Pasion de primavera

March 11, 2007

Other than having to skip lunch, work didn’t need to be done in tight schedule once again. After a quick dinner, I arrived at University Arms Hotel around 8:30 PM. The classes were over by then. It did not seem as crowded as it did last time. Air conditioning was working much better this time too. The stage and the DJ booth were at different spot.

I had my doubts about my enthusiasm for dancing being especially high so I was mostly standing by the sidelines. Funny thing is that one girl asked me for a dance. Then another. Then another. Five girls asked me for a dance before I initiated anything. It’s not like I can say no, right? I considered keeping the same approach for the rest of the evening, but I decided not to press my luck.

The first girl I asked for a dance was Sam. As usual, she took her time getting to the dance floor after saying yes. The next girl I asked was – Natasha (not sure about her name). This was followed by a pair of girls asking me for a dance in succession. 2 vs 7 to that point and counting. Quite amusing.

By the time Palenke came on, I still was asked more often than I asked. Stephanie got me for the first dance to live music. I started doing more asking and probably ended up asking more girls than vice versa – I am not far from certain though. Among girls I sought out, asked and danced with were Zhenzhi, Jane, Agnes, Charlotte, and Euvian. I danced Salsa more than once with only one girl - only because she asked me for a second one. No need to list names of girls who declined my request - only one for Salsa ;p.

Both Sally and Ivan seemed to be trying hard to stretch the kind of music being played - meaning there were a lot of songs I did not recognize. Among Sally’s songs, the songs I can recall are Mundy Baja (El Gran Combo), La Banda (Spanish Harlem Orchestra maybe?), two different versions of Muneca. Ivan played Paraiso De Dulzura and El Todopoderoso (both by Hector Lavoe), Merecumbe (Johnny Colon), Mi Ritmo Es Bueno (Bobby Valentin), Nina Y Senora (Tito Puente), Rumbon Melon (Joey Pastrana), and a version of Cao Cao Mani Picao I didn’t recognize.

Covers played by Palenke included Me Libere, Hips Don’t Lie, Micaela, and there were couple other Colombian-sounding ones I recognized but cannot recall anymore.

I finally got a decent look at the Salsa team performance. It seemed well done. Five couples participated – Sam and Mark, Agnes and Haihan, Stephanie and Young-Joon, Zhenzhi and Rajiv, Phyllis and Richard. I didn’t like the music though.

I was originally told that I would have 45 minutes to DJ starting at 11:15, and I prepared a playlist based on that assumption. At 11:10, it looked like the band was going to go extra long (I assumed so because they hadn’t played a Cha Cha yet). I asked Mark whether the plan was to finish promptly at midnight. He said yes (meaning I would have to rethink my playlist). I started doing some cuts in my head while waiting for the band to play a Cha Cha.

By this point, I decided that my high point of the evening could be the opportunity to dance Cha Cha to live music On2. It finally came around 11:20. I scrambled. I think I asked Nina first and then maybe Jane. I finally got Agnes to agree, but she gave up after a minute or so (she apologized later). I then asked Zhenzhi and managed to get to the end of the song with her. The order I asked was mostly by whom I spotted nearby.

During the next song, I spotted another girl who I thought would be worth dancing with. However, the opportunity did not arise while the band was playing. I wasn’t going to dance to Hips Don’t Lie or Micaela. I suppose another reason to skip on Micaela was that it was the last song by the band – meaning I needed to cue up a song. I think I heard Nina groan when Micaela came on – it made me smile.

Here’s my playlist. I started playing at 11:35 or about 20 minutes later than expected.

Babarabatiri – Willie Rosario (1)
La-La-La – Direct Latin Influence (2)
Sun Sun Babae – Celia Cruz (3)
Asia Mood – Tito Puente (4)
Musica Ligera – Toke D Keda (5)
Gotas De Lluvia – El Gran Combo (6)

Luna Negra – Rey Ruiz (7)

Abuelita – Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon (8)
Picadillo – Tito Puente (a version probably from the 40s or maybe the 50s) (9)

(1) One of the band members wondered if the volume was too low. I didn’t think it was too bad – I didn’t want too much distortion anyway. He commented that he remembered me dancing from last time – at the Winter Salsa Ball. Unlike last time, I danced near the band only once or twice tonight. 1984
(2) Mark had requested “a selection of new music and some different stuff [not heard from other DJs]… a couple of Bachata and a Cha Cha - it's always nice to get some variety...” I had to cut things down, and this song is a bit on the long side – longest one tonight by more than a minute. However, I decided that at least one new song had to be played. 2005
(3) Another possibility was Cao Cao Mani Picao, but Ivan played another version of this song earlier. For tonight, I liked this song better anyway. I liked the reaction from Adriana and Nina. 1940s-1950s
(4) A band member (balding with glasses and mustache) likes my songs. 1995
(5) It was a toss-up between this and Lamento Boliviano. Sam and Rajiv came by to make sure that I play a Bachata. It was cued before either of them stopped by. 2006 (promo) official release 2007 or tba
(6) The lead singer came by to compliment me on the music. probably late 1980s or 1990s
(7) It was 11:59 when I started this song. I thought at least one Salsa Romantica needed to be played. I did not cue another song. Instead I grabbed the girl I was eyeing earlier for a dance. I learned later that I must have seen her before either at SOS or at Scala. 1993
(8) Several people in the crowd called for more songs. The room seemed to be agreement. I skipped over to the best song on the only CD already loaded (Grandes Soneros De Ayer Y Hoy). Haihan stopped by to make a song request (no specific version stated). A hotel personnel also came by to ask that this or next song be the last song. I make an announcement to the effect before starting the next song. 1970
(9) I obtained this song from a 3 CD Tito Puente compilation album called King of Timbales. I suspect that the same version of the song could be obtained from other albums also. 1940s or 1950s

The original planned playlist was as follows.

Babarabatiri
Es La Musica – Massimo Scalici (another new music)
La-La-La
Push, Push, Push – Joe Cuba Sextet (Cha Cha / Boogaloo)
Sun Sun Babae
El Pito – Isidro Infante (or El Swing De Fruko – Fruko Y Sus Tesos. Either would have been the only Salsa that I know Ivan/Sally had played previously.)
Musica Ligera
Revolucionando – New Swing Sextet
Asia Mood
Lamento Boliviano – Toke D Keda (Bachata) (Sally played this once.)
Gotas De Lluvia
Luna Negra

Total played in reality. 9 Songs. 1 Bachata. 8 Salsa. It would have been 5 or 6 Salsa if I ended promptly at midnight. No new songs.

Total songs originally planned (‘final’ version). 12 songs. 2 Bachata (1 not played). 1 Cha Cha (not played). 9 Salsa (3 not played). No new songs.

My dancing form? I would give it a C minus. Timing and musicality feel very off. Maybe it's because of all those On2 practice. I had 15-20 dances altogether – many with beginners/improvers.