Yo-yo of an evening

October 12, 2006

Advanced with Sally

1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL with 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower (=inside turn … best technique for this move always uses a slight downward lead on 5) end with L-R high for…
1,2,3,5,6,7 high preparation (keeping L-R no lower than shoulder level at any point) and lead follower to triple stationary clockwise turn with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise for drop catch – end with R-R on R side of leader
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in on R side with R-R going straight up (think of it as making a large circular clockwise motion along follower’s line from leader’s perspective – at times Sally thought I was rushing a little at the beginning and end up having to pause whereas the lead probably should be continuous) to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with R-R ending at about leader’s shoulder for a drop catch (as leader turns slightly – really no more than ~1/4 turn to face away from follower’s line as leader’s feet need not have turn at all from 1 to 7) to get to L-R behind leader’s back
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and Copa with L-R used to lead follower into Copa position (downward lead) with free L hand resting on follower’s hip to indicate Copa turn – leader then turns 1 1/4 counterclockwise (I suppose 2 1/4 is possible and may be worth trying at some point perhaps with a slow song) to face away from follower and again and offer R for R-R connection (I suspect this would be tough for many follower’s to catch R-R)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break again and bring follower on R side again with R-R going all the way over follower’s head (watch my elbow!) and down a ways with L-L connection made in front – lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn bringing R-R together with L-L (I think this needs a touch-and-go) then bringing follower into crucifix position
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a stationary clockwise turn (1 1/2, 2 1/2, 3 1/2 whatever)
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L on top of R-R open break and bring follower in on L side with full counterclockwise turn (some traveling involved) in 2,3 with R-R resting on follower’s shoulder and L-L in front of follower – I think Sally called for 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn touch-and-go

It was a yo-yo sort of evening. I was in rather low spirits and was quite convinced that it wasn’t going to be a good night of dancing for me at the start. And then Sally’s class started and I wondered why I worried. It was all very fine. Then it all ended, and I was back where I started. Why? Maybe because I think that this might be as good as it gets.

A very surprising participant in Sally's class made the usual ratio for the advanced class even more skewed than usual. I asked him whether he was there to teach the class - nope, he was taking the class - perhaps as a lark. Followers have much more work on this routine (although looking back, I see that leaders have some turns as well - perhaps it's because turns have become no more difficult than walking) while leader focuses mostly on leading well. It seemed like Sally was emphasizing technique more than usual tonight.

A couple of people I haven't seen in a while were back. The last time I saw Cyrille was for the SOS trip more than 10 days ago. I had not seen Zhenzhi since Newmarket almost 4 weeks ago. Cyrille showed me where he cut back of his hand while dancing - I had never considered nooks and crannies as dangerous spots before. Zhenzhi has new dance shoes - what is with shoes being such a big topic lately (e.g. at the londonsalsa.co.uk forum)? Cyrille also talked about entering Cristian's Salsa competition - a minor surprise.

I left after the class for a quick bite and minor chores at home. By the time I returned (the second class had not ended yet), more people had gathered. Cyrille was nowhere in sight though. Sergio was also absent. Sergio presumably will return to Bethesda for several months for his research while Cyrille talks about wanting to go back to France soon. I am not looking forward to these eventualities and also was reminded of people who were not there.

There were many people on the dance floor tonight. At times, it was crowded enough to feel like a Friday. Almost all of the team girls were there whereas barely over half of the team guys were there. Apparently all but two members of the new team were there, but I have not met two of the leads yet. I met one of the new leads from Singapore - the new team has 3-people strong Singapore contingent (out of 14) all studying similar topic. Apparently the team practices started yesterday and they have yet to make arrangement on pairings. I only recall seeing Mark among leads dance tonight - but then again I was doing even less looking or talking than usual (and I could easily have missed two others because I didn't know them).

My dances were fine. I think I was leading much more multiple spins than I have been doing in recent days. Perhaps I was trying to make up for Cyrille's absence. Or perhaps it was some desperate attempt to generate extra energy or excitement - it seemed mildly successful at best. I had a lot of dances with many good dance partners, some brand new, so I should be happy. In fact I wondered if I danced too much and not socialize enough.

Factoid of the day - I was told tonight that in Spain, people give two kisses at the end of each dance. That would be difficult to do in Cambridge especially when DJs are fusing songs - Sally never fuses songs of course although she did play one El Gran Combo medley track.

Speaking of DJing, Sally in my opinion might be the best at picking a new danceable song in Cambridge right now. I think she played some Hector Lavoe songs (with or without Willie Colon?) including some I didn't recognize. Vishal talked about wanting to focus on DJing more and managing the club less. Cristian will be the main DJ tomorrow, but Vishal still wants me to play in the future (we agreed on not tomorrow though). I also meant to talk to some people about Tony (regarding how I might want to format the class, etc) but it completely escaped my mind while I was there tonight.

Passing thought of the day (because I didn't converse enough to find something interesting enough to be considered for the quote of the day) - "He got a lot more than he bargained for. She looks like a handful. Poor guy."

I can dance a little now so I am still in one piece. Sergio made a comment like this once to me at the Rocket - it wasn't quite so bad though.