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).