Calm before the storm – on the eve of Tony Lara IV

November 20, 2006

Intermediate with Joe

1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top – Copa with both connections going over – lead follower into Copa 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with windmill motion – traveling is minimal for follower – leader turns full clockwise at the same time as follower’s final turn [note: This was by far the most difficult bit – no one in the class came close to finishing the 1 1/2 turn in time with some finishing it as late as on next 3, 4 or even 5. Not even Joe was managing to lead this in class at anything resembling normal speed by the way. It’s certainly not an impossible move; I might have seen some other people (maybe Rajiv) lead something very similar if not identical to this move.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 [This part is not that bad except it requires that previous move be finished on time. Because the connections are so tangled, there is no obvious alternate entry that I could think of] leader turns 1/2 clockwise and brings L-L down to R chest level on 1,2 then turns 1/2 counterclockwise on 3 as L-L is briefly released and reconnected underneath R-R on 3 – R-R is draped over follower’s head on 5 (like a hat but keep the connection) [in an accelerated version, follower is then brought forward into Cuban walk (thus 1/2 clockwise traveling turn) with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise to get into reverse crucifix position)]

The draping over part can be started on 1, and the other parts should be fairly easy to do if so. In fact, I don’t think the move is that difficult even if draping is started on 5 – it just needs some practice. In any case, it’s worth thinking about in terms of breaking down the components into easier bits before trying the most difficult version demonstrated today.

In any case… after the reverse crucifix…

1,2,3,5,6,7 men’s shine from semi-open position (reverse crucifix) cross over walks LRL RLR with a 1/2 clockwise turn on 7,8
1,2,3,5,6,7 double hat for follower on 1,2,3 to get back to closed postion

Joe suggested that this move (centered around men’s shine) is nice when piano does a little crescendo…

starting with crossed hold R-R on top and ending with R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7
option 1. lead a touch-and-go double turn with extra touch-and-go at the end
option 2. lead a single turn for follower with leader turning full clockwise at the end keeping all connection intact throughout
option 3. lead a touch-and-go double turn for follower with leader turning full clockwise at the end keeping all connections intact throughout

crossed hold with R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa with R-R going over – lead follower into Copa turn by lowering R-R (pulling the zipper move) to get R-R behind follower’s L waist
R-R behind follower’s L waist
option 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L in front of follower’s face – into CBL – use R-R to lead follower forward and let go only after 5 – use L-L to lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn (leader should be able to get back into the original position at the end)
option 2
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L in front of follower’s face – into CBL – lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn (overturning her a bit at the end) and start to overtake from the R side (from leader’s perspective) on 7 in preparation for bringing follower’s L hand behind her R waist (while keeping R-R behind her L waist – I think I had referred to this position once as straighjacket position, but I suppose something like a reverse straightjacket or handcuffed position would be more appropriate)
1,2,3
easy option 2a – simply get around 1/2 by 3/4 (this would mean 2 full turns for follower starting from previous 1)
more challenging option 2b – get around completely (full walk) by 3/4 and in the process turning follower a further 1/2 counterclockwise (this would mean 2 1/2 turns for follower starting from previous 1)
5,6,7 lead follower into 1 1/2 unwrapping counterclockwise traveling turn with L-L connection intact (kept low)

note on shines

Triple spiral
minimize those kicks or at least make movements smaller and subtler – when the kick is made like a real kick and especially with R foot caught flat-footed, the movement appears to lose a lot of grace.

name (it’s been around a while but I didn’t know how exactly it went til now)
1,2,3,5 basic Mambo
6 L foot forward and slightly to R
7 R foot on toe crossed behind L
8 R foot slightly back
1 L foot in front of R foot (crossed in front of)
2 R foot slightly back
3 L foot on toe crossed in front of R
4 L foot slightly forward
5 R foot behind L (crossed behind)
6 L foot slightly forward
7 R foot behind L
8 L foot bunny hop
1 basic Mambo

Apparently this is Tiz’s last class at Club Salsa for foreseeable future. According to Joe, Nicky [Price, probably] will substitute for Tiz. Russell will be back at some point. Adam Leilani probably will come back now and then too.

While the overall number of students seemed no different, the number of more experienced followers has dropped considerably over past several weeks. With caveat that there were people who have been learning Salsa for longer duration of time, Susie probably was the most experienced follower in class tonight – or at least the person who could follow the most number of turn patterns I can lead.

Possibly many people stayed away tonight in anticipation of busy week this week. There’s the Bachata event tomorrow. some people will have the Salsa team practice on Wednesday (and an outing to Club Salsa thereafter for some), Thursdays have been a strong night of dancing for some time now, and the CDC Salsa ball will be held on Sunday. It was a little regrettable that I couldn’t make any use of residual aftereffect of having had a good SOS trip yesterday. The contrast between SOS yesterday and Club Salsa tonight was stark. Then again, the class especially during the first hour was brutal and my legs were feeling quite tired by the end of the second hour. Also I was feeling a bit sleepy as well.

It was amusing to note that the frequency of declines I get for a dance from strangers in London or in Cambridge on a given night is still about the same (arguably higher in Cambridge).