I suppose it is possible to have more fun and satisfying dances

October 30, 2006

Intermediate with Tiz

triple spiral

goes over 2 bars. turn 1/2 clockwise on 1. suzy Q’s with R foot kicks on 4, 7 and 4, then get back to original position

slave grapevine

slave on 1,2,3
R foot cross over in front on 4
L foot to normal standing position on 5
R foot slightly back on 6
L foot cross over in front of R on 7
R foot step over L on 8 and get back to mambo basic on 1,2,3

Both of these were covered last week too. I’m all for repetition even if it’s easy for me.

Turn patterns

I’m omitting quite a lot of technical details Tiz tried to impart. I thought it was very well done but it would simply take too much time to describe it all in full.

1 L-R double turn
2 R-L double turn
3 touch-and-go double turn followed by Copa (L-R going over while R-L is used for initial lead with R going to follower’s hips)
4 touch-and-go double turn

5 R-L one up one down double turn

1,2,3,5,6,7 one-up-one-down double turn with R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 show L for L-R going over for Copa start and all connections pointing towards direction follower came from – leader moves into follower’s previous position on 5 and turn 1/2 counterclockwise with R-L on leaders R shoulder to face follower – reconnect R-L like drop catch at about chest level
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1/2 counterclockwise with R going over and switching to R-R – lead follower forward on 5 briefly with R-R (disconnected after this initial lead) for CBL finish for follower with leader turning full counterclockwise (with optional nifty pointing visual trick using free L hand/fingers)

I liked it.

6 R-L one up one down double turn

1,2,3,5,6,7 one-up-one-down double turn with R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to 1 1/2 counterclockwise overall traveling turn (follower's footwork is different than it is with typical 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn from CBL) with R-L kept low throughout and with leader at reverse CBL-like position on 3 and staying on that same side (R-L ends across follower’s stomach)
1,2,3,5,6,7 mambo jazz and unwrap follower (1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn for follower)

7 double hammerlock turn

followed by Copa and 1 1/2 wrapping counterclockwise Copa turn followed by preparation and unwrapping stationary clockwise 1 1/2 turn

8 double hammerlock turn

1,2,3,5,6,7 double hammerlock turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with L-R going over and all connections pointing towards the direction follower came from followed by leader occupying follower’s previous position and turning 1/2 counterclockwise underneath both connections
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower into double clockwise stationary turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 simple finish involving left turn for leader to get back into open position (of course there are many other options)

The middle bit isn’t too bad. Keep it smooth throughout.

9 double (or single) hammerlock turn with leader turning clockwise

1,2,3,5,6,7 double (or single) hammerlock turn with leader turning 3/4 to full clockwise on 7 or 8 briefly letting go R-L and bringing L-R down (early preparation would be useful - hook turn is fine here)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward and back while leader gets behind and around follower from her right side with connections kept above follower's shoulder (like crucifix position - supposedly less stressful for follower) - be careful not to be forceful here
1,2,3,5,6,7 mambo jazz and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling turn (clockwise or counterclockwise - it probably doesnt' matter much)

I'm not a big fan of this kind of move (risking injury), but maybe this one's not so bad.

Tiz was quite good at talking up followers in the class - justified or not - and being a good cheerleader overall. At one point, he claimed that he knew only of one person - a guy (Lee, of course) - as being a lighter follower.

I thought it was going to be just an okay Monday. Then Stephanie showed up. Enough said really. If I say any more nice things about her, I’ll probably get in trouble. Even Sey (by Africando) is pretty fun if I don’t have to think and worry about keeping everyone in time to the music. I tried to dance with most of the followers in my class, but I was only partly successful. When one gets spoiled with good dance partners, making sure to dance with large number of less experienced partners can become a conscientious effort.

Quote of the day – “I know how to move. I just don’t know what to do with you.”

I’m not sure if I got the quote exactly right. It’s all mental. It was fun all-around.

Vishal played some really nice tunes tonight. One song might have been Hector Lavoe’s “Mi Gente” or a cover of it. There might have been at least one other song with Hector in lead vocals. There were better songs too. I asked about some of them, but did not recognize the song titles (and no artist information).

Quote of the day 2 – “You keep asking me when I am changing my shoes.”

Hmm. It is becoming a bad habit – highly unfortunate. It’s not just limited to one or two people either.

I bet many people like having a small not-too-critical audience. When things seemingly are too good, it is both nice and scary.