Nearing the end

March 29, 2007

Intermediate/Advaced with Sally and Chris

1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R standard double right (clockwise) turn for follower with leader turning 1/2 clockwise
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns further 3/4 clockwise and bring R-R down and offer L in front then allow follower forward on 5 (absorb) and then lead her back and turning full counterclockwise on 6,7 with connections ending above follower's shoulders
1,2,3,5,6,7 simple Mambo jazz - lead follower forward and traveling full counterclockwise turn with L-L across follower's stomach and R-R in front (low) - leader is positioned behind and to R of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower forward on 1 (absorb rather than move hands down and up or such nonsense) - lead her to turn around 1/2 clockwise on 2,3 - lead her to turn full clockwise on 4 and landing forward on 5 (absorb again with L-L in front and R-R across follower's stomach - note this position is essentially the same as 6 on the second part of this routine) and lead her to go back straight on 6,7 while leader moves into space in front of follower with counterclockwise turn with L-L connection intact
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break into crucifix rather than Copa - follower's weight is on her L (back) foot on 5, R foot on 6 - lead her back where she came from on 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 1/2 counterclockwise turn for leader with L-L above leader's L shoulder and R-R low - step forward on 5 with R-R leading follower - then lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling left (inside - counterclockwise) turn with L-L (and letting go R-R) [I was doing this with leader turning counterclockwise at the same time - not sure if this is distracting or less graceful looking]

I had some free time today. There was talk of meeting Sergio, Cyrille and Mimi somewhat earlier than usual tonight at Club Salsa too. They arrived in that order. If we don't meet up tomorrow, this potentially will be the last gathering of the quartet. Tomorrow probably will be the last time the San Miguel Gang meet up - at least until June or July. This fact was highlighted when Vishal talked about his coach for the Scala on Easter Sunday (apparently it is nearly full - maybe 5 spots left). On Easter Sunday, I will be in Spain , Sergio in United States, Mimi in Sweden, and Cyrille in France. I will be the first one gone this time - on Tuesday.

The social part was a modest affair. I started off On2 with Mimi couple of times (definitely still going through serious growing pains). I then had a fairly long break from dancing while some unwieldy songs were played (Salsa Con Coco - artist unknown … too fast and too long, Sun Sun Babae - Tito Rodriguez Jr … too many breaks). Other songs played included El Pito (Isidro Infante), Dame Cinco, a vibe-heavy version of Muneca (sounded alright), La Llave, La Murga (Willie Colon & Hector Lavoe presumably), La Pantera Mambo, latter half of Ahora Quien.

My footwork is in some ways getting more used to doing On2. My hands are definitely way more attuned to On1. My overall dancing was a little on shaky side. My dance with Jane was one of the better ones; it has been alright with her lately and hopefully writing about it won't jinx it. I probably had most fun with Agnes, who has been away for nearly 3 weeks - Norway and London.

I rather like this list - the names of people who stayed to the end. Sally. Lindsey. Nicola. Agnes. Mimi. Nina. Sergio. Cyrille. Haihan. Rajiv. Ivan. Vishal and the new kid who seems to be an early favorite to become one of the new members of the Salsa team next year. Things got nicer as the place became emptier. At first there were way too many men standing around without girls to dance with. Other people who were there earlier included Sean, Annette, Caroline, Steve (not sure about his name), Adam.