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.