Clarendon Grill Three Years Later

December 29, 2008

This time the social was underway by the time I arrived around 9:15. Considering that lessons were supposed to end at 9, I’d categorize it as prompt and as advertised.

I watched for a little while before starting. For my first dance, I asked a stranger I had not seen dancing before and wearing a sweater no less. I thought it was quite nice, and within a minute I decided that the DC scene is alright – less dire than I had been led to think based on the last outing. I think her name was Kate (not 100% sure because there were too many new names).

At the start of the evening it seemed quite leader-heavy, but things more or less evened out as more experienced dancers arrived. I remembered the woman who helped hosting Saturday’s event – Ruth or Ruthie. [note: This was Tanya - Ruthie is someone else altogether] I had not danced with her last time, so I decided to ask her early in the evening this time. It worked out really well for me because not only did I get a nice dance, but she also gave me a few nice referrals.

Pretty much everything was an upgrade – larger number of higher calibre followers to choose from, more familiar music (similar in character to Saturday except with more mainstream bent), nicer lively atmosphere. The floor was a little uneven, but I didn’t think the Dance Collective floor was great either. I had far fewer dance partners having difficulty staying on the beat. There was one stretch where two Merengue preceded two Bachata, but I didn’t mind that too much. There were no other such stretches afterwards. About half of the dances were On2.

I finally got a chance to chat a little with Beto, who seemed to be a prominent DC Salsero. I had glimpsed him briefly Saturday too, but never got a chance to say hello. Last year, he had advised me on which venues to try, but he himself did not show up to either of the parties I attended. I think he has been in the scene for quite long time; I think I first saw him at a StuckOnSalsa social at a place called Avenue Night Club in December 2005, and he carried himself like a local celebrity already. I don’t think his standing here has changed unless possibly for the better.

There were several other people whose names I received, but it’s too difficult to remember so many names at once. The only other name I still remember for sure is Ben; it helps that it’s a guy (too many new girl names) and an unusually short and distinctive looking one to boot. I’m not sure but I think there were a lot more men (compared to women) who attended both the Saturday event and tonight’s party.

It was amusing to see that it was the mid-level followers who were being cliquey or unwilling to dance with strangers. There’s nothing new here except it was amusing to see it time after time. It’s universal – Cambridge had and has followers who would throw themselves at me for a dance but would turn their nose at not-so-good or new unproven leaders; I like dancing with some of those followers but not all – even if I dance with all willing. I had fun trying to match people from here with people I know back in Cambridge or London. There is nothing much to be done about their insecurities of their dancing abilities – I did end up rolling my eyes a few times at some of the more blatant examples, however.

I find it interesting to see how tonight compared to Clarendon Grill three years ago. What tonight confirmed to me is that Clarendon Grill Mondays is still the best DC weekly night and can be better than some of the special events too. For the Londoners, I would say Clarendon Grill is similar in calibre to Bar Salsa Mondays except somewhat smaller and with earlier hours (dancing starts at 9 and ends at 1).

DC Dance Collective Monthy Social

December 27, 2008

Several days ago - much nicer airplane trip compared to last time; among other things I was bumped up. Today - much nicer birthday compared to last year. The fact that it was celebrated outside a hospital was a definite plus, and I had my first cake in decades.

I did not have this event on my list of venues to visit until this afternoon. I was intrigued by the advertised closing time of 2 AM as well as a separate room for non-Salsa/Cha Cha. The location seemed fairly convenient as well. One or two of the people who made reservation via the meetup group made me think it might be worthwhile. Mostly I was getting a little bored so I decided to give it a try.

How was it? It was okay, not exactly great. The venue felt a bit warm. Floor was rather slow. It was oblong and reasonably spacious but not especially airy and smaller than every other DC venues I have seen in the past. The setting was a mirrored studio rather than a bar or a club. There was no chance of random person walking in. The music volume was fairly low although some people were wearing earplugs anyway.

The musical choice seemed unnecessarily highbrow (or obscure) and restrictive; it was arguably more challenging than in most congress nights I’ve attended and seemingly not really being utilized by most dancers. I think there were two DJs, but they were not distinguishable. Well-known classics from any period were mostly absent; the only songs I knew by title were Ajiaco Caliente by Eddie Palmieri, Mi Desengano by Roberto Roena, and Perla Fina by Monguito, and I would consider Perla Fina as at best an obscure classic. There was nothing Colombian or Venezuelan (never mind Timba, Son, etc), nothing from the 1990s or 2000s and nothing from the 1950s, no Romantica, and I don't remember any Charanga being played either. Pretty much everything sounded the same aside from a handful of somewhat smoother big-band jazz-like tunes. There were plenty of transitions, breaks and solos. Melody was driven pretty much by horns and occasional tres/cuatro only (trumpets mostly and very little trombone or sax, no vibraphones and very little violins and flute if at all, and piano was usually not prominent). At least not everything was fast, but it was quite monotonous. I would say that playing NYC Salsa CDs vol 1, 2, 3 straight through minus one or two better-known tracks would have achieved a similar effect as the selections tonight.

Dancing was again okay but nothing to write home about. There were too many dances where I felt my partner was not on the beat; music might be partly to blame. Good connections came by infrequently - too infrequent that good ones felt more like a relief more than anything else. I did not get to dance with everyone I asked – probably the new guy factor for the mid-level followers in the scene. Meanwhile I now wonder if some people appreciated that I danced with them period rather than because they thought I gave them a particularly good dance. I never really built much momentum. I had one repeat dance – with an improver-level follower who at least seemed to be able to stay on time most of the time. Slightly over quarter of the dances were On2.

This evening did nothing to change my assessment of the DC scene from previous years. I might add that it feels like old scene on a down cycle – the same down cycle I’ve seen for few years now. I suspect that if I were to live here, I would quickly settle down to a fairly low frequency of going out.

The Real Final UK Post of 2008

December 21, 2008

As I was driving down Hills Road, I realized that I was still wearing my glasses. Hmm. I wasn’t in such a hurry that I could not have put my contact lens on. Now where is it? Right pocket. No. Left pocket. No. Hmm. I checked again after parking the car. They are nowhere to be seen. Uh oh. Do I still go? Should I stay or should I go?

I’m not sure if I had gone dancing without them. I must have. There was one time when I was going somewhere and realized that I had contact lens in only one of my eyes. Or was it for football? I don’t know. If it happened before, it was a long time ago. What the heck. I’ll do without them and see what happens. A big surprise, no?

I think one of the bigger issues was spotting potential partners. Dancing and leading was not much of a problem especially after a dance or two. Possibly the first few were made worse by me telling my partners that I was not fully competent in the vision department. I think Steph’s vision is worse than mine, and she seems to do okay flying blind.

It turned out to be a rather weak night – quite thin in the middle and very short on follower’s side. Robin was there, and he asked if this was typical. My answer was that the crowding on the dance floor seemed about normal but that there were not as many people milling around on the carpet. I should have added that the shortage of followers was a little unusual.

Amir and Helen were both there. Amir said he was now done as DJ. When pressed further, he elaborated that he’s moving to New Zealand (for one year?). He says he probably will teach there. Oh well. He was one of maybe half dozen regular SOS guys I was friendly with – in fact he was one of the nicer ones even among them. Another one goes before me. Dang. I just realized that I did not even wish him good luck in person.

In the end I would rate this one at just around 50th percentile – maybe a little lower. On1 to On2 split was about half and half. On2 followers were slightly better on average, but I wouldn’t say that the On1/On2 split really affects how I rate the night. Dancing mood was often on the silly side. I think I confused at least one follower with some irregular movements rather than amusing her – which is the more common effect.

A minor concern comes to my mind. I’m finding I often have difficulty having mutually satisfactory dances on consistent basis with infrequent repeat partners, which is vast majority of people at SOS (and less of a problem with Cambridge regulars). Perhaps only about dozen followers are consistently reliable even if not necessarily spectacular. With many, it’s hit or miss. This seems to be less of a problem with first-time partners because there’s a built-in excuse with those. However, I seem to derive better hitting average with the very first dances rather than repeat ones. Usually good second and third dances follow the first good dance. The problem is keeping it up after two or three. After more than half dozen dances, I sometimes can keep it consistent with some of the people. I wonder if a big part of the problem is that I often try to change how I dance all the time. Sometimes I’m making things a lot more complex with familiar partners when they are not ready and perhaps will never be ready for it. Sometimes I may err on the side of not making things challenging enough for the follower (whether I think it is warranted or not). It’s a conundrum. If someone likes the thrill of extra spin or difficulty, etc too much, it often leads to a war of escalation. It’s nice to see people react positively to something new I try, but the novelty will fade quickly. At some point, it all becomes too much and my threshold high frequency or intensity of difficult moves is not that high – never mind that my intense is too much for a large number of followers anyway. Striking a balance is difficult. Reading follower’s mind to see what she prefers is difficult. Even if you can read minds, having the ability or the will to execute whatever is needed to satisfy may not be there. Blah blah blah.

Hmm. How did I get into such a lengthy digression? That’s because I missed the 11:15 train back to Cambridge. I didn’t dance to the last song, but I took a too leisurely pace back to Kings Cross. When I realized that the time was 11:14 as I neared the end of the underground pass leading to Kings Cross and started running, I knew that I was in trouble. The train door closed with me but 10 meters away. That means an extra hour added to the return trip. Heck. We’re just getting past Hertford North station right now!

On a slightly different but related topic, how many people would I feel comfortable asking for more than three dances night after night without fear of boredom or exhaustion? Right now, maybe three or possibly four. Perhaps add two more from the years past. By the way, I usually don’t ask them too many times nowadays because I don’t want to get too used dependent on them; especially since both they and I are transients. I’m all for trying to expand that list, but I don’t think that is likely to happen among Londoners anytime soon.

For those who might have been working on their arithmetic, this is indeed one more post than promised last week. The answer is that I had forgotten about the Moe Flex event. Amusing – because that one probably turned out to be the most remarkable of the last set of 2008 UK posts.

The Immortal Moe Flex at CS

December 20, 2008

I arrived around 9:40. I think the classes might not been going very far because they were doing some footwork. This was followed by a short break followed by partner work. Hmm. Maybe that break meant that there was considerable action before I got there too.

Ivan arrived shortly after me. He has been super busy with his new job – the first year was always going to require most amount of preparation time. He talked about the Salsa team and his perception on how its absence had affected the Cambridge scene. It sounded like he hasn’t given up on dancing or Salsa for that matter.

Vish started off the party playing song seemingly designed to please more hardcore Salsa people – arguably favoring LA/NY types. Does Ven Devorame Otra Vez (Lalo Rodriguez) or Castigala (Los Nemus Del Pacifico) qualify? Vish certainly was picking nice pleasant songs rather than trying to come up with challenges and overdose on excitement.

I was spending more time dancing with people I associate with the Cuban crowd – like Cristelle and Sadia (although they seem perfectly fine dancing non-Cuban with me – as matter of fact, I like dancing with most of the good “Cuban-first” followers here in Cambridge). It seemed like there wasn’t very many of the people I think of as hard-core Cuban leaders; are they less willing to show up to the “bigger” or more “general” events? I was amused to see Moe dancing essentially slot style (but without being too strict about the slot) with Cuban followers later in the evening.

The first break of sorts happened as the social dancing was interrupted with an announcement for the Mashi Foundation charity, for which this event was held. Then started a series Moe Flex™ party dances, which Sally, Lindsey and Nicola trio excitedly joined. I decided to videotape this one (hint hint).

There was a fairly long sequence of Salsa-free songs. I think it started right after the party dances with a Reggaeton-fest by Vish. Moe was at the DJ booth next asking whether to go with more Reggaeton (not much noise) or Salsa (big noise for assent). I think not a few of the Salsa fans were disappointed by decidedly Cuban Salsa getting played next. Ivan and Jane had been gone for a while. Sally trio left shortly thereafter; I had only danced with Nicola between all of them (Sally photographed it).

So at this point, I was thinking that the party for me was more or less over. I had a bit more dances than I had on Friday. I also had fairly large number of no thank you to my dance requests – at least by recent standards here and elsewhere. I was mistaken.

…running out of time for now so this will be continued later…

Random bit: It took me a while to realize who Cristelle’s companion was.

...continued...

Moe announced that DJ Shorty was up next. Even though Moe had said there was be Mambo later, I wasn’t expecting much. Imagine my surprise when I heard vibraphones and the melody to Muneca. I smiled in amusement. Towards the end of the song, I walked over to the DJ booth and asked her whose rendition this was. Son Boricua. Of course – presumably from their 60s album.

Gotas De Lluvia by El Gran Combo was next – I danced to it. This might have been with Anna, who came in quite late in the evening. This was followed by the unauthorized remix of Ojos Chinos also by El Gran Combo. I decided to tease her about her playing three Puerto Rican tracks in a row to start off. She replied, “Good music is good music.” Either that or something to same effect.

Some Cuban stuff came on later as well, but also on later were No Ha Sido Facil (Monchy & Alexandra) and La Llave (Grupo Latin Vibe). I danced with Shorty (I wonder what her real name is – no one seems to know) to Otra Oportunidad (Jimmy Bosch). She probably would have finished off with Sun Sun Babae (Tito Rodriguez Jr – she has the Eclipse CD, which I had been wanting for some time. I don’t know if this is the version with too many breaks), but Vish switched the songs while she was dancing with me. About half the songs she played could easily have come from me.

How late was it then? 2:30? I’m not completely sure. I am unsure when the singing started. I think it was after DJ Shorty was done with her set, but I also remember talking to her during the singing and she was inside the DJ booth then. For both of us, it was only tonight where we figured out the identity of the second singer at the X-mas party.

Incidentally there were two singers tonight as well. One of the girls working behind the bar decided to sing impromtu before the main act. It was a Christmas song, which she sang again later. A first for Club Salsa – the encore by Vishal’s songbird led to a few couple dancing Salsa while she sang with pre-recorded accompaniment music. Who ever thought dancing Salsa to live music at Club Salsa was possible?

Moe Flex started another party song around this time - this one involved a Conga line.

More Reggaeton. Some belly dancing. A lot of nondescript non-Salsa songs. It went on and on and on. Around 3:30, big hands X came down and presumably left locking the entrance. It was now essentially a private party. The players were Vish, Moe, Bulbul, Shorty, Abbe (was behind the bar), Belly dancer (was behind the bar), Syed (still behind the bar), a lanky white guy with sharp movements, Vish’s songbird, a friend of Syed, and one seemingly random straggler.

Normally I would consider myself to be on the outermost fringe in this type of setting. Not so much tonight. I still was more of an observer at times, but I would have to cast myself in a role of a supporting character with a name rather than a number. Hmm. Seven if a number must be used. I danced sporadically over a long time. Some of them were even danced On2. More proper Latin dances were with Shorty and other random dances were with Vish’s songbird. Nothing significant here – I was not the main dance partner for either of them during this late hours.

By the way, Evil Ways (Cal Tjader) speeded up by 16% is too much. Maybe try 8% next time if I really want to make it faster. I was inspired to play this because Vish played a Santana song prior to it (but not right afterwards at his insistence).

Syed was getting desperate to leave. He came to me to beg me to put on a final song. I told him I will do what I can. Moe had already arranged for the next song. I previewed Moe’s song and found that it could work as a last song of the night. When the other song ended. I turned on the microphone and said, “This could be the last song of the night. Syed says he really wants to go home.” Others started protesting while Moe was trying to get his song to be played – which was my intent in any case so no conflict there. In any case it was not the last song of the night.

I wondered for a while how this kept going. I think the easy answer is that Vish was more than happy to keep it going while the guest of honor (in this case Moe Flex – he of iron constitution) was willing to stay. Some people were stuck – waiting for Syed. I probably would have left except I was curious to see how this would end. The fact that DJ Shorty was still there made it easier – if another Salsa or such came on, I would be quite happy to ask her for a dance; she’s liable to ask me for rain check if she’s out of breath, etc but she also seem quite open to dancing with me multiple times on a same night. As for others, I can only guess their reasons for staying and I am not going to share my guesses.

Syed eventually managed to take his leave – taking with him a girl friend of his as well as Bulbul. Belly dancer and the skinny white guy eventually left as well. Eventually Vishal’s songbird decided to crash after too much alcohol. Vish was quite drunk as well. The remainder of the main group (now Moe, Shorty, Abbe – there was one outsider whose purpose escapes me) seemed to be in fine shape. I was feeling a slight effect of a Sambucca shot earlier but it wore off fairly soon. Now it was around 5 AM.

I went upstairs to find it completely dark; it only dawned upon me then that the door must have been locked for some hours now. When I returned downstairs, I saw that Vishal had put on another Salsa. Shorty had moved her considerable baggage (consisting of among other things four CD cases and a headphone) and had changed her shoes, but she was still willing to dance.

Moe put on a Cuban track with a possibly religious tinted intro. Here he finally danced with Shorty for what I perceived to be the first time all night. This was a bit different from other dances I saw (or more appropriately ignored) all night. I happened to glance at the mixer board after they had been dancing for some time, and I saw that there were still over 8 minutes of song left. Shortly thereafter Moe faded the song out – apparently it’s a 12-plus minute song. It made me remember the time I played a 16-plus minute song at the end of one party.

So it was well after 5 AM when the four of us escaped from Vish, who seemed quite reluctant to let us go still – under the pretext of getting Moe well taken care of. The mystery guy was still around – still aimless and still not in a hurry to go anywhere. I don’t think Vish was going to be going home anytime soon – he was too hammered. My car clock said 5:25 when its engines were started.

Winding Down

December 19, 2008

Already the memory is slipping away, and conjuring images have become a mighty struggle. Even when summoned I wonder about the veracity of the glimpses. Regrets haunt although deep down I know it’s all for nought. I curse at Alberich for he was not able to keep the gold for long; it was not a big prize in the first place. I will wait but I think it will all be nothing but a scrap like yesterday’s newspaper.

Quiet night. Christmas approaches. No Joe. Just Kafe, Dan and Vish along with piles of shoes. I had a fair bit of free time so I ended up there shortly before 9. The first hour was not complete yet. I shuttled back and forth between beginner and improver classes. Vish decided to take helm at the DJ booth first. His tendency alas was to choose consistently faster or more difficult songs. I wonder if I am partially to blame. I thought Sally was affected to different but similar effects recently.

Aside from the people at the lessons, other attendees could be summarized as Jane and Richard, Ian plus one, Laura, half dozen regulars dancing frequently or otherwise, nanny group, army group, David and a small gang, a group from work, and a lone improver from thin air. The search for followers who stay on beat was the game again; it has been difficult enough on some recent dates.

Playlist

Mandali – Africando (1)

break

Comerciante De Amor – Cheo Feliciano*
Volver Volver – Grupo Gale
Con Eso – El Gran Combo
Mentirosa – Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz
Che Che – New Swing Sextet (2)
Oiga Mire Vea – Guayacan Orquesta
El Negrito De Batey – Direct Latin Influence
Senora – Domenic Marte
Cuando Te Vea – Bobby Valentin (from Rey Del Bajo)
Mi Mujer Es Una Bomba – Oscar D’Leon
Swing La Moderna – Ray Barretto
Vampira – Rey Reyes
Cali Aji – Grupo Niche (-5%)
Guayacan Pasodobles – Guayacan Orquesta (scratched section removed)
Quiero Enamorarte – Marco Ferretti
Satin Lace – Willie Rosario* (3)
Como Lo Hacen – Tommy Olivencia (canta: Frankie Ruiz)
El Cantante – Marc Anthony
La Fruta Bomba – Fruko Y Sus Tesos (-5%)
Sin Negro No Guaguanco – Lebron Brothers
Si Tu Te Vas – Juan Luis Guerra
Mami – Pablo Bachata
Tu No Me Has Visto Miguel – Javier Vazquez (labelled Sonora Matancera) (4)
Ave Maria Lola – Sonora Carruseles
Cali Pachanguero – Galileo Y Su Banda

(1) Second song of the social when I thought I was going to start off as the DJ. Vish took over again, however.
(2) I think I had a dance with Ian’s plus one.
(3) A dance with Jane.
(4) I tried to dance to this one. I don’t remember if I was successful – probably no. Oh wait. I did.

Total = 26 songs. 3 Merengue or Merengue-like. 3 Bachata. 20 Salsa including 2 new.

The army group and the work group were the last to remain. David returned as I was leaving.

Let’s see if Moe Flex brings any magic tomorrow night. I think I’ll have nothing better to do.

Pure Salsa X-Mas Party

December 15, 2008

Slepe Hall seemed to have nicer décor compared to LeL. There was food, large number of people taking lessons, a dance competition looking for entertainment value and judged by a foursome (of Jay, Nicola, Lindsey and probably Charlotte), a birthday dance and social dancing session to around 11:15. I had a dance with the lady of a nice older couple I have seen many times in Cambridge. I also danced once with Charlotte.

LDA X-Mas Party 2008

December 13, 2008

Heavy rain and potentially confusing roads to navigate through Camden Town worried me a little as I started my drive around 9:30 PM. What I did not anticipate was that M11 southbound would be closed between Stansted and Harlow for reasons unexplained. It was not at all clear which route if any was being suggested as an alternate route.

Usually with planned road closures (and these are truly ubiquitous in all of the UK), road signs for diversions are given. They are meandering, but they get you where you need to go eventually. With no obvious signs and no map, I first went down B1256 thinking A120 towards Stansted definitely was not the answer. That got me back to A120 after about 15 minutes and me ending up where I started after 5 minutes or so.

Next I went around in circles about 5 times in the original roundabout looking desperately for diversion signs. There were none. I stopped for about a minute to gather my thoughts. I decided that A10 would get me to London somehow so I headed west. In the next roundabout, I finally spotted a diversion sign leading me to Bishops Stortford. After a few miles, however, I lost the sign again and was merely heading west towards A10.

Eventually I hit A10 and took it all the way down past North Circular. It was slow, but it was okay until I hit that confusing intersection at the Roundway – I always end up taking the turn to right; I must have done this now four or five times. That led me to small roads with me looking for a way to get me back to familiar roads.

I finally breathed a sigh of relief as I turned onto Seven Sisters Road at the Manor House underground junction. Things were fine afterwards even though I had to alter my routes two more times – at least I had contingency plan in hand prepared before departing. Even finding parking was easy thanks to the Google satellite map. The M11 closure on the other hand was simply ridiculous. It was as if this country was telling the motorists to go **** themselves.

I don’t know if M11 is worse than the average UK motorway, but planned late night closures of the entire northbound M11 from Bishops Stortford (exit 8) to Duxford/A505 (exit 10) lasting well over 15 miles are very common. I think I have noticed it about dozen times this year alone. Even with good diversion signs, it means the travel time is essentially doubled. So during “normal” hours, your travels are liable to be delayed due to heavy traffic while during “off” hours, road closures are the biggest risks.

Anyhow it meant I didn’t get to Kajima Centre (new digs for LDA extension) until 11:20 PM. I’m thinking I lost 30-50 minutes because of M11 closure. On the return trip, I noticed that M11 was open again going southbound although there was a small stretch where two of the lanes were closed off. The road system here is another thing I won’t miss about the UK.

So what about Salsa? LDA X-mas Party 2008 was a social – in a dancehall setting rather than club setting. It was like SOS with fewer flashy dancers and more beginners. It was also quite steamy, and the dozen or so fans scattered around the room was certainly welcome. I regretted wearing a trouser with thick fabric. About half of my dances were On2. Perhaps half of the better dances were with complete strangers. One Cha Cha was one of the more fun ones in past couple of months. I would characterize the evening as workman-like - nothing particularly memorable.

Principal DJs while I was there were Mario and (I think) Del Salereo. Mario played mostly easy music whereas Del seemed to try to up the tempo a fair bit. There was a performance by Shaan and Aiste – same one from the one in Athens I caught on youtube. There was a birthday dance for Mario and two girls. Mario was still wearing a cast to his left hand. Susana was still wearing braces on her right ankle, but she didn’t seem to be limping as badly as she did in Athens. Other people I noted included Andrew, Sean, James and Maria (?) from Drill Hall. Dennis was minding the entry table when I entered. I didn’t remember many others from my LDA class days – maybe one from my level and two from one level below.

Home around 3:30 AM. One down, three to go.

p.s. (1) I think I have a diagnosis for the shoe problem. I think with the new pair, all the weight is squarely placed on a small area on the balls of my feet. With the old pair and with more flexible soles, the weight was distributed onto a larger area. (2) I have been working on a manuever to lead follower to walk around me in counterclockwise manner going forward (after cross body lead, etc) with mixed results. Probably the best one was done with a beginner/improver on my first try! I'd really like to get it polished before the end of the year.

Dancing at 10% (or make it 5%?)

December 12, 2008

The state of economy has crept even into an announcement wishing for happy holidays by Joe. I suppose everything is tanking including the British pound. Oh well. I suppose the point of living abroad here in the UK was never about financial gain. I think I know just about enough to get nowhere with these things.

Slow night. Probably it has something to do with the year winding down. I will be here for another ten days or so before heading to the States for three weeks. That should be good for perhaps four more posts from the UK this year. As for the posts from the States – who knows for sure? Probably a few from the DC area and maybe I finally will make it to NYC – although the schedule is less favorable than last year. As long as I avoid hospitalization...

I ended up dancing with a lot of beginners tonight. Arguably the first was the best – someone with a very interesting combination of tension and frame although primitive but still leading to an excellent lead-follow connection as well as crisp steps on beat, which is quite atypical and requires a good ear. Usually dances with beginners end up being akin to letting them go through a limited set of exercise, but this one felt like a real dance and rather exciting perhaps because it was slightly precarious. Being able to predict how and when my partner will step on which foot on which beat is so nice, and being able to have her achieve a sensation of being able to leap tall buildings in a single bound especially for the first time can be priceless. Conversely having so-thought “experienced” followers, who often end up on wrong foot and off time with easy music, can be really disappointing.

I’m guessing the teaching team tonight was Joe, Dan, Kafe, Jane and Vish. Johnny, Steve, Natalia, Robin etc were there early, but Natalia and Steve did not stay very long. Richard and Phyllis arrived afterwards and stayed a little while. The expressive couple was back after a lengthy absence. Anna and finally Demetrios arrived even later. Vish did not stay long at all. He made a small move to replace Joe at the DJ booth but seemed more than happy to get me to go first instead. In fact, he left for home quite early – maybe less than one third way through my set, which lasted until slightly after 2 AM.

Playlist

Salsa Y Control – Isidro Infante
Mambo – Cachao (1)
Caballero Y Dama – Celia Cruz & Willie Chirino
Barranquillero Arrebatao – Fruko Y Sus Tesos
La Cura – Frankie Ruiz (2)
El Hijo De Obatala – Ray Barretto* (-10%) (3)
Me Enamorado De Ella – Juan Luis Guerra (4)
Te Extrano – Extreme
Ritmo Tambo Y Flores – Javier Vazquez (labeled Sonora Matancera in my CD) (5)
Prende El Fogon – Sonora Poncena*
Me Voy Pa Cali – Oscar D’Leon (6)
Ay Amor Cuando Hablan Las Miradas – Orquesta Guayacan
Ponme El Alcolado Juana – El Gran Combo*
Valio La Pena – Marc Anthony
Woman De Callao – Juan Luis Guerra
Perdios – Monchy & Alexandra
Chango Ta Beni – German Villarreal
Cao Cao Mani Picao – Tito Puente (w/ Vincentico Valdez)
Yerbero Moderno – Celia Cruz* (7)
Ken Moussoul Guis Li – Africando
Lejos De Ti – Son Boricua
Diamoule Mawo – Laba Sosseh
La Novela – Fulanito (8)
Pobre Mendigo – Toque D Keda
Isla Del Encanto – Orquesta Broadway (9)
Bailemos Otra Vez – Jose Alberto “El Canario”* (-5%)
Bilongo – Eddie Palmieri
Descarga Lebron – Lebron Brothers (-8%) (10)
La-La-La – Direct Latin Influence (11)
Lamento Boliviano – Toque De Keda
Contigo - Cache

(1) Joe stayed for one dance (Salsa Y Control). He seemed amused by this choice.
(2) Vish was buttering me up already – possibly making his getaway plans.
(3) I had not realized I never played this song before until writing this post. This song was played by Cristian last week at -5%, and Vish stopped by to rave about the song. I think Vish recognized that this was the same song as last week a little more than half-way through.
(4) More buttering job.
(5) I think this is where Vish talked me into playing until 2 AM.
(6) Party pooper?
(7) I wasn’t sure if I had played this before. I had not. I guess this could be considered a bookend to the 50s music. The six song sequence from Chango Ta Beni to Diamoule Mawo with this song in the middle was written up while I was playing Woman De Callao and Perdios.
(8) This was designed so that I would only play about half of the song. Good call.
(9) Here began a sequence of songs I kept changing in order to get a particular dance I wanted. I never got that specific dance. It made for an unusual finish.
(10) I danced to this one.
(11) This song was on-deck for a few songs before finally getting played. It could easily have been the last song given that it ended at 2 AM. Bulbul called for 2 more songs.

Total = 31 songs. 3 Merengue. 4 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha new. 23 Salsa including 4 new.

I never got around to asking either Jane or Sharon tonight. I waited too long and then Vish left earlier than expected. I danced with Sharon’s friend – not especially remarkable except it was possibly for the first time socially and it probably was a bit overdue. Perhaps it says something about getting used to not asking someone for a dance – too many examples to tell.

A Legendary X-mas Party at CS

December 5, 2008

Six invited performers – Danie, Andrea, Sam, James, Sean, Solvita. No offence meant but I wasn’t particularly interested in the performances tonight – which really is saying nothing given the only CS showcase I had even a mild interest in watching this year was the one by Nelson Flores and Veronica Castilla. However, I was looking forward to seeing and dancing with Andrea, who was my favorite partner by far this summer in Cambridge. I also thought the chance of Polly being there was high.

As I neared home to eat dinner before heading to CS, I spotted a slew of flashing lights emitted by several police vehicles and ambulances. As I turned into my street, I saw a body covered in raingear of the type favored by police slumped on the middle of the main road at the intersection. I think he or she was seriously injured but perhaps not in a life-threatening manner given that it took them at least twenty or thirty minutes after I arrived home to get him or her into the ambulance for hospital. As I was leaving for CS, I saw a car parked in the middle of my side road at the junction with a police escort behind it and hindering my getaway. A guy was on the passenger seat, but the driver’s seat was empty.

I arrived at CS fairly early – 9:45 or so. By recent standards, the lessons must have started close to on time because the social started fairly soon afterwards. It looked like neither Vish nor Joe was taking part in teaching – at least for the second hour. The teaching team looked like Sean and Solvita, Dan and Kafe. I had eaten a little too much so I stood by the DJ booth digesting for quite some time and watching Sean dance with various ladies from the classes before venturing to dance.

I don’t quite remember whom I danced with first. I asked Solvita at some point before asking anyone else; she declined but found me much later in the evening leading to a make-up dance (which unfortunately was to a most bizarre song played all night). It might have been with Steph, in which case I would have had my first and second dance of the night with her. First one On1 and second one On2 as Joe started playing type of songs I prefer. Steph left early for a work at some university party.

I then occupied myself dancing with some complete beginners and some improvers as well as old acquaintances like Michelle and Natasha as more people started piling down. Among the guests included Sally, Lindsey, Nicola, Mark, Jane, Richard, Samantha, Johnny, Demetrios and “DJ Shorty.” Samantha said she had to call RAC in order to get here tonight; I opted not to tell her about the accident. Steve, Natalia, Gabriella, Raj, Robin arrived before me. Cristian and Louise arrived a bit later. Polly was the last to arrive. Most of them stayed quite a while, some until very late.

There were “four” performances altogether tonight. I only watched the first one by Danie, Andrea, Sam and James. However the word watched doesn’t really work because I wasn’t able to focus on the whole performance. This is possibly because I was too close to the action. It seemed like I was usually watching feet of one or two persons at a time or some other random body parts rather than the dance as a whole. This reminds me that symmetries and synchronicities are always issues with a performance done by more than one couple. In Salsa performance world I have seen, Tropical Gem of a couple of years ago was the best at doing this with machine-like precision with large number of participants. Some of the New York dance companies are quite good at doing this with two or three couples. I think Joe said Andrea Stewart did the choreography. The costumes for the girls looked lovely by the way.

As for the other performances, I was stuck behind a wall of people and had no energy to scrounge for a better view. Two of them had no dancing involved as far as I can tell – essentially karaoke. My old pal Nanak was responsible for the second song. Sean and Solveig can be said to have done two performances as well – one Bachata and one Salsa. I can’t comment more since I saw none of it.

Later Robin asked me if I liked Sean’s style of dancing. I think he meant social dancing. Up until that time, I had only seen him dance with ladies from the classes and only glimpses of it. So I watched him for maybe half minute or so (I think he was dancing with Polly at the time). I thought he was good although somewhat generic. At SOS or at congresses, he would certainly stand out as one of the better dancers. However, he would not have caught my eyes and draw my attention for 5 seconds unless I was watching his partner. In order for a lead to arouse my attention, I would have to know him fairly well or he would have to be quite extraordinary (the most recent example that comes to my mind is Mario B at the Scala – he was entertaining). At Athens for example, the only leads I watched for more than 5 second at a time were Andrew and Mario, both of whom I have known for a long time. I actually thought Mario looked off his game until I saw one of his hands in a cast next night. I might as well add that I’m the same person who referred to Eddie Torres as bland, and I have no interest in emulating or imitating anyone on the dance floor at this point in my life. For someone new at this (say around a year or so or less), getting inspired by someone else’s style or whatever seems a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Probably the most important thing in the long run is to work on improving fundamentals, however.

Joe went on DJing for a long time; I remember checking the time at 1:40 (I’m pretty sure it was 1:40 not 12:40). The thing is that at that time I still had not danced with everyone I wanted to dance with. So I avoided the DJ booth for a while until Cristian took over.

I ended up dancing multiples with several people. At one point, I thought Jane was going to leave before I got a chance to ask for even just one (and it had been a while since I danced with her too – Salsa Del Este might have been the last time!). I ended up dancing with her three times. I also danced at least three times with Andrea and Polly too. It was not too long ago when Andrea asked me for a dance as often as I asked her. She now counts on me to do all the asking; I don’t mind as long as she keeps dancing with me. Polly was great too – back to and beyond the form she had before her ankle surgery. Also available for a treble was Louise, who was absolutely delightful to dance with. All these repeat dances would not have happened except the party went on until past 3:30!

In terms of how long the dancing went on, it was not unlike being at a Congress. Definitely smaller, but the quality of dancing was really good. The percentage of On2 dances went up as night went along as well – with last several dances all ending up being On2. Unlike at a congress setting I had 3 beers tonight.

Towards the end of the evening, Louise, Nicola and Lindsey took over the DJ booth. Hilarity ensued. They played some good Salsa songs – Fuego En El 23 twice. It climaxed with them playing Mambo No 5 by Lou Bega (and getting Mohammed to shake to it) and following it up with Macarena. I think more than a few people decided to videotape it. Maybe it will live in infamy in youtube (but not by me).

I think this qualify as a night to remember - a le-wait-for-it-gendary night perhaps even without the usual same sex dance competition. Last time a CS party went strong so late was when Lee was here last (and it went longer tonight than then). It was probably the first Friday in a very long time where neither Vish nor I played any songs.

Athens, Part 2

At the time of initial posting, my mind was like a scrambled egg. I thought I really should edit the entire post with a clearer head, but I thought there was not much risk in posting an early draft for friends. Wrong.

November 29, 2008

Search for a perfect souvlaki / gyros

Typical map of Athens does not tell the whole story for those on foot. What looks like a short cut can often turn out to be worth very little. This is because Athens is full of steep hills. Instead of doing the usual touristy things, I opted to go in search of a Souvlaki shop called Paliakis in what turned out to be very hilly area called Mets.

For tourists who want to make a trek to this shop, start from the old Panathenaic Olympic Stadium circa 1896. Walk past it on either its left or right – climb a long flight of stairs and then go further uphill to a small green oasis of Varnava Square. Hidden behind some trees are the sign for Paliakis (written in Greek only). It looks like nothing but a quickie Souvlaki take-away joint (not unlike a Kebab joint) with no seating.

I enjoyed their Gyros (or Souvlaki sandwich in tourist-only slang - see here, here and here for discussion on Souvlaki), and downed them with Coca Cola. I had one pork gyro and one chicken gyro costing 2 euros or less each. I wouldn’t call it a destination for typical tourists, but I’m a sucker for the native experience – a jaunt away from the beaten path even in the rain.

I brought an umbrella with me after a lesson well learned from Hamburg. While it was never pouring like it did in Hamburg, it was nice to have around. Less well-planned was the decision to carry my laptop around with a silly idea that I might wander over to Syntagma Square to take advantage of free public wireless internet access. It was compounded by the choice to wear a overcoat – it is considerably warmer in Athens compared to the UK.

After a detour through National Gardens and not quite making it to the Temple of the Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch, I dropped off my laptop back at the hotel and changed to a lighter jacket before heading up the Acropolis.

Acropolis

By the time I hit the trail towards Acropolis, it was already past 3:30 PM. Steady light rain seemed to have kept pedestrian traffic to minimum. The ticketing agent said I had plenty of time left and that it took only 45 minutes to see all of Acropolis. I took time going up the hill past the Amphitheatre of Dionysius and up the Propylaea via the Erechtheion to the top of Acropolis where the remains of Parthenon and Temple of Athene Nike stood. It was empty save a few buildings and maybe fifty people milling about.

All around Acropolis human dwellings packed the surrounding area to distant mountains save some parks and steep hills. I wondered what a time traveller from ancient Athens would make of the vast area covered with buildings. I tried to imagine where the ancient walls would have stood from which old citizens of Athens watched Spartans burn the fields of plains of Attica during the Peloponnesian War. I tried to look to the sea and Piraeus and find the wall between the port of Piraeus and Athens.

Perhaps half of the tourists seemed more interested in the sights of modern Athens from up high more than few derelict buildings with far-from-complete restoration job. The replacement blocks of marble were cut smooth on the outside, but the facing inside marbles were smooth round like massive pebbles. I would venture to guess that ancient Athenians did not believe in keeping things looking natural or primitive inside their monuments and places of their mysteries and worship while making great efforts at grandiosity on the outside.

I found it quite unnerving to go near the edge. Perhaps the light wind made it worse. I was reminded of all the times I would go mountain climbing while avoiding looking down. Heck, it makes me nervous to watch other people go near the edge. At least the rain had now stopped.

My camera battery failed while I tried to take a photo of the Parthenon. I was surprised because I had fully charged it just before the trip and I had taken maybe 20-30 photos at most up until that point. The back-up battery was left behind at the hotel so it meant more watching and less picture taking. I probably stared at the better-preserved inner friezes of Parthenon than I would have otherwise.

I ambled back via the Eastern slopes as the attendants were eagerly trying to get the small number of tourists walking about despite less than ideal weather. I also stopped by briefly at the New Acropolis Musuem with its sneak peek exhibits open before the official opening in March of 2008. This museum is on a block right next to Herodion Hotel.

Back at the hotel I was amused to find Gossip Girl on one of the channels. I think it must have been the Christmas episode from season 1. Sometimes I find the supposedly evil nasty characters on television irresistible. Count Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass from GG as some recent examples. Ditto Greg House.

For dinner, I decided to try the places near Syntagma with a hope that I might be able to find free internet access at or near the restaurant. First I checked Japanese and Korean restaurants near each other. The Japanese Furin Kazan (Apollonos) had received an indirect positive review at Athens Survival Guide. It looked okay, but I decided that I really wasn’t in the mood for Japanese. As for Korean restaurant called Dosirak (Voulis), it came nowhere close to a passing grade for a proper dinner spot. Maybe lunch would have been okay.

Next I went back to the Greek option. Paradosiako at the corner of Voulis and Nikodimou was about to close, and the proprietor directed me to a sister chain nearby, which was my backup option anyway. The sister branch Oinomagerio Paradosiako (next door to Furin Kazan) in fact is supposedly run by the son and daughter of the original restaurant. As a matter of fact the proprietor from the first restaurant arrived during my dinner to say hello to her daughter and maybe help out a bit. I had cod fillet (it looked deep fried) and a potato salad. It was as good Greek cuisine – home cooking style. Part 1 of the Athens entry was posted here.

Saturday Social

I diverted myself on the long tram ride by reading a book. I did end up walking from one station to the next in order to catch a faster connection. About an hour later shortly after midnight I entered the venue as they announced the start of Ye Mambo performance. Yamulee was next after I checked my coat and found a seat, but perhaps I was still not settled enough and they made no impression on me.

I guess the first performance I really paid attention to was the Tropical Gem, who was up next. Disaster. They went contemporary/modern/artsy/whatever on us - pretentious boring bullshit. The intro was especially painful – spoken clichéd word only. For whatever its worth, I have seen them three times before, and they were extremely fun to watch then.

Eddie Torres was next. I find him a bit bland although certainly very graceful as a performer. I adore his music selections – they are consistently outstanding. It got me on my feet and when I saw a stream of people starting to flood the main floor, I eagerly joined them excited. For me choosing the right music is half the battle – preferably just one song rather than some mix stitched together.

Last was the Swing Guys. I’m beyond the stage of being bored with them so that I can now tolerate them more than I did a performance or two ago. They might have changed some minor choreography in the middle but it is still the same one with the bicycle intro.

Se Me Fue, Me Libere, El Menu, Brujeria, Vagabundo, Ojos Chinos (?), Timbalero (finale), Fiesta Del Pilito (encore) were some of the songs El Gran Combo played. I didn’t recogize the sole Cha Cha, but I ended up dancing with the same adorable Greek girl I also danced Cha Cha to New Swing Sextet last night. I failed to recognize maybe 2 or 3 of the songs at most. The band was good, but I thought things got a bit formulaic after a while. They would start with a short intro then get into chorus and stay there for a while before finishing. After a while, everything to me sounded the same.

I think it took me a full hour to recover from the band hangover. Actually things were uneven until Fiesta Del Pilito, where I hit one of the two lowest points of the night (with someone I had an okay dance with the night before). Things remained uneven for next hour before I hit another low point – this time with someone I have had good dances with three times in Germany and again last night.

Finally two fun dances in a row put me back on the right track. One was with someone I danced with before – probably at Hamburg. She made me think of Edie but perhaps more provocative. I can’t tell you if she really liked dancing with me also, but she was at the very least very good at acting that way. I don’t know if such style of dancing can be maintained dancing with same person all night, but I wouldn’t have minded if she was willing. For whatever its worth, I did dance with her again maybe an hour later and it was just as good. Dances like these to me reinforce my opinion that there is nothing inherent superior about On2 compared to On1 or vice versa. It’s the dancer not the style dammit.

A rarity was multiple dances with strangers on a same night in a Congress setting. It happens but usually no more than with one or maybe two people. There were three tonight. That’s high considering that I would qualify this as a big Salsa congress and that I generally don’t dance more than once a night even with people I know well in Congress setting.

Valentyna was a most adorable and friendly Greek girl ever as well as a supremely pliant follower. After two Cha Cha in a row over two nights, I danced with her for two more Salsa. Despite protests of exhaustion and sore feet, she managed to dance anyway until the main room closed. In being the first stranger ever I made a decision to ask multiple times the next day (with a ready excuse that I wasn’t going to be around on Sunday). Maybe I can declare her the most memorable partner of this Congress or just another Congress chick to whom I lost a little bit of my heart and will never see again.

The third was Amanda. Two tonight. It was more or less planned. I might even call it a social experiment. Too bad it could not have been done double-blind. Based upon the first dance alone, I would not have asked her second time. However, the second dance was very good. I don’t know if the difference was a matter of getting used to each other or if her knowing who I was before the start of second dance had any effect.

On a related topic, I did not feed SM any chocolate.

Do I want to say anything about Jeans from Madrid? Or Plastico? Or about bad memory, misinformation or difficulty in communicating in noisy space? I think I'll leave it as a series of question.

The main room remained open until past 5 AM. By then I was quite tired and was with sore feet. I think my new shoes even after a breaking-in period remains to be a poor substitute for my old one. The only advantage of the new shoe over the old one is softer heel, which might make it slightly less painful to be kicked by it. I stayed to watch and videotape parts of the after party until around 7.

I had to run to catch the tram to Syntagma. There was not enough time to buy a ticket. On the same tram were Wesley and his Greek girlfriend. We passed a lot of time of chatting back to the hotel on the slow-moving tram and a <5 minute walk back to Herodion. Breakfast, shower then bed.

November 30, 2008

The pain, the pain

I couldn’t walk. No, not exactly. After all I walked a loop around Acropolis to catch a glimpse of the ancient Agora, the flea market, Monastiraki, near Syntagma and by the Temple of Olympian Zeus before returning to the hotel. It was merely quite painful to land on my right foot while walking. This is another first – after 7 Salsa congresses. It’s gotta be the shoes.

While in Monastiraki, I looked at the Souvlaki shops there – mainly Bairaktaris (a.k.a. Mpairaktaris?) and Thanasis right across the street. I think their rivalry might be not unlike the one between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. Bairaktaris probably dominates in sales figures due to all the structural advantages (more visibility, larger seating area, etc) while Thanasis appeared to be the underdog of choice for some of the guidebooks, taxi drivers, etc. I for one found neither appetizing. I was in a rush so I ended up having a gyro from Quick Pitta nearby instead. It was merely edible.

Epilogue (subtitle: now that wasn’t so smart, was it?)

I had gotten a mistaken impression that my flight was to depart at 7:20 PM rather than 8:20 PM. So I hurried and limped out of the hotel shortly after 4 PM thinking that Metro service to the airport on a Sunday might not be particularly reliable. Indeed between the time I arrived at the Syntagma station via Akropoli and the next train to the airport, there was nearly 30 minute wait – most of which I spent at Plakentias station four stops away from the airport.

Despite the delays on the Metro, I essentially arrived at the airport before my flight’s check-in was supposed to open. I was a bit chagrined. I could have taken a more leisurely stroll. I could have wandered around in the ancient Agora and maybe the Roman Agora rather than rushing past it. Passport check for leaving Athens took a bit longer compared to entering. The airport had free internet, but I didn’t have enough material written down for another post.

Once on the plane, I fell asleep for perhaps two-thirds of the flight. Too tired. Usually I would have trouble sleeping on the plane even if I tried. Maybe half dozen people from the UK contingent of the Salsa congress was on this flight, but I didn’t interact with them except for a few brief moments before boarding the flight.

The flight was supposed to land at 10:20. The coach to Cambridge was due to leave Luton Airport at 11:25 with next coach having a terrible schedule. So I knew that there was an element of risk in having chosen this itinerary. The flight arrived more or less on time, but the trouble started with a long delay in getting the mobile stairs ready to allow passengers to disembark.

Twenty minutes later a ridiculously long queue faced us as we climbed up from the landing strip to the airport terminal. The line stretched so that newly arriving passengers was thrust onto a middle of a very long queue with no end in sight on both sides. Probably more than half the people on our flight ended up cutting into the middle of the existing line because the alternative was to struggle past a throng of people occupying the other half of the corridor to get to actual end of the line – wherever that was.

It was either the longest queue I have ever been on for passport control or a close second. This is saying a lot because I find that these passport control queues are always poor – requiring 15 to 30 minutes most of the time. On the other hand, the other European cities have been much better for me whether it was Munich, Jerez, Madrid, Prague, Hamburg or Athens. I missed my coach by a solid 20 minutes.

What next? I knew that the next coach would not arrive for quite some time and would not get to Cambridge until early in the morning. Going to London central to catch the train would not have been any better. So eat something first. I unnecessarily used the internet to check the National Express schedule. Next coach was scheduled to leave at 2:55.

I took a fast-moving coach to Stansted while struggling with overheated bus. The waiting station at Stansted on the other hand was freezing cold. I finally got on the coach connection to Cambridge departing around 5 and arriving around 5:45 AM. At least this coach had a more reasonable if slightly cool temperature. There was no sign of taxi anywhere so I walked home breathing in cold air – a shock compared to mild Athens. Just like that the plan to rest on Sunday night to get a better handle on the week went down the chutes with nearly 6 hours added to the return trip. I think this night easily would rank as one my personal top-10 worst nights ever.

Did I mention I long to get out of this endless source for frustration I call England? I have been thinking periodically about whether leaving would be sensible no more than a month or two after arriving and more or less on yearly basis. I suppose I will look back on my times here fondly after a passage of time, but I do look forward to leaving.

December 2, 2008

After

Some loser on an internet forum found an early draft of this post, and he decided to copy and paste a segment of my posts. I think his editing skills are dubious at best, and it is a little unfortunate to have to live with unfinished and rough abridged draft of my writing floating in the internet away from my control.

Settling back to normal pace likely would take a few days. Next adventure through those doors will happen soon – maybe as early as tonight.