Cosmic balance restored

January 29, 2007

It was another one of those days where I didn’t leave work until 7:30 PM. The lineup today was Joe, Tiz and Niki. Niki arrived even later than I did - this was her first time. From what I gathered from overhearing her talking to the class whenever my mind wandered away from Joe's instructions, she seemed like an amusing character.

Intermediate with Joe

1,2,3,5,6,7 one up one down stationary double turn for follower ending with R-L behind follower’s R waist – offer L in front by 7 (could do this with leader’s turn on 7)
1,2,3,5,6,7 swapsi (early traveling counterclockwise turn for follower) ending with L-R behind follower’s L waist (all the lead comes from R-L)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1/2 clockwise and into open CBL with R-L pointing forward (L-R is let go) – lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn ending with R-L at leader’s chest level and L hand on follower’s L wrist
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns into follower’s L arm bringing R-L under L arm (switching to L-L with follower’s hand on leader’s R breast – step back on 5 to give forward momentum for follower and make R-R connection to lead follower into full counterclockwise traveling turn into half Jesus check with L hand on follower’s L shoulder (R-R should be enough to stop follower’s momentum)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise stationary turn and end with giving follower a R-R hat (follower could do a second haircomb with her free L hand next bar)

second hour
1,2,3,5,6,7 one up one down stationary double turn for follower ending with R-L behind follower’s R waist – offer L in front by 7 (could do this with leader’s turn on 7)
1,2,3,5,6,7 swapsi (early traveling counterclockwise turn for follower) ending with L-R behind follower’s L waist – throw follower’s L hand behind her back (over-rotate?) on 7 – in the same motion switch to R-R by 7/8 and get to L-L behind follower’s R waist by next 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 rocking step lead – bring R hand to follower’s shoulder by 3 – lead follower forward and into leader’s arm on 5 and lead follower to unwind 1 1/2 counterclockwise with leader stepping across on 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 staggering backwards to rotate as couple up to full turn or so counterclockwise and launch follower out into CBL finish to end in open position

Some of the girls including Anastasia did not arrive until the second hour. After a quick hello, Anastasia asked me to show the class material followed by a quick dance during the break. Euvian arrived near the end of the class. She too asked me to show the class material, which also was followed by a dance.

The floor was in poor condition - very sticky everywhere. Spinning was the most noticeable challenge, but even the most basic footwork was made less fluid. I seem to recall there being a lot of spills on Friday. I think there might have been a bigger than usual party on Saturday too. The upper wood floor was slow but somewhat more consistent. Hopefully cleaning will help to restore consistency of the floor.

My dancing was subpar compared to last week. Perhaps there were signs of decline last night (e.g. some of those stumbles during multiple turns). Often different variations of double turn leads were misinterpreted. Sometimes single turn lead was being misread as well. I wasn’t able to diagnose the problem – too subtle lead or perhaps outright poor lead? Some self-leading might have been caused by poor leads as well.

Obviously Jane cannot have her birthday every Monday. Although there were some nice girls about, it was a fairly weak night. The music provided was the same Vishal CD (originally noted here) used for last 3 Fridays (Micaela, Thinking of you, Margarita, Montuno Street, Tambo, Timba Temba Tumba, etc… I think the CD might end with Chin Chon Chow, but everyone including me left after the Merengue started so I couldn't confirm this). In some ways, I was relieved that at least one off night happened this week before Brit Salsafest starts. After all I wouldn’t want to peak too early.

Final London tune-up for Blackpool

January 28, 2007

“Tickets please,” asked the agent of the train company. As I fished out my ticket I said, “I have a slight problem." I continued, "I accidentally bought a single ticket when I meant to get a cheap day return ticket.” The agent looked at my ticket and asked me to show my rail card. I did. He asked, “You are returning tonight?” I replied, “That’s right.” He punched in some information on his ticketing device and said, “That would be 10 p.” I put away my credit card and instead reached my pocket for one pound. I said, “Thank you very much,” when he gave me nine 10 pence coins in change. When the agent passed by, I turned to the passenger seated next to me and said, “That was nice and convenient. I was so annoyed when I got only one ticket out of the machine. I decided I needed to hurry up and catch the train.” She replied, “I hate pressing all those buttons too. And it would have been really annoying to buy another ticket.”

About 50 minutes later, I faced a closed door and a man standing in front of Mary Ward House. He said, “It’s at the Royal Sonesta Hotel - on the right side.” I asked, “Is that the North or South side?” He replied, “North.” I said, “Good. I might have gone home instead if it were on the South side.” Last year, I thought the North side of the Royal Sonesta Hotel was rather nice – possibly better than the Mary Ward House. I wondered if I still would think the same.

The wood flooring in the North side of Royal Sonesta Hall is smaller than the Mary Ward Hall. However, the total floor space is larger. Although it lacks fans, heat is not as big a problem as it is in the South side. I found that having one dance followed by a break for the next song was almost but not quite enough for me to stay reasonably dry. So it meant that I sat out of more songs than I might have at Mary Ward Hall. However, the venue ran to 11 PM instead of 10:30 PM. Not bad overall. It’s definitely worthwhile if it’s held in the North side even if it’s not quite as good as the regular venue.

Amir was the DJ. I generally like his choice of music. Tonight’s was one of the more interesting and often nice job by him. Among other songs, I recognized Avisale A Mi Contrario (Roberto Roena), Mi Ritmo Es Bueno (Bobby Valentin – I had wondered if this song would be nice to dance to… I am still not completely sure), Chin Chon Chow (Louie Ramirez), Me Voy Pa Cali (Oscar D’Leon – Too familiar for me from Club Salsa), Lluvia Con Nieve (Mon Rivera), La Llave (Grupo Latin Vibe – Perhaps too slow for SOS), Un Puesto Vacante (Eddie Palmieri – Definitely too fast for me… even at SOS), La Palomilla (Joe Cuba Sextet), Guaguanco Del Gran Combo (El Gran Combo – last song of the night… the song before this was ... an awkward ... Rumba maybe? I was amused by this “Rumba”). I also had the chance to glance at his CDs. I was highly amused to see entries such as “Unknown – Unknown.”

My first dance was with Natalie. My last dance was with someone I had turned down for Cha Cha few minutes before this dance (simply because I am not comfortable dancing Cha Cha). In between were all positive dances – useful learning experience at worst. The only embarrassing moment involved almost falling down twice while dancing with Helen during La Palomilla. In any case, it felt like a nice tune-up for Blackpool, and it was nice to have the feeling that I am still making tangible improvements from one month to another. Too bad not everything (work and life in general) is as simple as getting better at dancing Salsa right now.

Still some bugs in the system

January 26, 2007

I thought to myself, "There are still some bugs in the system," as I e-mailed Cyrille (aka San Miguel captain - Euvian, our leader - Sergio, etc) to ask, "Is it happening?" Cyrille (maybe I should nickname him Hamlet... can't make a decision... to be or not to be...) wrote back, "Still thinking where to go. Help me. Haha." By now, it was already 6:30 PM - same time as I called the restaurant last week only to learn that reservation was no longer possible. After a conference with Sergio, ruling out Italian and curry, we settled on Teri-Aki as our choice. The trouble was that we could not get through to them on the phone. Because my work was already shot, I decided to leave slightly earlier than usual and get our name on the waiting list earlier. This meant only that I arrived at Teri-Aki about 5 minutes before 8.

Lo and behold, there was a cue. Big surprise. Incoming customers were being told that the wait is up to an hour long. Among the people waiting, I spied Anette and Cambiz so I approached them to say a brief hello. I then took a look around the area for other possibilities. Galleria had some free tables, but Sergio over the phone nixed that idea (no Italian). He suggested that I leave my name at Teri-Aki and also check out Chez Gerrard. It turned out that I couldn't leave my name at Teri-Aki (someone would have to stay there in person), but Chez Gerrard had free table (but no one else from the group with me - it was clearly a distant second choice for everyone). I went back to Teri-Aki (without booking a table at Chez Gerrard) and spend time catching up with Annetta and Cambiz.

First Cyrille then Sergio and Natalie arrived as I conversed with Anette and Cambiz - mostly about singing. When everyone arrived, we decided to wait 10 minutes or so there and see what happens. One group then another group got their table, then it was Anette and Cambiz's turn. I was getting ready to leave them to their dinner when Anette and Cambiz suggested to the maitre d that they would be happy to share a table with four of us. Bingo. So after all the fiasco, our dinner group was 6 - and the trend of having increasingly larger Friday dinner group was maintained.

Dinner topics ranged from a proposed trip to Hong Kong (Oasis Air, etc) to South Africa (wine, climate, crime) to cous cous (double-steamed or so elaborated Cambiz). Cambiz apparently is the chef at a Turkish-Mediterranean restaurant called Shiraz, which is almost done with their remodelling - a possible option for next Friday outing (not next week for me because of Brit Salsafest).

When I finally arrived at Club Salsa, the same CD as last two weeks was still playing - Micaela was almost finished and Thinking Of You was about to start. Johnny and Serap were away, and Jay, Jane, Sam, Zhenzhi and possibly Euvian along with Abit subsituted for Johnny and Serap. Danie was supposed to be involved but she wasn't feeling well. Supposedly people from Zhenzhi's lab were there (or such thing was talked about several days ago). Vishal said feel free to start playing anytime so I started after Thinking Of You.

Playlist

Que Buena Baila Usted - Oscar D'Leon (1)
Mi Gente - Oscar D'Leon (2)
Y No Hago Mas Na - El Gran Combo
Tatalibaba - Direct Latin Influence (3)*
Quitate La Mascara - Ray Barretto (4)
Rumba Del Barrio - Luisito Rosario (5)
Ritmo Pa Borinquen - Grupo Latin Vibe
Caballero Y Dama - Celia Cruz & Willie Chirino (6)
Dime Que Quieres - El Gran Combo

break (Big CBL crowd. I spied Sergio dancing Merengue (Suavemente) with Euvian. Vishal followed it with Obsesion (very early for this song), then Playa No More. He left me with a big crowd on the dance floor with string of Salsa (Pancho Cristal earlier and La Pantera Mambo later). "Start slow and build it up," he reminded me.)

Sonando - Poncho Sanchez (7)*
Ven Tu - Dominic Marte (8)
Hong Kong Mambo - Tito Puente
Asia Mood - Tito Puente (9)
Ran Kan Kan - Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland version) (10)
La Quiero - Dominic Marte
La-La-La - Direct Latin Influence (11)
Meneame La Cuna - Roberto Torres
Gracias - El Gran Combo (12)*

break (Merengue, Salsa, Bachata, Salsa and Merengue… I think. It included La Vida Es Un Carnival. Lindsey has been here for a while. Nicola arrived around 12:30 AM - eliciting a reaction from Gordon. People are really going nuts over Lamento Boliviano - hysterical. Vishal left with 2 Merengue in a row, so I followed it up with two Reggaeton in a row.)

Tocate - Toke D Keda
Dame Lo Que Quiero - Toke D Keda (13)*
Gotas De Lluvia - El Gran Combo (14)
Abuelita - Willie Colon & Hector Lavoe*
Se Me Fue - El Gran Combo*
Malanga Amarilla - Cachao
La Llave - Grupo Latin Vibe (15)
Sofrito - Mongo Santamaria (16)*
Usted Abuso - Willie Colon & Celia Cruz

Vishal followed with Merecumbe (Los Titanes - aka the second best version). Other songs played during the course of the evening included Brujeria (Gran Combo), Caballo Viejo, Vamonos Pal Monte (artist/version unknown) and probably couple of Marc Anthony.

(1) Rajiv likes this one. He showed up later. If I knew that he was going to show, I could have saved it for after his arrival. Haihan arrived at about the same time as Rajiv.
(2) I asked Vishal, "Is this fast? I think I should slow down a little."
(3) I don't think I liked the way most people danced to this song. Timing was all over the place even for some people who I think of as having decent timing.
(4) Cyrille and Sergio arrived around here - about 10:30 AM - a bit earlier than I expected.
(5) I didn't like this choice. I might not play this song again ever. Everything afterwards was solid in my opinion.
(6) Luis arrived by this point. He was generally enthusiastic with selections tonight.
(7) Fairly long Cha Cha. Shila cracked, "Start slow and build it up."
(8) Haihan looks very confident dancing Bachata. He also seemed to be in a good dancing mood.
(9) Mambo police came around. Next up was the most popular Puente.
(10) Vishal came about again. I told him next is Bachata, explaining that I wanted a buffer/transition after a string of Mambo.
(11) I told Vishal, "I think people like this song."
(12) I originally had Se Me Fue cued before changing my mind. I danced with Stephanie.
(13) One Reggaeton - done before. I suspect two in a row was unexpected. It sure caught Vishal off guard. He asked, "Next one's Salsa, right?" Yup.
(14) Lights went up as Reggaeton was finishing. I gave a slightly longer pause between songs. There are many Salsa people left.
(15) Zhenzhi wanted the song information.
(16) This one has a 90 second intro that needed to be cut. There was a slight miscue (mixing of channels) while I was operating. By the way, this was the second Cha Cha of the evening.

Total 27 songs. 2 Bachata. 2 new Cha Cha. 2 Reggaeton including 1 new. 21 Salsa including 4 new. Vishal probably played about 4 more Bachata and 5-6 Merengue and some Reggaeton.

Many CBL people stayed to the very end - Cyrille, Euvian, Haihan, Lindsey, Nicola, Rajiv, Sergio, Stephanie, Zhenzhi among others. There were many other regular Salsa dancers also. Near the very end, Sergio helping Lindsey put on her coat led to Lindsey trying instead to do the same with Sergio (and failing), which in turn led to the same with me. Her jacket was rather tight on me. Supposedly I looked like Fonzy and it led to me breaking out my camera once again. Taking a lesson from last time, I tried to take all the photographs from a close distance to minimize red eyes (or worse bright white eyes, which are difficult to fix even with Photoshop).

Pre-congress boom?

January 25, 2007

Sally Intermediate (assisted by Mark)


open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to 2 1/2 stationary clockwise turn with R-L high and L-R low (touch-and-go like) ending with R-L draped over follower’s head on her R side (to help with deceleration)
1,2,3,5,6,7 continue to decelerate or perhaps prepare to R on 1 and bring follower back 1/2 counterclockwise to leader’s L side – lead follower forward on 5 and into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with R-L high and L-R kept low (so that L-R ends behind follower’s L waist where she’ll keep it there through next move)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader steps forward on 1 turn 1/2 clockwise on 2 on step back (letting go L-R) and spin full clockwise between 3 and 4 on R foot (for 1 1/2 clockwise turn overall) – lead follower to turn full clockwise stationary leading over leader’s head with R-L and leader turns 1/2 counterclockwise and reconnect L-R behind her L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL position (after or while draping R-L over follower’s head and keep it there) and lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn (downward initial lead using L-R before it comes up and stays together with R-L)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns double counterclockwise (walking turn) with all connections up to start with and with R-L coming down during second turn so that R-L ends behind leader’s L waist [note: starting position is the same as if follower was led to a single clockwise turn from open hold]
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break (or allow follower to step back on 1) and bring follower forward and get into back-to-back position – R-L goes up and over (in a line in between leader and follower) smoothly and comes down on 5 (meanwhile leader has turned 1/2 counterclockwise – follower is probably just doing a rocking step ending with simple CBL finish in terms of footwork) and L-R comes up on 6 to lead follower to CBL finish but ending with a wrap (R-L across follower’s stomach and at her R waist)

I would have been perfectly happy if the routine ended here… but there’s more

1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise unwrapping turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL - fake lead R-L high on 3 before leading follower into full counterclockwise traveling turn with L-R high and R-L low ending in a wrap
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower to step slightly forward on 1 (or prepare) and lead her back around clockwise to leader’s R side to unwrap (keeping connections at same height thus far) and lead her into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn and with leader turning counterclockwise to get back to open position (Mark did some hand position trick to make the movement a bit fancy, but I didn’t catch the detail – it might have involved R-L resting on leader’s R? shoulder briefly before combing it over
1,2,3,5,6,7 from this open position, there might have been a short move starting with open break – done perfunctorily as it was getting really late

Cyrille seemed happy with the routine. After talking about another dinner tomorrow (no Italian), he left to get something to eat and said he would return. He didn’t. He didn’t seem very energetic at the start of the evening – maybe he’s still feeling tired.

While I was talking with Anastasia during the second hour of classes, I noticed that there were some new up-and-coming leads. One of them according to Anastasia was taking improver classes as recently as before X-mas. It is nice to see some new promising faces. Good Cambridge-grown leads are too rare.

I didn’t think the Thursday from earlier this month could be topped, but I think it was tonight. There were several people I had not seen for a while. Some non-regular Thursday people showed up as well. I danced at least as much as I have been in recent Thursdays yet I ended up not dancing with anyone from the team. I also missed dancing with some others from the class I would normally make an effort. Many of the dances were a bit messy technically because I had not danced with many of my partners for a long time or ever (and they were not familiar with many of the moves I led). Also I was probably guilty of being over exuberant especially earlier in the evening.

Wow. That’s two very lively nights in a row. A scary thought is that I think it’s possible that Thursday could have even bigger night (based upon counting who were not here tonight). Okay. I need to recite that mantra again – keep expectations low – it won’t be exceptional all the time (by definition).

Dances between Lindsey and Sergio are getting more interesting and intricate. Apparently little tips given at slower pace is helping. I tried to emulate some of the things Sergio was doing when I got around to dancing with Lindsey – probably poorly. The dance did succeed in drawing some laughter from Lindsey – there are worse thing than being amusing.

Suggestion of the day by Sergio – Let’s take a little trip to Hong Kong. He says it only (?!) costs £99 each way plus taxes via Oasis Airlines from Gatwick. It would beat cleaning the house. When I heard the idea initially, I was dismissive, and who knows how serious this suggestion was. It certainly would be an interesting thing to do – I would not have thought of doing such thing on my own. I might take a look if I have time tomorrow or more likely Saturday.

I almost forgot... "Cambridge" Salsa Forum (quote mine) - You all know about it already - I'm not sure if I'm going to delve into it heavily - I wanna stay out of trouble. Also there appears to be an amendment and possible changes to the Britfest workshop schedule, but their PDF file is screwy and will freeze Explorer or Firefox browser at the moment...

Mambo City

January 22, 2007

An e-mail from Sergio talked about today being Jane’s birthday. This sounded familiar although I am unsure where or from whom I heard this from. Sergio wondered if he should try to go tonight. I replied that there should be fairly large number of people from the team (by the way, my predictions were mostly but not entirely correct) and that Vishal probably would make a special effort at DJing with such a crowd.

I also said, “I thought everyone had their birthdays on Fridays. I guess sometimes it happens on Thursdays or Wednesdays. I didn’t think it would ever happen on a Monday.” I was rather pleased – after all I am a staple on Mondays and this would take no effort at all on my part – although I must also say that I also was trying to keep a low expectation and to be ready for anything – possibly even a horror of an evening.

Despite hurrying, I wasn’t able to leave work until after 7:30 and I was nearly half an hour late.

Joe Intermediate

CBL – open up shoulder on 2 for a more effective start and communication of lead (or intention) – instead of having far apart and flat (pointing perpendicular to the follower’s line), get feet (esp. L feet) pointing towards the direction follower will be traveling towards by 3 – use shoulders to help with the lead (and leverage) – when switching hands, get R-R established first and by 6

crossed hold L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower to leader’s R side (about 1/8 turn for follower as opposed to 1/4 turn more appropriate for Copa – lead is with R-R during 1,2,3) – lead follower forward into a Copa fake and into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn and moving along to a point behind leader (on his L side now) 7 (and 8??) with lead for the turns coming from L-L high with R-R kept low and intact for a wrap and released only after follower is led to leader’s L side (L-L goes over leader’s head as leader’s eyes (and head) turns from leader’s R side where follower was during 3 to 7 or so to leader’s L side by 7 or 8 or so
1,2,3,5,6,7 use proper tension etc to lead follower forward on 1 and continue lead her to overtake and turn 1/2 on 2,3 so that follower is now facing leader (and essentially back to position at previous 1) – windmill type of lead to a double clockwise turn (under-over-and under) and switch to R-L (leader could do a swivel turn here but I think simply getting the follower to do a double turn to get her L hand behind her R waist will be a pretty big challenge – I haven’t managed it thus far – on the other hand, I have been using this maneuver with a single turn finish for 1-2 months now)

Simple finish used for the class was to get follower to do a 1 1/2 (early) traveling counterclockwise turn with R-L lead kept low and ending with a closed hold

crossed hold L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL and lead follower into Jesus check or crucifix (keep top of follower’s fingers at about her shoulder level – this means the distance between her hands and her shoulder could be very short – about a hand length)
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower a slight step forward and to L on 1 (it helps to dip both connections slightly on 1) – best steps for leader is cross behind R foot on 1 – all this works as preparatory step for follower – lead follower to 1 1/2 over and under turn (clockwise stationary) with L-L to get follower’s L hand behind her R waist – leader does a swivel turn on 7 – switch to R-L and switch back to L-L on 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL (using the opening of shoulder maneuver to help follower propel forward on 3 with rocking step) – lead follower forward on 5 and tightly into L-L and lead follower to unwind counterclockwise 1 1/2 starting from 6 with L-L starting low and ending high

A simple finish would entail doing a L-L hat for leader and finish with CBL… another option is to do a 360 turn on 1,2,3 as a unit (leader should start this turn on 7 with R foot going across) – footwork demonstrated was something like a hook with L foot on 1 followed by in place steps on 2,3 as rest of the body catches up – finish with launching follower across her line on 5,6,7 (finishing with closed hold make the move rotational rather than linear)

Smiley Jane arrived towards the end of the first hour of classes. During a brief lull when I was without a partner, I went to greet her and wish her happy birthday. I also voiced my earlier thought about no one else celebrating his or her birthday on a Monday at Club Salsa. She replied that everyone used to do it on Fridays but that it’s always packed and thus not usually very fun. Besides – she wanted to celebrate it on her real birthday. I thought, “Very sensible.”

With likes of Euvian and Anastasia in the class as well as Jane who joined during the second half, the classes were more enjoyable than it was for most of December and January – even if greater part of it was mostly a review of things I knew fairly well.

I was a little surprised that by the end of the class, Sergio was the only one amongst people I had expected to show up among the CBL crowd. I was thinking that people like Phyllis, Sam and Richard surely would show up. I was less sure about Ivan, but he was one of the first to arrive after the end of the classes. Later I asked Ivan, “Does [you being here tonight] mean that you won’t be here Thursday night?” He replied, “I got a special dispensation for tonight.” I guess that means he’s allowed to go out twice this week. How special! Some people took a little longer to arrive, but it ended up being a pretty good group. There were a couple of surprise no-shows, but I am sure there were good reasons.

Some of the songs Vishal played were completely new to Club Salsa to the best of my knowledge. Among others, African Fantasy by Bobby Montez was played – I didn’t remember the song title or the artist until after it was over, but I did recognize it instantly as something familiar and knew that I had to dance to it. Despite it being a little too fast, it was great. The only regret was that the next song was Japan Mambo by Tito Puente and I had to sit that one out because I expended too much effort for African Fantasy. Incidentally, African Fantasy is in my collection (in fact, I had the CD with me tonight along with couple other CDs) – I simply had dared not play it (and Vishal now beats me to it). Japan Mambo on the other hand is not in my collection – high on my wish list but not a super-high priority item given that I already have so many unused “Mambo” for Fridays. At one point in the evening, 6-10 songs, which Vishal probably would call Mambo (most of which I did not recognize), were played consecutively.

For Jane’s birthday dance, she danced with Sean, Richard, Ivan and… Sergio. In a conversation later Sergio commented that he doesn't like birthday dances. He added that the only worse thing is to be stared at for not participating in the birthday dance. He also commented that I hadn’t participated. I gave a meek excuse that I was busy taking photos of the dance (and probably blinding the dancers with all the flashing). In fact, the only complaint I could make is that red eyes (and white eyes) are all too common with my new camera – it was never a problem with my big old SLR.

Later in the evening, one of my dance partners commented that I looked happy. I think my partner at the time might have been Zhenzhi but I am not entirely sure. In any case, I was quite happy. The music was a pleasant surprise. I had danced (mostly pretty well) with all girls I named above and more (I had not danced with Jane and maybe Sam when the comment was made, but that’s nitpicking - I danced with both subsequently). I think I had waited for some of the dances I had tonight for almost a year. I was asked for a dance at the beginning of the evening – it is always nice when it happens. I also danced with someone who was essentially a complete beginner (a check for community service). It felt as if I was at a nice friendly Salsa venue in a different city.

Dinner for five

January 19, 2007

Picking a restaurant came down to as simple an action as me swivelling my chair around and asking my colleague which restaurants she likes in Cambridge. The choice? Strada. Unfortunately by the time we worked out how many people were coming and I finally made the call to make a reservation, the restaurant was more than half full. Walk-in attempt did not work out either. Perhaps we'll try again next week if this Friday evening dinner thing continues as a "tradition." In the interest of being able to find a table quickly, we ended up at Pizza Express. According to our Pizza connoisseur Nat, Pizza Express has better pizza than Strada or Café Adriatic (Café Adriatic is the worst of the three). Final roll call - Cyrille, Natalie, Sergio, Stephanie and me. At this rate, we'll have six next week and seven the following week.

Once again, I was a little late arriving at Club Salsa. Vishal had a CD playing on autopilot once again - same CD as last week. I decide to let it play for a while. I ended up letting it play to the very end - for well over an hour. I just stood at the DJ booth, which probably made it look like someone was paying attention. I don't think I want to do it again, but it was alright as a one time lark.

The songs in the CD included the following -

Salsa
Salsa
Micaela - Sonora Carruseles
Thinking Of You - Lenny Kravitz
Salsa
Salsa (with the word Besame in chorus)
Bachata
Salsa (with the word Margarita in chorus)
Montuno Street - Azabache
Tambo - Susie Hansen
Timba, Temba, Tumba - Los Van Van
Salsa
Merengue (not overplayed)
Salsa (so so)
Cha Cha (over 5 minutes long)

Most of the Salsa songs were pretty energetic, bouncy and happy - typical Vishal fare. Many of the songs had not been played by Vishal more than couple of times over past 3-4 months (with Micaela being an obvious exception). If the general tenor of musical selection is like this, it would be nice. Throw in a few more surprises, some Mambo - even better. Then again, I suppose we would think of new things to complain.

I started playing songs starting almost exactly at 11 PM - after the dinner gang (minus Nat), Euvian, Zern and many Friday regulars have arrived or had settled down for some time.

Playlist

Acabo De Llegar - Tabaco Y Ron
Mi Mujer Es Una Bomba - Oscar D'Leon
Muneca - Alfredo De La Fe
Ave Maria Lola - Conjunto Imagen
Meneame La Cuna - Roberto Torres
No Critiques - Manny Oquendo (1)
Merecumbe - Johnny Colon (2)
Musica Ligera - Toke D Keda

break (3)

Cuando Te Vea - Tito Puente (4)
Ran Kan Kan - Tito Puente (Mamborama version) (5)
Cao Cao Mani Picao - Tito Puente (6)
Cucala - Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco (7)
Guaguanco Del Gran Combo - El Gran Combo (8)*
Me Dejo - Oscar D'Leon
Gotas De Lluvia - El Gran Combo (9)*

(1) Two reactions stood out. One CBL dancer (I cannot recall his name at the moment) commented, "Great song." I guess he heard the song many times elsewhere. A dancer on the floor looked at me seemingly questioning whether I was playing two songs at the same time during an especially busy chaotic part of the song.
(2) I think I spied Eva around this time. She recognized me and stopped by to say hello.Vishal mentioned that she would be coming along with Chris. I was a little surprised to see Johnny and Pete dance Rueda, but it's a free country. Also the amount of free dance space was adequate.
(3) Vishal started off with two songs I didn't recognize. Was it because of our special guest? The first song was okay for dancing but was very long. The third song was Playa No More - I didn't think Vishal was going to keep it up. I also danced with Serap, who stayed considerably longer than she had been doing for past couple of months. I also danced with Euvian (2-3 times this evening - more than with anyone else… but I only danced with 5 people altogether - mostly just once for the evening); Un Verano En Nueva York was probably a little too fast to attempt more complicated moves. Vishal's set ended with two Merengue songs in a row.
(4) Guaguanco
(5) Call it Mambo if you like. Chris and Eva made to the main dance floor for the first time and stayed until the end of Cucala.
(6) Mambo? Sure.
(7) Now we're getting to 1974 - early but solidly into 70's Salsa period.
(8) Guaguanco. See the song title. Vishal stops by to say something about Mambo and people starting to leave. I find it difficult to believe that there is a sizeable contingent of people who are so unhappy about 10 minutes or so of Mambo especially considering that it never lasts very long. Then again, people leave for all sorts of reasons. Some people leave when Merengue comes on. Some people leave when Reggaeton comes on. Plenty of people like Mambo. The dance floor was in decent shape from second half of Cuando Te Vea to the end of Cucala. It only emptied out for a minute or two as I moved out of Mambo or Mambo-like material. It didn't help that this CD was a little finicky and required raising the volume a lot more than I originally thought. In a later conversation, Sergio made a comment from the other side saying that some of the songs sounded too same throughout.
(9) Vishal (seemingly still unhappy about that string of "Mambo") came to relieve me for "10 minutes" to play things many people were requesting. It gave me a perfect opportunity to dance with Eva - Euvian was taken by Sergio and Stephanie was nowhere to be found. I also tried that new move with Eva - it wasn't new for her - of course.

Total 15 songs. 14 Salsa. 1 Bachata. 2 new songs (*).

Vishal's second set seemed a little shakier than his first. Sergio commented at one point that the song being played at the time was by Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz (Pancho Cristal) - it wasn't clear to me whether he liked the song. It seemed very familiar and arguably overplayed but it wasn't that bad. Then came the predictable sequence of Reggaeton - do these come in same order all the time? It gets stopped after 3-6 songs presumably because Vishal runs out of songs. There was Shakira (Hips Don't Lie), which was introduced by Vishal as a song that he had to play (or otherwise someone was going to kill him). Finally, Vishal said, "Salsa." Micaela came on, and immediately there was a collective groan from people around me. Would the reaction have been as bad if it were another overplayed song like "Me Libere" or "Lloraras" or "Caballo Viejo?" I don't know. Probably not. I think Micaela will hold a special place.

There were some long-time people who seemed to be dancing happily to Micaela. This led to an exchange between me and Sergio.

me - "I would have thought that after all these years, people would get sick of hearing this song all the time."

Sergio - "I said the same thing three years ago."

Anyhow, Micaela or our reaction to the song might have finally driven Euvian away. A few songs that followed were disastrous in all accounts - unpopular for pretty much everyone who was still there. Almost miraculously, Vishal followed this with … Mambo.

Stephanie was the first among us to notice and dragged me to the dance floor. Supposedly she only danced four times tonight - she was feeling a little clumsy tonight after having fallen off her bicycle twice while we waited for others to arrive outside Strada. Otherwise she thought it was a great night (with a massage by the huge-handed bouncer presumably being one of the highlights). The song also brought some others onto the floor, including Chris and Eva again (they danced separately during the Reggaeton phase). It was essentially Mambo rest of the way including "Caravan" by Eddie Torres Orchestra (not a favorite of Stephanie's and Sergio has mentioned in the past that he finds this song tricky now), another version of "Merecumbe" (least favorite version in Sergio and my opinion) etc. Still - miles better than what was there before (sorry for nitpicking - aren't we a difficult bunch to please?). I went up to the DJ booth after my dance with Stephanie with a jest for Vishal, "Nice adjustment." He laughed.

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.

Noteworthy news - maybe

January 17, 2007

Some announcements.

Brit Salsafest preliminary schedule is out. Last year, they changed the schedule about a week after a first version was released, so take it as a taster only (click on the image to magnify). Check their website for preliminary show schedule, etc. You know where it is.



www.britsalsafest.com
--

From Tony Lara...

Hi Guys

Here is some info for the Salsa Weekender in the South of Italy in May.

The event has been running for 2 years organized by one of the BIGGEST schools in Bari.

More than 400 people go to the event and it is very successful.

The Weekend details are as followed:

Venue: Hilton Calane - Taranto
Date: 18th & 19th May leave on Sunday 20th
Program: Party Friday & Saturday Night – Workshops Saturday & Sunday afternoon.
Food: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Price: €200euros per person (promoters price)

Nearest Airport: Bari, Brindisi from London Stansted

I want your feedback to know if it would be good to organize that people come to Bari on Wednesday where we can organize another Hotel and sight seeing and local Party Nights.

If you have people who want to perform everyone is welcome to put on a show. The idea os the weekend is to have fun and get people involved rather than big artists.

Let me know what think.

iDJ Tony

--

From Toke D Keda...

Thanks for the comments, and your interest in what we do. Glad you are enjoying our music. We'll be in the UK in '07

PS: yes, it really is me, or perhaps i should say....one of us.

PSS: the Real version 2.0 will be in stores 2007 with a total of 11 songs including 3 more bachatas NOone's heard yet...the album you got was a limited edition (tour) preview

Best regards,

Jalen

Not inspired to come up with a title

January 15, 2007

As I started towards Club Salsa I thought, “I wonder if I should not have worn a light colored trousers. I hope tonight’s routine is not the type where I might get my sheen kicked often. Hmm. I’m probably overreacting. It was probably just freakish occurrence. It hasn’t happened for a while.” I didn’t arrive until about 7:50 PM and essentially missed the shine segment of the class.

The lineup today was Joe, Tiz and Danie.

Intermediate with Joe

1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L hold prepare and lead follower to a double right turn (stationary clockwise) with leader (optional) turning full left starting on 7 (so leader’s hands turn so that fingers point up for follower’s second turn) and ending with stepping back on 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward and into over and under counterclockwise turn (traveling) to get R-L across her stomach and on her R waist (a wrap) – follower is squeezed between leader’s R shoulder and R-L connection – make L-R connection in front of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower forward and into 1 1/2 clockwise turn (minimal traveling) keeping R-L low (this could end behind her R waist) and L-R temporarily high [note: possibly could start with the couple rotating counterclockwise as a unit]

1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold L-L on top start and lead follower to a double right turn (stationary clockwise) with leader (optional) turning ~full (or more likely 3/4) left starting on 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break (leader steps away from follower on 1 – this likely is not a straight backwards step because leader probably did not make a full turn) and bring follower forward and into over and under counterclockwise turn so that L-L is across follower’s stomach (but unlike in the previous segment, leader is positioned more behind follower so that follower is at level with leader’s L shoulder – as opposed to leader’s R shoulder in the previous move) – offer R hand in front to make R-R connection
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower forward and into 1 1/2 clockwise turn with all connections eventually ending together high
1,2,3,5,6,7 starting position here is crossed hold L-L on top (with L-L getting let go eventually) – leader starts to turn left on 1 so that by 3 R-R is behind leader’s L waist and leader is more or less in CBL position – apparently leader is leaning away from follower on 3 – leads follower forward on 5 for CBL finish with leader stepping back on 5 then leader turns 3/4 to right (clockwise) to face follower

Euvian arrived near the end of the first hour. She has not adjusted to time zone change yet so she didn’t stay very long. Rajiv and Sam arrived later – reprising their old role as each other’s chaperone. Supposedly Sam keeps Rajiv out of trouble and Rajiv drives Sam around. Does Rajiv ever get close to getting into a trouble? Maybe I don't know him well enough. Zhenzhi also arrived after the class ended, and I probably danced with her more than with anyone else tonight. Unfortunately, I was not in a very good form – I felt sloppy all around. I probably danced even less than I might have if they were not there, and I spent most of the evening chatting or watching Rajiv, Sam and Zhenzhi trying to remember the team routine from last year. Too bad there weren't any other leads from the usual circle, but then again Mondays has been really up and down so most people probably don’t see a reason to show up without assurances that their favorite partners will be there.

Sam revealed that she will be passing on the Brit Salsafest - after having done all the legwork for the hotel booking, etc. I had meant to bring up the topic of transportation, but her news made me forget all about it. With no one else among the San Miguel gang going, I had been exploring various options on my own whenever I felt like killing time. After last year's trip, I wanted to avoid driving - just too tiring especially for the return trip. I considered using Ryanair from Stansted to Blackpool - this could end up being the cheapest option. However, the most convenient option may be the train. Blackpool North rail station is fairly close to Winter Gardens (I think the distance is no greater than between Cambridge train station and OLEM Catholic Church). One amusing thing I discovered was that even though a train trip likely will involve a detour to London, it's cheaper to leave from Cambridge rather than London. Furthermore, the train fare is even lower if I leave from Whittlesford (which is more convenient from work) rather than Cambridge.

On a slightly different topic, Tony and Daniela are doing a Bachata Bootcamp in London on Saturday 20th of January. Beginners/Improvers from 9:30-1:30 and Intermediates from 2:30-6:30. A couple of people who read this blog asked me about the next Bachata date (there's none scheduled for the moment), and this seemed interesting enough given the number of hours involved. £20 for 4 hrs advanced (£25 on the door). £30 and £35 for all day. I haven't considered going but I could be talked into it easily. There is a party afterwards at the same venue.

http://www.salsa-uk.com/bootcamp/bachata.htm

In an evening filled with as much chats as dancing ended with a conversation with Danie - talking about dance performances (e.g. with Laith Sami's group), teaching dance (ballet when she was younger as well as Salsa). While she's fairly new to Salsa, she has an early start and takes dance as her main interest and profession (unlike most of us who treats it as a hobby - quite serious one for some). It could be interesting to see how far she goes.

Another late nighter

January 12, 2007

After something of a last minute reservation and late arrivals, we had a dinner at Café Adriatic. I arrived shortly after Cyrille and shortly before Natalie and Sergio. The biggest consideration for the choice of restaurant? Pizza and pasta for Natalie. A memorable topic? Harrowing experiences in bad neighborhoods. I headed straight to Club Salsa after dinner while the other three went for a drink first at the Sauce.

I arrived about 10 minutes after the end of classes, and Vishal had a CD on an autopilot. I decided to let it play on for 3-4 songs. The place was still filled mostly with beginners, and some of the people hanging about found the songs too fast - even things like Micaela by Sonora Carruseles and Thinking of You by Lenny Kravitz. This led Serap to end the play of Vishal's CD and play something very slow (Victor Manuelle?). I followed it up with the idea of playing more slow songs to start with.

Playlist

Mandali - Africando (-3%)
Fragile - Massimo Scalici (-2%) (1)
Lluvia - Eddie Santiago (-1%)
Sientate Ahi - Oscar D'Leon
La Muy Muy - Roberto Torres
Malanga Amarilla - Cachao
Brujeria - El Gran Combo
Adelante Siempre Voy - Ray Barretto (2)
El Tornillo De Guillo - La 33
Sopa En Botella - Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco (3)*

break (Theodore first then Vishal. I didn't recognize most songs played by Theodore apart from Me Voy Pa Cali. The song I remembered most from Vishal's selections was another version of Merecumbe (not Johnny Colon and seemingly not Los Titanes).)

La-La-La - Direct Latin Influence (4)
El Abaniquito - Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers (5)
Ave Maria Lola - Roberto Torres
Vitamina - Sonora Carruseles
Mambo Gozon - Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland version) (6)
Te Extrano - Toke D Keda (7)
Apretoncito - Toke D Keda
La Mano - Oscar D'Leon (8)*
Me Dejo - Oscar D'Leon (9)

(1) This one drove people away from the floor. Funny/odd. Sometimes it's wildly popular. Sometimes it's like this. I wasn't going to stop the song right away, so I cued next song and danced on a sparse floor so fill the time. Mandali and Lluvia were fine with tonight's people.
(2) Theodore came by and asked to DJ a little later.
(3) Another chance to dance. Cyrille, Sergio and Natalie arrived about here. Ditto for Stephanie. Euvian and Mimi arrived shortly thereafter. Luis (he arrived before all of them but well after I started DJing tonight) made a comment like, "I'm very disappointed with your last 12 songs or so." I asked, "Did you not like Celia Cruz?" He replied, "I liked that one. That was the only one I liked," and started singing parts of the song. Oh well. My first 3 songs were throwaway picks chosen primarily because of their speed. I suppose the next 3 songs were on slow side too (with a caveat that I like all of them and that I would jump at a chance to dance if someone else played them). The La 33 song was chosen as a lead-in for Sopa En Botella.
(4) Vishal's last song was a Merengue.
(5) I originally had Lindo Yambu (Cheo Feliciano) cued before changing my mind. Shila asked what I was going to play next and was happy to hear this choice. He went to find a partner for the song - he might have ended with Mimi. Stephanie stopped by to remind me that I haven't danced with her yet. Some guy came to ask about this song too. I considered playing something like Cao Cao Mani Picao before settling on Roberto Torres next (but not Caballo Viejo, which now gets played all the time again by Vishal).
(6) Luis seemed mollified by now. Natalie and Sergio have left by now.
(7) Vishal - "What's next? Another Bachata?" Me - "Yes." Vishal - "Good."
(8) It didn't draw an instant crowd, but it was fine by the end. I think some people were singing along to it.
(9) Last song before Vishal took over again saying that the bar is quiet - for the rest of the evenig. Oh well. Another abbreviated DJing stint. It did give me a chance to dance with Stephanie to an okay song. Vishal seemed to be using the Congress CD a fair bit - both Suelta El Bongo (La 33) and Man's World (Ray Santiago) was heard later in the evening. Vishal also played Nadie Como Ella by Marc Anthony, which was a song I had been thinking about playing at some point - the fact that he has it and plays it probably means I'm less likely to play it.

Total 19 songs. 17 Salsa. 2 Bachata. 2 new songs. Three's a crowd.

A lot of people were claiming to be tired. Mimi because of her workload. Stephanie because of rowing and no dinner (luckily I had a chocolate bar - no details). Euvian because of jet lag (she arrived yesterday). Me? I was very tired this morning because of lack of sleep, but I was a little better by the evening. Of course, everyone who complained of tiredness stayed til the bitter end (except for Euvian, who left fairly early - after Sergio and Natalie).

By the way, it was nice to have Euvian back. Some of the newer moves I have acquired recently (many with help from Stephanie) worked very well with her too. This is great because whether a move works with Euvian seems to me an excellent indicator as to whether I am leading those moves correctly. One of the Joe Davids move from earlier this week worked especially well with her - she said she liked it a lot. I should add that I liked leading that particular move with Euvian because she followed it better than anyone else (without having practiced the move and probably without ever having seen the move before) - she followed it based on correct tension rather than by anticipation (or in many cases not following because of hesitation).

There was another late night photo session when Reggaeton started. After snapping a couple of photos of me with Mimi and Stephanie, Cyrille called me lucky. I thought I looked pretty silly in those photos, but I guess I'll keep them.

Topic of the day - Hands. They came up both at the beginning and the end of the evening.

Reckoning

January 11, 2007

The car park was filled to capacity early. Maybe it's all those new year resolutions.

Intermediate with Sally

1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hold and Copa start with late L-L connection and with leader overtaking by quite a bit on 3 – leader turns clockwise (single or double – if single with keep all connections intact during the turn, but if double turn then bring R-R low and briefly disconnect during the second turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start again with R-R to hip and maintaining R-R connection, then lead follower into full counterclockwise turn with leader positioned to R of follower – R-R ends behind follower’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare (hint of counterclockwise twist on 1) with L-L to L of follower’s forehead and with L forearm on follower’s shoulders – lead follower into traveling clockwise turn keeping R-R behind follower’s L waist (this involves letting go before reconnecting ever so briefly)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns clockwise (about 3/4) into CBL position on 1,2,3 and reconnecting R-R behind follower’s L waist – then lead follower forward on 5 (and 6?) and into 1/2 clockwise turn with leader turning on 7 (not 5!) counterclockwise to bring R-R behind leader’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L hat (I thought L-L hat for follower was more convenient) while getting into CBL position again and use R-R (behind leader’s L waist) to lead follower into doing her normal CBL finish with leader turning counterclockwise (~3/4) after the lead to get back to open position
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward on 2,3 (to leader’s R side) with L-R initially across leader’s waist and lead follower into free clockwise (1 1/2) traveling turn with leader turning counterclockwise to get back to closed position

A quote from Vishal – “Amazing - all the best dancers are here.”

Not quite everyone, but pretty impressive nevertheless. It usually takes a special occasion to bring together half of the top 40 Cambridge Salsa dancers, and I think we had more than half of the top 40 tonight. By the way, don't bother asking me who would be in top 40 - I wouldn't want to make such a list, which would be way too subjective and fluid anyway.

Quote going into a dance - "Into the frying pan you go."

This was used with Zhenzhi, who said she was 6 (?) weeks out of practice.

I think I peaked early tonight – the best song and dance combination for me was Porque Adore (Mark Dimond and Frankie Dante) and it was the second song played tonight. While certainly there were other nice song and dance combinations (e.g. My Favorite Things by New Swing Sextet at many levels – cheesy or not… as well as some song(s) that I don’t know but sounded more or less classic Mambo-like), I couldn’t replicate the same high. Other songs played and recognized included Merecumbe (Johnny Colon - good), Fragile (Massimo Scalici - only in some circumstances… like if someone really wants me to dance to it), Ahora Quien (ditto), Salsa Con Coco (only if I feel energetic - so not tonight) as well as standbys like Micaela (I wonder if not hearing it for 6 months will make the song sound okay again - I seemingly have avoided dancing to this song for few months at least) and Otra Oportunidad (overplayed also but still passable) when DJ went on autopilot. Ivan found at least one new song he liked, and Sergio heard another song he liked and heard for the second time - I don't know what they are.

Me – “How’s it going?”

Sergio – “I can’t seem to get into it tonight.”

Me – “Why not?”

Sergio – “It’s complicated.”

I guess I wasn’t as into it as I would or could have been. Yeah, it’s complicated too. There were many nice dances. There were many good people to dance with - more than I was inspired to dance. I wasn't inspired to take any photographs either. Maybe tomorrow.

Susie made a surprise appearance. Apparently she didn't dance while she was in the north.

More quote amusing to me – “You’re not a cliché.”

Yet another quote of interest – “You don’t smile. You don’t laugh. You don’t sing.”

There are too many quotes – “I don’t know what I want to do. I know what I don’t want to do.”

Answering a question that leads to a revelation – it’s like a staple in movies or literature. So what do you call being asked a question of such quality (or a question that was perhaps meant to provoke a revelation) when it is asked mere hours after a resolution has been made unbeknownst to the questioner? Compound it with a situation where the questioner is kept in the dark about the resolution indefinitely thereafter? Absurd.

A Milton Cobo routine

1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hold and lead final turn for follower (clockwise) with both fingers pointing up - leader turns about 3/4 counterclockwise and gets R-R across his chest and over his L shoulder (or perhaps closer to top of his L chest) - leader's position is like reverse CBL (slightly more complicated version would involve starting from crucifix like position and possibly with all connections intact to start with initially)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns further 1/23/4 counterclockwise or so to get into CBL positionface away from follower (note: this allows an easier forward step with R foot on 5 before leader turns around full counterclockwise to face follower during 6,7) with follower's R hand being moved to top of leader's L chest and leader's R arm having gone around his head like a haircomb with the hand moving across his neck to reconnect with follower's hand on his L chest by 3 or so (perhaps another possibility would be to have the hand going around his head with fingers starting from L shoulder to L ear to top of head to R ear to R collarbone and down to chest and moving back to L chest where follower's R hand was left behind - in any case, it's pretty important to keep leader's elbow pointing down rather than pointing towards follower and dangerously close to hitting follower's face) - then lead follower into a CBL finish while leader turns full counterclockwise on his L foot (making sure to leave room for follower to move along her line)
1,2,3,5,6,7 (etc) follow up with more rotating turn type maneuver…
(corrections made based upon further discussion on Friday with Sergio - the other hand movement might be okay but I don't think it's any easier or better than a simple combover type movement)

Sergio taught this routine or something very similar to it at CDC about 1 3/4 years ago. The above is transcription of the routine as shown again by Sergio tonight – with help from Stephanie, Lindsey and Nicola. Stephanie being indulgent despite me coming close to endangering her face was integral to get me to inquire about this move. I add that I found this move difficult 1 3/4 years ago and I still find it quite tricky - at least with the amount of demonstration and practice I managed to get.

Quote out of blue (though not a strange topic) – “She seems a lot younger (than I originally thought).”

More shenanigans after the club closing included sign language. A, E, I, O, U. And H.

Question of the day - "Is there anything that's keeping you here?"

There appears to be a few cancellations for Brit Salsafest tickets. Three cheap tickets are available - talk to Sally (or alternatively Sam). Presumably everyone who visits this site knows about it already.

Parting comment from Cyrille - "I don't believe you."

I seem to recall him saying that before. Or is it a case of déjà vu? I think sleep could become a concern.

A cue? At 7:30 PM on a Monday?

January 8, 2007

When I arrived ~7:35-7:40 PM, there was a cue outside the Club Salsa about 8-9 people long. I think it drew some stares from people driving by. When I got to the top of the line and have a little chat with Vishal, he said there were over 65 people already the end of the line was still well beyond the door. I guess he won’t lose money this evening.

Tiz was delayed presumably due trouble with the rail service. He has been here 4-5 times since his supposedly last time (or he came more often than not). This caused some scrambling at the start with shine section for improvers and intermediate being taught at the same time in very cramped condition. I think the move was called chuck and 8-ball chuck – I didn’t find the move aesthetically pleasing (at least not for me) so I ignored it more or less. Even by the end of the shine section, Tiz hadn’t arrived, so Joe went back and forth between improvers and intermediates for another 10 minutes or so. I was volunteered into directing people to practice one up one down maneuver for the intermediate class. I started with simply calling counts and coordinating switching of partners. After a few rounds, I tried giving some additional directions/details, which I have heard dozens of times before. Then I added Mambo basic and CBL to start the one up one down so that it’s not just all spins for followers all the time. I knew several methods of getting out of the position, but I decided against trying to teach any of them because I didn’t think it was appropriate for me to hijack the class in such a manner.

Intermediate with Joe

1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R open break and bring follower to leader’s R side with free R hand showing early for R-L connection and lead follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise over and under turn (let go L-R) to get R-L ending behind follower’s R waist – leader keeps his back to the follower’s line from 3 onwards and stay in that position
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L hand over leader’s L shoulder within follower’s reach (early connection is probably needed here) keeping both connection and bring follower forward on 2 behind leader’s back (leader is still facing away from the line as was the case from previous 3 onwards) and leader tilts his body bringing L-R low while bringing R-L high – use R-L to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise turn with L-R kept low for touch-and-go like maneuver and ending with a late L-R connection to help prevent further turn by follower (also into next move)
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L draped over follower’s head and down to behind her neck to start (with L-R to help keep follower from turning needlessly) and finish with simple CBL

1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R CBL start with pull on 2 with free R hand showing in front – lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn over and under to get R-L ending behind follower’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 something like a Copa start but ending with follower and leader ending more or less back-to-back with R-L down toward direction follower came from – bring R-L straight up along the corridor between leader and follower (like windmill) and bring it straight down on 5 (so… it goes up on 4 and comes down on 5? – and I thought the feel of the direction could even be slightly towards the leader on 5 – at least initially… I noticed that tendencies (wrong of course) for me and some others at least initially was to wait too long before bringing R-L down and/or letting R-L move towards the follower too much during the windmill move) – the idea here is that follower turns 1 1/2 counterclockwise with minimal traveling and ending with R-L across follower’s stomach at her front R waist – overall a very tricky lead, which I have seen couple of times before and had little success mastering previously) – get ready to make L-R connection in front
1,2,3,5,6,7 option 1. briefly shown only – lead follower to turn 1/2 counterclockwise and leader getting around and ending in CBL position – I suppose this could be considered a version of around-the-world – could finish with CBL (this wasn’t the move practiced – just mentioned briefly – it seemed nice enough)
1,2,3,5,6,7 option 2. (move practiced) Mambo jazz start and lead follower forward on 5 and into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn ending with wrists together
1,2,3,5,6,7 the starting position is same as if follower was turned full clockwise with all connections intact – open break and Copa with R-L going over follower’s head and L-R going over leader’s head – let go L-R and use R-L to lead follower into free 1 1/2 Copa turn and end with closed hold for…
1,2,3,5,6,7 something like a CBL or something

I had my doubt about being able to incorporate the material into my arsenal despite the fact that it didn’t seem very difficult. Most of the time, I was in self-preservation mode trying to keep my shoulders safe from injury (and not letting some tough followers not dislodge my arm out of my sockets). I am not kidding when I say that my shoulders were feeling pain more than half dozen times trying to lead some of these moves.

I was resigned to having very small number of worthwhile dances as the second half the classes got under way. Without likes of Euvian in attendance, proper practice to incorporate the material into my repertoire has been extremely difficult. Without consistent participations of likes of Cyrille, the material being taught has been somewhat limited – still nice enough in quality but probably more limited in quantity. Then Stephanie showed up – enough said. Just having two trial at today’s routine with Stephanie was basically enough for me to figure out how to lead it reasonably well at normal speed – at least when dancing with her. I also danced with ~4 other people scattered throughout the night (e.g. when Stephanie went to check out Vishal as a lead).

I learned more details about how Stephanie improved so much over last summer over the after social chat that went on for a while. I also learned more about what the Salsa scene in Germany (or city or cities Stephanie frequented) is like – supposedly quite insular with very few people changing partners and with small cliques. It sounded a bit like the way Tony described the Italian scene, except Italy seems to have a large number of good instructors within the country unlike in Germany.

Luis is still miffed about me not playing more Merengue on Fridays. I am only up to 4 songs – 2 songs seem unpopular and yet another is not an obvious hit material. I see little point in getting Elvis Crespo or other popular Merengue songs Vishal plays all the time because I am sick of hearing the same old same old. I don’t have any great ideas about how I might find or recognize good Merengue. The fact that I am not very interested in Merengue as a dance doesn’t help. If people know of great Merengue, which is not already overplayed to death, let me know. It's not like I get paid to DJ (or looking to get paid) – I collect Salsa CDs because knowing many good Salsa songs can help with my dancing and I DJ because it can be fun and do it as something of a public service as well as a vanity project. Perhaps it also serves to keep me out of trouble with this blog by providing me with a relatively harmless topic. Somewhat like this blog, DJing is both a source of amusement and a burden.

I decided to pick a couple of songs (from Vishal's collection) at the end of the evening for dancing with Stephanie. The first was Man's World by Ray Santiago, and we got to hear the end of the song for the first time - a little weird. The last was Philadelphia Mambo by an artist I don't remember hearing (and don't remember now). This too ended strangely - although this was probably because of bad editing when CD was burned rather than the song itself. In any case, I didn't like this version particularly - either of Cal Tjader's versions would have been vastly preferred. Also it made me regret that I did not get to find out how Toby's Mambo by Tito Rodriguez Jr. sounds.

New year, new approaches and same old material

January 7, 2007

Riding the train allowed me to have another chance to continue reading Saturday. It seems like opportunities for reading has become rare in recent months. With work expected to become a bit more involved for a change and Salsa continuing to take up most of my free time, I suspect train rides to SOS will continue to offer the best chance for near future – unless I’m traveling with other people.

SOS was fairly quiet tonight – more room to dance with. Fairly large number of Cambridge-associated people was present – many based now in London. I suppose Rajiv could count technically speaking. Jane and Laura certainly would have been commuting from Cambridge. I had some friendly chats with Drew and Natalie and danced once with Natalie. How personal interactions work often seems very mysterious – how much of it is random and how much is due to innate aspects of individuals involved?

Dancing was nice. I liked it even more when I was dancing to music I knew and liked, such as Cuando Te Vea (Tito Puente), El Abaniquito (Pucho), Hacha Y Machete (Alfredo de la Fe – a very nice last dance for me even if I wasn’t spot on). I also had a pleasant rare dance with Marianne before she left – I always enjoy dancing with her and I said rare only because she was a little less than her usual mischievous coltish self. As Martina said, it was nice to see her dance again after having her sidelined with an injury.

After 2+ years of trying to learn to dance Salsa, I seem to have reached a point where it is difficult to see how I might yet achieve rapid improvements. Heck, it’s possible that I am developing bad habits more than improving these days. More I dance, more faults I seem to find with it. The long-ago aim of becoming good enough so that I would be good enough to please everyone I dance with seems remote and probably is impossible – for me at least. It’s not a new thought and I could add that I may not be any happier if I did somehow reach that old ever-moving goal.

So what’s next? Time passes and oblivion comes nearer. I keep setting goals, but I am unsure if I am meeting any of them including the big one – not regretting missed opportunities and paths not taken when it all ends. Passage of time is deceptive at many levels - sometimes as trivial as the two clocks at SOS telling time twenty minutes apart. I got ready to leave with two songs left to go (earliest departure yet), and I might have left earlier if it weren't for the faulty clock.

No photographic evidence

January 5, 2007

A dinner outing with Sergio and Cyrille meant I arrived a bit later than usual at Club Salsa. The restaurant chosen at the last minute after some walking around was Al Casbah, where we ran into Tamaryn. Afterwards we all headed to Club Salsa - Sergio with his sprained wrist and all.

The club hour started with recorded CD initially followed by Vishal taking over shortly before my arrival. It was a fairly quiet night but also with good number of people we know well. As expected (based upon various talks following last night), Lindsey, Nicola and (arriving later) Mimi were all there.

After Vishal played several songs, I took over the DJ booth for two sessions.

Playlist

Caballero Y Dama - Celia Cruz & Willie Chirino
Siete Vidas - El Gran Combo (1)
1-800-Quiereme - Luisito Rosario
La Fiesta Ya Comenso - Grupo Latin Vibe (2)
Te Extrano - Toke D Keda (3)
La La La - Direct Latin Influence (4)*
La Muy Muy - Roberto Torres
Ave Maria Lola - Conjunto Imagen (5)*
Tu Son - Oscar D'Leon
Muneca - Alfredo De La Fe

break (Vishal started with Salsa Nunca Se Acabo by Susie Hansen, following one violinist with another. I didn't know he had this song in his collection. He finished his second set with Ran Kan Kan by Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland version). Things were okay although sometimes nondescript in the middle.)

La Quiero - Dominic Marte (6)
Anacaona - Cheo Feliciano
Abran Paso - Orchestra Harlow
Me Prendiste Velas - Oscar D'Leon
La Fiesta De Pilito - El Gran Combo
Me Libere - El Gran Combo
Disco Azucar - Los Van Van (7)
No Aguanto Mas - Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco (8)
Luna Negra - Rey Ruiz*
La Llave - Grupo Latin Vibe
Periodico De Ayer - Hector Lavoe (9)

(1) I played this once before. I recall hearing in London once or twice. I thought it was okay if not great song, but some people seemed to have more difficulties with it than I expected. Hmm.
(2) Second time with this song as well. It seemed harmless, but maybe it's a little too fast.
(3) Okay. Let's start over with a Bachata break.
(4) Nice debut.
(5) I had received their CD Hoy, Ayer Y Manana at the same time as Direct Latin Influence. HAyM has more songs and more Salsa than DLI II and is more energetic, but it's all rather mediocre and/or with odd tics. This song at least has familiarity going for it in Cambridge.
(6) Vishal finishing it off with Ran Kan Kan was a bit surprising. I guess I'll have to go another route, starting over with another Bachata.
(7) A repeat request by Laura. She actually made the request in the middle-to-late part of my first session. My original thought was to finish the segment at the time, then start another set possibly with Tito Puente theme and finish the set with this song. The break and Vishal playing Ran Kan Kan made me scrap that idea. This seemed like a good spot for it - even though it came much later in the evening.
(8) DLI II has another Merengue, which brings my total to 4. I suspect that DLI's Merengue would be considered a little too relaxed by this crowd. It might come into play one of these days regardless.
(9) A movie about Hector Lavoe is due to be released next summer. Marc Anthony will play the role of Hector Lavoe. Jennifer Lopez plays the wife in the movie. Presumably there will be a soundtrack CD where Marc Anthony covers many Hector Lavoe songs. I wonder how that soundtrack album and movie will affect Salsa dance community. The movie is called El Cantante (I had to use Explorer because Firefox didn't work). The song El Cantante by the way is over 10 minutes long - I played it once at Club Salsa as the last song when there were maybe 10 people left, and I danced to it one other time in London. (Hmm… I remember who I danced with in both occasions. Haha.) I doubt I'll play Aguanile anytime soon, but maybe I would play El Cantante again in July. Also a second movie about Lavoe is also in production (this one is tentatively called The Singer).

I had Lamento Boliviano cued next, and I was going to follow it up with Reggaeton. This was scrapped because Vishal switched to his Reggaeton while I danced to my last song.

Total 21 songs. 2 Bachata. 1 Merengue. 3 new songs (marked *). Vishal liked the set a lot. Overall the atmosphere was similar to Dec 22nd in that the crowd was small (although with different people) but music was pretty good (by both Vishal and me).

Vishal seemed to dance for fun a lot more than usual - many times with Dani.

I was playing with my new digital camera a lot. I have had a film SLR for a long time, but I never owned a digital or a point-and-shoot camera before (I had used them a little and bought them as a gift, however). I probably will want to practice using it for next few weeks - taking photos of people dancing Salsa in the dark is a tricky proposition. I doubt I'll use it for this blog (or at least be very careful with it), but starting an on-line photo album elsewhere is a possibility (with no link from this blog). I used to take photographs all the time, but I have done very little of this in the UK so I feel a need to catch up.

Another extended hanging out with the group at the end of the night although it wasn't as long as last night. The big topic? Socialists.

Ready or not, 2007

January 4, 2007

…and I was just getting used to the idea that it's no longer the 19th century…

Quote of the day – “Our friend San Miguel will be there… He never lets us down…”

It cheered me up instantaneously.

Intermediate/Advanced with Sally

1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R prepare and lead follower into a double stationary clockwise turn ending with a neck wrap – connect L-L underneath after completion of her turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break (keeping follower comfortable though) and bring follower in on leader’s R side and use L-L to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise turn (not too much traveling) to bring follower’s L hand behind her R waist – leader turns clockwise to face follower while switching to R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower to turn full clockwise (I think this turn might be happening on 2 and ending with follower landing on her R foot on 3 – I might want to test this idea later – in any case follower’s L hand ends in front of her R waist with her arm across her stomach) with leader getting behind follower – bring follower straight back with R-L going above follower’s head (this probably will mean follower is crouching a little) while leader goes around follower on her L side to end in open-like position
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L arm lock (and release) while connecting L-R and getting into CBL position and using L-R to lead follower into hammerlock position (I’m guessing 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn for follower)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break then leader turns 1/4 to R (clockwise) and offer R hand in front of follower’s path and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn with switching of hands during middle of her turns while leader turns clockwise (R turn) – L-R is let go before follower starts turning of course
1,2,3,5,6,7 mambo jazz (leader is already in CBL position on 1 – free R hand on follower’s L shoulder) and lead follower into a wrap (L-L across follower’s stomach so it must be full counterclockwise turn for follower)
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower to step forward on 1 and turn her around on 2,3 with leader turning clockwise to face same direction as follower is while switching to R-L and lead follower into free 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn to end in closed hold for another CBL, etc

Both Cyrille and Rajiv were back from abroad. There also were a good number of people in the class despite my trepidations. Many people looked relaxed and recharged – Jane especially. She looked so cheerful, happy and energetic that I almost thought to call her Tigger. Happy happy joy joy. Richard must have overcome his back problem as he made his return to the class.

The hour between the class was spent at Sauce next door with me joining Cyrille, Rajiv, Sean and Mimi, who showed up near the end of the class. William got there ahead of us so we sat with him. Some other people (e.g. Zhenzhi) stopped by briefly too. I ended up mostly talking to Mimi, who was seated closest to me – at least after she finished appeasing a friend of hers using her new James Bond mobile phone about not having sent her a happy birthday text. I got to learn about lactose being used as a carrier for inhalants as well as process of making packaging to keep produce fresh using laser-prepared needles (to make micron-sized perforations - although I suspect there are other factors involved) among other things (e.g. family, finance, foreign languages and future prospects). Oh yeah – we talked about Salsa too.

When we returned to Club Salsa, we found a very large crowd – presumably international students. It was a little odd because they were not there to take classes. We learned later that they had booked the club for a private (but not exclusive) party later in the evening. Maybe Ivan knew something many of us didn’t.

The amount of time Sally spent DJing after the class was rather brief – maybe a little over a dozen songs. I only danced with five people, but they were all great. Combine it with my low expectations and not having had too many good nights in December, I was as content as a clam.

Even the cheesy music played for the private party people often resulted in silly fun. A classic example was when Nicola and Lindsey led a Conga line running all over the club. Another bit involved pseudo-folk dancing (arm-in-arm with a lot of partner switches) involving Mimi, Nicola, Lindsey, Cyrille, Sergio and me.

Even though we didn’t complete and gotten over the shenanigans until after 11:30, whole lot of us (joined by Sally, who had been hidden from our view chatting away in the corner after leaving the DJ booth) lingered on here and there and finally at the parking lot still talking about doing more stuff, etc. Breaking up was hard to do.

San Miguel wasn't needed after all.

Happy new year!