before in its entirity at SOS and Cachondea only in a small clip. The song before these three was pretty good too but I don’t remember (or perhaps know) the song.
Playlist
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
El Preso – Fruko Y Sus Tesos (1)
Azuquita Pal Café – El Gran Combo (-2%) (2)*
Perdoname – Gilberto Santa Rosa
Mambo Mongo – Mongo Santamaria (Fania version) (-2%)
La Rueda – Frankie Ruiz (3)
Hong Kong Mambo – Tito Puente (4)
Poinciana Cha Cha – Cal Tjader (5)*
Anacaona – Cheo Feliciano
Malanga Amarilla – Cachao (6)
Un Poquito Mas – Jimmy Bosch (7)
Johnny played two more songs for the dance competition, a Cuban song followed by La Cura – Frankie Ruiz maybe?
Amor Perfecto – El Gran Combo (8)
Thinking Of You – Lenny Kravitz (9)
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe (10)
Johnny played a Merengue followed by a Bachata upon a request
Contigo – Cache (11)
Desnudate Mujer – Frankie Ruiz (12)
Otra Oportunidad – Jimmy Bosch (13)
(1) This was relatively and surprisingly unpopular.
(2) I wondered if the last song was unpopular because of its speed so I slowed this one.
(3) This was also somewhat unpopular. Given that Mambo Mongo was received well, I am now thinking that the problem may be with too much familiarity or with these songs just not offering enough of anything. If I had to take back some songs from tonight’s list, this and El Preso would be the candidates; I’m okay with all others.
(4) So I tested my hypothesis with a classic Mambo. This was popular. I haven’t heard this song in a club since May this year.
(5) Cha Cha. I also considered Sonando by Poncho Sanchez before opting for a shorter song. This song was well received. Pete was warned in advance and he was the only one dancing for first half minute or so but many others joined in eventually. I thought I heard one person exclaim, “Nice,” at the end.
(6) Pete commented, “You have a weird taste.” Stephanie said, “This is my favorite song. You have to dance with me,” followed by “Hurry. Just put any old song for next.” I liked all of the comments. Also this means there are at least 3 big fans of this song in Cambridge.
(7) This was the first song for the Salsa competition. I was standing in the DJ booth. Very few people were dancing as competitors – maybe 3 couples including Serap leading Stephanie. Serap motioned me to take over her place so I did. Originally there was to be two songs played – one NY/LA and one Cuban, but it ended up being three songs. I had many nice dances with Stephanie tonight, and these dances for the competition were all below average for us by tonight’s standard – probably because of extra pressure. Also we might have been a bit tired by this point in the evening. I must have danced with her for as many as 10 songs tonight and these were the last three. My previous record probably is 6 with one person in a single night. Also I think these were my dance numbers 20, 21 and 22 (out of 24 total possibly – there might have been more) for the evening – quite a lot by recent standards. By the end of the evening, I was beginning to wonder if I was going to tire myself out too much for SOS tomorrow.
(8) I threw this one in a hurry.
(9) Johnny requested melodic songs for the rest of the evening.
(10) This was approved.
(11) I thought the Bachata could have been the last song but I threw this one on anyway. Cambiz came by to comment (nice things) about last few songs I played.
(12) Another song thrown in a hurry.
(13) Surely this is the last one. No. Johnny decided to play one more. I suggested that he choose the final song. He chose La Pantera Mambo by La 33.
Johnny informed me that Stephanie and I made it to the finals. For whatever its worth, Stephanie and Serap (and possibly one other) were the only followers highly proficient primarily in CBL style present tonight (although as is the case in Cambridge, many followers are proficient more or less with both CBL and Cuban). Apparently Stephanie was in Germany recently where she became quite accustomed to everyone having gentle leads (as well as having improved a great deal as I mentioned the other day).
The party ran a bit longer than advertised and ended around 12:30 AM.
Back to normal - or abnormal for Fridays?
September 29, 2006
Playlist
Pedro Navaja – Willie Colon & Ruben Blades
La Agonia – Lebron Brothers
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
Playa No More – Crystal Sierra (Spanish version)*
Siete Vidas – El Gran Combo*
Anacaona – Cheo Feliciano
Cua Cua – Tito Puente (Dancemania version)*
Si Tu Bailas – Grupo Latin Vibe*
break
Un Poquito Mas – Jimmy Bosch*
Lindo Yambu – Cheo Feliciano*
Bamboleate – Eddie Palmieri & Cal Tjader*
El Swing De Fruko – Fruko Y Sus Tesos
Fragile – Massimo Scalici
Timba Temba Tumba – Los Van Van*
No Hay Cama Pa’ Tanta Gente – El Gran Combo*
Push, Push, Push – Joe Cuba
Alabanciosa – Manny Oquendo*
break
El Menu – El Gran Combo*
La Pantera Mambo – La 33
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland version)
Malanga Amarilla – Cachao
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe
22 songs total. 20 Salsa. 1 Cha Cha. 11 new songs I have not played before.
I think the group of Sergio, Cyrille, Zern, Euvian, Sam, Izzy, Richard et al (I'm not sure if they came in together) arrived around or after I played Los Van Van.
Quote of the day – “I’m going to dance with [deleted] girls.”
Surprisingly good night of dancing – at least for me. Any low expectation I had was shattered. I particularly enjoyed having danced to “Un Verano En New York” pretty satisfactorily for the first time. Another highlight was a song Vishal obtained via the UK Congress Salsa CD – I believe the song title may be “A Mans World.” Both Serap and Sergio commented that it was a good song. Vishal played several really nice songs.
A guy asked me about private lessons. At this point I don’t feel qualified enough. Besides he can dance Merengue much better than me (as well as with some other dances besides Salsa).
Stephanie is back – I hadn’t seen her in quite some time. She has improved a great deal. It’s great to have another excellent dance partner in Cambridge and with a lot of enthusiasm for dancing to boot.
Phrase of the day – “Furry cup”
Don’t ask. It was used at least 30 times - probably to get me in trouble.
I danced one Merengue early in the evening upon request. I don’t think I was particularly good. I was also on the dance floor late in the evening presumably for Reggaeton (but I’m not sure). My only defense (or sorts) is that Sergio was on the floor longer than I was.
Sey, Serap and Sam. I found Serap free for a dance, but the song that came up next was "Sey" by Africando. Vishal loves this song. I hate it. I asked Serap for a dance for the next song. I think Serap was ready to dance with me but with me reluctant she danced with Johnny instead. I took a brief look at the dance floor and stepped over to Sam and asked her to count the beats. Sam was confused at first. I think she thought at first that I was asking her for a dance and then that I might be asking her to lead me. No No. I clarified my question by explaining that I don't like this song because of timing issues. She then went, "one two three, five six seven." I said enough and good (both of us were in agreement). When I dance to this song, I end up getting frustrated most of the time because my partner and I go off in time all the time and it's no fun spending most of the time merely trying to stay in time. Sam then took a look at the dance floor for herself and commented, "Most of the people are off time." By the way, I picked on Sam in part because of a conversation we had about timing the other day. Eventually the song ended, and I found Serap for a dance.
Tony and I corresponded about his forthcoming Bachata tour earlier today. I touched base with Vishal at the end of the evening. It might happen.
Playlist
Pedro Navaja – Willie Colon & Ruben Blades
La Agonia – Lebron Brothers
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
Playa No More – Crystal Sierra (Spanish version)*
Siete Vidas – El Gran Combo*
Anacaona – Cheo Feliciano
Cua Cua – Tito Puente (Dancemania version)*
Si Tu Bailas – Grupo Latin Vibe*
break
Un Poquito Mas – Jimmy Bosch*
Lindo Yambu – Cheo Feliciano*
Bamboleate – Eddie Palmieri & Cal Tjader*
El Swing De Fruko – Fruko Y Sus Tesos
Fragile – Massimo Scalici
Timba Temba Tumba – Los Van Van*
No Hay Cama Pa’ Tanta Gente – El Gran Combo*
Push, Push, Push – Joe Cuba
Alabanciosa – Manny Oquendo*
break
El Menu – El Gran Combo*
La Pantera Mambo – La 33
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland version)
Malanga Amarilla – Cachao
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe
22 songs total. 20 Salsa. 1 Cha Cha. 11 new songs I have not played before.
I think the group of Sergio, Cyrille, Zern, Euvian, Sam, Izzy, Richard et al (I'm not sure if they came in together) arrived around or after I played Los Van Van.
Quote of the day – “I’m going to dance with [deleted] girls.”
Surprisingly good night of dancing – at least for me. Any low expectation I had was shattered. I particularly enjoyed having danced to “Un Verano En New York” pretty satisfactorily for the first time. Another highlight was a song Vishal obtained via the UK Congress Salsa CD – I believe the song title may be “A Mans World.” Both Serap and Sergio commented that it was a good song. Vishal played several really nice songs.
A guy asked me about private lessons. At this point I don’t feel qualified enough. Besides he can dance Merengue much better than me (as well as with some other dances besides Salsa).
Stephanie is back – I hadn’t seen her in quite some time. She has improved a great deal. It’s great to have another excellent dance partner in Cambridge and with a lot of enthusiasm for dancing to boot.
Phrase of the day – “Furry cup”
Don’t ask. It was used at least 30 times - probably to get me in trouble.
I danced one Merengue early in the evening upon request. I don’t think I was particularly good. I was also on the dance floor late in the evening presumably for Reggaeton (but I’m not sure). My only defense (or sorts) is that Sergio was on the floor longer than I was.
Sey, Serap and Sam. I found Serap free for a dance, but the song that came up next was "Sey" by Africando. Vishal loves this song. I hate it. I asked Serap for a dance for the next song. I think Serap was ready to dance with me but with me reluctant she danced with Johnny instead. I took a brief look at the dance floor and stepped over to Sam and asked her to count the beats. Sam was confused at first. I think she thought at first that I was asking her for a dance and then that I might be asking her to lead me. No No. I clarified my question by explaining that I don't like this song because of timing issues. She then went, "one two three, five six seven." I said enough and good (both of us were in agreement). When I dance to this song, I end up getting frustrated most of the time because my partner and I go off in time all the time and it's no fun spending most of the time merely trying to stay in time. Sam then took a look at the dance floor for herself and commented, "Most of the people are off time." By the way, I picked on Sam in part because of a conversation we had about timing the other day. Eventually the song ended, and I found Serap for a dance.
Tony and I corresponded about his forthcoming Bachata tour earlier today. I touched base with Vishal at the end of the evening. It might happen.
Spinning and dancing, dancing and spinning... whatever
September 28, 2006
Advanced with Sally
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL cross pass off shoulder and switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to multiple stationary turn (triple or double)
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L underneath R-R – open break and bring follower in on L side with R-R going over leader’s head and lead follower to traveling counterclockwise turn (the footwork for follower involves doing something like a hook turn with L foot on 5) – this is followed by leader doing full counterclockwise turn on the spot under L-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 with L-L start with CBL and lead follower into traveling full counterclockwise turn into half crucifix with free R hand ending on follower’s R shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower forward on 1 and bring her back on 2,3 then either lead follower forward on 4 for 2 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (this could be reduced to 1 1/2 but the lead for it is arguably more awkward because the lead for the turn would not be until 6 while 1 1/2 from 4 to 8 is okay but somewhat lame and probably means that follower's footwork is all over the place) – switch to R-L on the last turn and placed behind follower’s neck with leader repositioned to L of follower and facing the same direction
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower to step back on 1 and return on 2,3 – then lead follower to free clockwise traveling turn on 4 (in my opinion, starting the lead on 3.5 might be okay and perhaps even smoother) with shoulder lead (ideally follower should be able to do 2 1/2 clockwise turn but I guess you take what you can get) – leader moves with follower and position himself to R of follower facing same direction as the follower with hands on follower’s shoulders
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower a step back on 1 and lead follower to full counterclockwise free turn on 2,3 while leader steps to L to get behind follower with L hand on follower’s stomach as early as 3 and no later than 5 and bring follower back on 6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower to traveling turn (2 1/2 or reduce to 1 1/2)
I also tried teaching this routine with some success with two people outside the class afterwards and started but aborted the attempt with a third. If your partner is not comfortable with footwork for 2 1/2 traveling turns, lead 1 1/2 instead. The lead for 2 1/2 turns starts on 4 and not on 5 (in fact the follower could have started turning toward the appropriate direction on 3(!). I believe that the follower is stepping L, R, L, R, L from 4 to 8 as opposed to stepping L, R, L from 5 to 7. Ideally followers should be able to distinguish between leads that start on 4, on 5, and on 6 and adjust the number of spins she does fully knowing how fast she can spin. Perhaps I shouldn’t assume that people know how to distinguish 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 though. Some followers I tried the routine with were on their L foot on 1 after some of these multiple spins presumably because of mangled footwork. A popular saying is that it is very difficult for men to learn to dance early on compared to for women; what is less often said is that things get very difficult for women to progress to very high level – perhaps more so than for men. By the way I should add that being able to spin multiple times fast is nice and allows one to get away with many mistakes, but it probably also is the most overrated skill and certainly not the most important. Nevertheless I might want to start leading some 2 1/2 turns in social setting with willing partners just to get the ball rolling.
Nothing much happened during the club hours. I’ve heard stories about the UK Congress from few different sources. I signed up for the Britfest with Sally – even though I rate that my chance of going is less than 50% at this time. At the very least, Britfest has excellent venue (superb dance floors and sound systems) and should have a very friendly crowd. I could have danced a lot more tonight, but I can’t have it my way all the time. Weekend beckons.
Advanced with Sally
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL cross pass off shoulder and switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to multiple stationary turn (triple or double)
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L underneath R-R – open break and bring follower in on L side with R-R going over leader’s head and lead follower to traveling counterclockwise turn (the footwork for follower involves doing something like a hook turn with L foot on 5) – this is followed by leader doing full counterclockwise turn on the spot under L-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 with L-L start with CBL and lead follower into traveling full counterclockwise turn into half crucifix with free R hand ending on follower’s R shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower forward on 1 and bring her back on 2,3 then either lead follower forward on 4 for 2 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (this could be reduced to 1 1/2 but the lead for it is arguably more awkward because the lead for the turn would not be until 6 while 1 1/2 from 4 to 8 is okay but somewhat lame and probably means that follower's footwork is all over the place) – switch to R-L on the last turn and placed behind follower’s neck with leader repositioned to L of follower and facing the same direction
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower to step back on 1 and return on 2,3 – then lead follower to free clockwise traveling turn on 4 (in my opinion, starting the lead on 3.5 might be okay and perhaps even smoother) with shoulder lead (ideally follower should be able to do 2 1/2 clockwise turn but I guess you take what you can get) – leader moves with follower and position himself to R of follower facing same direction as the follower with hands on follower’s shoulders
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower a step back on 1 and lead follower to full counterclockwise free turn on 2,3 while leader steps to L to get behind follower with L hand on follower’s stomach as early as 3 and no later than 5 and bring follower back on 6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower to traveling turn (2 1/2 or reduce to 1 1/2)
I also tried teaching this routine with some success with two people outside the class afterwards and started but aborted the attempt with a third. If your partner is not comfortable with footwork for 2 1/2 traveling turns, lead 1 1/2 instead. The lead for 2 1/2 turns starts on 4 and not on 5 (in fact the follower could have started turning toward the appropriate direction on 3(!). I believe that the follower is stepping L, R, L, R, L from 4 to 8 as opposed to stepping L, R, L from 5 to 7. Ideally followers should be able to distinguish between leads that start on 4, on 5, and on 6 and adjust the number of spins she does fully knowing how fast she can spin. Perhaps I shouldn’t assume that people know how to distinguish 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 though. Some followers I tried the routine with were on their L foot on 1 after some of these multiple spins presumably because of mangled footwork. A popular saying is that it is very difficult for men to learn to dance early on compared to for women; what is less often said is that things get very difficult for women to progress to very high level – perhaps more so than for men. By the way I should add that being able to spin multiple times fast is nice and allows one to get away with many mistakes, but it probably also is the most overrated skill and certainly not the most important. Nevertheless I might want to start leading some 2 1/2 turns in social setting with willing partners just to get the ball rolling.
Nothing much happened during the club hours. I’ve heard stories about the UK Congress from few different sources. I signed up for the Britfest with Sally – even though I rate that my chance of going is less than 50% at this time. At the very least, Britfest has excellent venue (superb dance floors and sound systems) and should have a very friendly crowd. I could have danced a lot more tonight, but I can’t have it my way all the time. Weekend beckons.
CDC schedule out
September 28, 2006
Highlights include...
Salsa social
October 19, 2006 (Thursday)
Time 8:00pm - 11:00pm
Venue University Centre, Mill Lane
Cost Free entry
Salsa social
November 9, 2006 (Thursday)
Time 8:00pm - 11:00pm
Venue University Centre, Mill Lane
Cost Free entry
The BIG event - Pasion de invierno
November 26, 2006 (Sunday)
Time 7:00pm - midnight
Venue Newton Suite, University Arms Hotel
Cost £9 for CDC members; £11 for non-members
Featuring live music from London’s leading Salsa band, Palenke, shows, lessons at the start of the night for all levels, and of course plenty of dancing in a fantastic venue, this will be a night to remember for all salsa dancers. Dress to impress!
The instructors for the CDC weekly Salsa classes are:
Ivan - Mondays (LA style)
Sally - Tuesdays (LA style)
Rhona & Helen - Tuesdays (Rueda)
Rhona & Helen - Wednesdays (Cuban style)
Russel - Mondays & Thursdays (beginners)
Links:
All events
Salsa class schedule
Also of note - Argentine Tango has been added to their curriculum.
Highlights include...
Salsa social
October 19, 2006 (Thursday)
Time 8:00pm - 11:00pm
Venue University Centre, Mill Lane
Cost Free entry
Salsa social
November 9, 2006 (Thursday)
Time 8:00pm - 11:00pm
Venue University Centre, Mill Lane
Cost Free entry
The BIG event - Pasion de invierno
November 26, 2006 (Sunday)
Time 7:00pm - midnight
Venue Newton Suite, University Arms Hotel
Cost £9 for CDC members; £11 for non-members
Featuring live music from London’s leading Salsa band, Palenke, shows, lessons at the start of the night for all levels, and of course plenty of dancing in a fantastic venue, this will be a night to remember for all salsa dancers. Dress to impress!
The instructors for the CDC weekly Salsa classes are:
Ivan - Mondays (LA style)
Sally - Tuesdays (LA style)
Rhona & Helen - Tuesdays (Rueda)
Rhona & Helen - Wednesdays (Cuban style)
Russel - Mondays & Thursdays (beginners)
Links:
All events
Salsa class schedule
Also of note - Argentine Tango has been added to their curriculum.
A comment - 380 days later
September 28, 2006
Someone was a little behind in her reading.
See her comment here.
I wondered if she found out my site because someone told her. The answer turned out to be something different.
She googled her name and found the link on the first page.
Someone was a little behind in her reading.
See her comment here.
I wondered if she found out my site because someone told her. The answer turned out to be something different.
She googled her name and found the link on the first page.
High on life – maybe too much so
September 25, 2006
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold L-L on top – CBL and lead follower into full counterclockwise traveling turn into half crucifix with R hand on follower’s R shoulder (leader positioned slightly to R of follower)
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower forward on 1, lead her around 1/2 clockwise on 2,3 and lead her to 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn (or was it 2 1/2? – may want to make it 1 1/2 to have a better chance of it working) switching from L-L to R-L with hold switched to fingers pointing up after the first turn – leader steps into follower’s lane on 5 and turn 3/4 counterclockwise on 7 for slam dunk to switch to L-L by leader’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and leader steps into reverse CBL position with L-L going up and forward and in continuous motion lead follower into windmill (going up and around like bowling motion and releasing at the bottom) to lead follower to free 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn – leader does a 3/4 counterclockwise moving into follower’s former position and face follower
There was a bit of practice without drop-catch/slam dunk during the second bar too.
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower into stationary clockwise turn into hammerlock
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and like a Copa start with all connections pointing towards the direction follower came from – move into follower’s former space facing away from follower and bring R-L up to leader’s R shoulder – sway to R and bring L-R up and around and to leader’s back (scratching back position)
1,2,3,5,6,7 step to R (turning body about 1/4 clockwise) on 1 like start of Dile que no and turn 1/2 counterclockwise on 2,3 – turn further on 3/4 counterclockwise over 5,6,7,8 with R-L going over leader’s head (but not until 6 or thereafter AFTER leading follower to initiate forward step on 5 for CBL finish) [note: it is easier to get R-L going over leader’s head smoothly if leader is facing away from follower when this happens thus it would be useful to do the final 1/2 turn or so on 7/8] [additional note: think of this like another way of leading follower into CBL]
1,2,3,5,6,7 position is double-crossed hold (as if follower was made to turn full counterclockwise with all connections intact) – prepare and lead follower to stationary clockwise turn (one turn is okay, double turn is fine too in my opinion) – there are many options for simple finish
Apparently the second bit was something Joe picked up from one of the performers at the UK Salsa Congress at Bognor Regis. I had a lot of fun with this one during and after the class. Sometimes it’s simpler for me to do kind of moves that are super easy for follower but more challenging rather than those that asks me for the follower to do somewhat complicated thing while I also have to do something mildly tricky.
Most people who were at the UK Congress were absent tonight, and many others were absent perhaps in anticipation. A big exception was Rajiv, whom I greeted with the words, “Good Morning.” I figured that he slept most of the day – he said he got up at 5, and he seemed too satiated for dancing tonight. Rajiv said Joe and his team were also at the Congress. Otherwise, I heard very little about happenings at the Congress.
I’m not sure what the difference exactly was but the music Joe played tonight was quite nice (as opposed to R&B fusion-y stuff he sometimes plays – perhaps pandering to the crowd). For me, it was the best music played on a Monday (aside from ones where I played the songs as the DJ – I am biased of course). Good music helped to make my dances quite fun and fabulous.
This is great. I have been feeling superb for well over a week (perhaps over 2 weeks... in fact I think all of September has been quite good) and I don’t see why it won’t continue for a while longer. I don’t’ think there has been such a long spell for more than 6 months. The fact that things could be much better on multiple fronts only cheers me up even more. Very weird! I love irrational exuberance – even if it’s not completely irrational. It will end at some point, but I will enjoy it while it lasts.
12 dances with 6 people or something like it. I seem to have stopped counting lately.
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold L-L on top – CBL and lead follower into full counterclockwise traveling turn into half crucifix with R hand on follower’s R shoulder (leader positioned slightly to R of follower)
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower forward on 1, lead her around 1/2 clockwise on 2,3 and lead her to 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn (or was it 2 1/2? – may want to make it 1 1/2 to have a better chance of it working) switching from L-L to R-L with hold switched to fingers pointing up after the first turn – leader steps into follower’s lane on 5 and turn 3/4 counterclockwise on 7 for slam dunk to switch to L-L by leader’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and leader steps into reverse CBL position with L-L going up and forward and in continuous motion lead follower into windmill (going up and around like bowling motion and releasing at the bottom) to lead follower to free 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn – leader does a 3/4 counterclockwise moving into follower’s former position and face follower
There was a bit of practice without drop-catch/slam dunk during the second bar too.
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower into stationary clockwise turn into hammerlock
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and like a Copa start with all connections pointing towards the direction follower came from – move into follower’s former space facing away from follower and bring R-L up to leader’s R shoulder – sway to R and bring L-R up and around and to leader’s back (scratching back position)
1,2,3,5,6,7 step to R (turning body about 1/4 clockwise) on 1 like start of Dile que no and turn 1/2 counterclockwise on 2,3 – turn further on 3/4 counterclockwise over 5,6,7,8 with R-L going over leader’s head (but not until 6 or thereafter AFTER leading follower to initiate forward step on 5 for CBL finish) [note: it is easier to get R-L going over leader’s head smoothly if leader is facing away from follower when this happens thus it would be useful to do the final 1/2 turn or so on 7/8] [additional note: think of this like another way of leading follower into CBL]
1,2,3,5,6,7 position is double-crossed hold (as if follower was made to turn full counterclockwise with all connections intact) – prepare and lead follower to stationary clockwise turn (one turn is okay, double turn is fine too in my opinion) – there are many options for simple finish
Apparently the second bit was something Joe picked up from one of the performers at the UK Salsa Congress at Bognor Regis. I had a lot of fun with this one during and after the class. Sometimes it’s simpler for me to do kind of moves that are super easy for follower but more challenging rather than those that asks me for the follower to do somewhat complicated thing while I also have to do something mildly tricky.
Most people who were at the UK Congress were absent tonight, and many others were absent perhaps in anticipation. A big exception was Rajiv, whom I greeted with the words, “Good Morning.” I figured that he slept most of the day – he said he got up at 5, and he seemed too satiated for dancing tonight. Rajiv said Joe and his team were also at the Congress. Otherwise, I heard very little about happenings at the Congress.
I’m not sure what the difference exactly was but the music Joe played tonight was quite nice (as opposed to R&B fusion-y stuff he sometimes plays – perhaps pandering to the crowd). For me, it was the best music played on a Monday (aside from ones where I played the songs as the DJ – I am biased of course). Good music helped to make my dances quite fun and fabulous.
This is great. I have been feeling superb for well over a week (perhaps over 2 weeks... in fact I think all of September has been quite good) and I don’t see why it won’t continue for a while longer. I don’t’ think there has been such a long spell for more than 6 months. The fact that things could be much better on multiple fronts only cheers me up even more. Very weird! I love irrational exuberance – even if it’s not completely irrational. It will end at some point, but I will enjoy it while it lasts.
12 dances with 6 people or something like it. I seem to have stopped counting lately.
More! More! More!
September 22, 2006
Playlist
Ave Maria Lola – Sonora Carruseles (-1%)
Soledad – La 33 (-1%)
La Muerte – El Gran Combo (-2%)*
A El – Oscar D’Leon (-2%)*
Betece – Africando (-2%)
Desnudate Mujer – Frankie Ruiz (-2%)
La Cartera – Larry Harlow (-2%)
Culebra – Grupo Niche
Dejame Sonar – Tito Puente (with Tony Vega) (-2%)
Quitate La Mascara – Ray Barretto
Esas Lagrimas – Gilberto Santa Rosa (1)
1-800-Quiereme – Luisito Rosario (-2%)
No Me Resigno – Toque D’ Keda
El Pito – Isidro Infante (-2%)
Soy El Rey – Pete Rodriguez (-2%)
Periodico De Ayer – Hector Lavoe (2)
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe (3)
break
Brujeria – El Gran Combo (4)
Micaela – Sonora Carruseles (probably here)
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon (5)
Amor De Una Noche – N’Klabe
Ven Tu – Dominic Marte
Picadillo – Tito Puente (6)
El Preso – Fruko Y Sus Tesos
Aicha – Africando
Push, Push, Push – Joe Cuba (7)
La Pantera Mambo – La 33
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (8)
(1) This was in response to a request for Gilberto Santa Rosa. There was another request earlier for J. Lo. Later in the evening there was a request for Samba!
(2) I was expecting Vishal to have taken over so that I could dance to this one. It didn’t happen.
(3) So I danced to this instead. Vishal seems to be taking a liking to this song. “A very nice Mambo” was what he called it. Whatever he meant by Mambo…
(4) Vishal was doing a bit too much mixing and fusing. It would take a little while to get the crowd under my control.
(5) Gordon asked whether I played this slow. I played it at normal speed. I suggested that other DJs (Vishal) must be playing it speeded up. In my opinion, it’s a perfectly nice slow song.
(6) Taken from 50 Years of Swing. Fast and not popular possibly because of it. Vishal exclaims no more Mambo. Whatever! It’s possible that a better sequence of songs would have been to play a medium speed Salsa (after the preceding Bachata) before playing this one.
(7) Cha Cha again. A short one about 2 min 15 seconds long. I was trying to get Sean’s attention although it ended up being for naught. It had some interesting consequences.
(8) I was trying to get a specific dance with this one thinking that this song would clear the floor (based upon an assumption that Tito Puente is not popular in Cambridge). It didn’t work – although I still danced to the song, it was very popular and did not leave me plenty of space. This by the way was Mambo Birdland live version.
The evening was as good as it could be expected given the circumstances (i.e. the Bognor Regis Salsa Congress) and was quite a bit like the way I imagined it was going to be but not exactly. I guess that's part of the fun. I think I danced with five people in all. Unlike last week, I felt quite relaxed and laid back. I probably could have done more socializing but no big deal – I think there will be more opportunities. Actually thinking back, the volume of conversations I had was not atypically low and I conversed with many people outside my usual circle. I also could say that I could have done with more dancing (to nice or whatever half-way Salsa-like songs Vishal happened to play here and there). I suppose I could have done more DJing – I felt the response from the crowd always got better as longer my sets went on.
My playlist was very conservative because of the people who were there (or not there). 28 songs. 25 Salsa. 2 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha. I only played two new songs, but they were of insignificant note (because they are plenty familiar to Cambridge regulars).
There was a hen party involving some of the Salsa regulars. The party included Louise and Clare, and the bride-to-be was Alison (whom I knew before but not very well) – not to be confused with yet another Alison and Clare in the Cambridge Salsa scene. I think they had to be the least kitschy (fashion-wise) and easily the best dancing hen party at Club Salsa ever.
Question of the day – “Are you going to write about this on the blog?”
The question was asked with typing motion too. The answer was clearly no – it’s precisely the kind of things I avoid writing about (unless I already wrote about it and I mistook the meaning of the question). This is getting a little ridiculous!
Quote of the day – “I hope you don’t judge me on that dance.”
No way. Never. At least I hope I won't ever become close-minded. Since when did people start caring about my opinion of them or impressing me (in dancing or anything else for that matter)? Perfection is very elusive even with fair bit of practice. For whatever it’s worth, it is extremely rare for me to have a dance without at least a couple of miscommunications. Often, it happens because my lead is not spot on. Besides it happened after a few drinks and it was very late in the evening.
I wonder what Monday’s going to be like. It probably won’t get back to normal until Thursday. I’m looking forward to days like next Monday, Thursday and Sunday way too much. Oh… and there’s Johnny & Serap’s party next Saturday too. Yikes. It’s going to be a long weekend.
Playlist
Ave Maria Lola – Sonora Carruseles (-1%)
Soledad – La 33 (-1%)
La Muerte – El Gran Combo (-2%)*
A El – Oscar D’Leon (-2%)*
Betece – Africando (-2%)
Desnudate Mujer – Frankie Ruiz (-2%)
La Cartera – Larry Harlow (-2%)
Culebra – Grupo Niche
Dejame Sonar – Tito Puente (with Tony Vega) (-2%)
Quitate La Mascara – Ray Barretto
Esas Lagrimas – Gilberto Santa Rosa (1)
1-800-Quiereme – Luisito Rosario (-2%)
No Me Resigno – Toque D’ Keda
El Pito – Isidro Infante (-2%)
Soy El Rey – Pete Rodriguez (-2%)
Periodico De Ayer – Hector Lavoe (2)
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe (3)
break
Brujeria – El Gran Combo (4)
Micaela – Sonora Carruseles (probably here)
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon (5)
Amor De Una Noche – N’Klabe
Ven Tu – Dominic Marte
Picadillo – Tito Puente (6)
El Preso – Fruko Y Sus Tesos
Aicha – Africando
Push, Push, Push – Joe Cuba (7)
La Pantera Mambo – La 33
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (8)
(1) This was in response to a request for Gilberto Santa Rosa. There was another request earlier for J. Lo. Later in the evening there was a request for Samba!
(2) I was expecting Vishal to have taken over so that I could dance to this one. It didn’t happen.
(3) So I danced to this instead. Vishal seems to be taking a liking to this song. “A very nice Mambo” was what he called it. Whatever he meant by Mambo…
(4) Vishal was doing a bit too much mixing and fusing. It would take a little while to get the crowd under my control.
(5) Gordon asked whether I played this slow. I played it at normal speed. I suggested that other DJs (Vishal) must be playing it speeded up. In my opinion, it’s a perfectly nice slow song.
(6) Taken from 50 Years of Swing. Fast and not popular possibly because of it. Vishal exclaims no more Mambo. Whatever! It’s possible that a better sequence of songs would have been to play a medium speed Salsa (after the preceding Bachata) before playing this one.
(7) Cha Cha again. A short one about 2 min 15 seconds long. I was trying to get Sean’s attention although it ended up being for naught. It had some interesting consequences.
(8) I was trying to get a specific dance with this one thinking that this song would clear the floor (based upon an assumption that Tito Puente is not popular in Cambridge). It didn’t work – although I still danced to the song, it was very popular and did not leave me plenty of space. This by the way was Mambo Birdland live version.
The evening was as good as it could be expected given the circumstances (i.e. the Bognor Regis Salsa Congress) and was quite a bit like the way I imagined it was going to be but not exactly. I guess that's part of the fun. I think I danced with five people in all. Unlike last week, I felt quite relaxed and laid back. I probably could have done more socializing but no big deal – I think there will be more opportunities. Actually thinking back, the volume of conversations I had was not atypically low and I conversed with many people outside my usual circle. I also could say that I could have done with more dancing (to nice or whatever half-way Salsa-like songs Vishal happened to play here and there). I suppose I could have done more DJing – I felt the response from the crowd always got better as longer my sets went on.
My playlist was very conservative because of the people who were there (or not there). 28 songs. 25 Salsa. 2 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha. I only played two new songs, but they were of insignificant note (because they are plenty familiar to Cambridge regulars).
There was a hen party involving some of the Salsa regulars. The party included Louise and Clare, and the bride-to-be was Alison (whom I knew before but not very well) – not to be confused with yet another Alison and Clare in the Cambridge Salsa scene. I think they had to be the least kitschy (fashion-wise) and easily the best dancing hen party at Club Salsa ever.
Question of the day – “Are you going to write about this on the blog?”
The question was asked with typing motion too. The answer was clearly no – it’s precisely the kind of things I avoid writing about (unless I already wrote about it and I mistook the meaning of the question). This is getting a little ridiculous!
Quote of the day – “I hope you don’t judge me on that dance.”
No way. Never. At least I hope I won't ever become close-minded. Since when did people start caring about my opinion of them or impressing me (in dancing or anything else for that matter)? Perfection is very elusive even with fair bit of practice. For whatever it’s worth, it is extremely rare for me to have a dance without at least a couple of miscommunications. Often, it happens because my lead is not spot on. Besides it happened after a few drinks and it was very late in the evening.
I wonder what Monday’s going to be like. It probably won’t get back to normal until Thursday. I’m looking forward to days like next Monday, Thursday and Sunday way too much. Oh… and there’s Johnny & Serap’s party next Saturday too. Yikes. It’s going to be a long weekend.
Aye… We’ll go pillage and plunder rich ports along the coast
September 21, 2006
Intermediate with Sally
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower [little reminders I know but don’t always do – L-R down on 5 and again after the completion of turn]
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break Evelyn CBL style (exchange places like Enchufe followed by hook turn for leader with L-R low) and make R-L connection in front
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1 1/2 counterclockwise during the full bar ending with slam dunk to end R-L/R (during the initial turn for leader, keep L-R low and bring R-L down during the second turn – keep elbows down)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward on leader’s R side with R-R connection being made and brought over follower’s head (bring all connections down fairly low by 3/4) – absorb follower’s forward momentum with L-L and lead follower back into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn (towards direction where she came from) ending with L-L briefly let go and ending in front of follower’s R waist (across her stomach) and R-R in half crucifix position
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower a forward step on 1 and lead her around 1/2 clockwise – downward lead on 4 (follower steps on 4) and lead follower to traveling (perhaps minimizing the distance) 2 1/2 counterclockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 hat for leader and CBL ending in closed hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL start and bringing follower in and slightly turned counterclockwise already on 3 and end with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower ending in a dip (leader’s footwork could be CBL standard for 1,2,3 then step to L on 5 with R foot and step to L with L foot on 6 and be prepared for dip and helping to keep follower’s balance… also try to get follower’s R arm behind leader’s head/neck to avoid it getting trapped)
1,2,3,5,6,7 bring follower out of dip and lead her to a free (traveling or stationary?) clockwise turn
For a while it looked like it could end up being a somewhat grim night because many people were absent (away in London, France, etc.) And then people started trickling in – Serap, Cyrille, Lindsey, Chris, Sergio among core CBL crowd as well as others like Adam, Steve, Luis, others and fair number of people I did not recognize. Combined with people who were already present for the class, it made for a surprisingly good night. The big addition by far was Serap of course; apparently the fact that she won’t be here tomorrow (although I imagine that she’ll find the UK Salsa Congress to be a decent replacement) was a big factor in her being here tonight.
Some of the more memorable songs tonight (for various reasons) included My Favorite Things (New Swing Sextet – incidentally it is one of Cyrille’s current favorite song despite the proclamation from some people that it’s cheesy – by the way, I have met at least one person at SOS who would not dance to this song presumably for the same reason), Vacilon (Lebron Brothers – for two reasons including… Yarrrrgh!), Un Verano En New York (El Gran Combo). and Picadillo (Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri). There was also a minor emergency (Yarrrrgh!), which led me to step onto the DJ booth for a moment to play a new song (Contigo – Cache) when the old one (Vacilon) ended.
Question of the day – “What is the Penguin?” (or was it who?)
Hmm. I hope this doesn’t lead to too much build up of anticipation and pressure.
Quote of the day – “There’s been a lot of screaming tonight.”
Serap didn’t scream. In fact she practically threw herself into the air second time around. No, this was not a part of pillaging and plundering.
The wooden floorboards were removed from the main floor presumably because of recent water damage. Apparently Vishal will wait and see people’s reaction before making further changes. As it is right now, it’s not horrible in my opinion. We’ll have to see how it goes and give Vishal feedback as appropriate.
I’ve heard some suggest that I shouldn’t bother coming to DJ tomorrow night. For better or worse, I told some people that I would be there so I will go (even though I have no idea how many of them will show up).
It has been almost two years since I started taking Salsa lessons. I think my first lesson was on September 24, 2004. If I had decided to go to the UK Congress or were planning on going to SOS on Sunday (neither of which will happen), I suppose I could make something of the occasion. As is, I’ll probably try to get some work done instead.
There was also a call to get everyone (whatever the definition means) to go to the BritFest the Sequel. I must say that I have been considering going already – work or no work and despite some poor reviews about the first one.
Intermediate with Sally
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower [little reminders I know but don’t always do – L-R down on 5 and again after the completion of turn]
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break Evelyn CBL style (exchange places like Enchufe followed by hook turn for leader with L-R low) and make R-L connection in front
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1 1/2 counterclockwise during the full bar ending with slam dunk to end R-L/R (during the initial turn for leader, keep L-R low and bring R-L down during the second turn – keep elbows down)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward on leader’s R side with R-R connection being made and brought over follower’s head (bring all connections down fairly low by 3/4) – absorb follower’s forward momentum with L-L and lead follower back into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn (towards direction where she came from) ending with L-L briefly let go and ending in front of follower’s R waist (across her stomach) and R-R in half crucifix position
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower a forward step on 1 and lead her around 1/2 clockwise – downward lead on 4 (follower steps on 4) and lead follower to traveling (perhaps minimizing the distance) 2 1/2 counterclockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 hat for leader and CBL ending in closed hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL start and bringing follower in and slightly turned counterclockwise already on 3 and end with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower ending in a dip (leader’s footwork could be CBL standard for 1,2,3 then step to L on 5 with R foot and step to L with L foot on 6 and be prepared for dip and helping to keep follower’s balance… also try to get follower’s R arm behind leader’s head/neck to avoid it getting trapped)
1,2,3,5,6,7 bring follower out of dip and lead her to a free (traveling or stationary?) clockwise turn
For a while it looked like it could end up being a somewhat grim night because many people were absent (away in London, France, etc.) And then people started trickling in – Serap, Cyrille, Lindsey, Chris, Sergio among core CBL crowd as well as others like Adam, Steve, Luis, others and fair number of people I did not recognize. Combined with people who were already present for the class, it made for a surprisingly good night. The big addition by far was Serap of course; apparently the fact that she won’t be here tomorrow (although I imagine that she’ll find the UK Salsa Congress to be a decent replacement) was a big factor in her being here tonight.
Some of the more memorable songs tonight (for various reasons) included My Favorite Things (New Swing Sextet – incidentally it is one of Cyrille’s current favorite song despite the proclamation from some people that it’s cheesy – by the way, I have met at least one person at SOS who would not dance to this song presumably for the same reason), Vacilon (Lebron Brothers – for two reasons including… Yarrrrgh!), Un Verano En New York (El Gran Combo). and Picadillo (Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri). There was also a minor emergency (Yarrrrgh!), which led me to step onto the DJ booth for a moment to play a new song (Contigo – Cache) when the old one (Vacilon) ended.
Question of the day – “What is the Penguin?” (or was it who?)
Hmm. I hope this doesn’t lead to too much build up of anticipation and pressure.
Quote of the day – “There’s been a lot of screaming tonight.”
Serap didn’t scream. In fact she practically threw herself into the air second time around. No, this was not a part of pillaging and plundering.
The wooden floorboards were removed from the main floor presumably because of recent water damage. Apparently Vishal will wait and see people’s reaction before making further changes. As it is right now, it’s not horrible in my opinion. We’ll have to see how it goes and give Vishal feedback as appropriate.
I’ve heard some suggest that I shouldn’t bother coming to DJ tomorrow night. For better or worse, I told some people that I would be there so I will go (even though I have no idea how many of them will show up).
It has been almost two years since I started taking Salsa lessons. I think my first lesson was on September 24, 2004. If I had decided to go to the UK Congress or were planning on going to SOS on Sunday (neither of which will happen), I suppose I could make something of the occasion. As is, I’ll probably try to get some work done instead.
There was also a call to get everyone (whatever the definition means) to go to the BritFest the Sequel. I must say that I have been considering going already – work or no work and despite some poor reviews about the first one.
Five days in a row - I think I'm ready for a short break...
September 18, 2006
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL low cross pass with leader turning clockwise to face follower with L-R behind leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 traveling swapsi – open break and bring follower in under R-L and into something like back-to-back and get L-R over follower (in previous instruction of this maneuver Joe said the only lead is open break to bring follower in with remainder simply being getting hands up and around to avoid hitting follower in the head)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader does pivot turn on 1,2,3 followed by hook turn on 5,6,7 (or think of it as slow double right turn - it's more like 1 1/2 or 1 3/4 turn) with L-R high throughout til the end and bringing hands down to about shoulder level (or lower) and check follower over R shoulder during next 1,2,3
1,2,3,5,6,7 timing step on 1,2,3 while checking follower over R shoulder then turn full counterclockwise on 5,6,7 (prepare and turn on 6,7 is preferred) with L-R high and end with slam dunk to end R-L/R at the middle of leader’s back
1,2,3,5,6,7 check follower over L shoulder (in previous instruction, this involved Rumba step) and turn around clockwise on 2,3 and lead follower to a double turn ending with hat for follower (with palm up R-L/R goes over follower’s L side of face) and into closed hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L/R hat for follower while moving into CBL position, CBL ending in open position
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and low five R-R catch to lead follower into broken left turn (free turn) – I might have done a turn of my own (not sure if Joe suggested this) to get back to CBL next
I think this move was done pretty much exactly back in February or March. Joe did say his syllabus runs 20 weeks, and it has been longer than that since he started.
[note added later: This routine is from March 27 possibly with minor alterations. I have the move described as pretzel as opposed to swapsi. The move as described on March 27 is busier - I'm not sure if my previous note was inaccurate or if the routine was made easier this time around.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary clockwise double turn ending with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise and ending with drop catch to end R-R by leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 Rumba step on 1 and look over L shoulder on 1 (??) and turn around clockwise to face follower with L offered low for L-L and lead follower forward on 5 and initiate broken left turn but check it and get to half crucifix position (L-L low by by follower’s R waist) and R-R in crucifix
1,2,3,5,6,7 let follower step forward on 1 and lead her to turn around 1/2 clockwise (as leader steps to R to make clear lane for follower) and lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn over and under with L-L to get L-L behind follower’s R waist while leader turns around clockwise (letting go L-L) on or around 7 and make R-L connection
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start keeping R-L straight low and lead follower to free 1 1/2 Copa counterclockwise traveling turn (and leader gets back into CBL closed position – turn optional or perhaps even desirable in my opinion)
One of my classmates from LDA was present tonight.
Overall a highly enjoyable night of dancing. There were a number of dances with people I hadn’t danced with for some time. Of particular note was the return of an experienced follower I met three weeks ago. Apparently she has more experience in dancing Samba rather than Salsa. Sergio thought she was good too; she liked dancing with Sergio too even though she added she was confused most of the time – does this sound familiar?
Quote of the day 1 – “This is what we teach for this intermediate/advanced class. Of course in New York, this would be considered improver/intermediate.” – Joe
I totally believe it. Case in point – Sergio.
Quote of the day 2 – “It’s an institution.”
How much things have changed.
Quote of the day 3 – “I told her that I don’t read the blog, and she looked at me as if she didn’t believe me.”
As I mentioned before, some of my best friends don’t read the blog. Sergio for one probably checked my blog maybe 2 or 3 times in all.
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL low cross pass with leader turning clockwise to face follower with L-R behind leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 traveling swapsi – open break and bring follower in under R-L and into something like back-to-back and get L-R over follower (in previous instruction of this maneuver Joe said the only lead is open break to bring follower in with remainder simply being getting hands up and around to avoid hitting follower in the head)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader does pivot turn on 1,2,3 followed by hook turn on 5,6,7 (or think of it as slow double right turn - it's more like 1 1/2 or 1 3/4 turn) with L-R high throughout til the end and bringing hands down to about shoulder level (or lower) and check follower over R shoulder during next 1,2,3
1,2,3,5,6,7 timing step on 1,2,3 while checking follower over R shoulder then turn full counterclockwise on 5,6,7 (prepare and turn on 6,7 is preferred) with L-R high and end with slam dunk to end R-L/R at the middle of leader’s back
1,2,3,5,6,7 check follower over L shoulder (in previous instruction, this involved Rumba step) and turn around clockwise on 2,3 and lead follower to a double turn ending with hat for follower (with palm up R-L/R goes over follower’s L side of face) and into closed hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L/R hat for follower while moving into CBL position, CBL ending in open position
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and low five R-R catch to lead follower into broken left turn (free turn) – I might have done a turn of my own (not sure if Joe suggested this) to get back to CBL next
I think this move was done pretty much exactly back in February or March. Joe did say his syllabus runs 20 weeks, and it has been longer than that since he started.
[note added later: This routine is from March 27 possibly with minor alterations. I have the move described as pretzel as opposed to swapsi. The move as described on March 27 is busier - I'm not sure if my previous note was inaccurate or if the routine was made easier this time around.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary clockwise double turn ending with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise and ending with drop catch to end R-R by leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 Rumba step on 1 and look over L shoulder on 1 (??) and turn around clockwise to face follower with L offered low for L-L and lead follower forward on 5 and initiate broken left turn but check it and get to half crucifix position (L-L low by by follower’s R waist) and R-R in crucifix
1,2,3,5,6,7 let follower step forward on 1 and lead her to turn around 1/2 clockwise (as leader steps to R to make clear lane for follower) and lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn over and under with L-L to get L-L behind follower’s R waist while leader turns around clockwise (letting go L-L) on or around 7 and make R-L connection
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start keeping R-L straight low and lead follower to free 1 1/2 Copa counterclockwise traveling turn (and leader gets back into CBL closed position – turn optional or perhaps even desirable in my opinion)
One of my classmates from LDA was present tonight.
Overall a highly enjoyable night of dancing. There were a number of dances with people I hadn’t danced with for some time. Of particular note was the return of an experienced follower I met three weeks ago. Apparently she has more experience in dancing Samba rather than Salsa. Sergio thought she was good too; she liked dancing with Sergio too even though she added she was confused most of the time – does this sound familiar?
Quote of the day 1 – “This is what we teach for this intermediate/advanced class. Of course in New York, this would be considered improver/intermediate.” – Joe
I totally believe it. Case in point – Sergio.
Quote of the day 2 – “It’s an institution.”
How much things have changed.
Quote of the day 3 – “I told her that I don’t read the blog, and she looked at me as if she didn’t believe me.”
As I mentioned before, some of my best friends don’t read the blog. Sergio for one probably checked my blog maybe 2 or 3 times in all.
SOS before the UK Congress
September 17, 2006
Another train ride to Kings Cross. Alone – as Sergio opted out even though next weekend coincides with the Bognor Regis Congress and thus may not be worthwhile. As London drew closer I thought, “I might not come back to SOS for a long time depending on how this night goes.”
My mood brightened as I entered the Mary Ward Hall. I was glad to see and greet quite a number of friendly faces from both Cambridge (e.g. Sally, Lindsey, Rajiv, Serap and Johnny) and London (LDA buddies). As I was changing my shoes, I noted that the song being played was Si Tu Bailas by Grupo Latin Vibe, which I had planned on playing next Friday.
I was especially happy to see Diane again. Like magic, she spotted me right away as usual. She asked me about the Congress again, and I replied that I won’t be going. Perhaps as a last shot she said, “You only have one life.” That arguably is the problem however. Still barring a calamity I should see her in two weeks. I have no idea why she took an interest in me practically at first sight almost 8 months ago, and I am still amazed.
I also ran into Adam the substitute instructor from Monday. He turned out to indeed to be Adam Leilani, whom I heard about briefly at the londonsalsa.co.uk forum. Diane quipped, “He’s a good dancer.” Yeah, he’s okay. Diane also repeated that my lead continues to improve every time she sees me. And I thought I felt rusty (even though this was my fourth night in a row) and possibly tired. Also I am sure that this opinion is not universally shared – even tonight I could see irritation (or boredom) from a couple of people I danced with. Perhaps most interesting factoid is that I have not had a single thoroughly satisfying dance with Diane (as much as I enjoy dancing and interacting with her) - I always thought I needed to improve a lot more.
It was fairly warm, so I resorted to changing shirts mid-way through. I ran into Adam L as I took off to change. He told me to bring 5 shirts. I didn’t even dance to El Quinto De Beethoven (Cesta All-Stars version)! However, when I returned I found the DJ playing two Cha Cha followed by a Bachata! It was a first for me at the SOS – 3 non-Salsa songs in a row. The DJ was Robert from Mambocity. It was almost not worth changing shirts.
I walked back to Kings Cross with Liam – again talking mostly about music. I established that the SOS DJ Liam liked a lot this summer is indeed Helen’s boyfriend. The clincher? The hairband.
At the train station, I met up with large group of Cambridge people, who ended up sitting in two groups. I spent most of the time on the train talking with Serap – about her new sound system for DJing, general issues about dancing in Cambridge, and Salsa congresses (it seems everyone else is going... minus me, Cyrille, Sergio...).
Another train ride to Kings Cross. Alone – as Sergio opted out even though next weekend coincides with the Bognor Regis Congress and thus may not be worthwhile. As London drew closer I thought, “I might not come back to SOS for a long time depending on how this night goes.”
My mood brightened as I entered the Mary Ward Hall. I was glad to see and greet quite a number of friendly faces from both Cambridge (e.g. Sally, Lindsey, Rajiv, Serap and Johnny) and London (LDA buddies). As I was changing my shoes, I noted that the song being played was Si Tu Bailas by Grupo Latin Vibe, which I had planned on playing next Friday.
I was especially happy to see Diane again. Like magic, she spotted me right away as usual. She asked me about the Congress again, and I replied that I won’t be going. Perhaps as a last shot she said, “You only have one life.” That arguably is the problem however. Still barring a calamity I should see her in two weeks. I have no idea why she took an interest in me practically at first sight almost 8 months ago, and I am still amazed.
I also ran into Adam the substitute instructor from Monday. He turned out to indeed to be Adam Leilani, whom I heard about briefly at the londonsalsa.co.uk forum. Diane quipped, “He’s a good dancer.” Yeah, he’s okay. Diane also repeated that my lead continues to improve every time she sees me. And I thought I felt rusty (even though this was my fourth night in a row) and possibly tired. Also I am sure that this opinion is not universally shared – even tonight I could see irritation (or boredom) from a couple of people I danced with. Perhaps most interesting factoid is that I have not had a single thoroughly satisfying dance with Diane (as much as I enjoy dancing and interacting with her) - I always thought I needed to improve a lot more.
It was fairly warm, so I resorted to changing shirts mid-way through. I ran into Adam L as I took off to change. He told me to bring 5 shirts. I didn’t even dance to El Quinto De Beethoven (Cesta All-Stars version)! However, when I returned I found the DJ playing two Cha Cha followed by a Bachata! It was a first for me at the SOS – 3 non-Salsa songs in a row. The DJ was Robert from Mambocity. It was almost not worth changing shirts.
I walked back to Kings Cross with Liam – again talking mostly about music. I established that the SOS DJ Liam liked a lot this summer is indeed Helen’s boyfriend. The clincher? The hairband.
At the train station, I met up with large group of Cambridge people, who ended up sitting in two groups. I spent most of the time on the train talking with Serap – about her new sound system for DJing, general issues about dancing in Cambridge, and Salsa congresses (it seems everyone else is going... minus me, Cyrille, Sergio...).
A party at Newmarket
September 16, 2006
When I checked my e-mail in the middle of the afternoon, I was surprised to find a message from Sam. Sam said she and Zhenzhi were getting a group together to go to a Salsa party in Newmarket; I had not known details about this party. I was highly flattered that she asked me so I replied to say that I was interested. I imagined that I must be being asked as a substitute for Rajiv - although I don't think anyone can truly replace Raj (Incidentally, I learned later that Rajiv was in London tonight). However, as hours ticked by with no further word from Sam I thought I might have a quiet evening resting my ankle while also declining an invitation to go out for drinks from a neighbor.
Finally shortly before 9, I received a call from Zhenzhi via Cyrille's phone as I was preparing dinner. The final group included Sam, Zhenzhi, Euvian and Cyrille. After finishing and gulping down my dinner (which took 20 minutes as opposed to 15 minutes as I said to Zhenzhi), I drove down to Sam's house to meet the other four (while ignoring a text from Sam all ready to go and wondering what's taking me so long). Departure time from Sam's place was 9:30 PM, and we took my car because it was by far the largest.
As we drove towards Newmarket Cyrille commented, "Girls. You are really quiet. What's going on?" I suggested that they were feeling shy because of me. Zhenzhi said, "It's so dark. I'm glad I'm not the one driving." Indeed the road was devoid of lights and we passed through some misty spots. We only saw a handful of cars going the other way on the country road aside from the time we were in Cambridge and until we arrived at Newmarket.
I was a little worried about being able to spot Memorial Hall (the place where the party was being held), and I found it only by spotting a familiar figure - Steve (whom Samantha mentioned was involved in organizing the party - I had not known his name before tonight). Downtown Newmarket (or jockeytown) was bustling, and it took me about 5 minutes and a couple of U-turns to find a place to park (or leave) my car. We arrived around 10:07 PM.
The dance floor was quite dark. Its varnish made it sticky when wearing rubber-soled shoes, but I thought it was fine with suede-soled dancing shoes. I recognized several people from Club Salsa scene including Sean. Also I recognized some people I had seen for the first time at Club Salsa last Thursday; presumably they are the core group involved with tonight's party (and the new Club Salsa Tuesdays coming in October). I estimate there were 60-80 people, which meant that there was plenty of space for dancing.
The number of girls outnumbers guys by a fair margin - something Cyrille commented upon later. In conversation return home, I said that I would have felt compelled to dance with as many strangers there as possible except I also felt an obligation towards the girls we went to the dance party with. In any case between them all, Cyrille and I both had danced until we were drenched with sweat. On the whole we had fun although both of us (fairly or unfairly) felt a little sorry for the girls not getting many dances.
Both Euvian and Sam found people they knew (and perhaps felt a little tired) so they were out socializing fair bit. Arguably the star of the evening was Zhenzhi, who demonstrated a lot of flair and joy not evident even a month ago. In particular, a semi-open shine she did while dancing with Cyrille had onlookers like me and Sam dropping our jaws in shock. As we were complimenting Zhenzhi on her recent improvements, Cyrille suggested that she can do the said shine with him but that she should not do it with Latin men - from Columbia, Dominican Repulic, etc. I added in jest, "Not with Sergio either. He's from Peru."
Perhaps the funniest moment came about because of one of my later dances with Zhenzhi. As she was spinning, she raised her left arm for a flare and accidentally poked my right eye. My contact lens fell out of my eyes, but I was lucky in that I was able to catch it in the middle of the air. I staggered toward the toilet to put the lens back on. No big harm done, I thought. I returned to the darkened dance hall and took a seat. A moment later, Zhenzhi said to me, "Do you know that you went into girl's restroom?" Lo and behold, she was right! Oops. My only excuse? I was half blind.
Another highlight Zhenzhi seemed to enjoy a great deal was a little Rueda Cyrille and I did with her and Euvian. Neither of the girls had done Rueda before, and Cyrille and I were rusty. We stuck to simple ones like Dame, Enchufe, Adios, Sombrero, Setenta.
Not many people stayed until closing time - 1 AM, but we did - if not always dancing Salsa (more for Cyrille than me). My last dance was with Sam, which reminded me of the first time she made a lasting impression on me at Johnny & Serap's Big Salsa Party about 11 months ago. After some leisurely conversation as we waited for Sam, we drove back (taking a scenic route as I took a wrong turn) to Sam's place where we split up with Zhenzhi taking Cyrille in her car and me taking and dropping off Euvian (who lacked and needed sleep for her early morning lesson) at her college. There was a brief talk of stopping by Club Salsa but I doubt it happened. An unexpected and amusing night.
When I checked my e-mail in the middle of the afternoon, I was surprised to find a message from Sam. Sam said she and Zhenzhi were getting a group together to go to a Salsa party in Newmarket; I had not known details about this party. I was highly flattered that she asked me so I replied to say that I was interested. I imagined that I must be being asked as a substitute for Rajiv - although I don't think anyone can truly replace Raj (Incidentally, I learned later that Rajiv was in London tonight). However, as hours ticked by with no further word from Sam I thought I might have a quiet evening resting my ankle while also declining an invitation to go out for drinks from a neighbor.
Finally shortly before 9, I received a call from Zhenzhi via Cyrille's phone as I was preparing dinner. The final group included Sam, Zhenzhi, Euvian and Cyrille. After finishing and gulping down my dinner (which took 20 minutes as opposed to 15 minutes as I said to Zhenzhi), I drove down to Sam's house to meet the other four (while ignoring a text from Sam all ready to go and wondering what's taking me so long). Departure time from Sam's place was 9:30 PM, and we took my car because it was by far the largest.
As we drove towards Newmarket Cyrille commented, "Girls. You are really quiet. What's going on?" I suggested that they were feeling shy because of me. Zhenzhi said, "It's so dark. I'm glad I'm not the one driving." Indeed the road was devoid of lights and we passed through some misty spots. We only saw a handful of cars going the other way on the country road aside from the time we were in Cambridge and until we arrived at Newmarket.
I was a little worried about being able to spot Memorial Hall (the place where the party was being held), and I found it only by spotting a familiar figure - Steve (whom Samantha mentioned was involved in organizing the party - I had not known his name before tonight). Downtown Newmarket (or jockeytown) was bustling, and it took me about 5 minutes and a couple of U-turns to find a place to park (or leave) my car. We arrived around 10:07 PM.
The dance floor was quite dark. Its varnish made it sticky when wearing rubber-soled shoes, but I thought it was fine with suede-soled dancing shoes. I recognized several people from Club Salsa scene including Sean. Also I recognized some people I had seen for the first time at Club Salsa last Thursday; presumably they are the core group involved with tonight's party (and the new Club Salsa Tuesdays coming in October). I estimate there were 60-80 people, which meant that there was plenty of space for dancing.
The number of girls outnumbers guys by a fair margin - something Cyrille commented upon later. In conversation return home, I said that I would have felt compelled to dance with as many strangers there as possible except I also felt an obligation towards the girls we went to the dance party with. In any case between them all, Cyrille and I both had danced until we were drenched with sweat. On the whole we had fun although both of us (fairly or unfairly) felt a little sorry for the girls not getting many dances.
Both Euvian and Sam found people they knew (and perhaps felt a little tired) so they were out socializing fair bit. Arguably the star of the evening was Zhenzhi, who demonstrated a lot of flair and joy not evident even a month ago. In particular, a semi-open shine she did while dancing with Cyrille had onlookers like me and Sam dropping our jaws in shock. As we were complimenting Zhenzhi on her recent improvements, Cyrille suggested that she can do the said shine with him but that she should not do it with Latin men - from Columbia, Dominican Repulic, etc. I added in jest, "Not with Sergio either. He's from Peru."
Perhaps the funniest moment came about because of one of my later dances with Zhenzhi. As she was spinning, she raised her left arm for a flare and accidentally poked my right eye. My contact lens fell out of my eyes, but I was lucky in that I was able to catch it in the middle of the air. I staggered toward the toilet to put the lens back on. No big harm done, I thought. I returned to the darkened dance hall and took a seat. A moment later, Zhenzhi said to me, "Do you know that you went into girl's restroom?" Lo and behold, she was right! Oops. My only excuse? I was half blind.
Another highlight Zhenzhi seemed to enjoy a great deal was a little Rueda Cyrille and I did with her and Euvian. Neither of the girls had done Rueda before, and Cyrille and I were rusty. We stuck to simple ones like Dame, Enchufe, Adios, Sombrero, Setenta.
Not many people stayed until closing time - 1 AM, but we did - if not always dancing Salsa (more for Cyrille than me). My last dance was with Sam, which reminded me of the first time she made a lasting impression on me at Johnny & Serap's Big Salsa Party about 11 months ago. After some leisurely conversation as we waited for Sam, we drove back (taking a scenic route as I took a wrong turn) to Sam's place where we split up with Zhenzhi taking Cyrille in her car and me taking and dropping off Euvian (who lacked and needed sleep for her early morning lesson) at her college. There was a brief talk of stopping by Club Salsa but I doubt it happened. An unexpected and amusing night.
Back to DJing Fridays on Lindsey's B-day
September 15, 2006
Playlist
Brujeria – El Gran Combo (moved to –0.5%) (1)
Que Buena Baila Usted – Oscar D’Leon (-2%)
Etnia – Grupo Niche (-2%)
Evitare – N’Klabe (-2%) (2)
La Cura – Frankie Ruiz (-2%) (3)
Idillio – Willie Colon (-2%)
El Topodoredoso – Hector Lavoe (-2%)
La Fiesta Ya Comenso – Grupo Latin Vibe (-2%)*
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
some Merengue (4)
Ven Tu – Domenic Marte (5)
Malanga Amarilla – Cachao (6)
Otra Oportunidad – Jimmy Bosch (7)
El Pito – Isidro Infante (-3%)
Mambo Mongo – Mongo Santamaria (Fania version) (-3%)
Push, Push, Push – Joe Cuba (8)*
Ojos Chinos – El Gran Combo (-2%?) (9)
Playa No More – Crystal Sierra (10)*
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe (11)
You Will Remember Me – Domenic M
Un Verano En New York – El Gran Combo (-3%) (12)
--long break--
La Pantera Mambo – La 33 (13)
Vietnam Mambo – Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers (14)*
My Favorite Things – New Swing Sextet
(1) Because it had been a while since I played DJ on a Friday, I gave some extra thoughts to which songs to play as well as a rough outline of first five or six songs to play for the evening. This song was the first on my list, but I changed my plan starting with the second song based upon what I saw from the crowd. I meant to play this at –2%.
(2) I didn’t like this one. I might retire this song.
(3) There was a request for Frankie Ruiz. Same guy asked for Victor Manuelle later.
(4) And the Merengue crowd became happier.
(5) They liked this one too.
(6) At least one person was very excited to hear this song and whooped in pleasure.
(7) Perhaps a bit early to bring this on, but it worked fine. I’m still trying to keep the speed on the slow side. Vishal wants me to go a little faster though.
(8) I did say I was going to play Cha Cha tonight. It went fine.
(9) This was one of the songs requested by Lindsey the birthday girl.
(10) Well… you know…
(11) Either many people knew this song or it was accepted immediately by many. It seems like a hit. No surprise though.
(12) In my original outline, I expected Vishal to talk about switching over somewhere between my 17th and 19th song. This was the 21st, so I was off a little.
(13) I had a little under a minute to make a decision on this song after a set by Cristian. Lindsey requested this song last night along with Ojos Chinos (a remix version though) and a Spanish Harlem Orchestra song. Perhaps I should have played something else if I wanted a longer set, but I guess I didn’t have a good mindset by this point.
(14) In retrospect, a better plan might have been couple of generic Salsa followed by La Pantera Mambo followed by a Bachata followed by this song. I guess I was in too much of a hurry. Also I made a mistake of putting on a wrong track for about a minute before starting on this song. That never helps matters. Cyrille was the only one (among few couples) who seemed to enjoy this one on the floor; although I did learn later that Sergio also was dancing to this in a corner. Dancing on the side doesn’t help make things look good when the main floor is empty.
(15) The end.
Summary 24 Songs. 2 Bachata, 1 Cha Cha, 21 Salsa. Three songs (*) were new for me. In the end I played 7 of 14 Salsa songs and 1 of 4 Cha Cha songs I tentatively considered playing. I probably would have played a Bachata and maybe a Cha Cha if I had another hour block as opposed to a 3-song block.
A long break lasting over an hour and half during which Vishal and Cristian played various songs. I was expecting Vishal to move to Merengue fairly early but he must have played at least 8-9 Salsa before doing so. The longer he went on playing Salsa, more I felt stressed out until I asked Vishal when I should plan on returning to the DJ booth after a bit of a break; the answer was about an hour. Ouch. And I thought I was doing a fine job and with only one misfire up to that time (Evitare). I guess it was a special day.
It was pretty good night for Salsa although I was generally too wound up to enjoy it fully. DJing does it for me, and I felt it more because I had not done this on a Friday with it usual mix of interest groups for some time. Some dances helped, but I don’t think I was feeling reasonably relaxed until something like my fourth or fifth dance of the evening past 12:30 AM with Lindsey; this dance came about mostly because of strong prompting from a third party (saying he/they have not seen me dance and show off my stuff tonight). I also had Sally lead me for a short time; I’d need a lot more practice to become competent. I didn’t dance much but I did manage to dance with a good number of people I had not seen for some time.
We had a pretty good Salsa crowd – almost as good as yesterday (but yesterday could very well be an anomaly). I spotted some new good leaders, some of whom might be just passing through; I don’t know for sure. If anything, the good leads outnumbered good followers more than usual.
Next week should be a little different with DJ format. No birthday songs. Probably just me and Vishal only meaning I'll probably play more songs than I did tonight.
Playlist
Brujeria – El Gran Combo (moved to –0.5%) (1)
Que Buena Baila Usted – Oscar D’Leon (-2%)
Etnia – Grupo Niche (-2%)
Evitare – N’Klabe (-2%) (2)
La Cura – Frankie Ruiz (-2%) (3)
Idillio – Willie Colon (-2%)
El Topodoredoso – Hector Lavoe (-2%)
La Fiesta Ya Comenso – Grupo Latin Vibe (-2%)*
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
some Merengue (4)
Ven Tu – Domenic Marte (5)
Malanga Amarilla – Cachao (6)
Otra Oportunidad – Jimmy Bosch (7)
El Pito – Isidro Infante (-3%)
Mambo Mongo – Mongo Santamaria (Fania version) (-3%)
Push, Push, Push – Joe Cuba (8)*
Ojos Chinos – El Gran Combo (-2%?) (9)
Playa No More – Crystal Sierra (10)*
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe (11)
You Will Remember Me – Domenic M
Un Verano En New York – El Gran Combo (-3%) (12)
--long break--
La Pantera Mambo – La 33 (13)
Vietnam Mambo – Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers (14)*
My Favorite Things – New Swing Sextet
(1) Because it had been a while since I played DJ on a Friday, I gave some extra thoughts to which songs to play as well as a rough outline of first five or six songs to play for the evening. This song was the first on my list, but I changed my plan starting with the second song based upon what I saw from the crowd. I meant to play this at –2%.
(2) I didn’t like this one. I might retire this song.
(3) There was a request for Frankie Ruiz. Same guy asked for Victor Manuelle later.
(4) And the Merengue crowd became happier.
(5) They liked this one too.
(6) At least one person was very excited to hear this song and whooped in pleasure.
(7) Perhaps a bit early to bring this on, but it worked fine. I’m still trying to keep the speed on the slow side. Vishal wants me to go a little faster though.
(8) I did say I was going to play Cha Cha tonight. It went fine.
(9) This was one of the songs requested by Lindsey the birthday girl.
(10) Well… you know…
(11) Either many people knew this song or it was accepted immediately by many. It seems like a hit. No surprise though.
(12) In my original outline, I expected Vishal to talk about switching over somewhere between my 17th and 19th song. This was the 21st, so I was off a little.
(13) I had a little under a minute to make a decision on this song after a set by Cristian. Lindsey requested this song last night along with Ojos Chinos (a remix version though) and a Spanish Harlem Orchestra song. Perhaps I should have played something else if I wanted a longer set, but I guess I didn’t have a good mindset by this point.
(14) In retrospect, a better plan might have been couple of generic Salsa followed by La Pantera Mambo followed by a Bachata followed by this song. I guess I was in too much of a hurry. Also I made a mistake of putting on a wrong track for about a minute before starting on this song. That never helps matters. Cyrille was the only one (among few couples) who seemed to enjoy this one on the floor; although I did learn later that Sergio also was dancing to this in a corner. Dancing on the side doesn’t help make things look good when the main floor is empty.
(15) The end.
Summary 24 Songs. 2 Bachata, 1 Cha Cha, 21 Salsa. Three songs (*) were new for me. In the end I played 7 of 14 Salsa songs and 1 of 4 Cha Cha songs I tentatively considered playing. I probably would have played a Bachata and maybe a Cha Cha if I had another hour block as opposed to a 3-song block.
A long break lasting over an hour and half during which Vishal and Cristian played various songs. I was expecting Vishal to move to Merengue fairly early but he must have played at least 8-9 Salsa before doing so. The longer he went on playing Salsa, more I felt stressed out until I asked Vishal when I should plan on returning to the DJ booth after a bit of a break; the answer was about an hour. Ouch. And I thought I was doing a fine job and with only one misfire up to that time (Evitare). I guess it was a special day.
It was pretty good night for Salsa although I was generally too wound up to enjoy it fully. DJing does it for me, and I felt it more because I had not done this on a Friday with it usual mix of interest groups for some time. Some dances helped, but I don’t think I was feeling reasonably relaxed until something like my fourth or fifth dance of the evening past 12:30 AM with Lindsey; this dance came about mostly because of strong prompting from a third party (saying he/they have not seen me dance and show off my stuff tonight). I also had Sally lead me for a short time; I’d need a lot more practice to become competent. I didn’t dance much but I did manage to dance with a good number of people I had not seen for some time.
We had a pretty good Salsa crowd – almost as good as yesterday (but yesterday could very well be an anomaly). I spotted some new good leaders, some of whom might be just passing through; I don’t know for sure. If anything, the good leads outnumbered good followers more than usual.
Next week should be a little different with DJ format. No birthday songs. Probably just me and Vishal only meaning I'll probably play more songs than I did tonight.
A packed and wet Thursday
September 14, 2006
Intermediate with Chris
1,2,3,5,6,7 open hold into CBL – lead follower forward on 5 with both connections pointed forward and complete follower to turn 1/2 clockwise on 6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break bring follower in on R side as R-L goes over leader’s head – lead follower to walk around leader in clockwise motion (leader steps to R on 5 and perhaps back on 6) to get back to open position
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader does double right turn, first turn with L-R high and second turn with L-R low to end L-R behind leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 make R-L connection in front (as early as previous 8) and leader turns full counterclockwise on 1,2,3 (letting go L-R giving followers options for styling) with R-L placed on follower’s L hip/waist – leader walks around follower from her L side to get behind her on 5,6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 with R hand starting on follower’s R elbow area, allow follower for preparation as R-R connection is made and brought into pizza waiter position with R hand gliding up follower’s arm – lead follower to a stationary clockwise turn (1 1/2) with R-R going above leader’s head with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise at the end – R-R ends by leader’s L side possibly under L arm
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break (leader is in front of follower facing away from her) and bring follower in on leader’s L side with follower’s R hand trapped under L arm – leader does back basic on 5,6,7 as follower is led to walk around leader in clockwise motion with L hand on follower’s back – at around 7, follower’s R hand is trapped under leader’s R arm
1,2,3,5,6,7 forward basic for leader on 1,2,3 as follower is continued to be lead to walk in clockwise motion in part with R hand on follower’s back – follower is continued to be lead into clockwise walk with leader turning 1/2 clockwise on 7 to face follower and end with R-R hold
Very often the material taught in the intermediate class is very similar to the ones taught in the advanced class. Not tonight. I volunteered for the intermediate class because there was a large surplus of leaders for the advanced class and large surplus of followers for the intermediate class. I have done such thing once or twice before – I think I’m the only one among leaders who has done this thus far. It’s possible that taking such action is easier for me than some others because I don’t consider doing a lower level class as a sign of weakness or of lacking confidence. Below is the reconstruction of advanced class based upon demonstration from Sean and Cyrille.
Advanced with Sally
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead standard vanilla triple turn for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with L-R ending behind follower’s L waist and R-L in front of follower – leader steps into followers space and turns 1 1/2 counterclockwise to face follower and switch to R-R and L-L (follower needs to keep hands where they were left)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower to turn 1/2 on 5 so that L-L ends behind follower’s R waist and R-R in front of follower – leader steps into follower’s space and turn 1/2 clockwise (?) to face follower and switch to R-L and L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break but probably need to stay in place on 1, step far forward on 2 past follower and step to R of follower (or towards L as leader turns 1/2 counterclockwise) on 3 – step back on 5 to bring follower in and lead follower to free 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn
During the second hour, I managed to practice and demonstrate the intermediate class material from both leader and follower’s point of view as well as get an idea of advanced class material (although I must say that the material from the advanced class seemed quite challenging and that I would have needed a lot more practice to take proper notes). I also managed to remember, deconstruct and practice Monday’s material a little. Rather large number of people including Sean, Clare, Alison, Ivan and Charlotte were involved at various point with Cyrille and Anastasia taking the bulk of demonstration, practice and discussion with me. Cyrille seemed impressed with the material from the intermediate class tonight.
The club seemed even busier than it has been for last several weeks. According to Sergio, some half dozen Cuban people from the Catholic Church Hall days 3-4 years ago were in attendance. I’m not sure if the upcoming Cuban classes on Tuesdays had anything to do with their surprise appearance. I think there must have been some on-2 dancing tonight as well – although I don’t know for sure. The only problem was that there was a flooding that affected only the lower main floor – apparently the water seeped in from underneath. It was another strong night – ending around midnight.
It was a pretty good night for me for dancing until I started to get hungry and low in energy. Lunch and snack were all fine today so it wasn’t like I had absolutely nothing. Rather it was that I just exerted too much energy. I think I was quite all right at least until El Quinto De Beethoven (Cesta All-Stars/Charlie Palmieri) and maybe few songs thereafter. Maybe I’m just getting old (everyone else complains of this so why not me?). Or perhaps I spend more energy into individual dances than I used to. Or maybe I am out of shape.
Quote of the day 1 – “The thought never occurred to me. Wait. That’s not right. I did think about it but only as an (excellent) example of something not to talk about.”
Quote of the day 2 – “Too bad I don’t know how to lead two people at the same time.”
Quote of the day 3 – “I could hear the scream from over here.”
As for tomorrow, I probably will play songs as if I had not played on several Mondays over last few months (mostly because the audience will be mostly different). Expect more classic sound. I’ll probably look for opportunities to play couple of (short?) Cha Cha and larger number of Bachata, and I may avoid playing more than one non-Salsa song at a time. I’ll leave Merengue and Reggaeton to Vish.
Intermediate with Chris
1,2,3,5,6,7 open hold into CBL – lead follower forward on 5 with both connections pointed forward and complete follower to turn 1/2 clockwise on 6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break bring follower in on R side as R-L goes over leader’s head – lead follower to walk around leader in clockwise motion (leader steps to R on 5 and perhaps back on 6) to get back to open position
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader does double right turn, first turn with L-R high and second turn with L-R low to end L-R behind leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 make R-L connection in front (as early as previous 8) and leader turns full counterclockwise on 1,2,3 (letting go L-R giving followers options for styling) with R-L placed on follower’s L hip/waist – leader walks around follower from her L side to get behind her on 5,6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 with R hand starting on follower’s R elbow area, allow follower for preparation as R-R connection is made and brought into pizza waiter position with R hand gliding up follower’s arm – lead follower to a stationary clockwise turn (1 1/2) with R-R going above leader’s head with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise at the end – R-R ends by leader’s L side possibly under L arm
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break (leader is in front of follower facing away from her) and bring follower in on leader’s L side with follower’s R hand trapped under L arm – leader does back basic on 5,6,7 as follower is led to walk around leader in clockwise motion with L hand on follower’s back – at around 7, follower’s R hand is trapped under leader’s R arm
1,2,3,5,6,7 forward basic for leader on 1,2,3 as follower is continued to be lead to walk in clockwise motion in part with R hand on follower’s back – follower is continued to be lead into clockwise walk with leader turning 1/2 clockwise on 7 to face follower and end with R-R hold
Very often the material taught in the intermediate class is very similar to the ones taught in the advanced class. Not tonight. I volunteered for the intermediate class because there was a large surplus of leaders for the advanced class and large surplus of followers for the intermediate class. I have done such thing once or twice before – I think I’m the only one among leaders who has done this thus far. It’s possible that taking such action is easier for me than some others because I don’t consider doing a lower level class as a sign of weakness or of lacking confidence. Below is the reconstruction of advanced class based upon demonstration from Sean and Cyrille.
Advanced with Sally
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead standard vanilla triple turn for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with L-R ending behind follower’s L waist and R-L in front of follower – leader steps into followers space and turns 1 1/2 counterclockwise to face follower and switch to R-R and L-L (follower needs to keep hands where they were left)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower to turn 1/2 on 5 so that L-L ends behind follower’s R waist and R-R in front of follower – leader steps into follower’s space and turn 1/2 clockwise (?) to face follower and switch to R-L and L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break but probably need to stay in place on 1, step far forward on 2 past follower and step to R of follower (or towards L as leader turns 1/2 counterclockwise) on 3 – step back on 5 to bring follower in and lead follower to free 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn
During the second hour, I managed to practice and demonstrate the intermediate class material from both leader and follower’s point of view as well as get an idea of advanced class material (although I must say that the material from the advanced class seemed quite challenging and that I would have needed a lot more practice to take proper notes). I also managed to remember, deconstruct and practice Monday’s material a little. Rather large number of people including Sean, Clare, Alison, Ivan and Charlotte were involved at various point with Cyrille and Anastasia taking the bulk of demonstration, practice and discussion with me. Cyrille seemed impressed with the material from the intermediate class tonight.
The club seemed even busier than it has been for last several weeks. According to Sergio, some half dozen Cuban people from the Catholic Church Hall days 3-4 years ago were in attendance. I’m not sure if the upcoming Cuban classes on Tuesdays had anything to do with their surprise appearance. I think there must have been some on-2 dancing tonight as well – although I don’t know for sure. The only problem was that there was a flooding that affected only the lower main floor – apparently the water seeped in from underneath. It was another strong night – ending around midnight.
It was a pretty good night for me for dancing until I started to get hungry and low in energy. Lunch and snack were all fine today so it wasn’t like I had absolutely nothing. Rather it was that I just exerted too much energy. I think I was quite all right at least until El Quinto De Beethoven (Cesta All-Stars/Charlie Palmieri) and maybe few songs thereafter. Maybe I’m just getting old (everyone else complains of this so why not me?). Or perhaps I spend more energy into individual dances than I used to. Or maybe I am out of shape.
Quote of the day 1 – “The thought never occurred to me. Wait. That’s not right. I did think about it but only as an (excellent) example of something not to talk about.”
Quote of the day 2 – “Too bad I don’t know how to lead two people at the same time.”
Quote of the day 3 – “I could hear the scream from over here.”
As for tomorrow, I probably will play songs as if I had not played on several Mondays over last few months (mostly because the audience will be mostly different). Expect more classic sound. I’ll probably look for opportunities to play couple of (short?) Cha Cha and larger number of Bachata, and I may avoid playing more than one non-Salsa song at a time. I’ll leave Merengue and Reggaeton to Vish.
So many people taking classes but not staying afterwards
September 11, 2006
Apparently Tiz was not feeling well so someone named Adam filled in as a one-time deal. I'm not sure if this was Adam Lainani or some different Adam. The other teachers were Joe and Aiste.
Intermediate with Adam
I was late for shines. It looked like they did two shines that lasted 2 bars long each. The first one was like a double spiral (turn 1/4SuzyQ-kick-SuzyQ-kick-turn 1/2-SuzyQ-kick-SuzyQ-kickandturn1/4) and fairly simple. The second one had some kicks as well but I did not get a very good look – it didn’t look too tricky because of high degree of symmetry.
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL ending with leader facing away from follower’s line with 1/2 clockwise turn with L-R behind leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in with R hand showing early to connect R-L for 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower and letting go L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 3/4 clockwise turn for leader connecting L-R low – lead follower forward on 5 (I think L-R could be the primary initial lead here before letting go) and lead follower to full traveling counterclockwise turn switching to L-L (in front of follower’s R waist)
1,2,3,5,6,7 two versions... Simpler version involves leading follower straight back on 1 while leader steps into follower’s spot on 1,2,3 facing away from follower and making R-R connection (either on the side or above shoulder). More complex version involves leader stepping into follower’s spot as in simple version but also doing a stationary clockwise turn and ending with R-R connection above leader’s shoulders or on the side) – on 5,6,7 lead follower to a CBL finish (primarily R-R) lead with leader turning full counterclockwise to end facing follower (there might have been a drop catch or drop underarm catch with R-R to end with crossed hold with R-R underneath L-L)
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa [this was the end of the first hour and start of second hour.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 followed by around the world preferably turning full counterclockwise as unit on 1,2,3 and finishing with simple CBL [leading follower forward on 1 is necessary in order to make it 360 in my opinion – I probably will need some more practice to get this right]
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold to start – open break and bring follower in making R-L connection as well and overtake on R and lead follower to turn 1 1/2 clockwise with hands together with leader turning 3/4 counterclockwise with drop catch for L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in behind leader keeping R-L relatively high and lead follower to 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn (lead her turn first then turn around counterclockwise to face follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 counterclockwise motion to toss follower’s R hand up in air with leader turning 1/2 clockwise with R-L up to catch follower’s R hand high for R-L/R – lead follower to turn full clockwise stationary with leader turning back to face follower again
There weren’t as many people from the core crowd tonight, especially for the class. There were plenty of people taking part in classes. I am continually amazed by vast number of people I don’t recognize coming to the beginners and improvers classes. So few of them stay long enough to become recognizable – ones that last more than a month are rarities.
A comment that I enjoyed hearing but was not surprised by was that dancing CBL style Salsa with me is easy and nice for people who usually stick to Cuban style. For a long time, I actually often enjoyed dancing CBL Salsa with some Cuban people more than with dancing with supposedly good CBL people (although I suppose this was more about some people being simply better followers regardless of style and perhaps about there being better dancing chemistry with some people). I doubt that there’s anything special about the way I lead except perhaps I am more willing to lower complexity and dance with people with large spectrum of abilities than most others.
Another amusing statement (made half in jest) was that I am a dangerous man because of my blog and that one may want to be careful about what was said in my presence. As if I haven’t shown enough restraint from revealing what appeared to be private secrets or embarrassing details about other people... As I have stated before, people can always tell me to not mention something when in doubt. It’s all very funny and silly considering how gossipy the English are.
Yet another amusing note for today involved me making an excuse for the instructor having a rough or perhaps too-forceful lead. That may have been a first. Aside from the fact that the material today was too much of long-sequence type as opposed to placing emphasis on technique (with caveat that he did allow and push for fair bit of practice), I liked the material and may try practicing some parts more later.
A notable newcomer tonight included someone who supposedly has 10 years of Latin dance experience. Sometimes it feels as if everyone has 3, 4, 5, 7, or 10 or more years of dancing experience.
I mentioned to Vishal once again that I don’t have any Merengue in my collection. I thought it would be useful to drill the fact to him for Friday(s).
Quote of the day - "It doesn't look like you're dancing with her."
Well… there was no music on. Or did you mean that she wasn't being yanked around roughly enough?
Apparently Tiz was not feeling well so someone named Adam filled in as a one-time deal. I'm not sure if this was Adam Lainani or some different Adam. The other teachers were Joe and Aiste.
Intermediate with Adam
I was late for shines. It looked like they did two shines that lasted 2 bars long each. The first one was like a double spiral (turn 1/4SuzyQ-kick-SuzyQ-kick-turn 1/2-SuzyQ-kick-SuzyQ-kickandturn1/4) and fairly simple. The second one had some kicks as well but I did not get a very good look – it didn’t look too tricky because of high degree of symmetry.
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL ending with leader facing away from follower’s line with 1/2 clockwise turn with L-R behind leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in with R hand showing early to connect R-L for 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower and letting go L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 3/4 clockwise turn for leader connecting L-R low – lead follower forward on 5 (I think L-R could be the primary initial lead here before letting go) and lead follower to full traveling counterclockwise turn switching to L-L (in front of follower’s R waist)
1,2,3,5,6,7 two versions... Simpler version involves leading follower straight back on 1 while leader steps into follower’s spot on 1,2,3 facing away from follower and making R-R connection (either on the side or above shoulder). More complex version involves leader stepping into follower’s spot as in simple version but also doing a stationary clockwise turn and ending with R-R connection above leader’s shoulders or on the side) – on 5,6,7 lead follower to a CBL finish (primarily R-R) lead with leader turning full counterclockwise to end facing follower (there might have been a drop catch or drop underarm catch with R-R to end with crossed hold with R-R underneath L-L)
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa [this was the end of the first hour and start of second hour.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 followed by around the world preferably turning full counterclockwise as unit on 1,2,3 and finishing with simple CBL [leading follower forward on 1 is necessary in order to make it 360 in my opinion – I probably will need some more practice to get this right]
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold to start – open break and bring follower in making R-L connection as well and overtake on R and lead follower to turn 1 1/2 clockwise with hands together with leader turning 3/4 counterclockwise with drop catch for L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in behind leader keeping R-L relatively high and lead follower to 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn (lead her turn first then turn around counterclockwise to face follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 counterclockwise motion to toss follower’s R hand up in air with leader turning 1/2 clockwise with R-L up to catch follower’s R hand high for R-L/R – lead follower to turn full clockwise stationary with leader turning back to face follower again
There weren’t as many people from the core crowd tonight, especially for the class. There were plenty of people taking part in classes. I am continually amazed by vast number of people I don’t recognize coming to the beginners and improvers classes. So few of them stay long enough to become recognizable – ones that last more than a month are rarities.
A comment that I enjoyed hearing but was not surprised by was that dancing CBL style Salsa with me is easy and nice for people who usually stick to Cuban style. For a long time, I actually often enjoyed dancing CBL Salsa with some Cuban people more than with dancing with supposedly good CBL people (although I suppose this was more about some people being simply better followers regardless of style and perhaps about there being better dancing chemistry with some people). I doubt that there’s anything special about the way I lead except perhaps I am more willing to lower complexity and dance with people with large spectrum of abilities than most others.
Another amusing statement (made half in jest) was that I am a dangerous man because of my blog and that one may want to be careful about what was said in my presence. As if I haven’t shown enough restraint from revealing what appeared to be private secrets or embarrassing details about other people... As I have stated before, people can always tell me to not mention something when in doubt. It’s all very funny and silly considering how gossipy the English are.
Yet another amusing note for today involved me making an excuse for the instructor having a rough or perhaps too-forceful lead. That may have been a first. Aside from the fact that the material today was too much of long-sequence type as opposed to placing emphasis on technique (with caveat that he did allow and push for fair bit of practice), I liked the material and may try practicing some parts more later.
A notable newcomer tonight included someone who supposedly has 10 years of Latin dance experience. Sometimes it feels as if everyone has 3, 4, 5, 7, or 10 or more years of dancing experience.
I mentioned to Vishal once again that I don’t have any Merengue in my collection. I thought it would be useful to drill the fact to him for Friday(s).
Quote of the day - "It doesn't look like you're dancing with her."
Well… there was no music on. Or did you mean that she wasn't being yanked around roughly enough?
A short forgettable night at the SOS
September 10, 2006
Somewhat later departure time than usual – 7:15-7:20 PM. Traffic was heavy and nearly stationary at times. My car stalled mysteriously on Bow Road and thus gave me a brief scare but no more problems surfaced afterwards. Time of arrival was 9:05 PM. To top it off, we learned that there was going to be a performance, which would cut into dancing time while increasing entry fee by a pound per person.
Overall it was an off night. Music was okay but not great – this seemed to be the general consensus if I can call concurring opinions from three other people that. The DJ was Julian the Duke – he had better nights. I think my pants were too heavy and did not breath well. I had one dance I liked quite a bit, but others were mostly ordinary although pleasant enough. Blah blah blah.
It was crowded yet there were not too many familiar faces tonight. I chatted briefly with Sean and Tracy from LDA; apparently Sean has gotten into teaching (Saturdays in South London?). Liam was there too, and he seemed glad to see Sergio; it looked as if they spent more time talking to each other than dancing tonight. No Diane.
The performance was by a couple from Paris. Sergio thought it took away something like 15 minutes from social dancing time, but I can’t imagine it took that long. Maybe 10 minutes. In any case, it was 10 PM when the performance was over. Apparently the guy was responsible for breaking Leon’s ribs.
The whole thing ended very quickly – I hardly felt like I danced – maybe 7, 8 or 9 overall. In retrospect, we spent more than twice the amount of time commuting than dancing at SOS tonight.
Quote of the day – “I’ll write you a reference.”
So that they would let me DJ at SOS - he’s quite a comedian, especially considering that he has never heard me DJ. He also suggested a prospective dance partner for me tonight – a first. I didn’t get around to asking her though.
Sergio spent the drive back listening to my non-Salsa music. He sampled through Miles Davis, Joshua Redman, Beatles, Bongwater, Doors, Verdi, JS Bach, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Spinal Tap.
Somewhat later departure time than usual – 7:15-7:20 PM. Traffic was heavy and nearly stationary at times. My car stalled mysteriously on Bow Road and thus gave me a brief scare but no more problems surfaced afterwards. Time of arrival was 9:05 PM. To top it off, we learned that there was going to be a performance, which would cut into dancing time while increasing entry fee by a pound per person.
Overall it was an off night. Music was okay but not great – this seemed to be the general consensus if I can call concurring opinions from three other people that. The DJ was Julian the Duke – he had better nights. I think my pants were too heavy and did not breath well. I had one dance I liked quite a bit, but others were mostly ordinary although pleasant enough. Blah blah blah.
It was crowded yet there were not too many familiar faces tonight. I chatted briefly with Sean and Tracy from LDA; apparently Sean has gotten into teaching (Saturdays in South London?). Liam was there too, and he seemed glad to see Sergio; it looked as if they spent more time talking to each other than dancing tonight. No Diane.
The performance was by a couple from Paris. Sergio thought it took away something like 15 minutes from social dancing time, but I can’t imagine it took that long. Maybe 10 minutes. In any case, it was 10 PM when the performance was over. Apparently the guy was responsible for breaking Leon’s ribs.
The whole thing ended very quickly – I hardly felt like I danced – maybe 7, 8 or 9 overall. In retrospect, we spent more than twice the amount of time commuting than dancing at SOS tonight.
Quote of the day – “I’ll write you a reference.”
So that they would let me DJ at SOS - he’s quite a comedian, especially considering that he has never heard me DJ. He also suggested a prospective dance partner for me tonight – a first. I didn’t get around to asking her though.
Sergio spent the drive back listening to my non-Salsa music. He sampled through Miles Davis, Joshua Redman, Beatles, Bongwater, Doors, Verdi, JS Bach, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Spinal Tap.
Salsa events, startups and workshops in Cambridge this fall
September 9, 2006
Salsa Bravo's Big Salsa Party
Saturday 30th Sep 2006 and Saturday 21st Oct 2006
7:00-8:00 Salsa Beginners class
7:00-8:00 La Rueda class
8:00-12:00 Non stop party time!
Cambridge Salsa Competition (Tel: 077 298 298 06 Serap for more info)
Location: Unitarian Church Hall
Cuban style Salsa classes with Susan Cariello
Every Tuesday from 3rd October 2006
Improver / Intermediate class: 7:30pm-8:30pm
Beginners class: 8:30pm-9:30pm
£5 Class & Club / £3 Club only
Susan: 07960 512303
sue.c@talk21.com
Location: Club Salsa
Tropical Salsa Competition: Sundays 15th, 22nd and 29th Oct 2006
Tropical Salsa Competition for intermediate level. Enjoy the hottest Salsa, Merengue, Bachata & Reggaeton by DJ C-Swing.
£100 and 1 massive trophy for 1st winner
All participants will win a 2 month free club entry.
Two more trophies for 2nd and 3rd winner.
Launch Nite is the 8th October with free entry.
1st, 2nd and Final Rounds on Sun 15th, 22nd and 29th Oct respectively.
Bonus bachata lesson for beginner levels. £4.00 Entry with Class.
Those who are interested in the competition please call Cristian on 07747067595.
Location: Club Salsa
Pure Salsa workshops with Sally and Ivan
-SPINS 1 for beginners and improvers. Covering basic turns and spins, focusing on footwork, body positions and leading / following techniques. Introduction of exercises to develop core stability and stop dizziness.
-SPINS 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers. Developing technique for multiple spins, leading and following spins.
-BODY MOVEMENT AND ISOLATION 1 for improvers. Developing your basic salsa steps and posture to improve stability and coordination.
-BODY MOVEMENT AND ISOLATION 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers. Developing core strength and stability to improve Cuban body movement.
-LEADING AND FOLLOWING 1 for beginners and improvers. How to hold your partner comfortably and with confidence, how to give a clear and concise lead and understand signals required to follow your partner.
-LEADING AND FOLLOWING 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers. Improving connection between dancers to develop the subtleties of your dancing and better understand changes in direction and pressure. This will enable you to lead and follow more complex moves comfortably and with precision.
-MUSICALITY 1 for beginners and improvers. Understanding basic salsa rhythms and identifying the key instruments to improve rhythm and timing.
-MUSICALITY 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers. We will focus on exploring different rhythms and how to play with the rhythm during a dance in order to improve your improvisation and interpretation.
-STYLING 1 for improvers. Basic styling for men and women to allow you to add your own style to the dance.
-STYLING 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers. Developing your styling for both individual dancing and partner work.
-FOOTWORK 1 for beginners and improvers.
-FOOTWORK 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers
Advanced booking required. To book, contact Sally on: 07951 723 774 or email info@salsa-allegra.co.uk
One workshop: £8 per person (£6 for students)
Two workshops: £14 pounds per person (£10 for students)
Three workshops: £18 per person (£12 for students)
Sunday 22nd October:
- 2 til 3.30 - Spins 1
- 3.30 til 5 - Leading and following 1
- 5 til 6.30 - Body movement and isolation 1
Saturday 28rd October:
- 2 til 3.30 - Spins 2
- 3.30 til 5 - Leading and following 2
- 5 til 6.30 - Body movement and isolation 2
Sunday 29th October
- 2 til 3.30 - Styling 1
- 3.30 til 5 – Musicality 1
- 5.00 til 6.30 – Footwork 1
Sunday 19th November
- 2 til 3.30 – Styling 2
- 3.30 til 5 – Musicality 2
- 5 til 6.30 – Footwork 2
Saturday 2nd December
- 2 til 3.30 – Spins 1
- 3.30 til 5 – Leading and following 1
- 5 til 6.30 – Body movement and isolation 1
Sunday 3rd December
- 2 til 3.30 – Spins 2
- 3.30 til 5 - Leading and following 2
- 5 til 6.30 – Body movement and isolation 2
Location: YMCA
Also I think there will be a CDC Salsa party some time in November.
Salsa Bravo's Big Salsa Party
Saturday 30th Sep 2006 and Saturday 21st Oct 2006
7:00-8:00 Salsa Beginners class
7:00-8:00 La Rueda class
8:00-12:00 Non stop party time!
Cambridge Salsa Competition (Tel: 077 298 298 06 Serap for more info)
Location: Unitarian Church Hall
Cuban style Salsa classes with Susan Cariello
Every Tuesday from 3rd October 2006
Improver / Intermediate class: 7:30pm-8:30pm
Beginners class: 8:30pm-9:30pm
£5 Class & Club / £3 Club only
Susan: 07960 512303
sue.c@talk21.com
Location: Club Salsa
Tropical Salsa Competition: Sundays 15th, 22nd and 29th Oct 2006
Tropical Salsa Competition for intermediate level. Enjoy the hottest Salsa, Merengue, Bachata & Reggaeton by DJ C-Swing.
£100 and 1 massive trophy for 1st winner
All participants will win a 2 month free club entry.
Two more trophies for 2nd and 3rd winner.
Launch Nite is the 8th October with free entry.
1st, 2nd and Final Rounds on Sun 15th, 22nd and 29th Oct respectively.
Bonus bachata lesson for beginner levels. £4.00 Entry with Class.
Those who are interested in the competition please call Cristian on 07747067595.
Location: Club Salsa
Pure Salsa workshops with Sally and Ivan
-SPINS 1 for beginners and improvers. Covering basic turns and spins, focusing on footwork, body positions and leading / following techniques. Introduction of exercises to develop core stability and stop dizziness.
-SPINS 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers. Developing technique for multiple spins, leading and following spins.
-BODY MOVEMENT AND ISOLATION 1 for improvers. Developing your basic salsa steps and posture to improve stability and coordination.
-BODY MOVEMENT AND ISOLATION 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers. Developing core strength and stability to improve Cuban body movement.
-LEADING AND FOLLOWING 1 for beginners and improvers. How to hold your partner comfortably and with confidence, how to give a clear and concise lead and understand signals required to follow your partner.
-LEADING AND FOLLOWING 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers. Improving connection between dancers to develop the subtleties of your dancing and better understand changes in direction and pressure. This will enable you to lead and follow more complex moves comfortably and with precision.
-MUSICALITY 1 for beginners and improvers. Understanding basic salsa rhythms and identifying the key instruments to improve rhythm and timing.
-MUSICALITY 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers. We will focus on exploring different rhythms and how to play with the rhythm during a dance in order to improve your improvisation and interpretation.
-STYLING 1 for improvers. Basic styling for men and women to allow you to add your own style to the dance.
-STYLING 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers. Developing your styling for both individual dancing and partner work.
-FOOTWORK 1 for beginners and improvers.
-FOOTWORK 2 for intermediate and advanced dancers
Advanced booking required. To book, contact Sally on: 07951 723 774 or email info@salsa-allegra.co.uk
One workshop: £8 per person (£6 for students)
Two workshops: £14 pounds per person (£10 for students)
Three workshops: £18 per person (£12 for students)
Sunday 22nd October:
- 2 til 3.30 - Spins 1
- 3.30 til 5 - Leading and following 1
- 5 til 6.30 - Body movement and isolation 1
Saturday 28rd October:
- 2 til 3.30 - Spins 2
- 3.30 til 5 - Leading and following 2
- 5 til 6.30 - Body movement and isolation 2
Sunday 29th October
- 2 til 3.30 - Styling 1
- 3.30 til 5 – Musicality 1
- 5.00 til 6.30 – Footwork 1
Sunday 19th November
- 2 til 3.30 – Styling 2
- 3.30 til 5 – Musicality 2
- 5 til 6.30 – Footwork 2
Saturday 2nd December
- 2 til 3.30 – Spins 1
- 3.30 til 5 – Leading and following 1
- 5 til 6.30 – Body movement and isolation 1
Sunday 3rd December
- 2 til 3.30 – Spins 2
- 3.30 til 5 - Leading and following 2
- 5 til 6.30 – Body movement and isolation 2
Location: YMCA
Also I think there will be a CDC Salsa party some time in November.
I try Merengue... maybe I'll do it again
September 8, 2006
No word from the pack. I decided that it would be fun to see Johnny and Serap - I hadn't seen Serap in about a month. Also I thought it would be informative to get a fresh feel of Friday crowd for next week.
I was expecting very few among the CBL hardcore group, but I was mildly surprised find several women. Not so many men though. I kept my dances fairly simple and relaxed for the most part - with caveat that some people wouldn't see it that way.
Music was about what I expected - perhaps a little better than expected. There was nothing that made me want to move at full speed all the time. Serap thought my cross body lead was much improved and said she liked the "pauses" done well. When dancing with Sally, I used one of the moves she taught last night (the instant gratification one) and was briefly stunned and dazzled by the speed she zipped right through it. Later in the evening, my dance with Lindsey felt like borderline Merengue (something of a nonsense statement in retrospect given that I have refrained from dancing Merengue in the past), and I said as much to her afterwards; she suggested dancing Merengue later but it never came to pass because she was occupied and I didn't feel inspired to dance once Merengue came on next.
Much later in the evening, I was asked for a dance as a Salsa song was ending (I had asked her first earlier). The song ended almost immediately after we got down to the floor and a Merengue came on, so I decided to try dancing Merengue. It was quite interesting and novel - certainly much better than trying to dance Salsa with someone who cannot dance in time to the music. I am pretty sure I haven't danced Merengue in well over a year. It's even possible that I have danced Merengue with only one person before - Serap (grudgingly on my part at the time as I was fixated on getting better with Salsa and saw Merengue as a distraction). I improvised many moves I don't even remember trying to do when dancing Salsa. Maybe I'll try it again another time.
No word from the pack. I decided that it would be fun to see Johnny and Serap - I hadn't seen Serap in about a month. Also I thought it would be informative to get a fresh feel of Friday crowd for next week.
I was expecting very few among the CBL hardcore group, but I was mildly surprised find several women. Not so many men though. I kept my dances fairly simple and relaxed for the most part - with caveat that some people wouldn't see it that way.
Music was about what I expected - perhaps a little better than expected. There was nothing that made me want to move at full speed all the time. Serap thought my cross body lead was much improved and said she liked the "pauses" done well. When dancing with Sally, I used one of the moves she taught last night (the instant gratification one) and was briefly stunned and dazzled by the speed she zipped right through it. Later in the evening, my dance with Lindsey felt like borderline Merengue (something of a nonsense statement in retrospect given that I have refrained from dancing Merengue in the past), and I said as much to her afterwards; she suggested dancing Merengue later but it never came to pass because she was occupied and I didn't feel inspired to dance once Merengue came on next.
Much later in the evening, I was asked for a dance as a Salsa song was ending (I had asked her first earlier). The song ended almost immediately after we got down to the floor and a Merengue came on, so I decided to try dancing Merengue. It was quite interesting and novel - certainly much better than trying to dance Salsa with someone who cannot dance in time to the music. I am pretty sure I haven't danced Merengue in well over a year. It's even possible that I have danced Merengue with only one person before - Serap (grudgingly on my part at the time as I was fixated on getting better with Salsa and saw Merengue as a distraction). I improvised many moves I don't even remember trying to do when dancing Salsa. Maybe I'll try it again another time.
It wouldn't do to become too comfortable...
September 7, 2006
Advanced with Sally assisted by Lindsey
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold open break and bring follower in on leader’s R side and place follower’s R arm under leader’s R arm (letting go L-R) – lead follower around the leader in a counterclockwise walk (slight lead with R arm and it’s probably best if leader could step to R on 5 and back on 6 to minimize amount of traveling follower has to do – leader’s L arm is raised straight up for clearance) – follower gets back to original position re-establishing L-R hold [note: For me this was somewhat new and in some ways was my favorite part because it gave instant gratification.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in on R side again and do Apache (place follower’s L hand behind her R waist and make R-R connection) – end with traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower with leader turning 1/2 clockwise to face follower (as opposed to stationary full clockwise turn – although I suppose stationary turn could be made to work here)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in on R side again (R-R goes past leader) and lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with leader turning full counterclockwise after (or near the end of) follower’s turn with R-R ending above leader’s R shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns full counterclockwise on 1,2,3 – then lead follower to turn full staiontary clockwise on 5,6,7 with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise on the spot to face follower [Note: So in the last 1 1/2 bar, leader turns 2 1/2 overall in three parts with two moves to lead the follower. I found it challenging; I’m sure I wasn’t alone. Sally said I needed to work on keeping better balance here. It’ll need a lot of work.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 connect L-L underneath R-R – open break and bring follower on R side and lead follower to another traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn ending in reverse crucifix or Titanic [hint: It may help to start the lead with both hand down at the start of follower’s turn and stay very close to your partner. In any case, I wasn’t comfortable with this position; in fact I found the position painful. Not surprisingly Sally found my posture terrible.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 not sure – just get out of that painful position – open break seems inadvisable – bring R-R over leader’s head and have follower be on leader’s L side – lead follower to traveling clockwise turn ending with hats for both (R-R over follower’s head and L-L over leader’s head)
1,2,3,5,6,7 disconnect R-R and reconnect underneath as leader gets into CBL position (L-L could be taken out of hat maybe) and lead follower to traveling double counterclockwise turn into crucifix (or is it Titanic? Lindsey suggested that it’s best to bring both hands down low for the follower – possibly for comfort but also to signal end of turn)
Most of the second hour was spent at the Sauce next door with Rajiv and Cyrille for a change of pace (for me anyway). Euvian joined us after returning from a dinner party.
Vishal asked me to start DJing on Fridays again – starting next week. It could be interesting … and fun – at least until I manage to alienate too many people who can’t dance Salsa but are the best alcohol consumers. I probably would want to pander to the crowd more than I have done on some recent Mondays. Also next Friday apparently is Lindsey’s birthday (which led to a guessing game with a twist).
Quote of the day – “Are you doing lessons without me?”
Mmm. Are we getting possessive?
I think Sergio was doing more than usual to get people (including me) to work on stepping to on-2 timing.
Another quote – “I find that with more than one beer, I can’t spin quite as well.”
I don’t have one unless I think I won’t be dancing very much – although I did have one at the LDA social. Of course the drive afterwards is sometimes the bigger issue.
It’s interesting to note that there is no universal consensus on people’s favorite leader or follower – at least I cannot tell by thinking about and doing a quick mental calculation of who dances with whom and how often. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Apparently the Penguin is nearly ready. The Mime is not yet well developed enough. No pressure, dude. Personally I can’t imagine spending time in front of mirror working on making and perfecting shines. But, that’s what many good ones do. I don’t see it for me, but maybe it’ll change.
Cyrille and Mimi had a laugh over checking out this blog some weeks ago. I have talked about this blog in their presence, but didn’t know that they ever read it. It’s such an odd open secret – you have people who read it regularly and talk to me about it, people who read it regularly but rarely talk to me about it, people who read it regularly thinking I don’t know about it, people who read it regularly without me knowing much about them, people who I think read it regularly but could be mistaken about, people who talk to me all the time but read it only rarely, etc.
I didn't dance very much - maybe a dozen, but it was fabulous. Maybe I could use being sore from full-court basketball on Tuesday (first in over 3 months) as an excuse.
--
This part added later.
I think a better candidate for the quote of the day might have been - "Mmm... Yeah... He likes women."
Whoa! Let's not get carried away here...
Advanced with Sally assisted by Lindsey
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold open break and bring follower in on leader’s R side and place follower’s R arm under leader’s R arm (letting go L-R) – lead follower around the leader in a counterclockwise walk (slight lead with R arm and it’s probably best if leader could step to R on 5 and back on 6 to minimize amount of traveling follower has to do – leader’s L arm is raised straight up for clearance) – follower gets back to original position re-establishing L-R hold [note: For me this was somewhat new and in some ways was my favorite part because it gave instant gratification.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in on R side again and do Apache (place follower’s L hand behind her R waist and make R-R connection) – end with traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower with leader turning 1/2 clockwise to face follower (as opposed to stationary full clockwise turn – although I suppose stationary turn could be made to work here)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in on R side again (R-R goes past leader) and lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with leader turning full counterclockwise after (or near the end of) follower’s turn with R-R ending above leader’s R shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns full counterclockwise on 1,2,3 – then lead follower to turn full staiontary clockwise on 5,6,7 with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise on the spot to face follower [Note: So in the last 1 1/2 bar, leader turns 2 1/2 overall in three parts with two moves to lead the follower. I found it challenging; I’m sure I wasn’t alone. Sally said I needed to work on keeping better balance here. It’ll need a lot of work.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 connect L-L underneath R-R – open break and bring follower on R side and lead follower to another traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn ending in reverse crucifix or Titanic [hint: It may help to start the lead with both hand down at the start of follower’s turn and stay very close to your partner. In any case, I wasn’t comfortable with this position; in fact I found the position painful. Not surprisingly Sally found my posture terrible.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 not sure – just get out of that painful position – open break seems inadvisable – bring R-R over leader’s head and have follower be on leader’s L side – lead follower to traveling clockwise turn ending with hats for both (R-R over follower’s head and L-L over leader’s head)
1,2,3,5,6,7 disconnect R-R and reconnect underneath as leader gets into CBL position (L-L could be taken out of hat maybe) and lead follower to traveling double counterclockwise turn into crucifix (or is it Titanic? Lindsey suggested that it’s best to bring both hands down low for the follower – possibly for comfort but also to signal end of turn)
Most of the second hour was spent at the Sauce next door with Rajiv and Cyrille for a change of pace (for me anyway). Euvian joined us after returning from a dinner party.
Vishal asked me to start DJing on Fridays again – starting next week. It could be interesting … and fun – at least until I manage to alienate too many people who can’t dance Salsa but are the best alcohol consumers. I probably would want to pander to the crowd more than I have done on some recent Mondays. Also next Friday apparently is Lindsey’s birthday (which led to a guessing game with a twist).
Quote of the day – “Are you doing lessons without me?”
Mmm. Are we getting possessive?
I think Sergio was doing more than usual to get people (including me) to work on stepping to on-2 timing.
Another quote – “I find that with more than one beer, I can’t spin quite as well.”
I don’t have one unless I think I won’t be dancing very much – although I did have one at the LDA social. Of course the drive afterwards is sometimes the bigger issue.
It’s interesting to note that there is no universal consensus on people’s favorite leader or follower – at least I cannot tell by thinking about and doing a quick mental calculation of who dances with whom and how often. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Apparently the Penguin is nearly ready. The Mime is not yet well developed enough. No pressure, dude. Personally I can’t imagine spending time in front of mirror working on making and perfecting shines. But, that’s what many good ones do. I don’t see it for me, but maybe it’ll change.
Cyrille and Mimi had a laugh over checking out this blog some weeks ago. I have talked about this blog in their presence, but didn’t know that they ever read it. It’s such an odd open secret – you have people who read it regularly and talk to me about it, people who read it regularly but rarely talk to me about it, people who read it regularly thinking I don’t know about it, people who read it regularly without me knowing much about them, people who I think read it regularly but could be mistaken about, people who talk to me all the time but read it only rarely, etc.
I didn't dance very much - maybe a dozen, but it was fabulous. Maybe I could use being sore from full-court basketball on Tuesday (first in over 3 months) as an excuse.
--
This part added later.
I think a better candidate for the quote of the day might have been - "Mmm... Yeah... He likes women."
Whoa! Let's not get carried away here...
Cars, CDs and videotape
September 4, 2006
Vishal e-mailed me in the afternoon to ask me to DJ even though he was going to be there tonight. Last time, I hinted that he was missing out so I think he was curious to hear what I had added to my playlist. I answered in affirmative thinking that it would be fun.
Intermediate with Joe (first hour)
I skipped the shines section; it involved doing 'grapevine.'
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold open break offering R hand (look at it) and bring follower in on R side letting her overtake by 3 with R-L connection made – downward lead with R-L (letting go L-R) and temporary turn of hand to lead follower to turn 1 1/2 clockwise with minimal traveling – leader ends facing follower’s line from about 3 onwards
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer R hand at about chest level well in front of follower while doing another open break (rumba step) and bring follower forward and let her overtake (leader could move to accommodate part of this overtaking step) while readjusting R-L – on 3 the position is essentially back-to-back with both in crucifix position – bring L-R over and get all connections together to lead follower to turn 1 1/2 clockwise again (again minimizing traveling) and end with leader turning full counterclockwise on 7 to get back to open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL while giving R-L hat for follower (and release) – slightly down on 5 with L-R and lead follower to 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1/2 clockwise on 1,2,3 with L-R going over leader’s head and down to leader’s R side to about chest level – leader turns 1 1/2 counterclockwise on 5,6,7 reconnecting with L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 finish with simple CBL (or something more difficult if desired)
Very nice challenge - I tried to find a good way to lead the first two parts in variety of ways, but I'm not sure if I have the hang of it. An amusing moment came when Joe decided to put on a song with many transitions for practice. During the second go-around, Joe missed the transition just prior to the go signal and I didn't - this led to me and partner practicing the routine half bar behind everyone else. Funny. I told Joe that he missed a transition, and he replied, "I know."
During the break, I took a look at the composition of the crowd. I thought the turnout was very good for the followers, but not so good for the leaders. I decided to text Cyrille to let him know that it’s a good night. Especially because I was going to DJ and thus would not be able to dance much, I thought it might be good to try to get as many good leaders as possible. Cyrille did show up at the start of the club hours (as did several others competent leaders at around the same time), but until then the ratio looked a little dicey and I was telling Rajiv that he will have to dance more than he normally does.
Intermediate with Joe (second hour)
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold open break offering R hand (look at it) and bring follower in on R side letting her overtake by 3 with R-L connection made – downward lead with R-L (letting go L-R) and temporary turn of hand to lead follower to turn 1 1/2 clockwise with minimal traveling – leader ends facing follower’s line from about 3 onwards
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer R hand at about chest level well in front of follower while doing another open break (rumba step) and bring follower forward and let her overtake (leader could move to accommodate part of this overtaking step) while letting go R-L – lead windmill 1 1/2 clockwise turn (small amount of traveling) for follower ending with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise with L-R ending on leader’s R shoulder for drop catch to connect R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward with R-R going over while reconnecting L-L in front – lead follower into full traveling counterclockwise turn ending with half crucifix with R hand on follower’s R shoulder (leader should be positioned slightly to R of follower)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to step to her L on 1, step back and turn 1/2 clockwise on 2,3 and in continuous motion to make what ends up being 2 1/2 clockwise turn (minimal traveling?) switching around 3 or 4 to R-L and ending with funny hat for follower (R-L ends behind follower’s neck from her R side)
1,2,3,5,6,7 not sure … end with broken left turn and shine?
kick, toe and swivel shine
1 kick to R with L foot
2 toe with L foot (crossed in front of R foot)
3 swivel (turning counterclockwise) with L foot sliding long to L
5 kick to L with R foot
6 toe with R foot (crossed in front of L foot)
7 swivel (turning clockwise) with R foot sliding long to R
In between the class and start of DJing was a little hectic. It looks like I’m not done spending money on automobile-related stuff; I had gotten some long-awaited repairs done this morning. Oh well.
Playlist
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe (1)*
Malanga Amarilla – Cachao (2)
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon (3)
Ojos Chinos – El Gran Combo*
La Agonia – Lebron Brothers (4)*
Mambo Mongo – Mongo Santamaria (Fania version) (-3%)
Babarabatiri – Tito Puente (studio version) (-3%)
Revolucionando – New Swing Sextet (-3%)*
Un Verano En NY – El Gran Combo (-3%) (5)
La Pantera Mambo – La 33 (-3%) (6)
El Quinto De Beethoven – Markolino Dimond (-3%) (7)*
Lamento Boliviano – Toque D’ Keda (8)
Maria Cervantes – Grupo Latin Vibe (9)*
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (Mamborama version) (-2%)
Me Prendiste Velas – Oscar D’Leon (-2%)
Caravan – Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers (-5%) (10)*
Chan Chan – from Buena Vista Social Club CD (11)*
La Palomilla – Joe Cuba Sextet (12)*
Anacaona – Cheo Feliciano
My Favorite Things – New Swing Sextet*
El Cayuco – Tito Puente (13)*
El Negro Y Ray – Ray Barretto (14)*
Descarga Lebron – Lebron Brothers (15)
(1) I was not thrilled with first few songs Joe put on. Thankfully his last song fit better with my plans.
(2) I played this much louder than last time to good effect.
(3) Luis seemed thrilled with this choice, which was good. Not as good was his repeated suggestion that I play La Pantera Mambo next for next 10-15 minutes or so.
(4) Not the biggest hit tonight, but I think it’s good to mix it up.
(5) Vishal liked this one a lot. He asked for song and artist information.
(6) I guess I gave in.
(7) Most people decided to take a pass. I decided to take the opportunity to dance with Mimi by the way the song demands it – basically going nuts. Cyrille joined in a little later. I think I was being videotaped! I’ll have to ask to see it if possible – I have never seen myself dance before!
(8) Token Bachata; it was requested earlier in the evening.
(9) I had envisioned this possibly as the final song of the evening. I danced to this one too (Zhenzhi this time), but it was not the last song.
(10) Vishal liked this one a lot too and asked for more information on the song.
(11) It was a request from one of the first time visitors – not sure if they qualify as “special” guests; I think they were practicing at least as much as dancing. I thought this could be the last song.
(12) I broke some personal rule on this one because I felt that it fitted very well here. I also envisioned this as possibly the last song.
(13) Token Cha Cha Cha. I didn’t think anyone who hasn’t left yet was going to leave with this one on. I was right (although that says very little).
(14) Last song played in its entirety.
(15) I announced that this would be the last song of the evening. The announcement finally broke up the party. This song was stopped mid-way through and with some DJ tricks by Vishal.
23 songs. 21 Salsa. 1 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha. 12 tracks were new for me.
We finished at midnight. I was slightly surprised that Vishal let it go on and on and on. I suppose he might have wanted to hear as much material from me as possible. There’s always more of course.
It goes without saying that I failed to ask great many people for a dance. I think I also had a fragment of a dance between two classes and one other for the first song during the club hours.
Quote of the day – “I hope it’s one of your long songs.”
Longish – about 6 minutes.
Vishal e-mailed me in the afternoon to ask me to DJ even though he was going to be there tonight. Last time, I hinted that he was missing out so I think he was curious to hear what I had added to my playlist. I answered in affirmative thinking that it would be fun.
Intermediate with Joe (first hour)
I skipped the shines section; it involved doing 'grapevine.'
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold open break offering R hand (look at it) and bring follower in on R side letting her overtake by 3 with R-L connection made – downward lead with R-L (letting go L-R) and temporary turn of hand to lead follower to turn 1 1/2 clockwise with minimal traveling – leader ends facing follower’s line from about 3 onwards
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer R hand at about chest level well in front of follower while doing another open break (rumba step) and bring follower forward and let her overtake (leader could move to accommodate part of this overtaking step) while readjusting R-L – on 3 the position is essentially back-to-back with both in crucifix position – bring L-R over and get all connections together to lead follower to turn 1 1/2 clockwise again (again minimizing traveling) and end with leader turning full counterclockwise on 7 to get back to open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL while giving R-L hat for follower (and release) – slightly down on 5 with L-R and lead follower to 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1/2 clockwise on 1,2,3 with L-R going over leader’s head and down to leader’s R side to about chest level – leader turns 1 1/2 counterclockwise on 5,6,7 reconnecting with L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 finish with simple CBL (or something more difficult if desired)
Very nice challenge - I tried to find a good way to lead the first two parts in variety of ways, but I'm not sure if I have the hang of it. An amusing moment came when Joe decided to put on a song with many transitions for practice. During the second go-around, Joe missed the transition just prior to the go signal and I didn't - this led to me and partner practicing the routine half bar behind everyone else. Funny. I told Joe that he missed a transition, and he replied, "I know."
During the break, I took a look at the composition of the crowd. I thought the turnout was very good for the followers, but not so good for the leaders. I decided to text Cyrille to let him know that it’s a good night. Especially because I was going to DJ and thus would not be able to dance much, I thought it might be good to try to get as many good leaders as possible. Cyrille did show up at the start of the club hours (as did several others competent leaders at around the same time), but until then the ratio looked a little dicey and I was telling Rajiv that he will have to dance more than he normally does.
Intermediate with Joe (second hour)
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold open break offering R hand (look at it) and bring follower in on R side letting her overtake by 3 with R-L connection made – downward lead with R-L (letting go L-R) and temporary turn of hand to lead follower to turn 1 1/2 clockwise with minimal traveling – leader ends facing follower’s line from about 3 onwards
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer R hand at about chest level well in front of follower while doing another open break (rumba step) and bring follower forward and let her overtake (leader could move to accommodate part of this overtaking step) while letting go R-L – lead windmill 1 1/2 clockwise turn (small amount of traveling) for follower ending with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise with L-R ending on leader’s R shoulder for drop catch to connect R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward with R-R going over while reconnecting L-L in front – lead follower into full traveling counterclockwise turn ending with half crucifix with R hand on follower’s R shoulder (leader should be positioned slightly to R of follower)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to step to her L on 1, step back and turn 1/2 clockwise on 2,3 and in continuous motion to make what ends up being 2 1/2 clockwise turn (minimal traveling?) switching around 3 or 4 to R-L and ending with funny hat for follower (R-L ends behind follower’s neck from her R side)
1,2,3,5,6,7 not sure … end with broken left turn and shine?
kick, toe and swivel shine
1 kick to R with L foot
2 toe with L foot (crossed in front of R foot)
3 swivel (turning counterclockwise) with L foot sliding long to L
5 kick to L with R foot
6 toe with R foot (crossed in front of L foot)
7 swivel (turning clockwise) with R foot sliding long to R
In between the class and start of DJing was a little hectic. It looks like I’m not done spending money on automobile-related stuff; I had gotten some long-awaited repairs done this morning. Oh well.
Playlist
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe (1)*
Malanga Amarilla – Cachao (2)
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon (3)
Ojos Chinos – El Gran Combo*
La Agonia – Lebron Brothers (4)*
Mambo Mongo – Mongo Santamaria (Fania version) (-3%)
Babarabatiri – Tito Puente (studio version) (-3%)
Revolucionando – New Swing Sextet (-3%)*
Un Verano En NY – El Gran Combo (-3%) (5)
La Pantera Mambo – La 33 (-3%) (6)
El Quinto De Beethoven – Markolino Dimond (-3%) (7)*
Lamento Boliviano – Toque D’ Keda (8)
Maria Cervantes – Grupo Latin Vibe (9)*
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (Mamborama version) (-2%)
Me Prendiste Velas – Oscar D’Leon (-2%)
Caravan – Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers (-5%) (10)*
Chan Chan – from Buena Vista Social Club CD (11)*
La Palomilla – Joe Cuba Sextet (12)*
Anacaona – Cheo Feliciano
My Favorite Things – New Swing Sextet*
El Cayuco – Tito Puente (13)*
El Negro Y Ray – Ray Barretto (14)*
Descarga Lebron – Lebron Brothers (15)
(1) I was not thrilled with first few songs Joe put on. Thankfully his last song fit better with my plans.
(2) I played this much louder than last time to good effect.
(3) Luis seemed thrilled with this choice, which was good. Not as good was his repeated suggestion that I play La Pantera Mambo next for next 10-15 minutes or so.
(4) Not the biggest hit tonight, but I think it’s good to mix it up.
(5) Vishal liked this one a lot. He asked for song and artist information.
(6) I guess I gave in.
(7) Most people decided to take a pass. I decided to take the opportunity to dance with Mimi by the way the song demands it – basically going nuts. Cyrille joined in a little later. I think I was being videotaped! I’ll have to ask to see it if possible – I have never seen myself dance before!
(8) Token Bachata; it was requested earlier in the evening.
(9) I had envisioned this possibly as the final song of the evening. I danced to this one too (Zhenzhi this time), but it was not the last song.
(10) Vishal liked this one a lot too and asked for more information on the song.
(11) It was a request from one of the first time visitors – not sure if they qualify as “special” guests; I think they were practicing at least as much as dancing. I thought this could be the last song.
(12) I broke some personal rule on this one because I felt that it fitted very well here. I also envisioned this as possibly the last song.
(13) Token Cha Cha Cha. I didn’t think anyone who hasn’t left yet was going to leave with this one on. I was right (although that says very little).
(14) Last song played in its entirety.
(15) I announced that this would be the last song of the evening. The announcement finally broke up the party. This song was stopped mid-way through and with some DJ tricks by Vishal.
23 songs. 21 Salsa. 1 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha. 12 tracks were new for me.
We finished at midnight. I was slightly surprised that Vishal let it go on and on and on. I suppose he might have wanted to hear as much material from me as possible. There’s always more of course.
It goes without saying that I failed to ask great many people for a dance. I think I also had a fragment of a dance between two classes and one other for the first song during the club hours.
Quote of the day – “I hope it’s one of your long songs.”
Longish – about 6 minutes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)