School's almost over...

June 7, 2007

It was an odd day. Exams are over for some, but not for others. Stephanie was there. Mark, Haihan and Agnes were not. Jane, Richard, Isabelle, Thomas and Rajiv were. Zhenzhi, Sean, Sam, Zoon and Phyllis were not. Nina was. Ivan wasn’t. Cyrille was. Mimi wasn’t. Lindsey was there early but left early too. Nicola arrived later and stayed til later. Natalie was there for the lesson but did not stay afterwards. Louise was there from start to the end. Charlotte, Annette, Hayden, William, Clara, Steve, Sarah, Adam, Caroline, Heinz, Euvian, Zern, blah, blah, blah. A notable new person was named Laura – I think I might have danced with her before at LeL though so she’s not entirely new.

Intermediate with Sally assisted by Charlotte

1,2,3,5,6,7 touch-and-go double turn for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 drop L-L to get R-R on top, Copa start, lead follower into clockwise turn (lead presumably comes on 4) to end L-L behind follower’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with leader overtaking and moving into follower’s previous space and doing a 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with L-L kept low and switching to R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start getting free L hand on follower’s shoulder (on her leading side) and lead follower into clockwise turn to get L-L behind follower’s R waist again
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL and lead follower to 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn with leader turning counterclockwise start ~7
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L hat for leader and simple CBL ending with L-R hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower to overtake on leader’s R side with L-R high and slightly to L of leader – lead follower to leader’s L side behind leader on 5 and lead follower straight back getting L-R behind follower’s L waist (this seemed like a risky move and liable to hurt a follower who does not know this move)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to stationary double turn with L-R initially going down before coming up

My dancing form seemed decent. Merecumbe (Johnny Colon) – pretty good overall with only a few glitches. Mujer Erotica – slowed things down and seemingly to good effect. Mundy Baja (El Gran Combo – as opposed to a different version I heard last Sunday) – a bit spin-heavier than usual and seemingly no complaints. Of course my impression or interpretation could be way off. I give myself some congratulations for passing up on songs like El Quinto De Beethoven (Cesta All-Stars – a bit too nutty for Cambridge) or Sun Sun Babae (Tito Rodriguez Jr – I really could do without those 6+ silent pauses). I imagine I’ll get another opportunity for Rumbon Melon and My Favorite Things. Other songs included Pico Swing, another version of Muneca, La Llave (first song), Noche De Salsa (3rd song?), and good number of songs I don’t know (there are plenty of those of course),

Things I might need to watch out for. I suspect that I am still not always spot on in positioning my hands and holding it stable to keep follower’s stable during multiple spins. Some people seem to spin away without problem but perhaps they are doing well in spite of me rather than because of anything I do – I’m guessing I don’t interfere but probably do not provide whole lot of support either. I may also need to try to do better moving out of the way when leading follower into a traveling turn – some of the times follower trips over my feet might be happening because I am not giving them enough room.

As far as quantity and complexity of moves is concerned, the difference between a rather large number of people in and outside the team or San Miguel group does seem like very much sometimes. How is it in terms of quality of lead? Musicality? (I’ve only begun to scratch the surface and plenty of people still ignore it.) Other factors like confidence or the way they carry themselves? I wonder how things would be if personal histories and friendships were not factors. If for example 20 or so upper-level followers in London no one has seen were thrown in lot with top 10 leads from tonight, would the pecking order be different than it is? Would things be different if the followers came from Los Angeles?