Club Salsa X-mas party 2007

December 7, 2007

Lotsa work again. Left work at 8:55. Got home. Prepared and ate a quick meal, then headed to Club Salsa by 9:45. Not bad.

Vishal was at the entrance. Joe was about to start the final run-through for the class. I said a quick hello to Lee and Shelley – established that I live here and that they were here for the first time for Salsa dancing.

Just before the cool-down started, Vishal let me know (and Joe) that I would be the first DJ of the evening. There was going to be five DJs tonight – the others being Joe, Sally, Cristian and Vishal. Here’s my set.

Playlist

La-La-La – Direct Latin Influence
La Muy Muy – Roberto Torres
Borinquen – Sonora Poncena (studio version)*
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
Anuncio Clasificado – Willie Rosario
Bongo Loco – Lebron Brothers
Mambo Sentimental – Machito*
Bailando – Frankie Ruiz
El Que Se Fue – Roberto Roena
Bilongo – Tito Rodriguez*
El Guaguanco Del Gran Combo – El Gran Combo
Chanchullo – Fania All-Stars

Total 12 songs. 11 Salsa. 1 Cha Cha. 3 new. I guess the number of songs was the highest one I guessed. I like to think I played a good set, and Vishal complimented me on my set three times (once during, once right after and once toward the end of the evening). Who knows if everyone was pleased? There were plenty of people keen on dancing so keeping the floor reasonably busy was not a problem.

It was a big party all right. Rico and Natalie came up from London. Sally, Cristian et al came down from Peterborough. Non-regular Friday people like Lindsey and Nicola were there. Non-regulars like Aurelei, Sam and Liz were present too. Add to them Cyrille, Liam, Mark, Jane, Richard, Polly, Andrea, Kate, Sharon and hundreds more.

Joe was the next DJ. I would say that he played for the common denominator. The floor was packed, but I managed to dance with three or four people (Aurelei, the girl from Mondays from way back, etc). Many of these dances were in pairs – mostly two Salsa and sometimes a Bachata and a Salsa. I guess I was dragged onto the floor for one Merengue too.

Ivan was there too. I don’t remember if I spotted him before the shows were about to start. Some Shakira-themed thing came on before Lee and Shelley. I was not able to see either of the shows – too many people. I told Ivan that he probably saw this one already – it was the one with Indestructible by Ray Barretto. Things were about the same with the same-sex competition. I was able to glimpse the contestants only – Vishal and partner, Jane and Natalie, Sally and Lindsey, Jay and Cristian. Vishal came in last. Jay and Cristian won. Because I managed to get myself into the DJ booth, I was able to get a decent view of the best costume competition – won by Richard and one of the regulars I don’t know the name of (I think of her as a friend of Sharon’s).

Sally was the third to DJ. The floor space situation became a bit more manageable during this time. The music started with fairly standard Thursday material with a brief interlude with maybe two unfamiliar songs. I think I had first of my dances with Shelley during her stint (I thought it might have been one of Cristian’s songs but I think Sally is a better guess). It was one of the most difficult songs in recent memory – I was unsure of timing at several different occasions, and Shelley might have been just as lost and possibly more. I think things were difficult also because she was anticipating for more complicated moves than I was ready for. It was a confidence-breaker in many ways despite nice words from Shelley at the end of the dance.

After a few more dances in order to get used to dancing with more space and with more speed, I decided to ask Lee next. I must say that I was really nervous – I don’t think I ever felt so nervous about asking anyone – not since after the first year. I was exceedingly nervous during the dance too – I relaxed only a little after the first minute or so. Strange. I have danced with other men. Not just in class settings. I’ve done it in Cambridge in social setting (albeit with very few people around very late in the evening). I’ve done it in a Congress type event – in Madrid. In any case Lee was very good follower. I could see why people say that Lee is a better follower than most women. One thing though, Lee still followed like a man rather than a woman – his spins had something of a forced quality to it – self-propelled and rather obviously so. I thought it interesting that Hayden might have been better at disguising self-propelling aspect when spinning. Like Shelley, Lee found time to say nice things about the dance, and I repaid in kind (well … sort of) by telling him that he followed me better than Shelley. Wrong. I danced with Shelley much later in the evening, and based upon second impression I will say that Shelley is better follower (and have higher upside).

Believe it or not, both of my dances with Shelley were a bit depressing. The first one was the worst dance of the evening by far. Second one was much better, but I thought I sucked big time - I was not in sync with the music (despite knowing the song quite well – it was Mambo Mongo). After the first dance, I thought Shelley was not a good follower. During the second dance, that initial impression was shattered because the connection and her following were both impeccable. Instead I simply felt inadequate. Certainly I could have danced better (I already lamented being out of sync with music – here I’m referring to musicality rather than timing), but even at my best (current or foreseeable future) it felt like she was used to having much more interesting dances. By the way, all of this was in my mind (perhaps warped) and none was it was caused by anything Shelley said verbally or otherwise.

Lest anyone think otherwise, I think both Lee and Shelley are great. They are friendly to everyone and will dance with anyone. They seem to be kind to everyone. They seem to be smiling even when the dance is not going so well. They are excellent show dancers, and they are really good and enthusiastic social dancers too. I can’t imagine anyone accusing either of being snotty, unfriendly, cliquey – I’ll even go further and say that I can’t fathom anyone finding a cause to say bad things about them.

Cristian was the fourth DJ. It was an interesting set. The only songs I recognized were Cuando Tu Quieras (Chivirico Davila) and a Merengue (the one starting with the word Wyando). I’m not a big fan of some of his Bachata selections, but his Salsa selections were pretty nifty. As matter of fact, I think it could be said that some of the songs he selected were the most challenging and sophisticated ones played tonight – and difficult to dance to in some cases. I definitely did not think that many of his selections were geared towards the masses or beginners, and frankly I don’t know what to make of it either.

Vishal was the final DJ. Mambo heaven with a few popular Bachata selections thrown in. Avisale A Mi Contrario (Tito Rodriguez), La Palomilla (Joe Cuba), Merecumbe (Johnny Colon), Asia Mood (Tito Puente), Mambo Mongo (Mongo Santamaria – from Afro Indio), La Llave (Grupo Latin Vibe), Vamonos Pa’l Monte (version?), a Chivirico Davila tune, La China De Mi Barrio (Javier Vazquez), La Salsa Nunca Se Acaba (Susie Hansen – played twice) and a version of Fragile. The only regret was that it was very late and many people were too tired to dance by near the end of the evening.

When it was all finished – a little after 3:30 AM and with Lee and Shelley staying to the bitter end (Joe and Olga left a little before 1?). It really was the biggest party of year for Club Salsa. The topic on the drive back (I gave ride back for Liam and Cyrille) included music tonight – I got Liam to admit that Vish played some good music tonight (Liam also thought positively of Cristian’s selections too). Liam and especially Cyrille voiced an opinion that they had more fun tonight than at the SOS. For me, I wouldn’t go that far. The last SOS was quite good for me, and tonight gets some demerits for a few not-so-hot dances (Strangely the only other negative incident while dancing I could think also involves Shelley – although I think the fault was the her dance partner. I got stepped on by Shelley first, then her partner also stepped on my foot while somehow ending up between me and my partner – taking too big steps). I think getting something like five declines for a dance (many of whom admittedly were tired and I already had danced with – sometimes more than once) were a definite negative. Also maybe I was disappointed about not seeing some people – one or a set of two or three who I hoped would show up would have made a difference.