Lent term under way

January 18, 2007

Sally and Chris Intermediate

1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL and inside turn for follower (1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise) optionally with R hand on follower’s back (with proper tension the R hand is unnecessary)
1,2,3,5,6,7 this might have been called Cuban walk (I don’t remember for sure – maybe by Joe?) lead follower to walk forward on 1 and pass leader on his L side with 1/2 counterclockwise turn on 2,3 – then lead follower to walk past leader on his R side with 1/2 clockwise turn on 6,7 – leader turns around 1/2 counterclockwise on 7 to face away from follower and switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward on leader’s R side with R-R going over and L-L connection made in front – let go R-R and lead follower into traveling counterclockwise turn with a check using free R hand on follower’s R shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare follower on 1,2,3 keeping L-L at about shoulder level then lead follower into a stationary 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with switch to R-L fairly early and bringing R-L down to waist level for a wrap – make L-R connection in front (there is a subtle 1/2 counterclockwise turn by leader during second half of this move)
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with L-R neck wrap ending for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 [note: I doubt that I know how to lead this part properly] allow follower to step forward on 1 then unwind her full counterclockwise on 2,3 – lead follower forward on 4 for 1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn for follower with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise and switching to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and turn around making L-L connection and lead follower to a double stationary clockwise turn with R-R toss after first turn?
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and Copa start but with leader overtaking a lot – leader steps into follower’s previous spot under L-L (not a big step) and prepare and turn 1 1/2 clockwise to face follower

It was a fairly big class with some surprise participants, which meant that there were more followers than leaders for a change. Zern is back and seemed enjoy tonight’s routine. Cyrille on the hand arrived too late to take part in the class – he also decided that he missed a nice routine. There was a brief talk of going to Sauce for a drink, but upon seeing that there was a surplus followers for improver class (another rarity!), Zern, I and others took part in this class. There was nothing new here but here’s the account of it anyway.

Sally Improver

1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL start and lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn (in this case with aid of free R hand on follower’s L shoulder in addition to leading with L-R) with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise in the end with switching to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward on leader’s R side keeping R-R in front but also making L-L connection by leader’s R waist (underneath R-R) – lead follower into traveling full counterclockwise turn ending on follower’s R side
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare (or down and up) and lead follower into full clockwise stationary turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with all connections ending at shoulder level (R-R on follower’s shoulders infact) – fake and lead follower straight back on 5,6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 could do Mambo jazz here but opted for back basic for both followed by leading follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn (and ending with a hat for leader and finishing with another CBL)

By the end of the second hour of classes, Sam had arrived and was talking with Rajiv. Haihan was also there. Others like Mimi, Sergio and Ivan arrived fairly soon thereafter. Nicola, Lindsey, Agnes, Stephanie and Nina arrived somewhat later. Combined with a rather sizable party already present, it made for a pretty full party.

I probably paid more attention to returnees from Singapore.

I saw Haihan dance for the first time. He seemed pretty good, but he probably danced only once all night. Too bad - good dancers who don't dance much won't help the scene. Even though the quantity and quality of CBL dancers are better than ever in Cambridge, departure of a few people (esp. among leads) could leave a big hole in the scene.

I danced many times with Agnes – to catch up after her being away for a long time. Agnes said she did not dance very much during her vacation because of travels, etc. although I doubt that this had anything to do with some minor mishaps (nothing painful or at least I think not) during our dances.

Aside from some inside jokes about doing nothing but shines for half of the song, perhaps the most amusing comment by Agnes was her calling “scary” one of new moves I have been trying. This move was tried earlier with Sam, who thought that it might be useful to see what the move is and suggested that I lead it with Rajiv. This almost happened despite Rajiv’s protest that he can only follower basic stuff only to be thwarted by Sally playing Merecumbe (I’m guessing the Los Titanes version). The said move was also tried again with Stephanie, who has seen in several times now and commented after another trial, “That was good. I didn’t see it coming.” Anyhow, it should be fun to see how it works with other people (as well as same people I have already tried it with after more practice). Presumably I can lead it better and perhaps I could devise a strategy to increase likelihood of it working first time.

The number of transitions was very high for my only dance with Sam. It was quite amusing because I didn't feel most of the transitions coming until after the fact (I don't know how it was for Sam), while there was at least one occasion where I felt the transition coming only to find that it wasn't (Sam definitely noticed that one). Combine it with some new moves I was trying, the dance might have felt like a minefield for Sam - I think she went right back to her safety blanket afterwards to reassure herself. Then again that happens pretty much every time…

The Milton Cobo routine as described by Sergio is making me feel inadequate. His descriptions are very difficult to write down too. Some key points. After leading follower to turn and after leader turning on 7 with fingers pointing up (and ignoring some details about keeping fingers bent), R-R ends on leader’s R shoulder with palm facing up. On 8, leader is somewhere in between facing away from follower and facing follower’s line with leader’s L shoulder towards the follower. Step on 1 is towards (probably rather sharply) towards the follower. Step on 2 is something like a CBL position but very close to the follower. Step on 3 is at about level with follower (parallel and opposite follower’s feet). Steps on 5,6,7 are in place with leader continuing to turn counterclockwise. R hand movement now goes the other way - from R shoulder to about top of L chest aiming to catch follower’s hand. All this became a something of a production towards the end with all kinds of people being involved (e.g. Sally, Cyrille, Nicola and Lindsey) with Sergio showing different moves for me to try (or in one case for him to try to work out details with Lindsey – with fair bit of difficulty).

I failed to get my camera out once again. There's always next week. I really should try to get used to it before Brit Salsafest. Speaking of Brit Salsafest, second wave of travel plans seemed to be getting made. The theme might be, "Let's try something different."

A few different things tonight - coffee and massage. Coffee might be permanent. Massage was almost certainly a one-time thing. I took part in neither.