Like A Clockwork

March 15, 2009

Predictable, no? High probability became certainty with nothing on Friday. The only question was whether it was going to be three weeks in a row with a prospect of nothing happening in Cambridge. Now that it does not look like it will be nothing, possibility of such extreme action has diminished.

Train schedule? Awful. I did not check until around 4, so I did not know that I would be driving until then. Traffic was heavy but without congestion. Still the driving on M11 was a bit tense possibly made more so by the choice of music – A Gozar! Latin Grooves on Blue Note.

The usual routine. Fish and chips. No Tartar sauce tonight. A book this time – I’m still reading The Savage Detectives when I find time. Visit washroom for contact lens. Queue to pay 6 pound for entry while waiting for others looking for their student ID etc as the class wound down. Change shoes. Get up and walk around checking out the dancers before plunging in.

It was the same new DJ playing fine music as he did last month. If there was slowing down of music at any time, I did not notice it. I think some of the songs played included Ritmo Sabroso (Alfredo De La Fe & Fruko), Chango Ta Veni (German Villarreal), Mambo Is Here to Stay (Latin Giants of Jazz), Los Rumberos (Mark Dimond & Frankie Dante), Samba Malando (Felix Martinez – probably Duste remix), something by Tito Rodriguez from the El Doctor album.

I think I had about five really enjoyable On2 dances and maybe two quality On1 dances. Total number was about the same between the two. Several On1 were with beginners without good sense of timing and/or without clear stepping to the beats. I still don’t buy the argument that On2 is inherently better than On1 – I think the bigger factor is that a more experienced follower is more likely to be able to dance to either timing.

There were fewer people of the type I have been dancing regularly – whatever is meant by regularly. This meant I danced with several people I ask infrequently despite knowing their faces quite well; I started this after getting frustrated with a few too many unsteady or too-easily-confused partners. However dancing with such infrequent partners was not a problem at all, and all such dances seemed to go quite swimmingly. One even gave me a little applause at the end. On the other hand, there was another person who I did not know well but seemed to remember me as someone who she had a lot of difficulty following; she was the second person who made such comment to me this year. I guess I was that memorably bad! As for me, it must have been nothing remarkable because in both cases I did not remember dancing with them before.

Liam was there. He knew about the Club Salsa closing. Word travels fast. He told me to let him know next time I plan to go to SOS. He also raved about Watchmen. I told him that I found SOS underwhelming, but most of my better dances came after making that comment. My best guess is two weeks from now – meaning two more SOS trips before moving back to the States.