March 30, 2008
Diminishing returns. I'm aware of it. I've advocated it. I suppose I went in large part because I considered next 2 possibly 3 weeks unlikely. The thought was only further cemented after tonight where among others things I've heard an announcement about a performance and a surprise (a new face for SOS - a secret for now) for next week.
[note added April 7, 2008. The surprise apparently is larger dance floor (wood floor that is). I'll know more details next time I go.]
Law of averages. I entered the premise around 8:40 as Maltrato by Freddy and Sus Afro Latinos was started up by DJ Sylvester. Interestingly it was the only song played all night present in my music collection. Sure there were other songs I recognized as different versions of songs I have, but even then the percentage of familiar songs was 30 percent at best - possibly less than 20 percent. It was a dramatic decrease compared to some 50-60 percent my last time at SOS.
There were a small number of people I haven't seen in a quite some time. They had moved away to different city or country (Ox-, Tu-, etc). Zeynap was one - apparently done or nearly done with her studies. The first hour or so was nice catching up with old acquaintances and such.
Dancing was so-so, and I became increasingly disinterested as the evening progressed. One of the problems was the music especially the way the ending was being handled. For some strange reason, Sylvester seemed to fade out most songs rather than end the song as recorded and move immediately to new songs; I found this quite aggravating. It probably did not help that there were relatively small number of people I felt like asking (I think there were more leads than followers too, but plenty of followers were being left out of dances for many songs in a row).
I think it might be a good idea to cut down if the highlights of the evening are quick fish and chips before dancing and reading a book (finally got rid of interminable and arguably increasingly tiresome American Psycho and moved on to a very fast read Sputnik Sweetheart) on the train.
Jury rigged Friday
March 28, 2008
The light went out as I was getting ready to put my contacts on. As I turned off the faucet, I looked out the kitchen window and so that the lights were on for the neighbour next door. I walked to the other side and so that the house on the opposite side of the street also had power. Ali meanwhile went downstairs then outside before coming back to inform me that the flats and houses on our side were all affected as well by the power outage.
I was nearly ready to go anyway, so I gathered my things in the dark putting the contact lens case in my pocket and went down to my car. Vish had asked me earlier by e-mail to get to the club before Joe was finished because Joe needed to leave early tonight. It was 9:20, so I thought there was plenty of time as I drove around the city center listening to a new Ray Barretto compilation CD (well - mostly anyway since the CD mistakenly put a non-Ray Barretto song at the top of the list).
After putting my lens on at a slightly better lit area with reflective surface on my way down to the club, I ambled down to the middle of the class being run by Joe and Olga. I spotted a familiar face, whom I have seen about once a month for past three months and have been puzzling over regarding her identity and waved hello. I thought to myself, "Well. I had a feeling that she might pick this night of all nights to show up," as Joe took my out of my slumber by saying, "One of the CD player is broken. You should try to use your mixed CDs."
Vish had mentioned that one of the players was acting up and that I should ask for a CD lens cleaner from one of the staff. I quickly went to the DJ booth to check out the problematic CD player as Joe was also picking a song for the practice track - Night In Tunisia by Sonora Poncena (way slowed down as usual). The problem with the player was that it automatically rejected all inserted CDs. What a quandary! I was supposed to be the sole DJ all night for about 4 hours, and I never use nor made a suitable mix CD.
I checked the time - 9:40. So that means maybe 20 minutes and no more than 30 minutes before the social starts (since the first practice track was just being played now). I thought about going back home to grab some more CDs with songs of my own compilation. Also I thought about grabbing a cable that might enable me to use either my laptop or my iPod as the second source of music. Then I remembered the power outage - it might be a challenge getting everything in time in the darkness although I had a fairly good idea where everything was.
After vacillating a bit and walking up and down the stairs once or twice, I asked Olga to let Joe know that I'm going home to pick up some stuff and that I'll be back in hopefully 15-20 minutes. I went home and grabbed what I could in the darkness and hurried back. Even while I was driving back I remembered more things I could have taken with me from home - things I probably would have found with ease with lights on. When I came back, the final practice song was being played.
The first thing I tried was to hook up my iPod to the audio system. I was using a cable for hooking up my laptop to an AV device designed for use in the United States. I inadvertently grabbed this cable instead of the cable designed specifically for audio use only (blame the darkness and shortage of time). In any case, the setup did not seem to work. After the end of the class, Joe tried his hand with the cables and he found a combination that seemed to work more or less. It was only a bit later that I realized (thanks to a comment from one of the regulars) that I was getting proper input from only one of the two channels (the right side was not working).
So the whole session especially in the beginning was hairy and stressful. To compound matters, there were a lot of new people - many vocal about their opinion of music. As much as I could I used the CD player - generally playing two songs from one CD (often meaning two songs from same artists) and switching to the iPod for one song while I changed the CD.
Playlist
La Muy Muy – Roberto Torres
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe
Momposina – Santiago Ceron
Que Quiere La Nina – Kako Y Totico
Sin Sentimientos – Grupo Niche (1)
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
Porque Adore – Mark Dimond & Frankie Dante (2)
Monte Adentro – Mana* (3)
No Hay Mal Que No Venga – Mana*
Thinking Of You – Lenny Kravitz (Salsa remix)
Quitate La Mascara – Ray Barretto
Swing La Moderna – Ray Barretto*
Almendra – German Villarreal
Como Lo Hacen – Tommy Olivencia (canta: Frankie Ruiz)
Periquito Pin Pin – Tommy Olivencia (later version canta: Hector Tricoche?)*
A La Yumbae – Tommy Olivencia (4)
Apretoncito – Toque De Keda (5)
Mi Tierra – Gloria Estefan (6)
La Gitana – Jose Alberto “El Canario”*
La Paella – Jose Alberto “El Canario”
Aicha – Africando (7)
La Fruta Bomba – Fruko Y Sus Tesos (8)
El Swing De Fruko – Fruko Y Sus Tesos
Temba Tumba Timba – Los Van Van (9)
No Aguanto Mas – Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco (10)
Senora – Domenic Marte (11)
Usted Abuso – Celia Cruz & Willie Colon
Caballero Y Dama – Celia Cruz & Willie Chirino
Abran Paso – Larry Harlow (Orchestra Harlow canta: Ismael Miranda)
Mambo Gozon – Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland)
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland)
Vitamina – Sonora Carruseles
Conmigo – Eddie Palmieri
Muneca – Eddie Palmieri
Cali Aji – Grupo Niche (12)
El Negrito De Batey – Direct Latin Influence (+10%) (13)
Tu Amor Me Hace Bien – Marc Anthony
La Muerte – El Gran Combo
Ojos Chinos – El Gran Combo
Ave Maria Lola – Roberto Torres
Hace Tiempo – Angel Canales
Lejos De Ti – Angel Canales
Lluvia Con Nieve – Mon Rivera*
Sun Sun Babae – Tito Rodriguez (-5%)*
La Toalla – Tito Rodriguez (-5%)*
Push Push Push – Joe Cuba Sextet
El Que Se Fue – Gilberto Santa Rosa*
Fragile – Massimo Scalici
Valio La Pena – Marc Anthony (14)
Mambo Diablo – Tito Puente (80s version)
Mambo Gallego – Tito Puente (80s version)
(1) Everything but the kitchen sink. Or was it everything including the kitchen sink?
(2) This is when I was informed that I was only getting half of the speakers working when playing music from my iPod.
(3) Unintended song. Bad labelling compounded by not checking to make sure it was the right song beforehand. There were a lot of distractions.
(4) I knew I had to play Merengue at some point. My problem of course is that I have very limited choice so I need to use them sparingly and not run out. At least for one woman (new to me), it seemed like the party did not start until I played a Merengue. However, she seemed with much of music choices afterwards.
(5) Merengue wasn’t super popular, but Bachata was even less so.
(6) It was a request – second or third choice or so after saying negative to La Vida Es Un Carnaval, etc. On one hand, I think I might want to avoid buying a copy.
(7) New complaint. She wants Reggaeton. Failing that something faster and lively.
(8) Instant response. I’m not going to bother slowing the songs.
(9) I had to move in some direction, right?
(10) It seemed like a good time to take my second Merengue shot of the night.
(11) Not a good Bachata night for sure.
(12) Not lively enough still? Apparently so.
(13) Third and final Merengue of the night. I’m out of ammunition. Every other Merengue I have is either untested or have been unpopular in previous attempts.
(14) Another request.
Total = 50 songs. 3 Merengue. 2 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha (Boogaloo), 44 Salsa including 8 new.
Exhausting. What a favor I'm doing for Vish. At least it wasn't a disaster as I said to Sharon when it was over (I had two dances with her to the last two songs of the night).
The light went out as I was getting ready to put my contacts on. As I turned off the faucet, I looked out the kitchen window and so that the lights were on for the neighbour next door. I walked to the other side and so that the house on the opposite side of the street also had power. Ali meanwhile went downstairs then outside before coming back to inform me that the flats and houses on our side were all affected as well by the power outage.
I was nearly ready to go anyway, so I gathered my things in the dark putting the contact lens case in my pocket and went down to my car. Vish had asked me earlier by e-mail to get to the club before Joe was finished because Joe needed to leave early tonight. It was 9:20, so I thought there was plenty of time as I drove around the city center listening to a new Ray Barretto compilation CD (well - mostly anyway since the CD mistakenly put a non-Ray Barretto song at the top of the list).
After putting my lens on at a slightly better lit area with reflective surface on my way down to the club, I ambled down to the middle of the class being run by Joe and Olga. I spotted a familiar face, whom I have seen about once a month for past three months and have been puzzling over regarding her identity and waved hello. I thought to myself, "Well. I had a feeling that she might pick this night of all nights to show up," as Joe took my out of my slumber by saying, "One of the CD player is broken. You should try to use your mixed CDs."
Vish had mentioned that one of the players was acting up and that I should ask for a CD lens cleaner from one of the staff. I quickly went to the DJ booth to check out the problematic CD player as Joe was also picking a song for the practice track - Night In Tunisia by Sonora Poncena (way slowed down as usual). The problem with the player was that it automatically rejected all inserted CDs. What a quandary! I was supposed to be the sole DJ all night for about 4 hours, and I never use nor made a suitable mix CD.
I checked the time - 9:40. So that means maybe 20 minutes and no more than 30 minutes before the social starts (since the first practice track was just being played now). I thought about going back home to grab some more CDs with songs of my own compilation. Also I thought about grabbing a cable that might enable me to use either my laptop or my iPod as the second source of music. Then I remembered the power outage - it might be a challenge getting everything in time in the darkness although I had a fairly good idea where everything was.
After vacillating a bit and walking up and down the stairs once or twice, I asked Olga to let Joe know that I'm going home to pick up some stuff and that I'll be back in hopefully 15-20 minutes. I went home and grabbed what I could in the darkness and hurried back. Even while I was driving back I remembered more things I could have taken with me from home - things I probably would have found with ease with lights on. When I came back, the final practice song was being played.
The first thing I tried was to hook up my iPod to the audio system. I was using a cable for hooking up my laptop to an AV device designed for use in the United States. I inadvertently grabbed this cable instead of the cable designed specifically for audio use only (blame the darkness and shortage of time). In any case, the setup did not seem to work. After the end of the class, Joe tried his hand with the cables and he found a combination that seemed to work more or less. It was only a bit later that I realized (thanks to a comment from one of the regulars) that I was getting proper input from only one of the two channels (the right side was not working).
So the whole session especially in the beginning was hairy and stressful. To compound matters, there were a lot of new people - many vocal about their opinion of music. As much as I could I used the CD player - generally playing two songs from one CD (often meaning two songs from same artists) and switching to the iPod for one song while I changed the CD.
Playlist
La Muy Muy – Roberto Torres
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe
Momposina – Santiago Ceron
Que Quiere La Nina – Kako Y Totico
Sin Sentimientos – Grupo Niche (1)
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
Porque Adore – Mark Dimond & Frankie Dante (2)
Monte Adentro – Mana* (3)
No Hay Mal Que No Venga – Mana*
Thinking Of You – Lenny Kravitz (Salsa remix)
Quitate La Mascara – Ray Barretto
Swing La Moderna – Ray Barretto*
Almendra – German Villarreal
Como Lo Hacen – Tommy Olivencia (canta: Frankie Ruiz)
Periquito Pin Pin – Tommy Olivencia (later version canta: Hector Tricoche?)*
A La Yumbae – Tommy Olivencia (4)
Apretoncito – Toque De Keda (5)
Mi Tierra – Gloria Estefan (6)
La Gitana – Jose Alberto “El Canario”*
La Paella – Jose Alberto “El Canario”
Aicha – Africando (7)
La Fruta Bomba – Fruko Y Sus Tesos (8)
El Swing De Fruko – Fruko Y Sus Tesos
Temba Tumba Timba – Los Van Van (9)
No Aguanto Mas – Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco (10)
Senora – Domenic Marte (11)
Usted Abuso – Celia Cruz & Willie Colon
Caballero Y Dama – Celia Cruz & Willie Chirino
Abran Paso – Larry Harlow (Orchestra Harlow canta: Ismael Miranda)
Mambo Gozon – Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland)
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland)
Vitamina – Sonora Carruseles
Conmigo – Eddie Palmieri
Muneca – Eddie Palmieri
Cali Aji – Grupo Niche (12)
El Negrito De Batey – Direct Latin Influence (+10%) (13)
Tu Amor Me Hace Bien – Marc Anthony
La Muerte – El Gran Combo
Ojos Chinos – El Gran Combo
Ave Maria Lola – Roberto Torres
Hace Tiempo – Angel Canales
Lejos De Ti – Angel Canales
Lluvia Con Nieve – Mon Rivera*
Sun Sun Babae – Tito Rodriguez (-5%)*
La Toalla – Tito Rodriguez (-5%)*
Push Push Push – Joe Cuba Sextet
El Que Se Fue – Gilberto Santa Rosa*
Fragile – Massimo Scalici
Valio La Pena – Marc Anthony (14)
Mambo Diablo – Tito Puente (80s version)
Mambo Gallego – Tito Puente (80s version)
(1) Everything but the kitchen sink. Or was it everything including the kitchen sink?
(2) This is when I was informed that I was only getting half of the speakers working when playing music from my iPod.
(3) Unintended song. Bad labelling compounded by not checking to make sure it was the right song beforehand. There were a lot of distractions.
(4) I knew I had to play Merengue at some point. My problem of course is that I have very limited choice so I need to use them sparingly and not run out. At least for one woman (new to me), it seemed like the party did not start until I played a Merengue. However, she seemed with much of music choices afterwards.
(5) Merengue wasn’t super popular, but Bachata was even less so.
(6) It was a request – second or third choice or so after saying negative to La Vida Es Un Carnaval, etc. On one hand, I think I might want to avoid buying a copy.
(7) New complaint. She wants Reggaeton. Failing that something faster and lively.
(8) Instant response. I’m not going to bother slowing the songs.
(9) I had to move in some direction, right?
(10) It seemed like a good time to take my second Merengue shot of the night.
(11) Not a good Bachata night for sure.
(12) Not lively enough still? Apparently so.
(13) Third and final Merengue of the night. I’m out of ammunition. Every other Merengue I have is either untested or have been unpopular in previous attempts.
(14) Another request.
Total = 50 songs. 3 Merengue. 2 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha (Boogaloo), 44 Salsa including 8 new.
Exhausting. What a favor I'm doing for Vish. At least it wasn't a disaster as I said to Sharon when it was over (I had two dances with her to the last two songs of the night).
A Puzzle
March 27, 2008
Andrea. El Pito. Ed. La Charanga New York & Vasos De Colores. Haihan. Laughter. Ivan. Viva. Lindsey. Text Linds Jane Sally. Nicola. Imitation - Look Left. Polly. Ankle. Richard. Exclamation. Sally. Merlin. Sergio. Prague.
Let's see if I can decipher everything a year from now.
Andrea. El Pito. Ed. La Charanga New York & Vasos De Colores. Haihan. Laughter. Ivan. Viva. Lindsey. Text Linds Jane Sally. Nicola. Imitation - Look Left. Polly. Ankle. Richard. Exclamation. Sally. Merlin. Sergio. Prague.
Let's see if I can decipher everything a year from now.
Cold hands warm heart
March 25, 2008
Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL into open L-R only
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break and bring follower straight forward (L-R across leader’s body then left hanging without a further lead from it) and lead follower into 1/2 clockwise turn on 3 with R-L connection (late connection made – maybe between 1 and 2) to end in double-crossed hold
(5),6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead follower to double turn (stationary clockwise) with leader turning full counterclockwise (preferably on 3 after a prep step on 2) to end in open hold
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa start into wrap on 1 but sliding into closed hold immediately and bring follower back on leader’s R side with leader taking a hook step on 2 to make more room
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL inside turn for follower and quickly into open hold (1 1/2 travelling counterclockwise turn for follower – using free R hand along follower’s shoulders, etc to signal wanting to reconnect quickly)
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break and bring follower straight forward with L-R across leader’s body and R-L over follower’s head and behind her neck (keep R arm bent and do not use it for ensuing lead) turn as unit 1/2 clockwise with aid of L-R on 1 then lead follower into 1 1/2 travelling counterclockwise touch-and-go turn L-R low with lead coming right after 2 and into 3
6,7,1,2,3,5 starting from hammerlock position L-R low and follower slightly to L of leader open break into Copa (well – I think it’s a fair to call it Copa except most people here are still a bit unused to doing Copa in this manner and from this position… this type of move has been done before in this class) [more note: of course this would be different from Copa if the move here is to get follower to unwrap and turn full clockwise on 1 then stopping on 2 then into multiple counterclockwise turn similar to Copa finish – I probably want to play with the timing here and see what works, which might not end up being the same move -- or my Copa On2 timing could be a bit messy]
I straddled the second hour between the improver and beyond beginner class along with Annette. The improver class I took part in had preparation and leading a single (“C” prep being something I’m unused to and probably will require A LOT of practice to make it comfortable), leading an inside turn (slight downward lead on 2 before bringing it up on 3) followed by leader’s counterclockwise (or was it clockwise?) 1/2 turn at the end before leading follower forward and into travelling 1/2 clockwise turn.
On a slightly different topic, I hadn’t done leader’s full stationary clockwise turn at the end of CBL for a long time with On1 and never with On2 mostly because I had forgotten about it. I might want to resurrect that one.
No Ed. And I was rather late – had to come directly from work rather than stopping at home to get my bicycle as I had been doing on past Tuesdays. Lindsey asked me not to make a habit of it. Steve and Hayden showed up for the first class though. Ditto for Katya. Among leads I think I’m the last one with perfect attendance record – it took me back to HS days for a moment or two.
Sally accused me of styling – or should I make it Styling? I’m guessing lowercase is more appropriate unless I were to take the route of poor job of signalling.
I talked shoes with Sally and Chris. My old 2 1/2 year pair is taken quite a beating and I might want to get a new pair for nicer occasions and as a permanent replacement when the old one dies – I think it might happen fairly soon. I earlier had a correspondence with the company that sold my old one but was turned off by their flippancy (as well as inconvenience and slight cost difference).
Social dancing or practice afterwards was fine although perhaps a little messy at times (perhaps no different than usual). I probably had the most difficulty when dancing with Sally. With Mambo Mongo and Hayden, I’m guessing I made more major/noticeable mistakes than he did.
Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL into open L-R only
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break and bring follower straight forward (L-R across leader’s body then left hanging without a further lead from it) and lead follower into 1/2 clockwise turn on 3 with R-L connection (late connection made – maybe between 1 and 2) to end in double-crossed hold
(5),6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead follower to double turn (stationary clockwise) with leader turning full counterclockwise (preferably on 3 after a prep step on 2) to end in open hold
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa start into wrap on 1 but sliding into closed hold immediately and bring follower back on leader’s R side with leader taking a hook step on 2 to make more room
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL inside turn for follower and quickly into open hold (1 1/2 travelling counterclockwise turn for follower – using free R hand along follower’s shoulders, etc to signal wanting to reconnect quickly)
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break and bring follower straight forward with L-R across leader’s body and R-L over follower’s head and behind her neck (keep R arm bent and do not use it for ensuing lead) turn as unit 1/2 clockwise with aid of L-R on 1 then lead follower into 1 1/2 travelling counterclockwise touch-and-go turn L-R low with lead coming right after 2 and into 3
6,7,1,2,3,5 starting from hammerlock position L-R low and follower slightly to L of leader open break into Copa (well – I think it’s a fair to call it Copa except most people here are still a bit unused to doing Copa in this manner and from this position… this type of move has been done before in this class) [more note: of course this would be different from Copa if the move here is to get follower to unwrap and turn full clockwise on 1 then stopping on 2 then into multiple counterclockwise turn similar to Copa finish – I probably want to play with the timing here and see what works, which might not end up being the same move -- or my Copa On2 timing could be a bit messy]
I straddled the second hour between the improver and beyond beginner class along with Annette. The improver class I took part in had preparation and leading a single (“C” prep being something I’m unused to and probably will require A LOT of practice to make it comfortable), leading an inside turn (slight downward lead on 2 before bringing it up on 3) followed by leader’s counterclockwise (or was it clockwise?) 1/2 turn at the end before leading follower forward and into travelling 1/2 clockwise turn.
On a slightly different topic, I hadn’t done leader’s full stationary clockwise turn at the end of CBL for a long time with On1 and never with On2 mostly because I had forgotten about it. I might want to resurrect that one.
No Ed. And I was rather late – had to come directly from work rather than stopping at home to get my bicycle as I had been doing on past Tuesdays. Lindsey asked me not to make a habit of it. Steve and Hayden showed up for the first class though. Ditto for Katya. Among leads I think I’m the last one with perfect attendance record – it took me back to HS days for a moment or two.
Sally accused me of styling – or should I make it Styling? I’m guessing lowercase is more appropriate unless I were to take the route of poor job of signalling.
I talked shoes with Sally and Chris. My old 2 1/2 year pair is taken quite a beating and I might want to get a new pair for nicer occasions and as a permanent replacement when the old one dies – I think it might happen fairly soon. I earlier had a correspondence with the company that sold my old one but was turned off by their flippancy (as well as inconvenience and slight cost difference).
Social dancing or practice afterwards was fine although perhaps a little messy at times (perhaps no different than usual). I probably had the most difficulty when dancing with Sally. With Mambo Mongo and Hayden, I’m guessing I made more major/noticeable mistakes than he did.
Pop culture references
March 23, 2008
Trois Couleurs Bleu was on my mind all weekend as I readied for Scala. Freedom but not the usual definition bathed unabashedly in glowing positive light. Freedom to come and go at any time - it was not until 9 that I decided that I will go – probably, and I started off from Cambridge only at 11:30. It was great – somewhat reminiscent of the way Krzysztof Kieslowski depicted it.
The ride to Scala on the other hand reminded me of Duel by Steven Spielberg. The M11 was annoying enough but the central London had an old white truck, which made me wonder if it was going to crash into my car. Even though the truck was exceedingly slow at many moments (especially when accelerating), it inexplicably stayed on my tail for several miles seemingly following my tracks. Even after I got away from it, I found myself checking the back mirror several times to make sure that it was no longer following me.
I stayed in my overcoat inside Scala for nearly half an hour or so because I couldn’t bear to wait in the long line for coat check. I ended up watching the second of the showcases – or at least the Lambada one – at the VIP room, where the music in the main room could not be heard but the backtalk was easy to hear and make. When I saw that the next performance was the one with the Irene Miguel, I decided that it was the perfect time to check my coat. I bet I saved at least 10 minutes. Maybe I can invoke Gogol for this tidbit.
There must have been some 30-60 minute interval between the second set of performance and the final set. I think I danced about 2-3 times during that time. I felt that I would be around until very late this time and that I was in no hurry. The place was very crowded and rather warm. The dancing I observed was frankly speaking not very good. I suppose there were plenty of people who are probably better than me in many ways, but many of them were not dancing much. The ones that I caught my eyes did so for all the wrong reasons - questionable timing, inability to deal properly with crowded conditions, and looking annoyed and at times even looking furious rather than happy about dancing and perhaps getting sick of it all by the end of the evening. If I were to make a stretch for a popular reference, I might pick Pride and Prejudice but only because of the title rather than the content of the book. I suppose I might have noticed all this because I was sitting out more than usual, but I also think the quality of leads among those active were as subpar - high quantity was not matched by quality. I also thought that it was awful seeing so many people be either clueless, unhappy or both. Where's the joy? As for me I opted to aim to connect nicely with my partners at emotional level rather than aiming for stretching my technique or displaying undue flashiness. For most part I think it worked out well whether I was dancing with less experienced follower or with followers who are no doubt used to big names.
The final set of performance were by Miguel (of Puerto Rico) and his partner whose name I did not catch (probably the same from last year's Coventry trip) and Laith Sami Student performance group with a diverse set of Halloween costumes (Pirates of the Carribean, Supergirl, Catwoman, Sexy Soldiers of Fortune, Creatures of the Underword, etc). I was stuck in a very curious spot to watch this set of performances. The Laith Sami choreography used peculiarities of the Scala stage for "enhanced viewing experience" and unintended comical effects. Very few of the performers stayed afterwards for social dancing.
As for me, it was quite relaxing not dancing so much. Pretty much every dance until around 4 was great - I felt that every single dance was an enjoyable and often fun experience for both me and my partner. After around 4 was another matter though because there were very few people I felt like asking for a dance, and the quality of the dance (when I managed one here and there) were not as good. In the past, I thought there were many dances and music that was really good at the wee hours and that I might have benefited from having more energy at those hours. At least by tonight's experience, I would have to say I was wrong. My new advice for myself would be to dance often when I can rather than try to save energy for some hoped-for upcoming better hour. There is absolutely no reason to stick it out if things don't look so good after 4 AM. Just leave when quality drops noticeably. Now I know this after having stuck it out until nearly 5:30. I'll say that the pop reference here is the Goldblum/Pfeiffer vehicle Into The Night.
I saw about 6 people from Cambridge but did not interact much with anyone except with Serap and Johnny, who were complete surprise shows to me. It felt like Serap modified her spinning technique somewhat. We talked about the change (perceived or real) in quality of dancing at Scala. Only the really good dancers used to dance on the stage; now anyone and everyone does. At least that conversation was fairly easy. Nowadays I find it really difficult to talk - perhaps more so than usual. Maybe I'm out of practice. Putting together a sentence can be a real chore. I write a lot more than I speak. I think people with whom I can converse well in challenging noisy background and with ease have always been the people who I felt very close to because they are rare. I was tempted to go Notes From Underground route (I think my liver hurts) with this entry, but I didn't - not really.
Trois Couleurs Bleu was on my mind all weekend as I readied for Scala. Freedom but not the usual definition bathed unabashedly in glowing positive light. Freedom to come and go at any time - it was not until 9 that I decided that I will go – probably, and I started off from Cambridge only at 11:30. It was great – somewhat reminiscent of the way Krzysztof Kieslowski depicted it.
The ride to Scala on the other hand reminded me of Duel by Steven Spielberg. The M11 was annoying enough but the central London had an old white truck, which made me wonder if it was going to crash into my car. Even though the truck was exceedingly slow at many moments (especially when accelerating), it inexplicably stayed on my tail for several miles seemingly following my tracks. Even after I got away from it, I found myself checking the back mirror several times to make sure that it was no longer following me.
I stayed in my overcoat inside Scala for nearly half an hour or so because I couldn’t bear to wait in the long line for coat check. I ended up watching the second of the showcases – or at least the Lambada one – at the VIP room, where the music in the main room could not be heard but the backtalk was easy to hear and make. When I saw that the next performance was the one with the Irene Miguel, I decided that it was the perfect time to check my coat. I bet I saved at least 10 minutes. Maybe I can invoke Gogol for this tidbit.
There must have been some 30-60 minute interval between the second set of performance and the final set. I think I danced about 2-3 times during that time. I felt that I would be around until very late this time and that I was in no hurry. The place was very crowded and rather warm. The dancing I observed was frankly speaking not very good. I suppose there were plenty of people who are probably better than me in many ways, but many of them were not dancing much. The ones that I caught my eyes did so for all the wrong reasons - questionable timing, inability to deal properly with crowded conditions, and looking annoyed and at times even looking furious rather than happy about dancing and perhaps getting sick of it all by the end of the evening. If I were to make a stretch for a popular reference, I might pick Pride and Prejudice but only because of the title rather than the content of the book. I suppose I might have noticed all this because I was sitting out more than usual, but I also think the quality of leads among those active were as subpar - high quantity was not matched by quality. I also thought that it was awful seeing so many people be either clueless, unhappy or both. Where's the joy? As for me I opted to aim to connect nicely with my partners at emotional level rather than aiming for stretching my technique or displaying undue flashiness. For most part I think it worked out well whether I was dancing with less experienced follower or with followers who are no doubt used to big names.
The final set of performance were by Miguel (of Puerto Rico) and his partner whose name I did not catch (probably the same from last year's Coventry trip) and Laith Sami Student performance group with a diverse set of Halloween costumes (Pirates of the Carribean, Supergirl, Catwoman, Sexy Soldiers of Fortune, Creatures of the Underword, etc). I was stuck in a very curious spot to watch this set of performances. The Laith Sami choreography used peculiarities of the Scala stage for "enhanced viewing experience" and unintended comical effects. Very few of the performers stayed afterwards for social dancing.
As for me, it was quite relaxing not dancing so much. Pretty much every dance until around 4 was great - I felt that every single dance was an enjoyable and often fun experience for both me and my partner. After around 4 was another matter though because there were very few people I felt like asking for a dance, and the quality of the dance (when I managed one here and there) were not as good. In the past, I thought there were many dances and music that was really good at the wee hours and that I might have benefited from having more energy at those hours. At least by tonight's experience, I would have to say I was wrong. My new advice for myself would be to dance often when I can rather than try to save energy for some hoped-for upcoming better hour. There is absolutely no reason to stick it out if things don't look so good after 4 AM. Just leave when quality drops noticeably. Now I know this after having stuck it out until nearly 5:30. I'll say that the pop reference here is the Goldblum/Pfeiffer vehicle Into The Night.
I saw about 6 people from Cambridge but did not interact much with anyone except with Serap and Johnny, who were complete surprise shows to me. It felt like Serap modified her spinning technique somewhat. We talked about the change (perceived or real) in quality of dancing at Scala. Only the really good dancers used to dance on the stage; now anyone and everyone does. At least that conversation was fairly easy. Nowadays I find it really difficult to talk - perhaps more so than usual. Maybe I'm out of practice. Putting together a sentence can be a real chore. I write a lot more than I speak. I think people with whom I can converse well in challenging noisy background and with ease have always been the people who I felt very close to because they are rare. I was tempted to go Notes From Underground route (I think my liver hurts) with this entry, but I didn't - not really.
People are strange
March 21, 2008
After helping Cyrille move much of his possessions temporarily to Zern’s, we arrived at Club Salsa around 10:30 PM. I guess it was yet another farewell for Cyrille or at least it gave an opportunity to people who had not been to previous farewells. Sam and Isabelle were two of a few people who took full advantage of a dress-up party. Ditto for Rajiv.
I managed to have dances with Cristelle, Natalia, Sharon and a newcomer (or a one-time visitor – who knows? she came with another new or visiting guy) among others before taking over as DJ right after Cyrille’s farewell dance of the evening. I did not get as good look of this dance as last night’s version, but Hayden took part in it unlike last night.
Playlist
Cuando Te Vea – Bobby Valentin (live version)
Tambo La Rumba – Grupo Caribe
Cielo De Tambores – Grupo Niche
Hong Kong Mambo – Tito Puente
Los Rumberos – Mark Dimond & Frankie Dante
Que Bueno Baila Usted – Oscar D’Leon
Lindo Yambu – Santiago Ceron
Silencio – Chivirico Davila*
Pecado – Toque De Keda
Te Quiero – Oliver
Aguacero – El Gran Combo
Fantasia Cubana – German Villarreal
Total = 12 songs. 2 Bachata. 10 Salsa including 1 new.
Joe stayed until the first Bachata came on. I don’t think I ever saw him dance to 8 songs in a row. Vish took over as DJ after the usual “I’m bored” excuse. This time I made sure that I would get to dance to a song of my choice with a partner arranged for in advance.
Among others I danced afterwards with Sam and Isabelle. Sam seemed like some of my “new” moves – most of those new moves are “ancient” of course, but she hasn’t been out much and doesn’t dance much when she’s out. With Isabelle, it was the usual spin-fest (a la the old comment “She doesn’t mind insane amount of spinning” – this reminds me that I still need to ask, “Why CT?”). In my opinion, she is the best pure spinner to come out of Cambridge – at least in my hands and with the way I lead spins. I would guess that it would take a really awkward lead to make her falter like that one time at ...
The party ended around 1:30. The usual after-party routine (lifts, etc) was extended slightly. Insert the moment triggering the post title here. I think Sergio and Natalie get to say the final last Cambridge goodbye tomorrow morning.
People are strange when you’re a stranger
Faces look ugly when you’re alone
Women seem wicked when you’re unwanted
Streets are uneven when you’re down
When you’re strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you’re strange
No one remembers your name
[No I did not have it memorized. I looked it up.]
After helping Cyrille move much of his possessions temporarily to Zern’s, we arrived at Club Salsa around 10:30 PM. I guess it was yet another farewell for Cyrille or at least it gave an opportunity to people who had not been to previous farewells. Sam and Isabelle were two of a few people who took full advantage of a dress-up party. Ditto for Rajiv.
I managed to have dances with Cristelle, Natalia, Sharon and a newcomer (or a one-time visitor – who knows? she came with another new or visiting guy) among others before taking over as DJ right after Cyrille’s farewell dance of the evening. I did not get as good look of this dance as last night’s version, but Hayden took part in it unlike last night.
Playlist
Cuando Te Vea – Bobby Valentin (live version)
Tambo La Rumba – Grupo Caribe
Cielo De Tambores – Grupo Niche
Hong Kong Mambo – Tito Puente
Los Rumberos – Mark Dimond & Frankie Dante
Que Bueno Baila Usted – Oscar D’Leon
Lindo Yambu – Santiago Ceron
Silencio – Chivirico Davila*
Pecado – Toque De Keda
Te Quiero – Oliver
Aguacero – El Gran Combo
Fantasia Cubana – German Villarreal
Total = 12 songs. 2 Bachata. 10 Salsa including 1 new.
Joe stayed until the first Bachata came on. I don’t think I ever saw him dance to 8 songs in a row. Vish took over as DJ after the usual “I’m bored” excuse. This time I made sure that I would get to dance to a song of my choice with a partner arranged for in advance.
Among others I danced afterwards with Sam and Isabelle. Sam seemed like some of my “new” moves – most of those new moves are “ancient” of course, but she hasn’t been out much and doesn’t dance much when she’s out. With Isabelle, it was the usual spin-fest (a la the old comment “She doesn’t mind insane amount of spinning” – this reminds me that I still need to ask, “Why CT?”). In my opinion, she is the best pure spinner to come out of Cambridge – at least in my hands and with the way I lead spins. I would guess that it would take a really awkward lead to make her falter like that one time at ...
The party ended around 1:30. The usual after-party routine (lifts, etc) was extended slightly. Insert the moment triggering the post title here. I think Sergio and Natalie get to say the final last Cambridge goodbye tomorrow morning.
People are strange when you’re a stranger
Faces look ugly when you’re alone
Women seem wicked when you’re unwanted
Streets are uneven when you’re down
When you’re strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you’re strange
No one remembers your name
[No I did not have it memorized. I looked it up.]
Chesterton 22
March 20, 2008
This time Sergio organized the dinner outing - this time to Chesterton 22; he's a rich at heart starving graduate student. Cyrille and I were the first to arrive at 8:30; Cyrille called me at 7 to have me pick him up - a vast improvement over Liam unsuccessfully calling me after 8. The door confused Cyrille; I think he considered looking for a doorbell or knocking on the door when I told him to just open the door. The dining room was tiny and tables were packed closely together. None of the tables were designed for more than 4 people although upstairs had one table big enough for 8 people. It was like eating at someone's house - a small one at that. Sergio arrived within 5 minutes. Liam took a bit longer (no surprise there) - a little under half hour perhaps. Sergio chose the wine after initially suggesting Cyrille to make a choice.
Sergio and I ended up having the same course - Quail, Sea Bass, and Souffle. Liam had Crab and Salmon Ceviche, Sea Bass and Caramel Parfait while Cyrille had Ceviche, Sea Bass and Souffle. They were out of Fishcake disappointing me and Liam. Liam liked Ceviche the most. I liked the Sea Bass the most. Sergio liked the Souffle the least (because his was cooked poorly) and I had the same opinion (because I did not like the taste of Rhubarb - the texture was fine). Was it worthwhile? I'm guessing Cyrille and I liked it the most but still found it just okay for the price. I think the Souffle ruined it for Sergio. In case anyone wanted to use this as a reference - forget it. Their menu changes every month.
Dinner conversation was all over the map. Fairly sedate stuff - mostly about education ("liberal arts" versus "vocational") and future plans (work and travel) although we did manage to touch upon religion ever so briefly (as I predicted) and there was one bit for the old memory lane. I guess the first time I met Cyrille was around 2 years ago? It was a Thursday. It might have been March 9, 2006 - not absolutely sure because I was writing the blog in a different manner than I am now. I remember that Cyrille, Mimmi and I were talking together after the 1st hour of lessons with Sally. I remember introducing Ivan to Cyrille when Ivan arrived for the social. I also remember introducing Sergio to Cyrille shortly thereafter - Cyrille remembered that I introduced them as some of the best Salsa dancers in Cambridge (I remember trying to be diplomatic by calling no one THE best). Assuming that it was March 9, this is what I wrote.
"I met some interesting newcomers as well as someone I should have known for a while and an old friend I haven’t seen in a while and good for a lively and expansive chat ending with talk of petals - pretty weird."
I'm not sure why I would have used the plural - newcomers - because I don't think this was my first time meeting Mimmi (although I might not have gotten into a lengthy chat with her before this). I think I remember the petal reference, but I can't remember for the moment who the old friend is. I was definitely making fun of someone (again, who? - maybe someone from the Britfest?) with the petal / flower joke. As for the topic of the conversation 2 years ago, who knows? Presumably the standard what do you do for work and Salsa talk were part of it, but gab details escapes me without any written down hint.
As soon as I saw the reservation time and the restaurant choice, I knew that there was no way we'd get to Club Salsa by 10 PM. I thought 10:30 might be doable. The main dish had not been served yet at 9:30 although I couldn't say that the service was slow. In the end, we were still settling the bill at 10:50 as both Cyrille and I were getting messages from Raj, Sally and Lindsey. We made it shortly after 11 - probably not in the best shape for intense dancing.
Even though it was getting fairly late for a weeknight, there still were a sizeable crowd including some unexpected people like Sebastian, Natalia and Pilar. Polly was back walking about although she and Andrea did not stay much longer. Other girls included Jane, Nicola, Agnes, Zhenzhi, Angie. Although it stayed open til 12:30, there still wasn't enough time for me to find time to dance with Agnes.
Cyrille got two parting dances - a Salsa (I think Haihan called it Sonido Bestial but I think it must have been something else possibly by Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz - Sonido Bestial has a reference to a Chopin Etude whereas this song had a reference to Beethoven's Fifth) and a Reggaeton (Gasolina). He also received a bag of gifts, which included a large bottle of San Miguel and a mic time.
Anything else interesting? I recall telling Agnes that Sergio is back to terrorize girls and her nodding back - she actually said something back but I won't repeat it here. Nothing bad really and nothing no one is unaware of. Triple negative! Wei Shen said out loud this blog's title, which is not exactly a secret although not advertised either. Vish is here tomorrow as I originally thought but then was led to think otherwise for a few weeks until tonight.
This time Sergio organized the dinner outing - this time to Chesterton 22; he's a rich at heart starving graduate student. Cyrille and I were the first to arrive at 8:30; Cyrille called me at 7 to have me pick him up - a vast improvement over Liam unsuccessfully calling me after 8. The door confused Cyrille; I think he considered looking for a doorbell or knocking on the door when I told him to just open the door. The dining room was tiny and tables were packed closely together. None of the tables were designed for more than 4 people although upstairs had one table big enough for 8 people. It was like eating at someone's house - a small one at that. Sergio arrived within 5 minutes. Liam took a bit longer (no surprise there) - a little under half hour perhaps. Sergio chose the wine after initially suggesting Cyrille to make a choice.
Sergio and I ended up having the same course - Quail, Sea Bass, and Souffle. Liam had Crab and Salmon Ceviche, Sea Bass and Caramel Parfait while Cyrille had Ceviche, Sea Bass and Souffle. They were out of Fishcake disappointing me and Liam. Liam liked Ceviche the most. I liked the Sea Bass the most. Sergio liked the Souffle the least (because his was cooked poorly) and I had the same opinion (because I did not like the taste of Rhubarb - the texture was fine). Was it worthwhile? I'm guessing Cyrille and I liked it the most but still found it just okay for the price. I think the Souffle ruined it for Sergio. In case anyone wanted to use this as a reference - forget it. Their menu changes every month.
Dinner conversation was all over the map. Fairly sedate stuff - mostly about education ("liberal arts" versus "vocational") and future plans (work and travel) although we did manage to touch upon religion ever so briefly (as I predicted) and there was one bit for the old memory lane. I guess the first time I met Cyrille was around 2 years ago? It was a Thursday. It might have been March 9, 2006 - not absolutely sure because I was writing the blog in a different manner than I am now. I remember that Cyrille, Mimmi and I were talking together after the 1st hour of lessons with Sally. I remember introducing Ivan to Cyrille when Ivan arrived for the social. I also remember introducing Sergio to Cyrille shortly thereafter - Cyrille remembered that I introduced them as some of the best Salsa dancers in Cambridge (I remember trying to be diplomatic by calling no one THE best). Assuming that it was March 9, this is what I wrote.
"I met some interesting newcomers as well as someone I should have known for a while and an old friend I haven’t seen in a while and good for a lively and expansive chat ending with talk of petals - pretty weird."
I'm not sure why I would have used the plural - newcomers - because I don't think this was my first time meeting Mimmi (although I might not have gotten into a lengthy chat with her before this). I think I remember the petal reference, but I can't remember for the moment who the old friend is. I was definitely making fun of someone (again, who? - maybe someone from the Britfest?) with the petal / flower joke. As for the topic of the conversation 2 years ago, who knows? Presumably the standard what do you do for work and Salsa talk were part of it, but gab details escapes me without any written down hint.
As soon as I saw the reservation time and the restaurant choice, I knew that there was no way we'd get to Club Salsa by 10 PM. I thought 10:30 might be doable. The main dish had not been served yet at 9:30 although I couldn't say that the service was slow. In the end, we were still settling the bill at 10:50 as both Cyrille and I were getting messages from Raj, Sally and Lindsey. We made it shortly after 11 - probably not in the best shape for intense dancing.
Even though it was getting fairly late for a weeknight, there still were a sizeable crowd including some unexpected people like Sebastian, Natalia and Pilar. Polly was back walking about although she and Andrea did not stay much longer. Other girls included Jane, Nicola, Agnes, Zhenzhi, Angie. Although it stayed open til 12:30, there still wasn't enough time for me to find time to dance with Agnes.
Cyrille got two parting dances - a Salsa (I think Haihan called it Sonido Bestial but I think it must have been something else possibly by Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz - Sonido Bestial has a reference to a Chopin Etude whereas this song had a reference to Beethoven's Fifth) and a Reggaeton (Gasolina). He also received a bag of gifts, which included a large bottle of San Miguel and a mic time.
Anything else interesting? I recall telling Agnes that Sergio is back to terrorize girls and her nodding back - she actually said something back but I won't repeat it here. Nothing bad really and nothing no one is unaware of. Triple negative! Wei Shen said out loud this blog's title, which is not exactly a secret although not advertised either. Vish is here tomorrow as I originally thought but then was led to think otherwise for a few weeks until tonight.
Big Angel Canales fan
March 18, 2008
Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3 CBL into open
5,6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead one up one down into hammerlock with R-L
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break and bring follower forward close keeping R-L in hammerlock and L-R across leader’s body at about chest level and turn around as unit half clockwise between 1 and 2 (start with a step to R on 1 then turn and step behind L on 2) then lead follower into 1 1/2 slight forward travelling turn into a wrap
6,7,1,2,3,5 allow follower to step back on 6 and in place on 7 then step forward on 1 then into 1 1/2 travelling clockwise turn with leader stepping forward on 5 in preparation for leader’s left (counterclockwise turn) on 6
6,7,1,2,3,5 leader turn clockwise on 6 and into Copa (essentially starting from open position except leader is probably stepping away from follower on 6 in a mirror-image to CBL position) bringing follower into hammerlock with L-R brought down low
6,7,1,2,3,5,6 allow follower to step back on 6 and in place on 7 then step forward on 1 into a full clockwise spin on her right foot (keep L-R in a line parallel to follower’s line) – allow follower forward step on 2 then lead follower to walk straight back on 3,5,6 (I think I saw move of this type a few times before - first at LDA)
Natalia was there but without Steve. There was a bit of leader shortage for the first class, but opposite for the second class.
It surprised me and it stung a little. I don’t think there’s any permanent damage. I’m not expecting a black eye either. Maybe it was the type of blow Steph thought she almost made at the SOS couple of weeks ago.
Chris apparently is really into Angel Canales right now. Combining the songs played before, during and after the class, there must have been more than half dozen songs with Angel Canales (Brujeria, Perico Macona, Solo Se Que Tiene Nombre De Mujer and a several songs I did not know but where Angel Canales style was unmistakable). No complaint from here - I don't hear Angel Canales on the dance floor much. Also I doubt it would go on for months or years.
Miscellaneous takes. Orvile & Sabi. I think it might be a mixed blessing for CS with emphasis on the word blessing - mostly because of timing. It's not a blessing of any sort for the other party though. Salsa Del Este. Which month or if failing that which season of the year? It probably wants to avoid end of September (UK Congress) and end of November (GBSEx). Delivering Cyrille by 10 PM. It could be a toughie with 8:30 PM dinner reservation.
Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3 CBL into open
5,6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead one up one down into hammerlock with R-L
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break and bring follower forward close keeping R-L in hammerlock and L-R across leader’s body at about chest level and turn around as unit half clockwise between 1 and 2 (start with a step to R on 1 then turn and step behind L on 2) then lead follower into 1 1/2 slight forward travelling turn into a wrap
6,7,1,2,3,5 allow follower to step back on 6 and in place on 7 then step forward on 1 then into 1 1/2 travelling clockwise turn with leader stepping forward on 5 in preparation for leader’s left (counterclockwise turn) on 6
6,7,1,2,3,5 leader turn clockwise on 6 and into Copa (essentially starting from open position except leader is probably stepping away from follower on 6 in a mirror-image to CBL position) bringing follower into hammerlock with L-R brought down low
6,7,1,2,3,5,6 allow follower to step back on 6 and in place on 7 then step forward on 1 into a full clockwise spin on her right foot (keep L-R in a line parallel to follower’s line) – allow follower forward step on 2 then lead follower to walk straight back on 3,5,6 (I think I saw move of this type a few times before - first at LDA)
Natalia was there but without Steve. There was a bit of leader shortage for the first class, but opposite for the second class.
It surprised me and it stung a little. I don’t think there’s any permanent damage. I’m not expecting a black eye either. Maybe it was the type of blow Steph thought she almost made at the SOS couple of weeks ago.
Chris apparently is really into Angel Canales right now. Combining the songs played before, during and after the class, there must have been more than half dozen songs with Angel Canales (Brujeria, Perico Macona, Solo Se Que Tiene Nombre De Mujer and a several songs I did not know but where Angel Canales style was unmistakable). No complaint from here - I don't hear Angel Canales on the dance floor much. Also I doubt it would go on for months or years.
Miscellaneous takes. Orvile & Sabi. I think it might be a mixed blessing for CS with emphasis on the word blessing - mostly because of timing. It's not a blessing of any sort for the other party though. Salsa Del Este. Which month or if failing that which season of the year? It probably wants to avoid end of September (UK Congress) and end of November (GBSEx). Delivering Cyrille by 10 PM. It could be a toughie with 8:30 PM dinner reservation.
Sixty percent
March 16, 2008
I had an itch to scratch, but it wasn’t so overwhelming that I absolutely had to go. Then again I didn’t have any reservations about going either. I didn't go last week because it was a performance night – i.e. less time to dance and more expensive (by £1!!!). There was that announcement about Shaan being one of the new DJs, and as I expected he was the DJ last week. Shaan’s okay, but he’s very conventional based upon what I heard at the LDA social and Bar Salsa Mondays. Next week of course won’t be any good because of Scala Latina. It seemed like this week was a reasonable time to go, and the schedule worked out by the time I had to depart to make it all worthwhile.
A quick scan at arrival gave me following information. The DJ was Amir - this is good. The crowding is not excessive - good again. The ratio seemed to be slightly against men - not so good, but not fatal. There weren't very many friendly familiar faces among followers - somewhat of a negative once again. Overall - reasonably promising but nothing to build a great deal of expectations; it probably made the evening better.
The music was remarkable in that I knew about half of the songs flat out (too many so that it became difficult to remember all of them) and was familiar with another 20% of the songs. The artists and songs I knew included: Chivirico Davila – Silencio, Eddie Palmieri – Lo Que Traigo Es Sabroso (or at least I thought I heard the ending of it when I walked in), El Gran Combo – I think there were two of them but I couldn’t think of the title, Jimmy Sabater – Salchicha Con Huevos (shorter version), Joe Cuba – La Palmilla (last song of the evening), Johnny Colon – Merecumbe (this song seemed to freak out my partner), Mark Dimond – Brujeria (fairly sure it was this one) and Ya No Tengo Pena (next to the last song of the evening), Mongo Santamaria – Sofrito, Orquesta Broadway – Isla Del Encanto, Ray Barretto – Quitate La Mascara and Soy Dichoso (fairly sure), Tito Puente – Hong Kong Mambo, Tito Rodriguez – Hay Craneo, La Toalla (or at least I think it was his version), Willie Colon – La Banda. Also there was a version of Sonero (Ismael Rivera is my best guess). There also were straight Latin Jazz tunes (e.g. My Favorite Things and more) that I was familiar with even if I didn't know their names. No Bachata tonight.
Dancing was good. I think I danced a little more than usual by my recent SOS standard. Familiarity with the music helped (although I didn't dance to all the songs I knew and would have liked to dance to - Silencio being the biggest example). Relatively large amount of space helped too. There was one somewhat annoying song with a very promising partner. The sole On2 dance was choppy. Merecumbe freaked out my partner as mentioned above. Everything else was good to great or at the very least effective. I also had one of my best Cha Cha to date. All in all I had a quite a good time.
On the train ride back, I discovered that I had packed a book after all. I still couldn't finish it - with maybe 5-6 pages to go. American Psycho refuses to end.
I had an itch to scratch, but it wasn’t so overwhelming that I absolutely had to go. Then again I didn’t have any reservations about going either. I didn't go last week because it was a performance night – i.e. less time to dance and more expensive (by £1!!!). There was that announcement about Shaan being one of the new DJs, and as I expected he was the DJ last week. Shaan’s okay, but he’s very conventional based upon what I heard at the LDA social and Bar Salsa Mondays. Next week of course won’t be any good because of Scala Latina. It seemed like this week was a reasonable time to go, and the schedule worked out by the time I had to depart to make it all worthwhile.
A quick scan at arrival gave me following information. The DJ was Amir - this is good. The crowding is not excessive - good again. The ratio seemed to be slightly against men - not so good, but not fatal. There weren't very many friendly familiar faces among followers - somewhat of a negative once again. Overall - reasonably promising but nothing to build a great deal of expectations; it probably made the evening better.
The music was remarkable in that I knew about half of the songs flat out (too many so that it became difficult to remember all of them) and was familiar with another 20% of the songs. The artists and songs I knew included: Chivirico Davila – Silencio, Eddie Palmieri – Lo Que Traigo Es Sabroso (or at least I thought I heard the ending of it when I walked in), El Gran Combo – I think there were two of them but I couldn’t think of the title, Jimmy Sabater – Salchicha Con Huevos (shorter version), Joe Cuba – La Palmilla (last song of the evening), Johnny Colon – Merecumbe (this song seemed to freak out my partner), Mark Dimond – Brujeria (fairly sure it was this one) and Ya No Tengo Pena (next to the last song of the evening), Mongo Santamaria – Sofrito, Orquesta Broadway – Isla Del Encanto, Ray Barretto – Quitate La Mascara and Soy Dichoso (fairly sure), Tito Puente – Hong Kong Mambo, Tito Rodriguez – Hay Craneo, La Toalla (or at least I think it was his version), Willie Colon – La Banda. Also there was a version of Sonero (Ismael Rivera is my best guess). There also were straight Latin Jazz tunes (e.g. My Favorite Things and more) that I was familiar with even if I didn't know their names. No Bachata tonight.
Dancing was good. I think I danced a little more than usual by my recent SOS standard. Familiarity with the music helped (although I didn't dance to all the songs I knew and would have liked to dance to - Silencio being the biggest example). Relatively large amount of space helped too. There was one somewhat annoying song with a very promising partner. The sole On2 dance was choppy. Merecumbe freaked out my partner as mentioned above. Everything else was good to great or at the very least effective. I also had one of my best Cha Cha to date. All in all I had a quite a good time.
On the train ride back, I discovered that I had packed a book after all. I still couldn't finish it - with maybe 5-6 pages to go. American Psycho refuses to end.
Many multiples rather than usual singles
March 14, 2008
Joe played music until 12:30, and I didn't press to take over. I danced quite a bit - dancing multiple songs with multiple partners. The pattern was set thus when I learned that Pilar will be departing for Madrid in 3 weeks - yet another person leaving Cambridge scene.
Steve, Natalia and Gabrielle was here - once again on a Friday without Cyrille, Liam, Rajiv, etc. It was fairly busy - supposedly overcrowded for the lessons - at the start of the evening. By the time I got onto the DJ booth, it had quieted down a lot. I think I maintained it for a while longer by sticking with Salsa - no Bachata, Cha Cha, or Merengue.
Playlist
Toro Mata - Ocho Y Mas (-5%)*
Mambo Mongo - Mongo Santamaria (Fania version) (-3%)
Cucala - Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco (-3%)
Estamos Chao - Eddie Palmieri*
Plante Bandera - Tommy Olivencia*
Dejate Querer - Jose Alberto "El Canario"
Mentiras - Oscar D'Leon
La Familia - Ray Barretto
Besitos De Coco - Azabache*
Dulzura - Lebron Brothers*
El As De La Rumba - Machito
Valio La Pena - Marc Anthony*
Clasiquiendo Con Ruben - Afro-Cuban All-Stars
Ahora Quien - Marc Anthony* (1)
Thinking Of You - Lenny Kravitz (Salsa remix)
(1) This one came about because I opted to dance to Valio La Pena and Clasiquiendo Con Ruben without cueing another song.
Total = 15 songs all Salsa and 7 new. What does it say when I can claim two popular Marc Anthony songs from ~3 years ago as "new" after having 67 previous Salsa DJ sessions?
There was another teacher comment/question at the end of the evening from a stranger. He called me a professor. That's a new one.
Joe played music until 12:30, and I didn't press to take over. I danced quite a bit - dancing multiple songs with multiple partners. The pattern was set thus when I learned that Pilar will be departing for Madrid in 3 weeks - yet another person leaving Cambridge scene.
Steve, Natalia and Gabrielle was here - once again on a Friday without Cyrille, Liam, Rajiv, etc. It was fairly busy - supposedly overcrowded for the lessons - at the start of the evening. By the time I got onto the DJ booth, it had quieted down a lot. I think I maintained it for a while longer by sticking with Salsa - no Bachata, Cha Cha, or Merengue.
Playlist
Toro Mata - Ocho Y Mas (-5%)*
Mambo Mongo - Mongo Santamaria (Fania version) (-3%)
Cucala - Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco (-3%)
Estamos Chao - Eddie Palmieri*
Plante Bandera - Tommy Olivencia*
Dejate Querer - Jose Alberto "El Canario"
Mentiras - Oscar D'Leon
La Familia - Ray Barretto
Besitos De Coco - Azabache*
Dulzura - Lebron Brothers*
El As De La Rumba - Machito
Valio La Pena - Marc Anthony*
Clasiquiendo Con Ruben - Afro-Cuban All-Stars
Ahora Quien - Marc Anthony* (1)
Thinking Of You - Lenny Kravitz (Salsa remix)
(1) This one came about because I opted to dance to Valio La Pena and Clasiquiendo Con Ruben without cueing another song.
Total = 15 songs all Salsa and 7 new. What does it say when I can claim two popular Marc Anthony songs from ~3 years ago as "new" after having 67 previous Salsa DJ sessions?
There was another teacher comment/question at the end of the evening from a stranger. He called me a professor. That's a new one.
Throwaway lines
March 13, 2008
There were a lot of comedic lines tonight.
The silence at the beginning was … deafening. “Play something Sally,” Vishal entreated.
Sally declared, “Good night! … I’m the worst DJ in the world,” or something close to it. Then she re-started Tiene Sabor.
I asked Lindsey for a dance. She replied, “I’m going to dance with Ho-Yon.” Puzzled I exclaimed, “Huh?” She said again, “I’m going to dance with Ho-Yon,” before correcting herself.
Lindsey demanded, “Find my hair band.” I did. She was happy.
This time it was one of those not-so-good nights to be a boy – the ratio being 2 to 1 or maybe worse. Maybe the word was out that Cyrille is out of town. Well – people better get used to it. Another explanation was the end of the Lent term. Next week could get hairy.
The music was mostly of things outside my collection – Lejos De Ti by Angel Canales, Alafia by Son Boricua, Arenque by Alfredo Vargas and something I can no longer pick out by the Spanish Harlem Orquestra being exceptions. There also were quite a few different versions of songs I do have – including Usted Abuso by Son Boricua, Tiene Sabor by Charlie Palmieri (I had to ask Sally about this one – I had only gotten far as the song title and somewhat charanga-like in style), and Violent’s Guaguanco by Tipica 73 (quite close to the version I have by Johnny Rodriguez & Angel Rene Orquesta and a bit longer). There also was a song with 5-6 transitions.
Am I rare in liking slow songs? Am I rarer in liking to dance slow songs slowly?
I figured out how to replace wiper blades. A child can do it. It only took me about half an hour and three trips to the car. Or was it four?
There were a lot of comedic lines tonight.
The silence at the beginning was … deafening. “Play something Sally,” Vishal entreated.
Sally declared, “Good night! … I’m the worst DJ in the world,” or something close to it. Then she re-started Tiene Sabor.
I asked Lindsey for a dance. She replied, “I’m going to dance with Ho-Yon.” Puzzled I exclaimed, “Huh?” She said again, “I’m going to dance with Ho-Yon,” before correcting herself.
Lindsey demanded, “Find my hair band.” I did. She was happy.
This time it was one of those not-so-good nights to be a boy – the ratio being 2 to 1 or maybe worse. Maybe the word was out that Cyrille is out of town. Well – people better get used to it. Another explanation was the end of the Lent term. Next week could get hairy.
The music was mostly of things outside my collection – Lejos De Ti by Angel Canales, Alafia by Son Boricua, Arenque by Alfredo Vargas and something I can no longer pick out by the Spanish Harlem Orquestra being exceptions. There also were quite a few different versions of songs I do have – including Usted Abuso by Son Boricua, Tiene Sabor by Charlie Palmieri (I had to ask Sally about this one – I had only gotten far as the song title and somewhat charanga-like in style), and Violent’s Guaguanco by Tipica 73 (quite close to the version I have by Johnny Rodriguez & Angel Rene Orquesta and a bit longer). There also was a song with 5-6 transitions.
Am I rare in liking slow songs? Am I rarer in liking to dance slow songs slowly?
I figured out how to replace wiper blades. A child can do it. It only took me about half an hour and three trips to the car. Or was it four?
It's all downhill from here?
March 11, 2008
On2 Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3 CBL into open
5,6,7,1,2,3,5 prep and lead one up one down with R-L into hammerlock
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa start with leader turned away from the line by 1 with R-L going over leader’s head and down from 1 to 2 to lead follower forward and coming up from 2 to 3 to lead follower to turn counterclockwise (presumably leader would turn right after leading followers turn after 3 but I think I was usually turning on 5 – for follower the move is like a Copa fake into a full turn followed by 1 1/2 inside (counterclockwise) turn) and ending with L-L
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with switch from L-L to R-L into a wrap which ends up being more like a 2 counterclockwise turn (wrapping around – my wording here) by 6
6,7,1,2,3,5 lead follower forward (I suppose if follower is facing the other way then it would have to be backwards – this version of the move has been seen elsewhere) then get her to turn around 1/2 clockwise on 7 with leader turning slightly clockwise with R-L going over leader’s head to end in arm-next-to-arm (both in pizza waiter position) on 1 with constant pressure for follower to move forward from here onwards – lead follower to step forward on 2,3 (with leader very likely moving forward as well) before leading follower to turn half clockwise on 5 (lead is more of release of forward pressure) with leader turning about half counterclockwise
6,7,1,2,3,5 immediately lead another Copa start (very fast and something I am not at all used to) with L across forward step then with R-L going over follower’s head and with free L showing to get L-R connection to lead follower into a Copa turn (possibly multiple) and getting free R hand behind follower’s back by 5
6,7,1,2,3,5 lead follower forward to leader’s L side right away on 6 with follower turning 1/2 counterclockwise after 7 and positioned to leader’s R (leader presumably could step slightly to left too) then lead follower to 2,3,5 travelling 1/2 clockwise turn finish
The practices were done to fairly fast music rather than usual Cha (e.g. Brujeria by Mark Dimond rather than Amor Verdadero by Afro-Cuban All-Stars). Some of the material should be used to retry or refine an old On1 move.
A road closure meant twice as long commute back home before heading off to the Slug and the Lettuce. [note added later: due to a fatal accident] I wasn’t very late and did not miss much. After the class, I chatted a bit with Ed until Ed decided to try to spin the hell out of Jane and Nicola.
While watching the beginner class (now working on prep and spins), I confused myself trying out follower’s part by expanding the count 1 into a ridiculous length. It was worth a chuckle later when I realized what I was doing.
Quite a few of Haihan’s posse showed up for the social. It felt like the social somehow ended up being more lively than last couple of weeks. The music used tonight had heavy dose of German Villarreal, Angel Canales and Hector Lavoe as well as some Jimmy Bosch and Afro-Cuban All Stars – very pleasant I thought.
All dances were On2 except two. The quality of On2 dances felt appreciably better for a change – for a while, it felt like I was getting more awkward on the whole. Maybe this is a sign of the turnaround I was looking for in dancing On2. Of course it could be an illusion - I still was having slips in timing, and the actual number of mistakes might not have changed much.
On2 Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3 CBL into open
5,6,7,1,2,3,5 prep and lead one up one down with R-L into hammerlock
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa start with leader turned away from the line by 1 with R-L going over leader’s head and down from 1 to 2 to lead follower forward and coming up from 2 to 3 to lead follower to turn counterclockwise (presumably leader would turn right after leading followers turn after 3 but I think I was usually turning on 5 – for follower the move is like a Copa fake into a full turn followed by 1 1/2 inside (counterclockwise) turn) and ending with L-L
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with switch from L-L to R-L into a wrap which ends up being more like a 2 counterclockwise turn (wrapping around – my wording here) by 6
6,7,1,2,3,5 lead follower forward (I suppose if follower is facing the other way then it would have to be backwards – this version of the move has been seen elsewhere) then get her to turn around 1/2 clockwise on 7 with leader turning slightly clockwise with R-L going over leader’s head to end in arm-next-to-arm (both in pizza waiter position) on 1 with constant pressure for follower to move forward from here onwards – lead follower to step forward on 2,3 (with leader very likely moving forward as well) before leading follower to turn half clockwise on 5 (lead is more of release of forward pressure) with leader turning about half counterclockwise
6,7,1,2,3,5 immediately lead another Copa start (very fast and something I am not at all used to) with L across forward step then with R-L going over follower’s head and with free L showing to get L-R connection to lead follower into a Copa turn (possibly multiple) and getting free R hand behind follower’s back by 5
6,7,1,2,3,5 lead follower forward to leader’s L side right away on 6 with follower turning 1/2 counterclockwise after 7 and positioned to leader’s R (leader presumably could step slightly to left too) then lead follower to 2,3,5 travelling 1/2 clockwise turn finish
The practices were done to fairly fast music rather than usual Cha (e.g. Brujeria by Mark Dimond rather than Amor Verdadero by Afro-Cuban All-Stars). Some of the material should be used to retry or refine an old On1 move.
A road closure meant twice as long commute back home before heading off to the Slug and the Lettuce. [note added later: due to a fatal accident] I wasn’t very late and did not miss much. After the class, I chatted a bit with Ed until Ed decided to try to spin the hell out of Jane and Nicola.
While watching the beginner class (now working on prep and spins), I confused myself trying out follower’s part by expanding the count 1 into a ridiculous length. It was worth a chuckle later when I realized what I was doing.
Quite a few of Haihan’s posse showed up for the social. It felt like the social somehow ended up being more lively than last couple of weeks. The music used tonight had heavy dose of German Villarreal, Angel Canales and Hector Lavoe as well as some Jimmy Bosch and Afro-Cuban All Stars – very pleasant I thought.
All dances were On2 except two. The quality of On2 dances felt appreciably better for a change – for a while, it felt like I was getting more awkward on the whole. Maybe this is a sign of the turnaround I was looking for in dancing On2. Of course it could be an illusion - I still was having slips in timing, and the actual number of mistakes might not have changed much.
let's not do another 3 nights in a row
March 8, 2008
Ending up in Club Salsa was not something I expected. But once Liam and I reached the Anchor Pub to join Cyrille and his colleagues, that was the decision reached. With us were six of Cyrille’s soon-to-be ex-colleagues and a spouse. Sergio and Nat were to have met up with Cyrille some time during the evening, but their paths never came together. It was Cyrille’s party so it was his decision. Three nights in a row! For Liam too. I suspect that it would not have happened had Cyrille went to Club Salsa last night with us.
It seemed quiet when we arrived. Vishal was away on another DJ assignment at one of the colleges. Demetrios explained that it was considerably quieter than usual. As the evening progressed, it did get more crowded although not to the usual standard to my understanding. Another opinion seemed to be that it wasn’t quite as good without Vishal as the DJ. It was quite interesting to see that many of the regulars for Saturdays are the same as every other night.
Music was heavy into Reggaeton. Merengue and Salsa were played in approximately equal measure. There was some miscellaneous Latin music played as well. No Bachata or Cha Cha. As for the Salsa selection, it’s commercial and predictable.
I wasn’t expecting to dance much – in fact I was half expecting to not dance at all. It would have come to pass if the place closed at 2 AM as normal. However, Vish came back at 2, and Cyrille talked him into keeping the place open for another hour. The only woman in the party received a “Salsa lesson” from a predictable yet still surprising source. Liam was asked to dance a couple of times, and as for Cyrille – perhaps it’s fair to say that he has an admirer. I actually thought that his best dance tonight was a Merengue.
Probably the best dance display came off a dance-off between Cyrille and Liam after 2 AM – each trying to outshine each other.
I did end up having one dance with a visitor from Luton – a nice couple from there was visiting this weekend.
Ending up in Club Salsa was not something I expected. But once Liam and I reached the Anchor Pub to join Cyrille and his colleagues, that was the decision reached. With us were six of Cyrille’s soon-to-be ex-colleagues and a spouse. Sergio and Nat were to have met up with Cyrille some time during the evening, but their paths never came together. It was Cyrille’s party so it was his decision. Three nights in a row! For Liam too. I suspect that it would not have happened had Cyrille went to Club Salsa last night with us.
It seemed quiet when we arrived. Vishal was away on another DJ assignment at one of the colleges. Demetrios explained that it was considerably quieter than usual. As the evening progressed, it did get more crowded although not to the usual standard to my understanding. Another opinion seemed to be that it wasn’t quite as good without Vishal as the DJ. It was quite interesting to see that many of the regulars for Saturdays are the same as every other night.
Music was heavy into Reggaeton. Merengue and Salsa were played in approximately equal measure. There was some miscellaneous Latin music played as well. No Bachata or Cha Cha. As for the Salsa selection, it’s commercial and predictable.
I wasn’t expecting to dance much – in fact I was half expecting to not dance at all. It would have come to pass if the place closed at 2 AM as normal. However, Vish came back at 2, and Cyrille talked him into keeping the place open for another hour. The only woman in the party received a “Salsa lesson” from a predictable yet still surprising source. Liam was asked to dance a couple of times, and as for Cyrille – perhaps it’s fair to say that he has an admirer. I actually thought that his best dance tonight was a Merengue.
Probably the best dance display came off a dance-off between Cyrille and Liam after 2 AM – each trying to outshine each other.
I did end up having one dance with a visitor from Luton – a nice couple from there was visiting this weekend.
weather versus climate
March 7, 2008
Surreal. I think it summarizes the feeling I had throughout the evening. My thought afterwards on the other hand was, “Another opportunity passed?”
I had a lot of time on my hand this evening so I ended up at Club Salsa quite early – maybe around 9:20. Big class. The biggest beginner class I have ever seen at Club Salsa. Vish seemed a bit flustered with managing such larger number of people. He later told me that it was even worse during the first hour when he had a smaller space. Olga had the improvers and teaching in a manner, which somehow made me think military precision. Joe had the intermediate class with large number of familiar friendly faces. After a brief chat with someone I had seen 3 or 4 weeks ago, I opted to lend help for the beginners.
Pete and Cinzia were a surprise show. They were worried about crowding, and I told them it shouldn’t be a problem. I thought many beginners would leave pretty early so that Pete and Cinzia would find decent amount of space for the hour they were planning on staying. Cinzia by the way is expecting a surprise this Summer (July?) and seemed a little concerned about change of center of gravity. When Joe put on Playa No More for the cool-down, Pete quipped, “Things haven’t changed.” Rajiv added, “I never liked this song much to begin with.”
In any case my prediction about crowding turned out spectacularly wrong. As the first song of the social came on, I saw a large stream of people pouring down the stairs. Many I did not recognize, and many I did recognize were surprises to me. Most of the Wednesday crew were there. Quite a few of the Thursday people (though not the instructors) were there too. Some people I hadn’t seen for long time on Friday returned. The best explanation seemed to be a birthday – meaning there was a birthday dance to be avoided later. Actually there were two birthdays – the second birthday being that of a non-regular.
It was so crowded that I had trouble locating some people. At various points in the evening some people apparently went upstairs and beyond for chats, etc. Later Liam showed up as well – another surprise given neither Cyrille nor Steph was present. Sebastian was another surprise show – I only got to wave hands to him because by that time I was the DJ. Kate was there – her two best friends took part in the class. I think it was a convergence of coincidences. Last week was an anomaly – an unfortunate one. This week too was an anomaly – a type of anomaly that Vish no doubt would mind seeing more often on the whole.
The birthday dance came fairly early in the evening. I wasn’t the only one ducking for cover. Joe made a funny riff about family while overseeing the birthday dance. Before and after the birthday dance, I managed three dances in crowded but fun conditions. In fact I somewhat regret not having enough time before Joe finished his DJ session for chats and dances.
Playlist
Y No Hago Mas Na – El Gran Combo (1)
Prestame Tu Mujer – Grupo Gale
El Verdadero Son – Estrellas Caiman (2)
La Libertad – Rey Reyes
Distinto Y Diferente – Don Perignon
Azucare – Mana* (3)
Chango Ta Beni – Willie Rosario (4)
No Quiero Na Regalao – Gilberto Santa Rosa
Si Hay Negro No Guaguanco – Lebron Brothers
Avisale A Mi Contrario – Roberto Roena
Vamos A Reir Un Poco – Ocho Y Mas (5)
El Cantante Y La Orquesta – Angel Canales
Bilongo – Eddie Palmieri
and near the end of the evening…
Hay Craneo – Tito Rodriguez
(1) Joe left me with a Reggaeton – Gasolina I think. My song selections take into consideration what had been being played, and I try to achieve a smooth transition so deciding on the first few songs was more difficult than usual. Of course those few songs have an effect on what comes on afterwards too. In other words, the first 3 songs could be considered a reaction to the previous DJ, and next 3 songs reflect a reaction to the first reaction. Perhaps this approach is not always valid – or perhaps my execution needs improvement.
(2) One of the regulars seemed to have a problem with the beat and wanted me to fix it. Not sure what he meant. I asked Liam if there was anything weird about the song, and he replied that it was not a Mambo, more of a Son. Okay. Check the title.
(3) This was rather mediocre and probably won’t get a second chance at airplay by me.
(4) Vish says he’s bored already. I had to shoo him away.
(5) I told Vish two more songs and had him get me a San Miguel.
Total 14 songs. All Salsa. 1 new.
Vish started with a couple of Bachata before things like Salsa Nunca Se Acaba, an apparent old classic perhaps from the Catholic church days, Pancho Cristal, Bailando, Otra Oportunidad, etc. He commented that he doesn’t know what he’s playing when he’s drunk or something like that. He also expressed a great sadness about Cyrille leaving – it’ll be a big loss.
Trapped by the wrong song was a recurring theme. I would say that there are three songs I would refuse dancing to right now. One is Micaela – this one came into play early in the evening. Second is Presumida – for no reason other than it is a longer lamer version of a much better song and gets played too often for no good reason in my opinion. Third is La Vida Es Un Carnaval – this one came into play late in the evening. I noticed a new confident-looking follower and decided that I need to have one dance with her before leaving. She danced with one guy for two songs in a row (Esa Mujer was one). I decided to skip La Vida Es Un Carnaval next. Meanwhile she found a new partner, who also danced with her for two songs in a row. Merecumbe (an unexpected choice so late in the evening) seemed to last forever. Then came on a Bachata, followed by a quarter of a Bachata interrupted by Thinking Of You. Another lead had two dances with her meanwhile. I decided that I had enough so I decided to take control of the DJ booth and put on Hay Craneo (Tito Rodriguez version). So I finally had my dance and it was good – although I must say that build-up for it was way out of proportion.
It doesn’t happen every day, but now and then I get a response along the line of “I can’t believe you’re asking me to dance (again).” No, they are not showing a look of disgust as they say this in case the reader is unaware of social dynamics in the dance world. One way of looking at this is that they think you are too good to dance with them. Another way of looking at it is that you made them feel inadequate dancing with you. Either way, it’s not a completely positive thing to hear if you think about it. I wouldn’t ask someone multiple times in one evening unless I liked dancing with her AND I thought she liked dancing with me. On the other hand, sometimes I would finish a dance thinking that it must not have been very fun for my partner to dance with me because I know that they were struggling with what I was trying to lead – this may happen especially with faster and more complex songs. The wonder of it is that most people don’t mind and are very willing to dance again next day, next week, etc. Conversely, if I think someone doesn’t like to dance with me, I would be wary of asking her. Sadly this often results in a negative feedback and sometimes leads to something worse.
Surreal. I think it summarizes the feeling I had throughout the evening. My thought afterwards on the other hand was, “Another opportunity passed?”
I had a lot of time on my hand this evening so I ended up at Club Salsa quite early – maybe around 9:20. Big class. The biggest beginner class I have ever seen at Club Salsa. Vish seemed a bit flustered with managing such larger number of people. He later told me that it was even worse during the first hour when he had a smaller space. Olga had the improvers and teaching in a manner, which somehow made me think military precision. Joe had the intermediate class with large number of familiar friendly faces. After a brief chat with someone I had seen 3 or 4 weeks ago, I opted to lend help for the beginners.
Pete and Cinzia were a surprise show. They were worried about crowding, and I told them it shouldn’t be a problem. I thought many beginners would leave pretty early so that Pete and Cinzia would find decent amount of space for the hour they were planning on staying. Cinzia by the way is expecting a surprise this Summer (July?) and seemed a little concerned about change of center of gravity. When Joe put on Playa No More for the cool-down, Pete quipped, “Things haven’t changed.” Rajiv added, “I never liked this song much to begin with.”
In any case my prediction about crowding turned out spectacularly wrong. As the first song of the social came on, I saw a large stream of people pouring down the stairs. Many I did not recognize, and many I did recognize were surprises to me. Most of the Wednesday crew were there. Quite a few of the Thursday people (though not the instructors) were there too. Some people I hadn’t seen for long time on Friday returned. The best explanation seemed to be a birthday – meaning there was a birthday dance to be avoided later. Actually there were two birthdays – the second birthday being that of a non-regular.
It was so crowded that I had trouble locating some people. At various points in the evening some people apparently went upstairs and beyond for chats, etc. Later Liam showed up as well – another surprise given neither Cyrille nor Steph was present. Sebastian was another surprise show – I only got to wave hands to him because by that time I was the DJ. Kate was there – her two best friends took part in the class. I think it was a convergence of coincidences. Last week was an anomaly – an unfortunate one. This week too was an anomaly – a type of anomaly that Vish no doubt would mind seeing more often on the whole.
The birthday dance came fairly early in the evening. I wasn’t the only one ducking for cover. Joe made a funny riff about family while overseeing the birthday dance. Before and after the birthday dance, I managed three dances in crowded but fun conditions. In fact I somewhat regret not having enough time before Joe finished his DJ session for chats and dances.
Playlist
Y No Hago Mas Na – El Gran Combo (1)
Prestame Tu Mujer – Grupo Gale
El Verdadero Son – Estrellas Caiman (2)
La Libertad – Rey Reyes
Distinto Y Diferente – Don Perignon
Azucare – Mana* (3)
Chango Ta Beni – Willie Rosario (4)
No Quiero Na Regalao – Gilberto Santa Rosa
Si Hay Negro No Guaguanco – Lebron Brothers
Avisale A Mi Contrario – Roberto Roena
Vamos A Reir Un Poco – Ocho Y Mas (5)
El Cantante Y La Orquesta – Angel Canales
Bilongo – Eddie Palmieri
and near the end of the evening…
Hay Craneo – Tito Rodriguez
(1) Joe left me with a Reggaeton – Gasolina I think. My song selections take into consideration what had been being played, and I try to achieve a smooth transition so deciding on the first few songs was more difficult than usual. Of course those few songs have an effect on what comes on afterwards too. In other words, the first 3 songs could be considered a reaction to the previous DJ, and next 3 songs reflect a reaction to the first reaction. Perhaps this approach is not always valid – or perhaps my execution needs improvement.
(2) One of the regulars seemed to have a problem with the beat and wanted me to fix it. Not sure what he meant. I asked Liam if there was anything weird about the song, and he replied that it was not a Mambo, more of a Son. Okay. Check the title.
(3) This was rather mediocre and probably won’t get a second chance at airplay by me.
(4) Vish says he’s bored already. I had to shoo him away.
(5) I told Vish two more songs and had him get me a San Miguel.
Total 14 songs. All Salsa. 1 new.
Vish started with a couple of Bachata before things like Salsa Nunca Se Acaba, an apparent old classic perhaps from the Catholic church days, Pancho Cristal, Bailando, Otra Oportunidad, etc. He commented that he doesn’t know what he’s playing when he’s drunk or something like that. He also expressed a great sadness about Cyrille leaving – it’ll be a big loss.
Trapped by the wrong song was a recurring theme. I would say that there are three songs I would refuse dancing to right now. One is Micaela – this one came into play early in the evening. Second is Presumida – for no reason other than it is a longer lamer version of a much better song and gets played too often for no good reason in my opinion. Third is La Vida Es Un Carnaval – this one came into play late in the evening. I noticed a new confident-looking follower and decided that I need to have one dance with her before leaving. She danced with one guy for two songs in a row (Esa Mujer was one). I decided to skip La Vida Es Un Carnaval next. Meanwhile she found a new partner, who also danced with her for two songs in a row. Merecumbe (an unexpected choice so late in the evening) seemed to last forever. Then came on a Bachata, followed by a quarter of a Bachata interrupted by Thinking Of You. Another lead had two dances with her meanwhile. I decided that I had enough so I decided to take control of the DJ booth and put on Hay Craneo (Tito Rodriguez version). So I finally had my dance and it was good – although I must say that build-up for it was way out of proportion.
It doesn’t happen every day, but now and then I get a response along the line of “I can’t believe you’re asking me to dance (again).” No, they are not showing a look of disgust as they say this in case the reader is unaware of social dynamics in the dance world. One way of looking at this is that they think you are too good to dance with them. Another way of looking at it is that you made them feel inadequate dancing with you. Either way, it’s not a completely positive thing to hear if you think about it. I wouldn’t ask someone multiple times in one evening unless I liked dancing with her AND I thought she liked dancing with me. On the other hand, sometimes I would finish a dance thinking that it must not have been very fun for my partner to dance with me because I know that they were struggling with what I was trying to lead – this may happen especially with faster and more complex songs. The wonder of it is that most people don’t mind and are very willing to dance again next day, next week, etc. Conversely, if I think someone doesn’t like to dance with me, I would be wary of asking her. Sadly this often results in a negative feedback and sometimes leads to something worse.
Risking accusations of racism?
March 6, 2008
Cambridge admittedly has large number of foreigners befitting a small city dominated by internationally renowned university. My workplace too is full of internationals from Italy, Span, Germany, America, China. However, the majority of people are still English. On the other hand, English are not the majority in the Cambridge Salsa scene – at least right now.
Considering that Salsa is a Latin dance perhaps international flavor of people in the scene is not surprising. Well, yes and no. For one thing, if I were to look at the CBL crowd, there’s hardly anyone who qualifies as Latino. In fact I can think of only one person of Hispanic or Latin American heritage among the Salsa team since I started taking lessons. I think the last year’s team had 5 English, 3 Singaporeans, 1 New Zealander, 1 Indonesian-German, 1 Korean, 1 German, 1 Indian and 1 Chinese (to my best guess).
English also don’t make up the majority of CBL scene outside the old team although they can be said to have the plurality – the number of ethnic Chinese is nearly the same as English. There also have been people from France, Russia, Slovenia, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus, Belgium among others. Many people who I initially guessed English have turned out to be something else – including half-English. Perhaps Salsa attracts foreigners disproportionately because they reject the Pub-based social life of the English and because they lack the pre-established social network.
The rise of East and Southeast Asians in the Cambridge Salsa scene is a very recent phenomenon and may yet prove to be highly transient. When I first started, there was no Chinese to be seen in the Cambridge Salsa scene. It was only after more than one year that I met Agnes. And then soon afterwards Zhenzhi, Zern, Euvian, et al emerged. The first ones learned Salsa in their home country, but we are getting more and more Cambridge-grown talents. Perhaps this is akin to rich getting richer or perhaps a sign of who is better able to attract friends from their social circle to enter the Salsa scene.
When the social started tonight, I thought that this was a pretty good night by recent standards. This was before Zhenzhi showed up and before Agnes showed up and before Steph showed up. Haihan’s posse showed up in full force too – I think there were 4 of his protégés (I think I got one of the name in full now – Wei Sheng I think – I did not ask for spelling of the name – I did not get the girl’s names or at least I’m not going to cheat by using third-hand information). Also present were Jane, Charlotte, Annette, Laura, Clara, William, Liam, Cyrille Zern, Mark, Rajiv and Ivan.
Ivan informed me that his dissertation (or is it thesis?) is due on his birthday in less than one month. The magic number apparently has an interesting coincidence – by design. I had not realized how his age compared to Sergio and Cyrille until now – I did not know which direction it laid. Now when was it that I guessed his age and said to him that he cannot be much more than X after he complained of growing old? I think I was very close to the mark back then.
Cyrille apparently changed his departure date slightly (or my understanding of his schedule has changed). He is leaving mid-week next week for an interview and will return on Saturday the 15th before flying back to complete his move on the 19th (or was it 18th?). Cyrille thought the 15th might be a good date for a dinner or party or whatever.
My dances were sometimes iffy and sometimes silly. I can’t say it ever reached comfortable and assured state. There were many good dances but I had a lot of trouble stringing multiple good dances together in a row. I had one On2 dance (Por Que Adore), one Cha Cha, and one Bachata also.
Cambridge admittedly has large number of foreigners befitting a small city dominated by internationally renowned university. My workplace too is full of internationals from Italy, Span, Germany, America, China. However, the majority of people are still English. On the other hand, English are not the majority in the Cambridge Salsa scene – at least right now.
Considering that Salsa is a Latin dance perhaps international flavor of people in the scene is not surprising. Well, yes and no. For one thing, if I were to look at the CBL crowd, there’s hardly anyone who qualifies as Latino. In fact I can think of only one person of Hispanic or Latin American heritage among the Salsa team since I started taking lessons. I think the last year’s team had 5 English, 3 Singaporeans, 1 New Zealander, 1 Indonesian-German, 1 Korean, 1 German, 1 Indian and 1 Chinese (to my best guess).
English also don’t make up the majority of CBL scene outside the old team although they can be said to have the plurality – the number of ethnic Chinese is nearly the same as English. There also have been people from France, Russia, Slovenia, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus, Belgium among others. Many people who I initially guessed English have turned out to be something else – including half-English. Perhaps Salsa attracts foreigners disproportionately because they reject the Pub-based social life of the English and because they lack the pre-established social network.
The rise of East and Southeast Asians in the Cambridge Salsa scene is a very recent phenomenon and may yet prove to be highly transient. When I first started, there was no Chinese to be seen in the Cambridge Salsa scene. It was only after more than one year that I met Agnes. And then soon afterwards Zhenzhi, Zern, Euvian, et al emerged. The first ones learned Salsa in their home country, but we are getting more and more Cambridge-grown talents. Perhaps this is akin to rich getting richer or perhaps a sign of who is better able to attract friends from their social circle to enter the Salsa scene.
When the social started tonight, I thought that this was a pretty good night by recent standards. This was before Zhenzhi showed up and before Agnes showed up and before Steph showed up. Haihan’s posse showed up in full force too – I think there were 4 of his protégés (I think I got one of the name in full now – Wei Sheng I think – I did not ask for spelling of the name – I did not get the girl’s names or at least I’m not going to cheat by using third-hand information). Also present were Jane, Charlotte, Annette, Laura, Clara, William, Liam, Cyrille Zern, Mark, Rajiv and Ivan.
Ivan informed me that his dissertation (or is it thesis?) is due on his birthday in less than one month. The magic number apparently has an interesting coincidence – by design. I had not realized how his age compared to Sergio and Cyrille until now – I did not know which direction it laid. Now when was it that I guessed his age and said to him that he cannot be much more than X after he complained of growing old? I think I was very close to the mark back then.
Cyrille apparently changed his departure date slightly (or my understanding of his schedule has changed). He is leaving mid-week next week for an interview and will return on Saturday the 15th before flying back to complete his move on the 19th (or was it 18th?). Cyrille thought the 15th might be a good date for a dinner or party or whatever.
My dances were sometimes iffy and sometimes silly. I can’t say it ever reached comfortable and assured state. There were many good dances but I had a lot of trouble stringing multiple good dances together in a row. I had one On2 dance (Por Que Adore), one Cha Cha, and one Bachata also.
Taxi driver, taxi rider
March 4, 2008
Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3 CBL into open hold
5,6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead a multiple turn (one or more up then down) with R-L ending in hammerlock
6,7,1,2,3 Copa with R-L with lead and follower turning at the same time (follower counterclockwise and leader clockwise)
5,6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead a triple turn for follower ending with open hold
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa-fake to bring follower to leader’s left side with follower doing full counterclockwise turn then travelling half clockwise turn (her turn coming on 5) keeping all connections intact until the final turn and ending L-R
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa with L-R and with leader and follower turning simultaneously (more or less with leader turning right after signalling the turn) at the same time
6,7,1,2,3,5 another Copa fake into leader’s left side and bring follower back into her original position with CBL-like finish for follower (but with leader in mirror-image position compared to normal CBL) – and with leader turning counterclockwise at the end with touch-and-go and re-connecting with L-R (this move can be done without leader’s turn too)
6,7,1,2,3,5 there was a CBL with toss-and-1 1/2 turn for follower or some such, but this was more like a suggestion than part of the routine covered
I might have been leading triples a little better than last week. Not sure if the improvement if any was consistent. Sally made some suggestions on my lead, especially regarding how I was leading the Copa. I’m not sure if this has been a chronic problem (aside from some obvious timing mistakes I was making but had no problem realizing the problem), but I imagine it would be worth watching out for in the future for both On1 and On2. It is possible that I was leading moves in more staccato manner in class setting than I would have in social setting. Then again I might be leading moves in overly smooth manner and/or consciously or unconsciously avoiding moves I don't lead well. It is worth remembering that I had serious flaws in leading CBL with inside turn (1 1/2 counterclockwise) some 15-16 months after starting out.
Haihan and his protégés showed up for the social. Or should I call them Haihan and his entourage? Posse? The two boys gave me their names but I don’t think I can remember them properly – Wei-something and Hong-something maybe.
Towards the end of the evening, I spent more time talking trash, etc with William then Haihan - regarding a 7 minute song followed by a 10 1/2 minute song, dramatic singles, videotaping, etc.
I noted that there are nine people, who are sometime regular in the Cambridge scene and can dance On2. There’s a lot of fudging involved here since some of the leads I’m thinking of lives rather far away from Cambridge. I’ll refrain from naming all, but I don’t think these people would mind me doing so – Liam, Sergio, Chris, Mark, Haihan, Steve, Ed and me. Actually, the number is probably higher since I originally forgot to consider Ivan and Zern and there may be more I am unaware of or have forgotten. By the way, I am only counting people who I think would not have problem dancing On2 all night long. Also I think I can say that the number has doubled essentially compared to one year ago. Now try counting number of On1 Cambridge leads. From top of my head, I think the number of leads might be about thirty including everyone who can also dance On2 among Club Salsa regulars. I think I would be hard pressed to think of any more than forty or fifty even if I relax the standard considerably. I think the best-case scenario is that the number of leads for On2 will double by this time next year with perhaps half of the leads coming from someone who is already competent on dancing On1. Am I being pessimistic? Just consider how many On1 leads emerged in past year with On1 lessons available on 4-5 days at Club Salsa as well as from other sources.
Every dance but one was On2 including a couple of Cha Cha.
Some of the songs played tonight (not all for the social) included Swing La Moderna, Flor De Los Lindos Campos (older version I think), Atizame Al Fogon, Picadillo (Fania All Stars version) and Felices Horas and El Cantante to finish the evening.
Gradual and scattered goodbyes at the end of the evening. Sally went one way. A couple of Haihan’s friends went another way. Haihan parted later. Another of Haihan’s friend split off at the Ring Road after the bridge (on bike now). Mark was last to split off.
Minor note. British Pound has fallen quite a bit against the Euro lately. I thought the big currency news was about the weak Dollar, but maybe the strong Euro is just as noteworthy. Also, American Psycho is getting quite ... bloody.
Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3 CBL into open hold
5,6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead a multiple turn (one or more up then down) with R-L ending in hammerlock
6,7,1,2,3 Copa with R-L with lead and follower turning at the same time (follower counterclockwise and leader clockwise)
5,6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead a triple turn for follower ending with open hold
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa-fake to bring follower to leader’s left side with follower doing full counterclockwise turn then travelling half clockwise turn (her turn coming on 5) keeping all connections intact until the final turn and ending L-R
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa with L-R and with leader and follower turning simultaneously (more or less with leader turning right after signalling the turn) at the same time
6,7,1,2,3,5 another Copa fake into leader’s left side and bring follower back into her original position with CBL-like finish for follower (but with leader in mirror-image position compared to normal CBL) – and with leader turning counterclockwise at the end with touch-and-go and re-connecting with L-R (this move can be done without leader’s turn too)
6,7,1,2,3,5 there was a CBL with toss-and-1 1/2 turn for follower or some such, but this was more like a suggestion than part of the routine covered
I might have been leading triples a little better than last week. Not sure if the improvement if any was consistent. Sally made some suggestions on my lead, especially regarding how I was leading the Copa. I’m not sure if this has been a chronic problem (aside from some obvious timing mistakes I was making but had no problem realizing the problem), but I imagine it would be worth watching out for in the future for both On1 and On2. It is possible that I was leading moves in more staccato manner in class setting than I would have in social setting. Then again I might be leading moves in overly smooth manner and/or consciously or unconsciously avoiding moves I don't lead well. It is worth remembering that I had serious flaws in leading CBL with inside turn (1 1/2 counterclockwise) some 15-16 months after starting out.
Haihan and his protégés showed up for the social. Or should I call them Haihan and his entourage? Posse? The two boys gave me their names but I don’t think I can remember them properly – Wei-something and Hong-something maybe.
Towards the end of the evening, I spent more time talking trash, etc with William then Haihan - regarding a 7 minute song followed by a 10 1/2 minute song, dramatic singles, videotaping, etc.
I noted that there are nine people, who are sometime regular in the Cambridge scene and can dance On2. There’s a lot of fudging involved here since some of the leads I’m thinking of lives rather far away from Cambridge. I’ll refrain from naming all, but I don’t think these people would mind me doing so – Liam, Sergio, Chris, Mark, Haihan, Steve, Ed and me. Actually, the number is probably higher since I originally forgot to consider Ivan and Zern and there may be more I am unaware of or have forgotten. By the way, I am only counting people who I think would not have problem dancing On2 all night long. Also I think I can say that the number has doubled essentially compared to one year ago. Now try counting number of On1 Cambridge leads. From top of my head, I think the number of leads might be about thirty including everyone who can also dance On2 among Club Salsa regulars. I think I would be hard pressed to think of any more than forty or fifty even if I relax the standard considerably. I think the best-case scenario is that the number of leads for On2 will double by this time next year with perhaps half of the leads coming from someone who is already competent on dancing On1. Am I being pessimistic? Just consider how many On1 leads emerged in past year with On1 lessons available on 4-5 days at Club Salsa as well as from other sources.
Every dance but one was On2 including a couple of Cha Cha.
Some of the songs played tonight (not all for the social) included Swing La Moderna, Flor De Los Lindos Campos (older version I think), Atizame Al Fogon, Picadillo (Fania All Stars version) and Felices Horas and El Cantante to finish the evening.
Gradual and scattered goodbyes at the end of the evening. Sally went one way. A couple of Haihan’s friends went another way. Haihan parted later. Another of Haihan’s friend split off at the Ring Road after the bridge (on bike now). Mark was last to split off.
Minor note. British Pound has fallen quite a bit against the Euro lately. I thought the big currency news was about the weak Dollar, but maybe the strong Euro is just as noteworthy. Also, American Psycho is getting quite ... bloody.
Four plus three at the SOS
March 2, 2008
After picking up Steph, Liam and Cyrille between 6 and 6:30, we proceeded down to London via the usual M11 route. The traffic was one of the most annoying I have seen, and there were more than usual number of inconsiderate or incompetent drivers on the road. I only managed to park the car around 8:10.
Dinner was fish and chips for the boys. Steph decided on chips after we were about half done with the fish and chips. Liam decided to tackle another burger on top of his fish and chips. We managed to leave the eatery around 8:40.
There was a venue change. Groan. It was the South side tonight. I thought it was very unfortunate especially given that this was Steph’s first time at SOS. I was expecting the worst, but after 15 minutes or so I decided that it might end okay.
I think the reason why it was okay was because there were plenty of people who seemed perfectly happy to dance on the carpet. I myself ended up dancing more often on the carpet than on the wood floor portion. Only one partner of mine was insistent on dancing on the wood floor all night.
From Cambridge, Richard, Mark and Jane also made it.
The music was very schizophrenic. There was one particular song, which I found incredibly boring – one of the worst songs I ever danced to at SOS. The voice sounded like Oscar D’Leon, and it came on two songs before the first Bachata. But then again, there were some songs I really enjoyed hearing later on – especially the series of 50s-60s sounding songs including La-La-La by Jose Curbelo and Donde Estabas Tu by Tito Rodriguez. There was another not-so-good stretch later, but it was followed by another nice sets of songs to the end. Song selections included Esa Mujer (Tony Vega), Avisale A Mi Contrario (Tito Rodriguez – I seem to be hearing this quite often lately at SOS and elsewhere), Fragile (or something close to it), Trip to Mamboland (Latin Giants of Jazz), Noche De Salsa (Louie Ramirez), Musica Ligera (Toque D’ Keda).
A thought. It’s nicer to dance with someone who’s not great and know it compared to someone who’s not great but doesn’t know it. Not exactly a revelation, but then same can be said about it's nicer to dance with someone who looks happy dancing with you than some who looks miserable.
Another thought. Liam says a lot of outrageous, insensitive, unfair, narrow-minded, un-PC things. But he is very entertaining.
Cyrille has a very chaotic and uncertain schedule before his departure - some serious decisions to be made soon. He is going to be so preoccupied; it could get pretty nutty. Then again, once he's moved he won't have to deal with all those costly and time-consuming weekend trips so often.
Steph was popular today. I think she had more than a few admirers as well as some who wanted her as a dance partner – presumably for shows, competitions, practice, whatever. Needless to say, she liked SOS. What can I say? I told you so?
Exchange of the day.
Random to Steph - "You were beautiful to watch. Are you from Thailand?"
Me, interrupting - "Thank you. I’m from America. She’s from Germany."
So, what's next? Swan jokes? A guffaw? You know who you are.
All in seriousness, I expect there is at least 50% chance that I'll receive something like this in near future. [disclaimer: plagiarism alert!] Anyone want to take a small wager?
Your blog is being talked about quite a bit at SOS. Unfortunately for you, it's not for the best of reasons. People find your dancing very amusing and "weird" has been used by a lot of girls I have spoken to. You lack basic rhythm and there is zero engagement with any of your partners. Your taste in music is awful; your music is a guarantee to cause migraine and is a sure-cure for insomnia. You seem to have a belief that your ability is more advanced than it actually is. I appreciate you have serious character flaws and personality disorders as some people no doubt alluded, and the sort of the sort of stuff you write on your blog really isn't going to help you. I suggest you stop writing about other people and try and engage with people face to face. Try and ask for feedback from those you dance with as well. I'll be happy to discuss this further with you on fakeemail@hotmail.com.
Why? Because there are all kinds of people out there. Have you seen some of the UK forums out there? Cambridge is not unique. London no doubt can be provincial.
By the way for those who were thinking about SOS next week. They'll be back on the North side, but they will have an "international" showcase also. They also announced Shaan as one of new rotating DJs.
After picking up Steph, Liam and Cyrille between 6 and 6:30, we proceeded down to London via the usual M11 route. The traffic was one of the most annoying I have seen, and there were more than usual number of inconsiderate or incompetent drivers on the road. I only managed to park the car around 8:10.
Dinner was fish and chips for the boys. Steph decided on chips after we were about half done with the fish and chips. Liam decided to tackle another burger on top of his fish and chips. We managed to leave the eatery around 8:40.
There was a venue change. Groan. It was the South side tonight. I thought it was very unfortunate especially given that this was Steph’s first time at SOS. I was expecting the worst, but after 15 minutes or so I decided that it might end okay.
I think the reason why it was okay was because there were plenty of people who seemed perfectly happy to dance on the carpet. I myself ended up dancing more often on the carpet than on the wood floor portion. Only one partner of mine was insistent on dancing on the wood floor all night.
From Cambridge, Richard, Mark and Jane also made it.
The music was very schizophrenic. There was one particular song, which I found incredibly boring – one of the worst songs I ever danced to at SOS. The voice sounded like Oscar D’Leon, and it came on two songs before the first Bachata. But then again, there were some songs I really enjoyed hearing later on – especially the series of 50s-60s sounding songs including La-La-La by Jose Curbelo and Donde Estabas Tu by Tito Rodriguez. There was another not-so-good stretch later, but it was followed by another nice sets of songs to the end. Song selections included Esa Mujer (Tony Vega), Avisale A Mi Contrario (Tito Rodriguez – I seem to be hearing this quite often lately at SOS and elsewhere), Fragile (or something close to it), Trip to Mamboland (Latin Giants of Jazz), Noche De Salsa (Louie Ramirez), Musica Ligera (Toque D’ Keda).
A thought. It’s nicer to dance with someone who’s not great and know it compared to someone who’s not great but doesn’t know it. Not exactly a revelation, but then same can be said about it's nicer to dance with someone who looks happy dancing with you than some who looks miserable.
Another thought. Liam says a lot of outrageous, insensitive, unfair, narrow-minded, un-PC things. But he is very entertaining.
Cyrille has a very chaotic and uncertain schedule before his departure - some serious decisions to be made soon. He is going to be so preoccupied; it could get pretty nutty. Then again, once he's moved he won't have to deal with all those costly and time-consuming weekend trips so often.
Steph was popular today. I think she had more than a few admirers as well as some who wanted her as a dance partner – presumably for shows, competitions, practice, whatever. Needless to say, she liked SOS. What can I say? I told you so?
Exchange of the day.
Random to Steph - "You were beautiful to watch. Are you from Thailand?"
Me, interrupting - "Thank you. I’m from America. She’s from Germany."
So, what's next? Swan jokes? A guffaw? You know who you are.
All in seriousness, I expect there is at least 50% chance that I'll receive something like this in near future. [disclaimer: plagiarism alert!] Anyone want to take a small wager?
Your blog is being talked about quite a bit at SOS. Unfortunately for you, it's not for the best of reasons. People find your dancing very amusing and "weird" has been used by a lot of girls I have spoken to. You lack basic rhythm and there is zero engagement with any of your partners. Your taste in music is awful; your music is a guarantee to cause migraine and is a sure-cure for insomnia. You seem to have a belief that your ability is more advanced than it actually is. I appreciate you have serious character flaws and personality disorders as some people no doubt alluded, and the sort of the sort of stuff you write on your blog really isn't going to help you. I suggest you stop writing about other people and try and engage with people face to face. Try and ask for feedback from those you dance with as well. I'll be happy to discuss this further with you on fakeemail@hotmail.com.
Why? Because there are all kinds of people out there. Have you seen some of the UK forums out there? Cambridge is not unique. London no doubt can be provincial.
By the way for those who were thinking about SOS next week. They'll be back on the North side, but they will have an "international" showcase also. They also announced Shaan as one of new rotating DJs.
Double dose of Micaela
February 29, 2008
The leap year caught me by surprise. So did the gusty wind this evening. The crowd at Club Salsa too was unusual and surprising also.
More than a few people had to wonder where the boys are. No offence meant to all the men who were there, but there was none from my usual circle. No Cyrille - too tired (the same excuse I heard about Steve). No Liam - because no Steph (blame that on her dinner plans). No Rajiv - I think he may no longer be an automatic for Fridays - blame it on Sally maybe since I too find going out more than twice consistently is a bit taxing. No Zern - water polo? Sebastian has moved - soon to be followed by Cyrille and maybe more. Sergio - ugh, I'm not going to go into that one. For whatever it's worth, Sally, Nicola, Lindsey, Natalia and Andrea were all there at various points in the evening.
Joe played for a while - maybe a dozen songs or maybe a little more. Very mainstream. I had to crack a smile when he played Micaela because I thought about that song earlier in the day (and thinking that I may want to wait many more months before playing it). Judging from the response tonight, I think I was not alone in having that opinion.
Playlist
Sey - Africando*
Tremendo Coco - Mana*
Mary - Joe Arroyo
Lloraras - Oscar D'Leon
Tambo La Rumba - Grupo Caribe*
Esa Muneca - Willie Rodriguez
Amor Perfecto - El Gran Combo
Tu Amor Me Hace Bien - Marc Anthony*
A La Yumbae - Tommy Olivencia
Ven Tu - Domenic Marte
Trucutu - Tommy Olivencia
Recordando A Cuba - Cubanoson*
Sopa En Botella - Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco
Ave Maria Lola - Roberto Torres
Diamoule Mawo - Laba Sosseh
Sun Sun Babae - Jose Curbelo* (-4%)
Salsa Caliente Del Japon - Orquesta De La Luz (-4%)
Apretoncito - Toque D' Keda
Esta Cobardia - Frankie Ruiz
La Banda - Spanish Harlem Orchestra* (-7%)
Vamos A Reir Un Poco - Ocho Y Mas*
Total = 21 songs. 1 Merengue. 2 Bachata. 18 Salsa including 8 new.
Vish thought I adjusted well to the crowd. Maybe. I don't think I changed that much. I'm still playing songs with the old philosophy (if I could call it that) of using good songs not used too much in recent weeks. Many of the songs (especially the "new" ones) were something I thought about playing all week long. I do have a much bigger music collection than say a year ago.
Around 1, Vish took over with Merengue and Reggaeton. His three Salsa selections were somewhat disappointing given that the first song was the first song used by Joe (I don't know the title but it starts with a chorus that sounds like Se-go-don), the second song was Micaela again (used by Joe as I already mentioned above), and the third was finally something new-ish - Salao.
An amusing side note - according to a February statistic, this is no longer my most popular blog. I think there is a very good chance that this will stay so for a long time. I suppose the world is a much bigger place than Cambridge (plus Greater London plus maybe Paris).
The leap year caught me by surprise. So did the gusty wind this evening. The crowd at Club Salsa too was unusual and surprising also.
More than a few people had to wonder where the boys are. No offence meant to all the men who were there, but there was none from my usual circle. No Cyrille - too tired (the same excuse I heard about Steve). No Liam - because no Steph (blame that on her dinner plans). No Rajiv - I think he may no longer be an automatic for Fridays - blame it on Sally maybe since I too find going out more than twice consistently is a bit taxing. No Zern - water polo? Sebastian has moved - soon to be followed by Cyrille and maybe more. Sergio - ugh, I'm not going to go into that one. For whatever it's worth, Sally, Nicola, Lindsey, Natalia and Andrea were all there at various points in the evening.
Joe played for a while - maybe a dozen songs or maybe a little more. Very mainstream. I had to crack a smile when he played Micaela because I thought about that song earlier in the day (and thinking that I may want to wait many more months before playing it). Judging from the response tonight, I think I was not alone in having that opinion.
Playlist
Sey - Africando*
Tremendo Coco - Mana*
Mary - Joe Arroyo
Lloraras - Oscar D'Leon
Tambo La Rumba - Grupo Caribe*
Esa Muneca - Willie Rodriguez
Amor Perfecto - El Gran Combo
Tu Amor Me Hace Bien - Marc Anthony*
A La Yumbae - Tommy Olivencia
Ven Tu - Domenic Marte
Trucutu - Tommy Olivencia
Recordando A Cuba - Cubanoson*
Sopa En Botella - Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco
Ave Maria Lola - Roberto Torres
Diamoule Mawo - Laba Sosseh
Sun Sun Babae - Jose Curbelo* (-4%)
Salsa Caliente Del Japon - Orquesta De La Luz (-4%)
Apretoncito - Toque D' Keda
Esta Cobardia - Frankie Ruiz
La Banda - Spanish Harlem Orchestra* (-7%)
Vamos A Reir Un Poco - Ocho Y Mas*
Total = 21 songs. 1 Merengue. 2 Bachata. 18 Salsa including 8 new.
Vish thought I adjusted well to the crowd. Maybe. I don't think I changed that much. I'm still playing songs with the old philosophy (if I could call it that) of using good songs not used too much in recent weeks. Many of the songs (especially the "new" ones) were something I thought about playing all week long. I do have a much bigger music collection than say a year ago.
Around 1, Vish took over with Merengue and Reggaeton. His three Salsa selections were somewhat disappointing given that the first song was the first song used by Joe (I don't know the title but it starts with a chorus that sounds like Se-go-don), the second song was Micaela again (used by Joe as I already mentioned above), and the third was finally something new-ish - Salao.
An amusing side note - according to a February statistic, this is no longer my most popular blog. I think there is a very good chance that this will stay so for a long time. I suppose the world is a much bigger place than Cambridge (plus Greater London plus maybe Paris).
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