Learning Salsa in Cambridge

Unending Epilogue 22

2011-05-18T04:12:00.002Z

May 2011

May 15

I suppose that the end result is I skipped DCDC featuring Magna Gopal for a Salsa evening at Johns Hopkins starring ... never mind. I don't regret my choice and decision, however.

I arrived around 6:30. The ratio of men to women quite skewed in favor of followers upon my arrival. Although the ratio evened out near the finish, I spent more time not dancing than dancing.

Still, I really enjoyed 6-9 of the dances tonight. I also had more On2 dances than On1. Dancing many times with same person was a pleasure I had missed since leaving Cambridge. I think I had plenty of workout - which may mean that I am simply out of shape, of course.

I thought this might be the end of Salsa Sundays (1st and 3rd Sundays) at the Homewood Campus for this term, but I was told that this event will continue through the summer. It would be interesting to see if how the attendance would be like. The one I danced with three times last month was here this time, but it sounded like she would be away for next 3 weeks or so.

An amusing tidbit was that everyone I talked to and learned about what they are doing are doing some biology-related studies. I guess that's what you get for being at Johns Hopkins.

Unending Epilogue 21

2011-04-28T02:45:00.000Z

April 2011

April 17

I had been considering making a trip to a Salsa event at Johns Hopkins University at the Homewood campus in Baltimore ever since January - in part because it would be so convenient to attend for me and in part because it would be a new place and a change of pace. It also cost nothing (no entry fee, etc). From mid-January to mid-May, the event is held on 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month. I finally made this trip today.

The last time I went Salsa dancing was in November last year. Thus this break lasted a little over 5 months.

A Facebook invitation by the DJ Jesus was the trigger. He said the beginner lessons should end around 6. I think it ended around 6:30 – a rough estimate because I was without a timekeeping device.

I sat out the first three songs - waited until the third song started to change my shoes. I wasn’t expecting to dance On2. I was quite surprised to find the first four of my dances to be On2. Then again, I knew three of the followers so it was not a big shocker – especially after the surprise On2 dance with a first-time partner.

The event had a feel of SOS in some ways - social as opposed to a club... also it's Sunday! The venue (Glass pavillion) was airy, and sunlight provided light for a great part of my time there. The floor was of even smooth stone surface - no big complaints.

It ended up being a nice mix of On1 and On2 dancing for me. I stayed until around 8:40, which was a bit later than I had expected originally. I had repeat dances with three followers – two asked me for a second, and I asked one for a third. Overall, I couldn’t have been more pleased with the way it went.

Life is busy. If things go well, I may go out dancing very seldom for foreseeable future - even though I had quite a good time this time out.

April 23

It seems I often end up eating my words when I reveal them to others these days. I went to DCDC this evening. So, I guess things are not going so well?

Perhaps... Perhaps not...

In any case, I won't try to predict my future Salsa patterns. Chances are pretty good that I will go out in May.

As for DCDC itself, it was very steamy. It took a while for me to start dancing because I was getting wet just standing. After a little while, I jumped in. It was fine, but I can't imagine doing this often if the conditions are like this. And, it's very hard to imagine it not being very crowded and very hot with Magna visiting next time.

Perhaps the most remarkable item of note I feel like adding is that I wore my contact lens for the first time in a very long time.

Unending Epilogue 20

2010-12-25T22:41:00.004Z

November 2010

I thought I only went out once in November. Checking my other diary, I see that I went out twice.

Nov 9 was a BD night. My diary entry was as follows.

I went to Barking Dog. It was rather quiet. The music was rather eclectic and not always in a good way. I don't like leading with a lot of tension – it’s bad for self-preservation. This was brought upon by reading suggestions from salsaforums.com after posting a video of me (via Brendan) from a venue near Baltimore. If Tish had not been there, it would have qualified as a poor night. String of mediocre nights continues.

Nov 13 was a DCDC night. My diary entry is only of things written before I went there as follows.

I’m not particularly excited about going to tonight’s Salsa event. In some ways I regret posting that video for suggestions for improvement. I’m not sure if I want to get away from leading lightly – the alternative is rather painful and unpleasant.

My recollection is that I did not enjoy the evening. This was more because of my internal state rather than because of anything particularly wrong with DCDC. I thought I might be ready for a break from Salsa - at least in DC. Going to the regular spots in DC seemed to bring too much painful memory (not caused by Salsa but specific to Salsa outings) and often not enough joy from dancing to overcome it, and non-regular spots inspire me even less. I did not even say a proper goodbye to Tanya.

I thought maybe I would get back in January. However, seeing that it is now pretty late in December and considering that my mood lately, I would not bet on returning in January.

Unending Epilogue 19

2010-11-01T01:59:00.004Z

October 2010

I seem to have picked a lot of poorly attended events this month.

Oct 23. DCDC. Quiet night. I probably missed a better party on the second Saturday with BioRitmo. A guy dressed up as Prince circa 1984 won the costume contest. I wonder if skin color matters much in the DC Salsa scene - I thought I might be seeing a certain pattern. I left fairly early. I also came to thinking that if I were to get a Salsa lesson (presumably a private lesson) from someone in DC, I probably would ask Steve Martin.

Oct 25. I went to Clarendon Grill for the first time this year. Two early dance declines made for a weak start, and the costume contest seemed to go on forever. A woman dressed as smurfette won the costume contest (a Raggedy Ann repeat from last year came in second). Tanya was the only one from my On2 crowd to show up. Olga was the lifesaver.

Oct 30. The Halloween party at Chevy Chase Ballroom had a fairly low attendance. I stayed until closing at 2 AM anyway, and I ended up having plenty of dances anyway. The three winners of the costume contest were the really young girl, Luz and someone in Batgirl (?) costume. Brandon showed up late.

The Argentine Tango 6-lesson session ended on a whimper. I also attended three free Argentine Tango practica this month. The practica experience was more intimidating compared to the small class experience - I did not feel talented at all. One thing I learned over the three weeks of practica was that leading involves minimal use of hands - the leading is done almost exclusively with the chest. The practica also ended on something of a whimper - the first night was the most interesting and impressive and the last night was the least impressive because of poor attendance. Because of my plans in Baltimore, I don't expect to get back to Tango until 2011 at the earliest.

A Mexican Wedding

2010-10-07T18:02:00.002Z

October 1-3, 2010

I used to pride myself on being frugal. Now I feel shame when pinching pennies. Maybe it is because I think I’m doing it out of necessity more than anything else. The decision to buy the airplane ticket to San Diego was triggered by a realization that I needed it to get myself out of a deep malaise. Yet when I booked a rental car from Budget, I cringed. This sort of expense did not bother even when I was a student. Another thing that made me cringe was the weather forecast in Mexicali. The forecast called for a high temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit for the date of the wedding.

I was in need of a book to read for this trip, and I realized this too late to buy a book before the trip started. I chose to buy Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed at the Borders bookstore in Houston over The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes. Lord of Finance is about the four central bankers in the USA, the UK, France and Germany in the years leading up to the Great Depression. It made for a surprisingly good read.

When I arrived at the connecting gate in Houston, I sat next to a woman with a long flowing blond hair with a look somewhat reminiscent of Blake Lively on the television show Gossip Girl. I suppose sitting next to her (or more precisely the next seat over) did not make it easy for me to observe her because the only thing I remember about her aside from the general aura was that she had a fresh cut or scratch on her ankle. When she got up immediately upon the first call for boarding, I figured that she booked first class. When I boarded the airplane and walked down the airplane to my row, I looked around to see if my guess was right. I was wrong. I noticed her sitting all the way in the back where there were only two seats as opposed to three seats for the coach class. I had not realized such seating arrangements sometimes in the rear of the plane! Oh well. Instead I got stuck with a big black man with a baby boy of perhaps 2-3 years of age on his lap.

On my first time flying alone, I got into a nice long conversation with a lovely young woman from Europe. I can’t remember if she was from France, Sweden – my best guess is Finland. In any case she probably still is my favorite random passenger in the next seat on an airplane. The second time I flied alone, I sat next to a woman carrying a girl toddler. This flight started out pleasant enough except the kid became sick and threw up on the seat next to mine. This wasn’t as good. With the memory of the barfing kid, I was full of trepidations about this light skinned black baby boy without his own seat. Sure enough, he screamed several times during the flight and his wandering hands reached for my iPod, book, trousers, etc. throughout most of the flight. I also had some drops of milk landing on my clothes. No doubt the father of the child had the most to deal with. Only a series of turbulences we experienced while descending to land in San Diego did the kid fall asleep. My sound isolating earphones were a godsend for maintaining my solitude.

While I was in the San Diego airport, I took advantage of free wi-fi to check my mail check facebook. I saw the groom’s facebook update stating that the weather forecast calls for not only the high temperature of 107, but also 90% humidity!

Getting a rental car at Budget took a bit more time than I would have liked. The Mexican insurance turned out to be $25 per day rather than $25 flat for the trip. I wasn’t able to get the rental company to hold $200 instead of $500 from my bank account using my debit card so I decided to make a transfer of funds from my savings account to my checking account. I suppose this is one inconvenience of not having a real credit card. I also had to get a printout of my flight schedule for renting the car. Thus I had to endure two trips to Budget’s computer, which required entering of a passkey upon loading every new web page. I felt rather pathetic about everything – lack of money, credit, and confidence.

Then I got on the road and drove. As I made my way out of the city heading east, the scenery became progressively more interesting. I had seen many mountains before, but these were quite unlike I had ever seen before. The mix of color – red, yellow, green, white – was unique. There were countless rocks looking more like pebbles from the distance but turning into huge smooth rounded boulders when near. I had seen many mountains before, but these here were something else altogether. The terrain had such unique and dazzling visual quality. A mix of blue skies and dark thundering clouds overhead with occasional showers made it even more hypnotic. After the descent from the mountains came the desert – a raining desert. I told myself that this drive by itself already made this trip worthwhile. Now only if I had someone to share this experience with...

I stopped by Wal-Mart in Calexico to buy some water and more toothpaste. Immediately upon returning to the main route to the border crossing, I hit a traffic jam. It probably took over half hour to get to the border crossing. I am unsure what caused the traffic jam – the traffic lights were not working, but I thought the start of the Fiesta Del Sol (lasting from Oct 1-17 although I don’t really know what it is about) might have been the reason.

Another friend of mine, Matt, and I had agreed to meet for dinner at the hotel Araiza Mexicali. I met Matt and his pregnant wife Erin and we gabbed away the night. Erin is due in January, and their baby boy is to be named Eliot DeWitt. Back in their hotel room, the groom, Ignacio, joined us there. Ignacio and I both left well after 10 to return to our rooms. I went to bed slightly after midnight.

Saturday morning, I was partially awake by 6:30 local time. I got up after 7:30 to take a shower before taking the car to check out the city of Mexicali. First I headed to the Civic Centre area (on the corner of Independencia and Anahuac). I missed it completely the first time around because the area was so nondescript. After making a U-turn, I first checked out the bullfighting stadium on Calafia and Independencia nearby. Salon Premier (where the wedding reception was to be held later tonight) was across the bullfighting stadium on Calafia. I had my car parked there for maybe 10 minutes while a heavy rainfall passed by and caused a big flooding. A guy walking past saw me taking some photos and tried to engage in some conversation with me. I think he might have said something about television and perhaps he was trying to get me to publicize poor infrastructure in this city to the outside world, but I am far from sure about this. After checking out the bullfighting arena from another side, I returned to Independencia and Anahuac. My reaction was – what exactly makes this area Civic Centre? The most notable building appeared to be a concert hall of sorts – the building itself looked clean as opposed to decrepit. There was a Chinese restaurant on the opposite corner. A convenience store was on the side where I parked my car. I am not sure if there was a building on the fourth corner. In summary this Civic Centre area was far from picturesque – calling it downright ugly might be unkind but not necessarily unfair. Next to the convenient store was a liquor store of some sorts adverting 96% alcohol – maybe 20-40 different bottles of varying degree of dubiousness and all of them cheap (I think everything was under 100 pesos, which would be less than $10 – and many were under 50 pesos). On the sides of the store were a huge number of plastic jugs – possibly for moonshine production. On the other side of the store had large number of grain bags. Further along the sidewalk, I saw a tree stump in a rather incongruous location closer to the buildings than the road. There were some stores (e.g. a tuxedo shop) further up, but they were still closed – understandable since this was still very early Saturday morning (not even 9 AM). I returned to my car trying to decide whether to go in search of more sightseeing options and I decided that I would try to return to the Chinatown area, which I had seen a little last night (garish!). However, I only went up the road part of the way before turning around because I decided that I had seen enough last night. I did note that there were newer buildings along route 5. Places like Carl’s Jr had buildings with decorations for whatever its worth. They had modern-looking cinema. I saw a Sears building. There was a stretch spanning several blocks worth of road with nice trees in the middle of the road dividing northbound and southbound parts of the road. I was feeling bad about having only taken “ugly” pictures thus far so I tried to make up by taking these “nicer” pictures. I then went back towards the hotel before checking out the drive to the church where the wedding would be held. Lack of street signs past the “I” hampered my search for the church, but I did find it eventually with the recollection about Matt referring to it as a blue-colored church. After a little over one hour of wandering, I returned to the hotel where I ran into Matt and Erin at the lobby getting ready to have their breakfast. I joined them for a breakfast buffet and to tell them of my morning adventure.

After the breakfast, I went back to my hotel room and took a short nap lasting about an hour. I read. I wrote a little. I checked the weather. Presumably because of unexpected rain falling down periodically all morning, the temperature was much cooler than originally predicted – in the high 70s. What a change of luck – Ignacio caught a break! I had a late lunch (quesadillas) by room service in my room.

The wedding ceremony lasted a bit over an hour. Considering that Brenda had 12 older siblings, I thought this was a small wedding. I figured early on that it wasn’t going to be a short service, yet I fooled myself a few times that it would end soon. I guess it was a Catholic wedding. According to Matt, Catholic service could have entailed a mass, which would have made the ceremony even longer. I think Matt was a little taken aback by Brenda in her wedding dress – maybe she looked younger and prettier than he expected.

Peter made it to the wedding. He arrived in San Diego last night and booked a hotel there for both Friday and Saturday night. After checking out the beach in the morning, he only made it to border crossing around 3 – or about one hour before the wedding started. A Harvard law school friend of Ignacio made our party a five-some. This law school friend apparently worked for Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced ex-Illinois governor.

The five of us decided to spend nearly 3 hours between the wedding and the start of the reception at the hotel bar. I directed Peter back to the hotel while the law school friend went back with Matt and Erin. Ignacio and Brenda’s wedding car with tin cans tied to the rear of the car took a scenic route back to the hotel, and random cars in the road honked their klaxon congratulating the wedding party – Peter was impressed by this display by the Mexicans.

My guess is that it would have been better if the reception started right after the wedding serving hors d’oeuvre for perhaps 1.5 hours while they spent the time taking photographs, etc. Peter and I were among the first to arrive at the reception. The first to arrive were Noelia and her mother from New York City. Apparently Ignacio met Noelia while living in NYC, and apparently they were quite close friends for a while – at least until Brenda turned up. I sat next to Noelia and developed a nice rapport with her and later with her mother.

The main attraction of the reception was the Mexican band comprising of 19 musicians and dancers. I wonder if the dancers were more successful in preventing the attendees from venturing out to dance. The band was pretty good although I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the music.

People were very late in arriving at the reception, and the venue was not full until 10. They started serving food well after 10, and people did not start dancing until after 11. Peter had been looking forward to some dancing, but he had to leave early. At one point Peter and I decided to go spy on the kitchen area because Peter smelled food. When the salad was served, Peter was a bit reluctant to eat it – he was afraid of Mexican water used to wash the salad. He was afraid of getting sick in the airplane next day.

Noelia said she liked Salsa and Merengue dancing but not Bachata. She said she went to Latin clubs, which suggested to me that she was not at all familiar with socials in NYC. In any case, I ended up dancing with her and/or her mother several times when people finally started dancing. Merengue was better than Salsa. Noelia and I ended the night by taking Ignacio and Brenda for the final song of the night.

Because I wanted to avoid a potentially long queue at the border crossing, I got up early at 6:45. I was checked out of the hotel and on the road by 7:30. Crossing the border took only about 5 minutes. I had Egg Muffin in MacDonald’s in Calexico before hitting route 8 back to San Diego. The scenery along the road still impressed me despite the loss of first-time shock value. Coming down from the mountains, I descended into an impressive fog or cloud over San Diego. I reached San Diego city limits before 10 so I decided to do some sightseeing and to check out the beach. Getting to the beach was more complicated than I expected, and I spent more time driving than I would have liked. I am unsure if driving along the beaches of the Fiesta island, which is located in the Fiesta bay, should be considered worthwhile. I finally made it to the Pacific ocean to the north of Belmont Park around 10:45. This beach is called Mission Beach. The sand here looked as good as Ocean City while the waves here looked bigger. I suppose I didn’t have much time to linger in any case, but I decided to take off and not spend time reflecting and feeling sorrow. Later I learned that Coronado Beach to the south is considered the best beach in this area so I did not get to see the best of the best here.

I arrived at Budget to return the car at 11:05 or 5 minutes after the scheduled time. I would say that among the major rental car agencies, Budget had the least convenient and visible location. I left them my unused bottled water from Calexico. I ate lunch using MacDonald’s once again (Southern fried chicken sandwich) thinking that there would be nothing substantial to eat in the airplane. I was not quite right – they served a cheeseburger. I had a not-so-bright idea to take out my camera out of the big bag and move it to the laptop bag. By doing this, I had to take out my iPod out of the bag. I think I had my iPod in my hand when I walked into the airplane and left the iPod on the edge of the seat before sitting down. I noticed that there was a power outlet in my row, and I tried to take advantage of it. Unfortunately the arrival of middle seat passenger made it very difficult to spot the outlet second time. Later I noticed that I dropped my earphone case in the crack between my seat and the walls of the airplane. I think all this frustration led me to forget my iPod when I walked out of the airplane.

My connecting flight to Baltimore was delayed by more than an hour. I noticed that I had lost my iPod. I sat by a charging station to keep my laptop powered up while I resumed writing my diary. I was so tired by then, and solitude made me sad.

The final leg to Baltimore was cold. Everyone was suffering from the cold air blowing down from above including an old black man and a young girl, who may have been his daughter or more likely his granddaughter, sitting next to me. There was a flight attendant, who helped me with reporting my lost iPod. Although they did not locate my iPod, the flight attendant was very pleasant and beyond reproach. The flight arrived in Baltimore a bit past midnight.

After the trip, I felt drained and exhausted at many levels. Perhaps it is because I am here again, and nothing has changed.

Unending Epilogue 18

2010-09-28T05:25:00.007Z

September 2010

The number of Salsa outing jumped considerably this month. Hmm.

September 7 - Barking Dog. The drive there was unpleasant because the contact lens on my left eye was bothersome. The DJ was Sonero, and the music was common. Dancing was generally better than it was last week.

...thoughts in between...

What’s Salsa for? I suppose it is good for cheap thrills, superficial social life and exercise of sorts. Getting into Salsa dancing was a positive and important experience for me, but I don’t feel so dependent on it anymore.

... ...

September 11 - DCDC celebrating Tommy Smith’s birthday was an impressive party. It was the biggest and best DCDC party in memory. The number of out of town people was unusual. About the only regret was that I couldn’t dance with them all.

September 14 - Barking Dog. Pretty good. I forgot about the cologne.

...a surprising statement heard...

H said the most surprising thing to me Friday night. She said I should keep going out Salsa dancing! What has come over her? I could understand why S changed her mind, but I was rather flabbergasted to hear H say it.

... ...

September 21 - Oh wow. I had not expected that I would have found tonight’s Salsa outing to Barking Dog to provide such a crutch! I was such a poor mood before I got there. I’m glad I had it as a drug to get me off from depression and malaise. Even a simulation of passion is better than nothing at all. Even though fake pretend love cannot complete replace a real one, it alleviates the pain of loss of one. I would guess that this was a merely better than average night, but it did well to make me forget my weariness.

September 25 - DCDC. Salsa. It gives. It takes away. In times of desperation, fake passion helps. In times of contentment, fake makes you long for something real. This seems to summarize my feelings after another night out Salsa dancing on a Saturday night. The dancing was pretty good to start with, but I ran out of steam early - not at all helped by heat and humidity brought upon by too many people attending to celebrate Jimmy's birthday.

In addition, I signed up for a 6-lesson of Tango via my university alumni group. The reason for me is more social than learning a new dance although getting a taste of a different dance seem like a reasonable backup plan. These lessons started on September 20 and will run to early October. The Tango style taught supposedly is Salon style within the Argentine Tango umbrella. Through three sessions, we have gone over walking, syncopated steps, weight transfer, leaning forward, hold, musical interpretation, etc but no figures thus far.

Unending Epilogue 17

2010-08-28T23:42:00.005Z

August 2010

Once again, there was only one Salsa outing this month. This time it was the second Saturday DCDC because there was no fourth Saturday DCDC.

DCDC – I took a fair number of photos because I thought this could be the last time. In any case the writing (the end) is on the wall. This time I accepted a Bachata. A couple of Cha Cha were great. Salsa was sloppy at times, but it was okay. People in the photos include Jimmy, Tanya, Brandon, Diana, Leah, Kim, Rafa, and Steve.

I had considered asking my girlfriend if I should quit Salsa to please her. I never got the chance because she decided to end the relationship. So am I going back to more Salsa outings than I had been most of this year? Not exactly. My (Salsa) future here is quite uncertain - there is a decent chance that I would move to another part of the country - and the new place may not have much in terms of Salsa outing options.

--

This was added later. I ended up going out for the second time in August... August 31 to be exact.

I went to the Barking Dog. Admission was $10 because of some performances – Keith Given’s group and Ceci Villalobos’s Salsa Fuego. I saw Tish for the first time in ages. Ditto Danisha. The outing was a pleasant enough distraction, but I see that nothing has changed in the Salsa scene here in the DC area as far as I am concerned in certain social manners.

Unending Epilogue 16

2010-08-03T15:04:00.004Z

July 2010

Another month with just one outing - and there was a serious jeopardy of me not going to that one because of a family function. In fact I had told one inquirer that I was unlikely to attend. The venue was DCDC for the fourth Saturday once again. It's perhaps pathetic that the clincher for attending was the GF dropping out of a dinner party because of allergies.

Incidentally I now keep a diary, which I keep private.

The fourth Sat DCDC this month was a very hot and humid affair. Even without moving I was getting drenched. I'm guessing I danced considerably less than I would have otherwise. DJs were EricB and . The local DJs bought an appreciation plaque for the Smiths. There was a performance by the group led by the promoter of Monday nights at CG, which will be closed for renovations until September. The heat drove me downstairs for a while where Brandon and I ended up using his iPod for some music selections. I was asked for a Bachata downstairs, but this time I declined. I chose Nabori and Rumbon Melon.

Unending Epilogue 15

2010-06-30T14:30:00.003Z

June 2010

No second Saturday DCDC. I was free but did not go.

No DC Congress. There was a possibility of going until Saturday evening. I decided to hang out with someone else instead.

I did go to the fourth Saturday DCDC if nothing else to stop myself from going completely rusty. I only stayed for 2 hours but did manage to dance with everyone I wanted to dance with - at least for the ones there. It was a zouk performance night.

Unending Epilogue 14

2010-05-23T17:14:00.005Z

May 2010

It was another one-night-out-for-the-month. This is also a very late entry - by nearly a month. The venue visited was DCDC for the fourth Saturday. No dances with many of the old favorites usually would have spelled trouble. All things considered, it wasn't bad. I was asked for a Bachata while downstairs - a surprise. So why the infrequent outings? It's the obvious option number 1 - new GF does not dance, etc.

Unending Epilogue 13

2010-05-20T00:25:00.003Z

April 2010

This is a much belated entry - nearly 3 weeks late. I went Salsa dancing twice in April. The first one was a house party hosted by Leah. The second was the fourth Saturday DCDC - I missed the second Saturday DCDC. I felt relatively fine at the house party despite having just returned from my Boston trip earlier in the evening (Apr 3), but I was feeling quite dead tired for the DCDC (Apr 24) and had to return home shortly after 1 AM. Normally I would have stayed well past closing time, but driving back from DCDC in the rain was a major headache and seemingly dangerous. I expect to be going out considerably less frequently indefinitely.

Boston Trip

2010-04-13T03:18:00.003Z

Apr 1, 2010

I flew to Boston in the morning. My feelings about returning to Boston were mixed at best - at least while waiting for my connections on the T. The day was spent meeting Bob and his people as well as Peter and his people. Speaking with Bob was the highlight.

The "business" portion of the trip ended fairly early so I made it to the hotel - Club Quarters in the Financial District by 5 or so. Not bad. Water bottle service was the best unexpected bonus. I spent the leftover time to write a mail for Derek taking into consideration of Bob's advice.

Dinner was a sushi takeout from a nearby place called Samurai Eatery. Not great but cheap. Their miso soup was the biggest disappointment.

Ryles Jazz Club for Salsa (at Inman Square in Cambridge) was okay - nothing to write home about. Mostly On1 if they kept time at all - some were okay following On2.

I left early enough to catch the T back to Boston from Central Square.

Apr 2, 2010

Train trip to Worcester to meet with Craig and Mark. Good times. Dinner at Redbones with Craig, Brendan and Megan - Megan showing up despite feeling rather ill. The biggest scoop I was able to provide regarded a fun family trip planned by Zeke.

The Havana Club (at Central Square in Cambridge) was simply a bigger version of Ryles Jazz Club Salsa-wise. Quantity was greater than at Ryles on Thursday by considerable margin although the overall level was not very different.

I did stay to the end so ended up taking a very old taxi back to the hotel.

Apr 3, 2010

Nothing on the calendar. Lunch at Pho Pasteur. Purchased two used books at Brattle Book Shop - The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe and Truman by David McCullough. I still had time enough to catch Alice In Wonderland, which I found underwhelming - especially the 3D effect, and still made it to the airport with hours to spare.

I won a pair of Red Sox tickets at my flight gate. The airline was holding a trivia contest - Who hit the most home runs for Red Sox in '09? Jason Bay.

Unending Epilogue 12

2010-03-27T17:07:00.004Z

March 2010

My approach to Salsa this year seemed to have settled into twice or thrice a month local outing focusing on personal enjoyment without drama. I don't seek out beginners - at least not as much as before. There are not many people I ask for a dance more than once a night - no more than the number of people on the DNA list.

DCDC

There was to be only one this month because of a benefit event bumping the fourth Saturday event. Anyhow, it was a bit on the short side but still quite enjoyable. Going out less frequently hasn't made it less fun - in fact the opposite seemed true.

MDSX

Second weekend in a row to go out. This was the first time I went to the Baltimore area for Salsa. Likes of TS and JY had gone to Philly instead, but this turned out to be a fun event even without them. This was second event I have seen Ana Masacote, and I was able to take advantage for a second dance with her. Dancing with inactive locals who came out for the visiting guests were just as big a highlight.

One of the guys I met (Benny) tried to talk me into a spot called La Palapa Grill in Ellicott City. Chatted a bit with Brandon and Eric also. One of Brandon's videos ended up having extended cameo by me.

CG

I tried this for the first time in 2010, and this essentially made it third week in a row. I felt I could have done without this outing for a large part of the evening although it did get better as the night went along.

Unending Epilogue 11

2010-03-01T22:11:00.003Z

February 2010

Another quiet month. I only went out twice, both for DCDC. Both were quite good. I might be getting out of shape, however. My right leg was hurting after the second DCDC night this month. Meanwhile I seemed to have gained a little weight. A noteworthy new activity for me lately is playing the piano.

Unending Epilogue 10

2010-01-10T19:52:00.004Z

January 2010

I went out three times this month. Maybe I'm losing interest?

January 2, 2010. Resolution Jam. Two words - traffic jam.

January 9, 2010. DCDC. DC All-Stars workshop. Gray hair and long nails.

January 23, 2010. DCDC. I felt like a fake and a fraud. Too long a break?

An Impulsive NYE trip to Montreal - AKA I Need More Sleep

2010-01-05T00:49:00.012Z

December 26, 2009

Seed of this trip was sown on my mind at the DCDC. I can’t remember – was it Tanya who tried to talk me into it? Or was it Jimmy? Josh and Dola helped in the instigation too.

December 28, 2009

The list was whittled down with Tanya dropping out. I told Jimmy and Luz that I was in as long as they still were interested. My understanding was that the plan would be carried out if we get a fourth person involved.

December 29, 2009

For a while it didn’t look like it wasn’t going to happen because Jimmy and Luz lacked a fourth. However by mid-afternoon, they decided to go never mind lack of interest from others. I needed something different to deal with doldrums and annoyances of every day life of late, and taking a crazy road trip involving well over 900 miles of driving roundtrip for a new year’s celebration seemed like a perfectly reasonable/insane prescription. Tally ho!

Sometime around 9 PM, I learned that we have a fourth! Kim! Who is she? Oh, I see – cool!

The initial plan according to Jimmy was to depart DC area sometime between 11 and midnight.

December 30, 2009

The plan was changed to a 1 AM departure, then a 2 AM departure.

Around 2:30 AM, Jimmy called me to say he’ll pick me up in 15 minutes. The Jimmy, Luz, Kim trio arrived shortly after 3:30 AM.

Jimmy’s GPS has an interesting set of driving directions involving multiple roads with traffic lights. Jimmy did most of the driving – despite the evidence to contrary. Blame motion sickness for Jimmy insisting this – or maybe it has to do with macho alpha male blah factor mentioned by Luz. It did mean a heavy dose of Jimmy’s music with Cameo being one of the highlights.

On route, I learned that a fifth person would be join us – for the drive back in anyway. She bought a one-way airplane ticket while we were still on the road. And I thought I was being impulsive. I guess I’ll find out the identity of our fifth Chelley at the party tonight.

Arrival at Montreal 2:30 PM. I had perhaps 2 hours of shuteye after breakfast. Luz did a little bit of the driving in New York with Kim riding shotgun. I was mostly dormant and passive on the rear left of the car. The topic of discussion was quite heavy-duty dance at a scope and depth I rarely get into so I mostly listened only. Snowy landscape in the mountains of New York made the snowscape in DC after the recent 20-inch snowfall pale in comparison.

Finding the Hotel Lord Berri was smoothly done in light snow. Finding a spot in the underground parking lot – much more difficult. I thought I was back in Europe seeing such tight space. Trying to back out of the underground lot with snow on the ground was something we could not do without severe risk to our health.

In search of a restaurant, we went west on Rue Berri for two blocks – a reasonable start. Then we turned right on Boulevard de Maisonneuve (wrong!), then turned right again on Rue Saint-Hubert (getting colder!), then turned left on Rue Ste-Catherine (icing on the cake). After a few more blocks, we turned around heading south on Rue Ste-Catherine until we finally found Rue St-Denis, which was the street I was looking for in the first place based upon Jimmy talking about the Latin Quarter. We ate at Lymai (Vietnamese), which was all right considering how little effort we placed in finding quality – we were too cold to look around much. Jimmy was particularly happy with his fish dish. My Pad Thai would have to be ranked somewhere in the middle of all the Pad Thais I have tried to date. Kim seemed happy enough with her dish (with spinach, not pork) whereas Luz appeared underwhelmed with hers. Jimmy, Luz and I also stopped for desserts (pistachio éclair was a hit I think... my tiramisu was so so) at La Brioche Lyonnaise on the way back to the hotel.

Before the party started, we opted for a nap for a couple of hours with the alarm set at 8:30 PM. Easier said than done. There were signs all against it such as when Luz came back from check-in with lists of things not allowed in the hotel (it included no bottles in the hallway) or a large crowd of young people in the lobby surrounding tables advertising nightlife tour of Montreal or a hotel personnel reassuring us that these party-seeking folks were all staying at floor below us. The truth was that there were plenty of loud unruly kids on our floor (the ninth) with people keeping their doors open looking to converse with other people passing on the hallway. On their defence, I would imagine that the last thing they would have expected was bunch of sleep-deprived people in the hotel wanting quiet-time between 6-9 PM the evening before new year’s eve.

The hubbub at the hotel reminded me of my freshman dormitory, in particular of one night when one of the sophomores got angry one night by noise generated by us freshmen partying on the hallway while he was trying to sleep. Security was called then too. I wonder what the reaction of the proprietors and security personnel – both at the dormitory and the hotel.

Chellely called during preparations to say she made it to the airport but not her luggage, which led to a scramble to help piece together an emergency outfit for her between extra clothing, make-up and accessories Luz and Kim had. I was most surprised by large earrings Luz decided to use.

I think we arrived at the Cat’s Corner Studio a little after 11. For me it was quite an enjoyable party on par with my first night at the DC congress. Best part – plenty of likeable followers to choose from. This was a rare night where everyone I danced with was someone I had never danced with before – all I had to do was not dance with Luz or Kim. I thought such was a rather unique event at the time, but in retrospect this sort of thing happened many times before (e.g. when I was visiting new places by myself – London, Portland, Madrid, Paris, DC). I must have been too tired to think straight. More or less the only weak part was humidity, which led to me stop dancing for the last half hour in an attempt to dry off. I was far from dried by the nominal closing time of 2 AM.

Eating after big Salsa event apparently is considered a DC tradition of sorts. Dola, Josh and Kelvin joined the group for this outing. Hanging out with this crew was cool, but food was not particularly to my liking. I did not bother with poutine, a Quebec diner staple. Then again, their pogo (corndog) was not very good either.

December 31, 2009

I think I had about 6 hours of sleep after going to sleep around 5 AM.

Dola and Kelvin joined our group of 5 at the Lord Berri Hotel for a brunch outing. Late brunch – it did not end until 4 PM after all. The venue of choice was Brioche Lyonnaise in Latin Quarter (Rue St. Denis). It turned out to be a pretty good choice. Clean fresh healthy-ish breakfast rather than a greasy spoon. Omelettes were popular (both of the typical “complete” style and of salmon-themed “Norvegiene” style). Kelvin seemed to be in a competitive eating mode – having his two main dishes as well as digging in on a crepe someone else ordered but never got around to touching. His aim was to not needing to eat again until the end of the party. Despite cleaning my plate of omelette, potatoes and fruits, I felt like an amateur eater in this crowd – maybe it’s because I have been living in Europe for so long. I thought it ironic that I was having such a drawn out meal back in the Americas after not being involved in such scene in the UK. We also made the waitress work a lot asking for various items one at a time whether it was jam, coffee, ketchup or Tabasco sauce.

What can be done for diversion of a couple of hours in a cold dark night in a unfamiliar city with a large group of people? Hang out at a mall, of course. After a couple of blocks of walking mostly along Rue Ste Catherine good for a few heckles and a short taxi ride, we found ourselves on Avenue McGill College. After some fooling around for photos, we had about half hour for shopping in the large underground shopping complex. I imagine we might never have found a pharmacy without a native help in that maze. More touristy was the walk up the Avenue McGill College towards Sherbrooke admiring holiday decorations and a large group of people statues for more photo ops – at least until we were told off the public artwork by the security personnel.

After a stop at the Hotel Delta Montreal in the middle of rehearsals, Kim, Chelley and Luz headed back to the hotel on a cab while Jimmy and I decided to wander back in a more leisurely manner on foot. There was one clothing shop open where I amused myself checking out the silly T-shirt with clever/silly/provocative messages while Jimmy chatted away with an attendant. Then there was a public arts display next to Musee d’Art Contemporain de Montreal with red and white lights on the ground. A conversation with a Hilton employee in front of a men’s dress shop further convinced Jimmy that he want to come back to Montreal again and to take advantage of $60/night specials.

The Salsaglam NYE party was supposed to be a dress-up party. Kim had a black dress chosen whereas Chelley wore a gold-toned dress. Luz picked a black-and-white striped dress over a red dress, which would be saved for later in the weekend. Jimmy arguably had the most number of flip-flops regarding ties, trousers and belts. The only other debate I got involved was about the choice of eyelash glue (for translation purpose only – natural rubber glue or special eyelash glue?). I just put on the suit I brought along with a blue tie chosen over two other ties I brought along. I wonder if the lack of effort I put in at least as demonstrated by the amount of time spent in this process was considered shocking.

The girls were very interested in watching the shows. Jimmy and I were less interested – we were more concerned with food. Because most of the nearby restaurants were closed by 10 PM, we ended up in a sandwich shop, which was not so bad all things considered. By the time we returned, the shows were half over. The most talked about show was done to the song Smooth Operator, which I only caught a few glimpses of while walking in and looking for a reasonable spot to stand and watch.

By the time the shows were over and the chairs cleared, it was essentially the time for champagne and a countdown to New Years (probably not done to the official time).

The party itself for Salsa dancing alone was less enjoyable for me compared to the pre party. Finding people I wanted to dance with seemed problematic especially during the early part of the evening. I suppose this should not be considered surprising - a high priced fancy dress party on a big family holiday would not attract the same hardcore dance crew as a pure dance big events (e.g. congresses). The fact that it was as good as it was perhaps should be considered remarkable.

Biggest complaint - music by the second DJ was full of problems – premature stops both unintentional and intentional, degraded sound quality in addition to some songs simply not to my liking period. By after 2 AM, I thought the party was getting close to becoming something of a fiasco and that the venue might be over soon.

Music was more to my liking starting with Dola moving into the DJ booth and with the people who played after Dola. Dancing too became more enjoyable after I gave up on having great dances - and after I finally gave up wearing a tie around 3 AM. Of course, this begs the question, “what is a great dance?” For that matter, what is an enjoyable dance?

I never got around to dancing with Luz during this trip. Lately it has been a 50/50 proposition. I also danced only once with both Chelley (last night) and Kim (tonight) while in Montreal.

Anyway, I did manage to survive until 6 AM closing. Survive is the keyword - I felt so weary. Incredibly the number of people who stayed to closing was quite large with total number of people in the room staying about the same after 3 AM or so. I had taken along multiple extra shirts, which seemed like a good idea given the conditions at the pre party, but I never came close to feeling a need to change - possibly because of good ventilation (none visible) or because I did not exert myself for long at any point during the night. Dancing with jacket and tie on was not so bad either - I was careful not to overexert myself.

Perhaps the amount of enjoyment I had in this trip was the best I could have hoped for given all the recent bouts of dark moods brought upon in no small part by DS. Of course, I imagine I might have skipped Montreal if it weren’t for DS.

Why do I dance Salsa these days? Perhaps because it’s the only reason why I go out and socialize and without it I may simply turn into a hermit? Then again if this is the case, shouldn’t I try to find some other avenue – at least not become dependent on a single activity?

January 1, 2010

I did not get to sleep until after 7 AM (or was it 8 or 9 AM?). Hotel checkout was 1 PM.

Brunch was once again at La Brioche Lyonnaise lasting well past 4 PM. Same waitress as yesterday. Jimmy took over Kelvin’s part of big orderer from yesterday. Arguably the most pleasant times spent in Montreal were at the two brunches. Nice relaxed atmosphere with pleasant company. I switched to Norvegiene omelette, which I preferred over the “complete.” The least successful dish was crepe flambée (Grand Marnier) – possibly because it sat around for too long before it was lit. Others enjoyed quiche and key lime pie. As relaxing as it was, it did mean a very late start for the drive back.

Between this and that, we did not get to the US-Canada border custom until 7 PM. Chelley joined us at the duty-free shop just outside the border. Even with a big car, fitting 5 people instead of 4 made a significant difference. Apparently the middle seat in the back was rather uncomfortable. It was snowing for a large part of the drive especially up north. Once again Jimmy did the vast majority of the driving – all the way from Montreal to Clara Barton rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. Two other stops were made in upstate New York (Subway for dinner) and a Exxon mart in Pennsylvania. Jimmy by then was no longer in condition to drive. Kim drove from Clara Barton to BWI for a little over an hour. After some search for Chelley’s car (going from level 5 to 3 before finding it at 4C), I took over for BWI to home for half an hour or so. I missed the exit for 295 Southbound somehow and ended up taking 95 instead.

By the way I had not seen how big an impact iPhone had on general populace in person until this trip. It is well beyond an electronic toy for geeky boys – grown up women seemingly find it as essential as a make-up kit or a handbag. Well - perhaps a better description is a lifestyle changing experience – they were spending enormous amount of time using the device. Blame wireless internet, facebook, youtube and their like also.

Home arrival was a little past 6 AM. I collapsed on my bed after directing Kim to route 1. It was a relief to drive a familiar car.

Resolution Jam in less than 24 hours? A cause for celebration or a big groan?

Unending Epilogue 9

2009-12-06T19:36:00.012Z

December 2009

Dec 1. BD. Pretty good one. Sonido Bestial.

Dec 4. Spates Hall. Fewer people than last month. I still enjoyed it despite no dancing for first 30 min. Jesus and Nicole. A very long song - as long as she liked it, no problem for me. Next one apparently competes with DCDC - yuck.

Dec 8. BD. Earl knew something when he said rain keeps DC dancers away. Heavy rain. Poor anticipation of deejaying - the Cha Cha + 2 Merengue + 2 Bachata did not start until 10:30. A later 1 Merengue + 2(!) Bachata was followed by Vamonos Pal Monte (yes the original). I avoided a live-band CG last night.

Dec 12. DCDC. Most enjoyable music at this setting thus far - DJs were Neo and Steve. Steve went quite commercial in fact. Perhaps more follower heavy than usual. A late photo led to a fairly long FB exchange. BC still on a HYM routine. LR ill. No LV. Mel. Chats with Abdul. Nice dances with D.

Dec 14. CG. Mac/Yuno week. Quite crowded. Maybe somewhat fewer dances than usual - probably not - perhaps I merely didn't ask some of the usual suspects. A few wrong turns on the way to 19th and K.

Dec 15. BD. Mac/Yuno week. Beto made an appearance. Record crowd. What's with freaking out when going off slot - especially for safety?! Also I almost poked TS's eyes out.

Dec 19. This date was supposed to be Jesus & Nicole event except it was postponed by a record snowfall.

Dec 26. DCDC. Party for Psyon. No B-day dance. I opted out too. Quite crowded.

Dec 28. CG. Very crowded. Too crowded.

Montreal next?

Unending Epilogue 8

2009-12-03T15:37:00.002Z

November 2009

This was a month where DCDC Saturdays were followed immediately by Jimmy's social, which helped to discourage me from taking a trip to NYC. Of course, I've kept making excuses after excuses. I have no idea when I'll get around to visiting - perhaps never at this rate.

Nov 2. CG. I was there from around 9:40 to well past midnight for mere 4 dances. Bruno seemed to have made up for the lack of music I did not enjoy last week. The Chinita song was played once again. The night ended with talking about the state of affairs with J&T.

One month of waiting is stretching to two months with no obvious end in sight. DS is being highly frustrating, missing his own deadlines repeatedly.

Nov 7. TS birthday dinner preceded a visit to a Timba social at Bethesda late. I took several wrong turns on the way, and by the time of my arrival it was essentially a private party. TS, JY, LR, BC as well as Julie, Christian, Hans and Naj(?) made up the final Bethesda group from a larger dinner group.

Watching old television shows is diverting - probably too much so.

Nov 9. CG. DCSM night. There were more people to dance with than usual. It was LV's first visit to CG apparently. Lisa-lookalike again - she recognized me first. Despite missing dances with likes of LR, this was one of the most enjoyable CG night - best in a long time especially for On1.

After all I have more or less run out of old movies.

Nov 14 -. DCDC. Somewhat light night. I opted out of B-day dance - I just couldn't bring myself to join.

Reading on the other hand is something I seem to have lost interest in for a time being. I still haven't finished 2666.

Nov 17. BD. The turnout felt light in the beginning but it filled up nicely. Two dances with MB to start off - was surprised to see her there. Sylvia. Carl.

DC scene is large enough that it can be difficult to figure out if someone is new to the scene or had been out of circulation or had been running in different social circles.

Nov 21. Spates Hall. Interesting security check-in. Nice space. Fast floor. Many people. Couples crowd in large part. Many non-dancers present (by non-dancers I include people with zero experience). Running out of partners to ask for dance was something of an issue - all too common in past few months. Manuel spoke with mic too far away - not a particularly effective MC.

SF. I have more time than ever to spend my free time there. Ugh.

Nov 23. CG. Very rainy. Very difficult driving condition - lane markers nearly invisible. No TS - toe trouble. No JY either. JHU chitchat with A/S. Sylvia for 1 1/2 dance once again. There were 2 others with 2 dances - something of a rarity outside DCDC. About a third of the songs played tonight were used at BD last week by DJ Sonero substituting for Bruno.

Facebook too. Here, however, I avoid revealing yet I do much digging. I think I might be doing myself a favor by not making many facebook friends because it can oh so easily become an enormous time sink.

Nov 28. DCDC. Heavy turnout due to DCSM. Wet mirrors. I thought I was going to suffocate after first few dances. Betto from NC (not Philly) was there - LV was right and I was wrong. Likeable music.

To act or wait, that is the question. Inaction is so easy, but it does make certain sense.

Trick or treat

2009-11-02T04:58:00.004Z

October 31, 2009

It was supposed to be a treat to myself for an uninspiring month of October.

The event schedule showed early evening show from 7:30 to 8:30 PM and late evening show from 9 to 10:30 PM. I thought catching the late show might be fine but not essential. Since I left home at 8:30, I knew I would only catch the end of the late show only if there was no problem with my driving unless the shows started late.

The drive was more expensive than I would have liked. There was the 200+ mile roundtrip to consider. I thought avoiding Baltimore Harbor Tunnel would save toll fee, but I ended up on Fort McHenry Tunnel, which had the same toll fee ($2 each way). I also had not counted on toll on route 95 northbound in Maryland north of Baltimore ($5) although I had remembered toll on route 95 in Delaware ($4 each way). So paying toll alone cost $17 for this trip. The night pass was $30.

Incidentally I had considered going to New York this weekend instead of Philadelphia. Remind me not to drive. Add more toll fee – Delaware Memorial Bridge ($3 return), New Jersey Turnpike (probably $8 each way or more), and Holland or Lincoln Tunnel ($6 to Manhattan). Take the bus (it’s cheaper. e.g. Chinatown buses, Bolt Bus or even Greyhound) or the train (most comfortable) instead. Anyway, it is a pain to visit NYC for a day trip living in the suburbs.

Google map erroneously stated that I should take exit 6 towards Ridley Park off route 95 to get to the Ramada at Philadelphia airpot. It was exit 8. I took exit 6 then got back on before getting lost after taking exit 7 and ending up on Macdade Blvd and Fairview Rd. Fortunately I was able to get instructions to get to the Ramada Inn via local routes thanks to a couple of bystanders by some fast food eatery. I managed to find parking by 10:40 PM.

There were many DC folks there including Tanya, Tommy, Brandon, Julie, Earl, Renzo, Josh, Janet as well as some people whose names I caught via meetup or facebook photos (e.g. Masahiko from Station 9 fiasco, Adrienne, Masha) and a few others including some I dance well with in DC. There were also some Philly people I knew from other connections. Unfortunately as the evening progressed, it became evident that there were very few Philly natives, whom I could develop decent dance chemistry.

So the highlights ended up being dancing with “big-name” instructor-performer types. Two highlights were Vanda and Burju – I had never danced with either before, and I liked dances with both – I liked the songs too although perhaps Tlahuanaco is not without its difficulties (no complaint about Rumbon Melon). I don’t think I pushed them much – not that I feel particularly competent especially as of late. Magna was there, but I failed to spot her until very late. I thought about asking her for a dance, but I opted out after seeing her looking concerned about some leg injury. Hopefully I’ll find her without ailments one of these days. So what about others “big-name” followers? The fact that I am wondering about this is a little disconcerting because there wasn’t any “new” follower who I had strong favorable impression aside from Vanda and Burju. Was Griselle Ponce or Liz Lira there? If so, did I dance with either of them? If so, was our dance chemistry so poor that I found them unremarkable? For whatever its worth, the number of “big-name” leaders I saw were spotty too – Nuno, MarioB and Cristian Oviedo were there, but I did not see Shaka or Victor and failed to spot Al Espinoza assuming he was there.

I think this might have been the first time I have heard two Bachata followed by one or more Merengue at a Salsa congress.

Songs played included Ana Y Saoco (Angel Canales), Hay Craneo (Tito Rodriguez), Hong Kong Mambo (Tito Puente – remix), Cuando Te Vea (Tito Puente), Tlahuanaco (Alfredo Linares), Picadillo (Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri), Tres Dias De Carnaval (Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco), Mambo Mongo (Mongo Santamaria), Nabori (Cheo Feliciano), Alafia (Joe Cuba Sextet), Oyelo (Johnny Colon), Lady (Orquesta Palabra), Calle Luna Calle Sol (Willie Colon), Rumbon Melon (Joe Pastrana) among others.

The Halloween costume contest had five finalists – Roman Legionnaire, Urkel, Burju (as Madonna?), Hooters waitress (worn by a guy) and a pair of elderly 60s/70s partygoers. The first three had a dance-off for the top 3 prize runoff, won ultimately by Urkel.

I may have danced only once during the last hour or so. Around 1:30 or 2 or so, I thought I should leave by 3 or so, but I ended up lingering until 3:30. Only when I turned the car engine on I realized that it would have been 4:30 AM without the end of the daylight savings hour.

Drive back was dark and rainy. It was very difficult to see the road markings, and there were more than usual share of nutty drivers. On a section of the empty road with four lanes, I was on the right lane and saw a slow moving car in the second from right lane. I decided to pass it from its left-side as I ought to, but this car all of sudden for no reason decided to change lane to left as well just as I was about to pass it. Bloody hell! I had to move one more lane to avoid hitting this car before hitting the klaxon in irritation. Later in the drive on a three-lane road, I found a car stopped dead in the middle lane with its lights on but without any hazard lights. Stopping in the breakdown lane is dangerous enough. What are these people thinking?

Treat it wasn’t.

Unending Epilogue 7

2009-10-27T21:41:00.005Z

October 2009

Slow month overall. Feeling somewhat stuck. Poor month for Salsa.

Oct 5 Mon. Clarendon Grill. Uncharacteristically quiet. Very few dances, good or not.

Oct 6 Tue. Barking Dog. Better night. DJ was Bruno for second night in a row. I came up with 25/25/25/25 rule for Bruno – 25% good, 25% okay, 25% yucky, 25% non-Salsa.

Oct 10 Sat. DC Dance Collective. DJs were EricB and Dola. One of the more notable familiar song was Del Agua Brava. Very few people showed up – probably the TSR/SOS Black and Red Night can be blamed. Introduced to Haleh

Oct 12 Mon. Clarendon Grill. Bruno might have played that Chinita song for third night in a row. Formally met Christian (nice dance with Luz to No Critiques), Tega, Royston (usually wears a cap) and Lorenzo.

Oct 14 Wed. I tried to go to Station 9. It was closed. I took a look at Pure nearby, but gave up after hearing predictable Marc Anthony and no obvious signs of dancers.

Oct 15 Thu. Bambule. DJ was Neo. Quiet night. Earl blamed the rain. Maybe a little over one hour of dancing – it wasn’t too bad all things considered. Mari was there.

Oct 18 Sun. Lucky Strikes. DJ was Renzo. It was about expected. I was introduced to Julie while chatting with Tanya and Renzo. Also Cecelia.

Oct 21 Wed. Another bad luck with Station 9 – the Salsa night was cancelled for something else (I don’t know what). Pure was playing Oscar D’Leon – we didn’t stay (chatted briefly with Masahiko and friend).

Oct 23 Fri. The Salsa Room. DJs were Hercules and Georgie. Hercules played popular standards (Babarabatiri, Chango Ta Beni, Preparen Candela (WS), Anacaona, Hong Kong Mambo, Rebelion, El Que Se Fue (GSR), Merecumbe (JC)) or so-so not-great but generally not horrible tunes. Hercules also played either Babarabatiri or Chango Ta Beni twice. Georgie played more varied selection (Los Salseros Se Van, popular recent version of Cao Cao Mani Picao, the Chinita song, Ponme El Alcolado Juana were familiar tunes). This probably was a more popular night than usual because of Orlando Machuca’s birthday.

Oct 24 Sat. DC Dance Collective. DJs were EricB and Steve Martin. EricB used Kako Y Totico again. Also was it second or third La Llave in a row with normal crowd? Familiar songs from SM included La Agonia and Usted Abuso. With a bigger crowd, EricB decided to go obscure as well, so Steve wins my vote by a nose. I think I enjoy Steve’s selections more when there are few people left. The heat and humidity at DCDC with large crowd is not enjoyable – a big minus. Formally met Manuel.

Oct 26 Mon. Clarendon Grill. DJ Bruno started his Merengue (x2) and Bachata (x2) considerably earlier than usual. Apparently this was because of the Halloween costume contest, which nearly 40 people entered. Despite the unexpected change in musical program, I managed to dance a few times including once with someone named Jenny, whom I never seen before. There were many people present, but many quickly exited during or after the contest. There was another b-day dance for Orlando Machuca as well. Thus I managed not to dance with many people I probably would have danced under normal circumstances – this sort of thing seemed to happen often this month. A new learned name is Olga. Oh yeah – and that Chinita song again was played (Mario Ortiz All-Star Band). One thing though – smaller number of total number of songs seemed to have meant smaller proportion of songs I found awful by DJ Bruno (i.e. the 25% rule did not apply tonight).

When I saw the calender and saw that there were five weekends and that the second Saturday DCDC social had the TSR/SOS Black and Red night, I knew that this was going to be a weak month. Thus I took the time to check out the venues other than Clarendon Grill and Barking Dog. It wasn’t as thorough as I had hoped (mainly because of the Station 9 fiasco), but I think I now have enough to give a DC summary. See below – I may update this in the future.

--

Weekly nights of note

Mondays

Clarendon Grill 1101 N. Highland St. Arlington VA
Beginner 7-8 PM, Intermediate 8-9 PM
Instructor – Keith Givens / DJ – Bruno
Music – Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Cha Cha
Open dancing 9 PM-1 AM (typically ends 12:30 AM)
Entry: $5
Free Parking: Easy (treet parking + free underground garage on Highland St)
Metro: Excellent / Clarendon

Clarendon Grill is the best On2 weekly spot in DC. Most On2 dancers can dance On1, but for people who dance On1 only, other venues are just as good and possibly better. DJ Bruno’s shtick is 2 Merengue and 2 Bachata in a row at 10 PM. Most On2 dancers time their arrival to avoid this 10 PM “Salsa break” for whatever its worth. Dancing extends to pockets of concrete floor above small main wood floor.

Lucky Bar 1225 Conneticut Ave. Washington DC
Free Salsa class 8-9 PM.
Instructor – Avram / DJ – Silenzio
Open dancing 9 PM-late
Entry: free
Metro: Excellent or Good / Dupont Circle or Farragut North or Farragut West
Free Parking: Difficult (probably)

I hear this place can get crowded. I never went.

Tuesdays

Barking Dog 4723 Elm St. Bethesda MD
Beginner 7-8 PM, Advanced Beginner 8-9 PM
Instructor – Michelle Reyes / DJ – rotates (includes El Sonero, El Oso Negro, Bruno, Neo)
Open dancing 9 PM-midnight
Music – Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Cha Cha
Entry: $5 cover, $10 with lessons
Free Parking: Easy-Moderate
Metro: Good / Bethesda

This is the other weekly On2 spot. It’s a good deal for On1 dancers too. Tile floor surrounds a fairly small central wood floor and is also used by many dancers. Perhaps because the dancing is done on second floor, it can get somewhat warm – although not too bad.

e-Citie 8300 Tyco Road Tysons Corner VA

Never visited this place. It might be better than Café Salsa in Alexandria. I don’t know.

Wednesday

Station 9 1438 U Street NW Washington DC
8:30-9PM Salsa, 9-9:45PM Bachata
Instructor – Earl Rush, Psyon / Salsa; Lee “El Gringuito” / Bachata
DJ – Lee “El Gringuito” – Bachata, Salsa Romantica, Salsaton, Salsa hits, Salsa Vieja, Merengue, Cha Cha
Guest DJs on special nights – Hard Salsa, Mambo, Cha Cha
Entry: $10 for lessons, for party $10 men, $5 women
Parking: Difficult
Metro: Good / U Street

The venue seemed fairly nice, but I never danced here despite attempting to get in 3 different times. Lee supposedly plays more Romantica than anyone else in DC. My understanding is that this is the best option for Weds.

Pure Lounge 1326 U Street NW Washington DC

This is very close to Station 9. I took a peek twice but did not go in.

Ozio Restaurant & Lounge 1813 M St NW Washington DC
Lesson 8-9:30 PM
Instructor / DJ Edgar “The Elite Rumbero”
Music – Salsa, Bachata, Merengue and much more
Open dancing to late (closes 2 AM)
Entry: $8 for lessons, free entry
Metro: Exellent or Good / Dupont Circle or Farragut North or Farragut West
Free Parking: I’m guessing difficult

The venue location is central so it might be worth checking.

Umberto’s Night Club 11230 Grandview Ave Wheaton MD

It exists and still going at the moment. No personal experience.

Thursday

~~Bambule 5225 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington DC~~
7-9:30 PM Instructor – Earl Rush
Open dance to midnight or so?
Entry: $10 for lessons, $8 entry
Free Parking: Easy-Moderate
Metro: Excellent / Friendship Heights

I hear this place is quite hit-and-miss. Floor is nice and spacious, and venue is convenient for cars or public transit. It might get better – or not. [updated Oct 30. This venue no longer runs Salsa nights.]

Sunday
Lucky Strikes 701 7th Street (second floor) NW Washington DC
Lessons 8-9 PM
Open dancing to around midnight
Instructor: Earl Rush and guests
Entry: $10 for lessons, free entry
Free Parking: Moderate
Metro: Excellent / Chinatown

Floor is nice and spacious, and venue location is convenient. Decent hangout.

--

The venues listed below have multiple Salsa nights with open dancing until as late as 2 AM.

Wednesday to Saturday

Habana Village 1834 Columbia Road NW Washington DC
Beginner, Intermediate/Advanced 7:15-9 PM
Instructor (Wed, Sat) – Zulma, Victor, Victoria
Instructor (Thu, Fri) – Leon, Ruth, Bob, Henry, Dupree
DJ – Azucar, Jim “El Duro”
Music – Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Timba, other
Entry: $10 lessons
Parking: Difficult
Metro: Good / Woodley Park Adams Morgan

I hear it can get crowded here. I hear it’s a fun place to hang out.

Thursday to Saturday

The Salsa Room
2619 Columbia Pike Arlington VA
Instructor - Orlando Machuca (On1, Thu), Saoco (Cuban, Fri), Karen Aguilar (Sat)
DJ – Hercules and guests
Music - Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Reggaeton
Free Parking: Easy-Moderate
Metro: Not Recommended / Clarendon

This place has the biggest floor of all the regular venues. It is dark and cavernous with strong AC. The resident DJ Hercules apparently tends to overplay some artists. The one time I paid careful attention to the DJ, I noted that Hercules used one album 3 times in a single night including one song twice in a span of less than 2 hours.

--

Notable regular non-weekly events

second and fourth Saturdays

DC Dance Collective 4908 Wisconsin Avenue NW Washington DC
9-10 PM On1 and On2 lessons
Open dancing 10 PM to 2 AM
Instructor – Tommy Smith and Jimmy Yoon
DJ – rotating DJ (includes EricB, Steve Martin, Dola, Bruno, Neo, Renzo, others)
Free Parking: Easy
Metro: Good / Friendship Heights – Tenleytown-AU

This is a social not a club. The music here tends to be highbrow and obscure. It's also a regular On2 hangout. Weak AC is a big negative as it is usually hot and humid when it’s crowded.

Other venues I have some knowledge of include National Harbor (new developmental area with poor public transit and costly parking)

There is fair number of irregular events, but many of these are not well established. The best bets are SOS special events hosted by Earl Rush about half dozen times a year and Clavekazi socials hosted by Shaka Brown. With Shaka now living in Miami, I’m not sure what the fate of Clavekazi socials will be, however. Another reasonable bet is Scene Magazine Release parties hosted by Renzo, which presumably will go on as long as that magazine stays alive.

Finally Manuel seems to be trying to get a (monthly?) social established on Saturdays with DJ Andy, who I was told by one source was the top DJ in DC long time ago (until he and his old business partner broke up). I haven’t been to the venue, but it looks nice (see picture). Location is okay and parking looks good. It’s not particularly close to Metro (nearest stop is Clarendon). Good DJ + good floor means = high potential and worth checking out. Next night is on Nov 21.

Spates Hall Community Club at Fort Myers Base
214 McNair Road Arlington VA
9 PM to 1 AM

Meanwhile I’m going to try to turn this poor October around by visiting Philadelphia Salsafest on Oct 31 (Saturday only for me).

Unending Epilogue 6

2009-10-01T02:27:00.005Z

September 2009

I think my Salsa nights out were 7 in all in September - 9/1 Barking Dog, 9/7 Clarendon Grill, 9/12 DCDC 9/14 Clarendon Grill, 9/22 Barking Dog, 9/26 DCDC, 9/18 Clarendon Grill. 9/20 could have been Lucky Strikes, but that night was cancelled. 9/21 Clarendon Grill was an anniversary event with a live band and was skipped because I thought it was going to be too crowded.

The frequency of going out is pretty similar to way it has been since September of 2008. Since then the nights out have been 6 for 9/08, 7 for 10/08, 8 for 11/08, 10 for 12/08, 7 for 1/09, 5 for 2/09, 8 for 3/09, 7 for 4/09, between 5-7 for both 5/09 and 6/09, 5 for 7/09, 7 for 8/09. I think 6 to 10 times a month is a pretty good number for me right now.

Melanie, Meryl, Michelle and Shiela are the new names to be added this month to the “list” of people. I think I could add Steve to the same list since I mentioned him without conversing with him last month – now corrected. I felt that Steve was the better DJ at the last DCDC, and his last 2 songs were Satin and Lace (TR version with full ending) and Good Night My Love (Louie Ramirez).

Last couple of nights were somewhat more talky than usual (not that I was not dancing any less than usual). Topics included SF, Seoul, Laurel and Honey Pig with Luz and Jimmy; comparing DJs with Leticia; Europe (UK, London, Moe, Leon) with Maylis; usual random assortments with Tanya. Monday was a birthday for someone whom I’ve enjoyed dancing with for a long time here (but I never caught her name).

I have been catching up on movies lately mostly outside theatres. Below is how I would rate them. Usually I would only watch movies I expect to be good – so a movie I rate 3 stars probably met my expectation.

No Country For Old Man ***1/2
Minority Report ***1/2
Synedoche, New York ***1/2
Superbad ***1/2
Michael Clayton ***1/2
Burn After Reading ***
The Simpsons Movie ***
A Quantum Of Solace ***
Iron Man ***
Sweeney Todd ***
Star Trek ***
District 9 ***
Smart People *** (above expectations)
Pineapple Express ***
Knocked Up ***
Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist ***
Man On Wire ***
3:30 To Yuma ***
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle ***
Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay **1/2 (met expectation)
Matrix 3 **1/2 (met expectation)
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button **1/2
Love Actually **1/2
Dogma **1/2
House Bunny **1/2 (met expectation)
I Am Legend **1/2
Harry Potter: Order Of The Phoenix **1/2
Nacho Libre **1/2 (met expectation)
Hellboy **
Romeo+Juliet **
Enchanted **
Semipro *1/2
Golden Compass * (did not meet low expectation)

I watched some movies starting with low expectations. Sometimes they were better than expected, met lower expectation or failed to meet even my low starting expectation. For example, Golden Compass failed to meet a very low expectation (I was expecting a 2 star movie and got a 1 star movie).

I guess I am making up for all the movies I did not watch because I was too busy at work or Salsa. For whatever its worth, I summarize last several years of movie for me below. Maybe it's safe to do this sort of thing now that the readership has gone down to about quarter of old days.

2008
I saw 1 of the top 20 movies in a theatre. Wall-E was good. I caught The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire on airplane – both were good. I’ve caught a few other top 20 movies in the past month. I can do without the ones I have not watched thus far.

2007
I saw 1 of the top 20 movies in a theatre. Bourne Ultimatum was good. Three airplane movies (Spider-Man 3, Shrek 3, Pirates of Caribbean 3) were instantly forgettable. I’ve watched some of the other top 20 movies in the past month, and the only remaining one I would be interested in watching is Juno and maybe Ratatouille.

2006
I saw 2 of the top 20 movies in a theatre. Casino Royale and Talladega Nights were both good. The Departed on airplane was excellent. I could be convinced to watch Borat or Devil Wears Prada, but I don’t think I would be interested in any of the other top 20 movies. Cars probably is good, but the only Pixar movie I ever saw was Wall*E despite my guess that pretty much all Pixar movies are well made.

2005
I saw 4 of the top 20 movies in a theatre. Wedding Crashers and 40 Year Old Virgin were good, and Revenge of Sith and Goblet of Fire were not so good. I saw 3 others in airplanes. Batman Begins was okay, Hitch was forgettable and Walk The Line was pretty good. The other 13 titles don't interest me.

2004
I saw 3 of the top 20 movies in a theatre. Prisoner of Azkaban, Bourne Supremacy and 50 First Dates were good. Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, National Treasure were airplane or TV movies and were mediocre. The other 14 are of no interest. I started taking Salsa lessons in Sept 2004.

2003
I saw 4 of the top 20 movies and maybe 4 other movies in a theatre. Return of the King, Pirates of Caribbean were good whereas The Matrix Reloaded and Terminator 3 were merely okay. This is the year I moved to the UK.

2002
I saw 8 of the top 20 movies as well as several less popular movies. I’m pretty sure I averaged at least one movie per month for much of my adult life in the USA.

Old friends news front. Vish moved his venues once again - now to old Po Na Na for Mondays/Wednesdays and to Sports Centre on Mill Lane for Fridays. Apparently Cyrille stopped by last Friday. On another side of the planet, Agnes moved from Singapore to the Bay Area (or close enough).

On a more official business matter, the draft of the manuscript is nearly finished at somewhere between 60 and 70 pages.

Unending Epilogue 5

2009-08-30T07:27:00.004Z

August 2009

How many times this month?

There was the Clavekazi anniversary part at the beginning of the month. Supposedly meetup.com group members received a discount, but only if you signed up for the right meetup group – I believe it was an official event for MD Salsa meetup and VA Salsa meetup group but not the DC Salsa meetup group on the account of DC group being on a vacation for the entire month of August (save their weekend NYC outing, which overlapped with the Clavekazi social). For whatever its worth, DC group by far has the largest membership, and VA and MD groups are organized jointly by another set of people. At least for now, organization via meetup site still is probably bigger than organization by facebook for the DC Salsa scene. It was a bit warm inside, and the musical selection for the last hour put me off a bit. Otherwise I found it a pretty enjoyable social.

Leaving the Clavekazi social, I was talked into a new night being started at Lucky Strikes in DC. I only realized after arriving that the text I had received said that the sender was the only On2 follower present – not that I consider myself On2 exclusivist or supremacist. It was okay especially considering there was no entry fee although the turnout was rather mediocre – blamed on a late-start on promotion. Some people I had not-too-great On2 dances gave me a pretty good On1 dances later in the evening. I was told other people had a pretty good impression of Lucky Strikes evening based upon their visit on subsequent weeks.

Second Saturday of the month took me to DC Dance Collective social, which has thus far been the place I’m most likely to be absent from thus far since moving here. The attendance was on the low side because of a competing party at The Salsa Room (a magazine release party for the Salsa Scene). I thought it was rather unfortunate that the release party was not organized for either the first, third or the fifth Saturday of the month, which would have enabled me to go to both events. For whatever its worth, the next magazine release party in October is also on the second Saturday – yuck. I wonder if this pattern will continue?

Anyhow given the relatively weak second Saturday and no prospect of interesting event the following weekend, I decided to hit Clarendon Grill for next two Mondays in a row as well as a trip to Barking Dog on one of the Tuesdays. The first Clarendon Grill night was particularly good, and the other two nights were pretty good too. The only complaint for Barking Dog was that the room was very warm – it did not seem like their AC was working properly. The fact that it was quite impossible to cool off in the warm room led to some not-so-pleasant conversation near the end of the evening. Two Bachata at Barking Dog was two more than usual for me at DC. The second Clarendon Grill night was made less than ideal probably because I ended up arriving rather late thanks to some ATM problems.

Fourth Saturday DC Dance collective was much better attended compared to the one two weeks earlier. Shaka Brown made an announcement that he is moving to Florida (but he plans to visit DC often still). I had gone on a 5-mile hike with Ignacio at the Sugarloaf mountain in the afternoon, and it seemed like my legs have gone out of shape with lack of exercise lately. So perhaps not surprisingly I ran out of energy fairly early. Otherwise this could have been an exceptionally good night. Also I was a bit frustrated with song selections starting from near the end of the first set of the first DJ (EricB?) and throughout the first set of the second DJ (Steve Martin) – too same too obscure too hardcore 60s-70s songs. Second sets by both DJs later were much more to my liking – although I was too tired to grab dance partners quickly enough by then. Since I seemed to have made a complaint about Steve Martin, I’ll try to limit damage (or perhaps get myself in bigger trouble) by saying that I’d rate Steve Martin as one of my top 5 (perhaps even top 3) social leads I enjoyed watching in the DC local scene.

Anyhow that led to a third Clarendon Grill Monday in a row. It was a reliably good CG night though nothing special by my CG standard. Here I was talked into visiting a place at National Harbor on the following Friday. This unfortunately ended up a fiasco, which I half expected I suppose. This particular event was advertised as an outdoor event, which seemed like a bad idea to me considering the hot humid summer weather we have in DC. Because the temperature was expected to be 69 or 70 degrees Fahrenheit (or about 20 degrees Celsius), I decided to at least take a drive there. Unfortunately when I arrived, I only glimpsed three couples dancing on the concrete floor and total of perhaps 10-12 people altogether. Entering seemed like a waste of 10 dollar cover, so I came back without further ado. It still cost me $11 for having parked the car for less than 20 minutes, however. Parking at the cheapest public garage costs at National Harbor $11 flat after 6 PM. Also I was drenched in sweat by doing nothing besides light walking at 70 degrees Fahrenheit – no doubt high humidity helped. Anyhow, it’s difficult to see me coming back to any event (Salsa or otherwise) to National Harbor.

Some new names I can now match with their face: Alexis, Orlando, Miranda, Leroy, Liz. Then there are old names I had forgotten to mention in previous epilogues: Ben, Diana, Cathy, Jen, Liz and Liz. For now, I’m only including people I think I can name reliably and people who I find more or less friendly towards me – latter of course is easy for people who come off seeming friendly to everyone. There are bunch of local people whom I can give check mark for only one of the criteria. Names mentioned in previous epilogues include Tanya, Jimmy, Luz, Leticia, Josh, Shaka, Earl, Tommy, Beto, Preston, Janet, Charissa, Brandon, Maylis, Cecilia.

I’m guessing I’ll be going out one more time this month – most likely this Monday thus making it four Mondays in a row. Oh well. Clarendon Grill is fine, but I wouldn’t have considered worth going four weeks in a row. Then again I am a bit put off by Barking Dog and would prefer to skip it for about a month if I can help it. There’s nothing interesting next weekend – the big event is the New York Salsa Congress, which I expect not to attend. So the only must event is the next DC Dance Collective social, which doubles as a birthday party for Tommy Smith who runs the event, still 2 weeks away. Ugh. Does that mean Clarendon Grill 5 weeks in a row??? [note added later: No chance of 5 weeks in a row because Clarendon Grill night is cancelled next Monday]

On topics other than Salsa, I’m now able to put more effort into writing and editing my manuscripts with some major distractions put to rest. I’ve also been taking some time exploring the strange world of K-Dramas. I also lifted self-imposed ban on facebook although I still have no plans to make use it as a blog or twitter type of device at this time.

Unending Epilogue 4

2009-07-30T01:52:00.015Z

July 2009

How many times did I go out Salsa dancing this month? One disadvantage or benefit to not having a daily diary is that it is more difficult to keep track. I am sure I went out at least 4 times. I might have gone out as many as 7 times.

The last time I went out was the last Monday of July to Clarendon Grill. It’s easy to remember that one since it was only two days ago. Arguably the big event of the month was the SOS anniversary party on the third Saturday, which I also attended. I definitely went to the DC Dance Collective Saturday socials both times this month (second and fourth Saturdays). I don’t think I went out on July 4th,but I probably compensated by going to Clarendon Grill the Monday afterwards. So that probably makes it 5 nights out – my best guess. I think I’m done for July. Wow – that’s not a lot considering I do not feel burnt out.

I think it’s possible that I danced exclusively On2 on four of those five nights. Again wow. I actually made an active effort to try dancing On1 a few times this Monday, but there is little point to try to dance On1 elsewhere. This is so unexpected but not necessarily surprising in retrospect. There are very few people here who can step in time reliably and yet is rather poor in On2 timing. Big parties or at least the big parties I attend attract plenty of On2 dancers. The DC Dance Collective Saturday social tries to be DC’s version of Jimmy Anton social in NYC (the Mecca of On2 dancing) – in fact they probably picked their dates (second and fourth Saturdays) to be as far apart from Jimmy Anton social dates (first, third and occasional fifth Sundays) most of the time.

On a different note, I had talked to Tanya about having me play some songs at her social for a short segment. Now why would I want to do that? I’m not interested in getting DJ gigs. For the most part, I think I prefer to be dancing rather than playing. I’m far from certain that I would do a better job than people who are established here. In fact after having talked to Tanya, Jimmy, Stu and Tommy about their musical preferences, I actually find the prospect of a flop quite real – it might be really easy to displease many people with “wrong” song choices. Certainly pleasing everyone all the time is out of question since even these four alone have different tastes; some loves certain songs while others despise those same songs. At least one of the big reason why I asked to DJ was to try playing kind of songs that seem to get played here. However, I may not have a very good sense of which songs are being played a lot while which songs are nearly unheard of (I was told Hector Lavoe gets played to death by some DJs!). It doesn't help that I don’t go to many of the "typical" venues. In fact, I have heard only a handful of songs get played more than once in this area since April; the song selections seem pretty deep. Thus the amount of general Salsa music knowledge here may be considerably greater than I am used to – difficult to gauge.

Moving from audio to video, I discovered a clip of me dancing at the DC Salsa Congress. It was not a kind of video where one couple is the center of focus, but it was enough to cause some cringing and give myself some harsh evaluations. The shortest summary I could think of? I still suck. I think it shows that I really haven’t done any critical evaluation of how I look while dancing taking advantage of videotaping myself. Of course I don’t know if I have the energy and time to go to such efforts and I also don’t know if such measure would be beneficial in all ways. I say this because I could see a scenario where video analysis may help lead to removing certain excesses and perhaps bad habits, it may also lead to inhibitions and stagnation. Ultimately I imagine benefits would outweigh harms since knowing is ultimately better than not knowing. It’s something I should do eventually if I want to keep on dancing for a long time.

One of the things I cringed about was seeing how often I was failing to dance along to how the music was progressing. At least at two different passages, I was asking why the heck am I doing what I am doing at that point in the song? A few caveats. I don’t know the song so I suppose I could easily be caught off guard here and there. I never danced with the person I was dancing with before also – although that’s not much of an excuse and my recollection is that she was a pretty good follower by the Congress standard (and most people I danced with there were pretty darn good by my European Congress experience). One of the things I saw (although I suppose I was somewhat aware of this even before) is that even though I think I’m trying my best to dance according to the music I seem to be doing a pretty poor job of it – lucky if I’m doing okay maybe half or even one third of the song even with really good partners (arguably being generous with myself).

Another thing I did after finding this clip was to look at other social dancing clip from the same event. In most cases it was difficult for me to see that people dancing were making an effort to dance according to the music. A small minority was making an effort to accentuate the breaks in the song. It was less clear that most people who were trying to accentuate the breaks were paying attention to other parts of the song (although no doubt better than the general populace and occasionally I saw things that made me think what some people were doing were pretty darn good - miles better than what I was doing). So I guess the good news (or the bad news) is that most people were not succeeding most of the times either (or I can tell myself that I may be doing it poorly but doing it poorly could be considered better than not trying or not being aware?). I also would not be surprised if I come back to this a half year from now and say I had no idea what I was talking about; I write about these things but I certainly cannot be considered an expert or an authority of any sort in dancing (or music or pretty much everything).

There is one big question I have. Now the old-time musicians have said things like they can watch the way old-time dancers moved and be able to tell which music they were playing. Would they be able to do such thing in a Salsa congress event nowadays? I ask because I feel that I would be completely clueless about how to go about figuring out the song from the dancers from all the seemingly random moves different people go about performing at all parts of the song.

Unending Epilogue 3

2009-07-03T04:16:00.001Z

June 2009

Still leading an unproductive life. Spending way too much time in front of a small laptop screen. Inertia is not a good thing. People think I’m brilliant though – and not just for Salsa. I shouldn’t take anything from the compliments other than I am not brain dead.

As for Salsa, I hardly danced On1 this month. I think almost everyone prefer On2 pretty much everywhere I go. I think I might be getting rusty with On1 in fact. This is something I never expected.

The biggest event this month was the DC Salsa Congress. I only managed to go on Friday night and Sunday night – and I originally thought I was going to miss Sunday night. Despite missing the biggest night (Saturday), I thought the Congress was brilliant. At least for Salsa that is. It was actually a fairly small Congress by the numbers but not in quality. I danced with some people (complete strangers) as many as 4 times including one girl from Finland/NC, who could have passed for a model/actress/whatever (she was surprisingly good and seemed to enjoy the dances with me a great deal, which was good but also somewhat sad for my ego/mind/whatever).

That Saturday I was in New York for a cousin’s wedding. The DJ there after seeing me dance Cha Cha to Oye Como Va by Santana with one of my aunts decided to play – La Vida Es Un Carnaval. A 72-year old man (husband of groom’s older sister) complimented me on Cha Cha saying he loved that dance. I thought he was in his early 50s – in fact he could have passed from someone in his 40s. His daughter (in her 50s) told me later that her father seems to get younger as he ages.

Unending Epilogue 2

2009-06-05T21:30:00.003Z

May 2009

The whole month is now something of a blur – mostly because I spent a lot of time playing a real-time warfare MMPORG for about a month. For whatever its worth, I have been a top 40 player (and top player on third ranked alliance) in the server I ended up on for last few weeks. I should be dramatically reducing my playing time very soon however and probably will quit altogether since I do want to get back to doing other things.

As for Salsa, it has been once or twice a week outing for most of May. The venues I’ve visited include DC Dance Collective (second and fourth Saturdays), Clarendon Grill (Mon), Barking Dog (Tues) and some special events at The Salsa Room. With apologies to other venues, which I have not frequented, these venues at the moment are the premiere locations for ET On2 dancers to my best understanding. For whatever its worth, I probably ended up dancing more On2 compared to On1 for this month.

A question I had been wondering for a while was, “How much was my blog affecting people’s perception towards me?” A related question might be whether some people were more likely to dance with me or not because of the blog. After a month, I think it is pretty clear that the absence of blog here made absolutely no difference. None. Nada. Zilch. Some people don’t like dancing with me after once or twice. Some won’t say yes the first time I ask (some will come find me later). For whatever its worth, people in the know tells me that I may come across as too scary good for some.

From previous outings, I have been somewhat familiar with people like Earl, Beto, Jimmy, Janet, Josh, Maylis, Tommy and Tanya (some of these people teach, others are social dancers). I suppose I can add Leticia, Ceci, Brendan, Preston, Luz and Shaka to the list of acquaintances or more. For Haihan, I did dance with Charissa, but I didn’t realize it was her so no introduction yet.

The most annoying night happened while visiting a DC venue called Station 9 for someone’s pre-wedding party. The streets were a maze. My debit card PIN did not work so I couldn’t withdraw any cash needed for entry. The people I knew inside were out of cash. I called the bank to deal with the PIN issue only to be placed on hold and then sent to nowhere (or where I started from) until my phone ran out. By then, I had enough and went home. Oh well.

Unending Epilogue: month 1

2009-05-01T00:01:00.001Z

April 2009

As far as Salsa is concerned I am having more difficulty adjusting to the time difference than in the past. This is because I had been getting up early in the morning for much of April while I was travelling across the UK, France and the Lowlands. Even a full week after returning, I often find myself feeling sleepy by 5 PM. Thankfully I stopped getting up before 7 in the morning.

The process of getting back to life in America is moving slowly. I suppose it is faster than it was moving to the UK though. I begun the process opening a bank account on my third day back and received some account information within a week after arriving. Although things like debit cards and full online access information have not arrived yet, it sure beats taking nearly a month to get an account in the UK.

Originally I did not expect to get a mobile phone for a while. I still haven’t gotten one, but I think I will end up getting one – after completing my bank account details. Already one person asked me for cell phone (or mobile phone) information. I imagine I won’t use it much, but I suppose I should make myself “reachable” by methods other than e-mail. I’ll probably end with pay-as-you-go (or prepaid) phone – quite possibly with Virgin Mobile (a British outfit no less).

For this monthly update (no guarantees that I will keep this up), there has been only one Salsa outing. I meant to go to a second night but combination of a headache caused by a cold and some surprise dinner guests put that plan out the door. The one time I did go out I felt at less than top shape possibly because of combination of general inactivity and sleep issues neither of which had been helped by the aforementioned cold and headache.

It took no time to catch up with some friends I made from my last visit once at one of the regular hotspots (I’ll refrain from naming specific places or names local – at least for now). Heck, they even remembered my name too (fortunately I remembered theirs too). I also saw a lot of people I did not see before. I know it’s a mistake to judge a scene by one night but this one night made me think of Sergio saying that many good dancers don’t go out on local nights here.

As I was writing the last paragraph, I realized of a personal bias – not necessarily fair but perhaps illuminating. I rate followers based on how they dance with me. They could look good dancing with some other people, but I probably would think less of them if they were unable to dance well with me. On the other hand I rate leaders solely based on how they look dancing with others. This makes perfect sense, but it does mean there presumably will be some disconnect between how I rate other leads compared to how followers rate same leads.

Anyhow the reason why I got into this talk is that I saw two new leads I had not seen before who I thought would have kicked ass if they showed up in London – arguably better than many of “names” dropped in advertisements on web and on fliers for big events. (Heck, I think some of those name guys are quite awful – neither distinctive, entertaining nor aesthetically pleasing.) It also made me think that I haven’t gotten very far – even though I won’t see I haven’t made any progress recently but it seemed to me that some people here have made much bigger progress in last several months while I have been doing very little. Oh well. Maybe I’m doomed to plateau and fall behind the times. Who knows?

Finally I really should not comment on the Cambridge scene anymore – I’ll just say that I still do keep track of what’s going on there and that it is not lacking drama and intrigue.

Coda

2009-04-23T12:58:00.003Z

April 21, 2009

There should be no more recommendation given to me to talk about the weather rather than talk of people unless it is done behind their back. I imagine such thought came to mind in order to counterbalance admiration I felt for the countryside landscape outside the coach windows.

Beautiful weather, chronic transportation issues. It took over 20 minutes for the coach to move more than 50 meters from its parked space. At Stansted, the driver announced that M25 was closed in the direction we needed to go so we would have to weave through the countryside.

Roads and rails are so unreliable here. It is a big surprise when no problem is encountered in a long trip. I would estimate that M25 to Heathrow is problematic more than 75% of the time in my experience. In past 3 weeks, we suffered through an incident at Finsbury park resulting in 1+ hour delay, a long escalator out of action for 6 months at Pimlico tube station affecting us for 5 days, a train station closure for Liam a couple of days ago and a painfully slow drive through Bow street for Sergio and me. And then there are three out of three problematic trips to Heathrow. Maybe I should start a new blog entitled “On The Road” to detail trials and tribulations of travelling. One thing the UK has over the USA - widespread use of traffic light systems with vehicle detectors.

In the end the coach returned to a sparse M25 (J21) for the final leg of the journey. There was no problem arriving at terminal 5 before appointed time (1:30 PM). One excess weight baggage charge (25 pounds) after rearranging the bags, another Wagamama lunch, several e-mail correspondences, then boarding what appeared to be no more than half-full flight. I switched my seat as soon as possible for more space.

Once again I used westbound transatlantic flight to catch up on some film: Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, The Reader and Bolt – chosen in part for their length. Also about 80 pages of 2666 were devoured during the entire trip. The flight was a little slow not helped by not being able to fly through the NYC airspace. The descent was rather turbulent. The trip was generally a trouble-free.

Ross had suggested writing a book with the blog as base material on the drive back to Cambridge last night. I said immediacy is a problem – although perhaps immediacy is the current trend. I imagine the bigger issue would be interest – there simply are not that many people so interested in dance (or Salsa dance). It would have to be a backdrop rather than a main focus for enough people to be interest. And the writing would have to be pretty darn good too. All of it would take a lot of effort and time – who knows though?

In any case, no more daily Salsa blog. No more entry? - quite possibly since it agrees with my aesthetics. New blog? - to be determined. Certainly no Learning Salsa In DC.

Swan Song

2009-04-20T13:57:00.004Z

April 19, 2009

The plan crystallized when I received a text from Liam saying that Gaucho’s is fine late in the night. I forwarded the message to Sergio hoping that it would not disrupt his sleep. Past noon, I conferred with both over the phone then made the reservation for three at 7 PM. More time than I had hoped was spent studying the route to St James Square.

I picked up Sergio around 5 PM – slightly behind schedule. The traffic on Bow Street was unusually slow. However we did make it to Gaucho’s Grill Picadilly before appointed time – unlike Liam who apparently had to resort to taxi/bus combo due to a train station closure. In any case no major problems.

Gaucho’s Grill was dark. Aside from actual dark rooms, I don’t think I ever saw any place have less lighting than this place. Of restaurants, it reminded me a little of Hakasan, but this place was much darker. Food was okay but pricey. I may had less complaints than Sergio or Liam, but then again I wasn’t paying.

Liam directed me back to Russell Square area. As we approached the door I was able to hear a version of Camina Prende Y El Fogon unknown to me on the other side. I whispered to Sergio that Sylvester must be the DJ tonight. I was right. It was around 9 when we made our entrance.

Sergio’s assessment was that there were more On2 dancers at SOS compared to last time he was here. He thought the overall level (though not the top level) of people seemed better. This agreed with my opinion more or less although I have been here regularly so the change would not have looked stark.

The most amusing Liam quip of the day was, "You're so lucky," given to a girl he was chatting with when I got around to ask her for a dance. I would say he was considerably less outrageous than usual by past standard.

Like the last time, I think I danced at higher frequency than I had been for past year or so. The dances were up and down in quality early on. I was asked by two different women - one twice with second time seemingly half-expecting me to say no. I admit that I was eyeing who to ask for the next song during this dance.

Next for the last three songs, I picked on some of my favorites - the ones I find attractive and have had some very nice dances with in the past. Second to last song was Blue Mambo. The final song was for the second time tonight with my longest frequent partner at SOS. Thus ended my final SOS outing during my 5.5 years of residence in the United Kingdom.

Todo Tiene Su Final

2009-04-18T20:21:00.008Z

April 17, 2009

With a clearer head and fewer responsibilities, I made it to Sauce shortly after 9:30. I took a quick peek to see if 1 Station Road was open. It wasn’t yet, but there were activities downstairs. The lessons at Sauce was packed and ended shortly after 10. It was too crowded for me to see but the instructors presumably were Dan, Kafe, Jane and Vish. Robin and Raj were there early too.

After sitting out the first song, I decided to pick my partners by personal history. Thus I danced first with Marian, who I think was in my very first Salsa class. Next was Lorraine, who once assisted with Mauricio’s classes. Third was Jane – although by that point Serap had arrived so the theme had become unworkable. As for others, aside from Polly, who arrived much later, I would be hard pressed to decide the order of the dances. So many people have come and gone from the scene (and I don’t think I can be blamed for more than a handful if at all).

I also tried to dance with all of the regular girls there but didn’t quite succeed; I think I managed to ask all but one before they departed though. It took nearly two hours to make the first round.

I thought Vish knew about me not wanting a farewell dance. He didn’t – but this was neither surprising nor upsetting. I would not have picked the song Vish chose – Todo Tiene Su Final (Everything has an end, nothing lasts forever), but in retrospect it was quite apt. In fact, for me I preferred it over every other song Vish played for other people for birthdays and departures.

In the circle for the farewell dance were Abbe, Serap, Jane, Laura, Lorraine, Ania, Shorty, Georgie among others. No one was sure about when to jump in, and I wasn’t particularly sure about when to make the switch. The simplest method was to grab the most convenient person whenever Vish shouted switch. In general I didn’t try to do too much (or at least not overwhelm anyone) while keeping the dance to match the music (probably deluding myself into thinking I’m giving people a lesson in musicality if not fundamentals and philosophies rather than merely countless turn patterns).

Zern showed up near the end – pure coincidence that this was my last Friday in Cambridge and his first in more than 6 months. He stayed long enough for a group photo of last of the stragglers, which included Mark, Polly, Raj, Laura and Vish. Zern went on a chat-fest with big-hand Misty outside the door before the night ended with Mark’s foursome drifting out and in looking into the old venue.

Nothing lasts forever. Soon I’ll be joining likes of Mimis and Cyrilles in the dustbin of Cambridge Salsa history. The vacuum left by my absence will be filled quickly, and new pecking order will be established. New admirations, envies, idiocies, outrages and understandings will replace the old. I thought I saw what was happening and what was going to happen to the scene with some clarity through a thick fog and a laser light show. Does anyone else see with same kaleidoscope eyes?

Almost Over

2009-04-17T13:13:00.001Z

April 14, 2009

12:45 PM train (Thalys) to Amsterdam. I’m going to pretend that I did not visit Amsterdam, however. The only activity achieved was a canal cruise, which left me cold in more than one sense. Dinner at Hotel Ibis.

April 15, 2009

Keukenhof. A quickie one hour walk of Amsterdam never reaching De Wallen. Train to Hoek van Holland Haven. Overnight sailing to Harwich and dinner on Stena Britannica.

April 16, 2009

Breakfast on Stena Britannica. A hang up at customs due to visa issues. Slow train to Cambridge. Drive to and back from Heathrow. Feeling dazed and exhausted but I am not dead. No Salsa for this post. Five more days in the UK to go.

Decline of the Western Church and A Brief O'Sullivans Sojourn

2009-04-16T16:49:00.006Z

April 7, 2009

Greenwich. Tate Modern. Evensong at Westminster Abbey. Pork curry.

April 8, 2009

Heathrow airport once again with Picadilly line and District line both impaired. Pasta and Salmon. Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square. National Portraits Gallery. National Gallery. Covent Garden (Royal Opera): Dido and Aeneas & Acis and Galatea. Four Seasons for dinner. Not enough time for Bar Salsa.

April 9, 2009

Vauxhall Bridge to House of Parliament. British Museum. Chicken curry. Covent Garden (Royal Ballet): Giselle. Short stroll in Leicester Square.

April 10, 2009

Slow jaunt to Tower Hill via replacement two-decker bus. Tower of London. Bus back to Monument in crawling traffic. Tate Britain. Last dinner in London.

April 11, 2009

6:55 AM Eurostar to Paris. Hotel International near Republique. Stroll to Seine. Centre Pompidou. A short walk along Seine. Metro back to hotel. Dinner at L’Autre Café. What is this talk about shopping and Versailles?

April 12, 2009

Disastrous Gregorian Mass at Notre Dame on Easter Sunday (more on this later). Louvre. Walk to Arch of Triumph in search of open shops of haute couture. Some pizza on Avenue Champ de Elysees for dinner. Eiffel Tower. I couldn’t escape for an outing to Barrio Latino.

April 13, 2009

Boulangerie Kayser. A trip to Versailles where every building seemed closed. d’Orsay too was closed. Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc. Perhaps ten minutes of Vespers at Notre Dame. Atelier for dinner. The waiter with a 5-day old son.

Of all places I visited during this trip, the services at Notre Dame have to be considered the biggest disappointment.

I think the services on Easter has to rank as the worst time to visit Notre Dame given the crowding leading to large number of people left to standing or sitting on the ground for up to a little over an hour. As a tourist or as a believer, the experience is likely to be highly unsatisfying.

Vast majority of people attending the mass have very little knowledge of how to act during the mass. Outnumbering the people attending the mass are tourists simply walking around the congregation while taking photographs with flash. During the Vespers service on Monday (when there were more free chairs), the tourists felt free to wander into the area for the congregation for photographs and videos.

At several places during the mass, the leader of the mass was waving his arms to extol the congregation to sing along. Most did not – in part because many people were without appropriate program. I imagine a rather large number of people did not speak French. Personally I felt rather sorry for his difficult task.

By comparison, Anglican services in England are considerably more dignified; I speak from experience in attending evensong at Westminster Abbey and Kings College Chapel in Cambridge. Only people attending the services are allowed in. Even though more than half of the people (and there are not many people) are tourists, everyone is compelled to act respectfully given the solemn setting. I suppose all these churches are in decline, but it seems to me that the English churches are dying with more dignity compared to French churches.

By the time dinner at Atelier was finished and back at the Hotel International, it was already 11; I had hoped for an earlier getaway to O’Sullivans. By the time I arrived it was 11:30 meaning I had barely over one hour if I were to take the Metro back to the hotel. It made for a very abbreviated night out not helped by the fact that I was rather worn out from this long trip. Probably the dancing wasn’t so bad but I did wonder seriously whether I would keep up with Salsa once I am far away from Cambridge and London scene. After all my previous pattern has been to abandon the old and take up something new and unexpected after each of my major moves. Bed around 1 AM.

Mystery Salsa Blogger Returns to Bar Salsa

2009-04-07T22:32:00.002Z

April 6, 2009

A morning drive from Bath to Cambridge followed by an afternoon stroll in Cambridge. Train to London Kings Cross was extremely slow due to a supposed fatality at Finsbury Park (I wasn’t able to find any details on the web) so we did not arrive at the St. George’s Square apartment near Pimlico until more than one and half hour after the first estimated time. After wandering about Leicester Square, an awkward dinner at Mr Kong. I was finally more than ready to head to Bar Salsa at 11:30.

Past the turnstiles, I asked the tube attendant how late the trains run. 1 AM was the reply, and I said thanks as I skipped down the stairs (down escalator was undergoing a refurbishment estimated to last nearly 6 months). As I made way there, I decided that I would either try to leave at 12:40 or so or try walking back to determine how long it would take.

Once downstairs, I spotted a bunch of woman I see fairly often (but for the most part don’t dance with) as well as several old-timer leads – some I know a little more than others. Among people I recognized were Andrew, Robin, Shaan, Aiste, Laith and Sleek. I guess Robin must be living in London now if he’s now a regular at both SOS and Bar Salsa? Mario was deejaying all night, and I stopped by to say a brief hello.

I ended up staying until the start of the last song – close to 2 AM. I ended up with a good number of dances. It was fun for the most part. Nevertheless this second trip to Bar Salsa reinforced my impression that it still is less of pure dance venue compared to SOS. By this I mean there is more of a social and flirting element rather than a heavier and exaggerated emphasis on pure technique (although I feel that this description is poorly expressed and very liable for misinterpretation by a bystander and possibly even by me if I were to read this 10-20 years from now).

A few times I managed to end up watching other people dancing, my observation was that most leads here looked considerably sloppier than expected. I thought the musicality was particularly lacking although I better admit that different people may have a very different sense of what to do to achieve better musicality. Even in cases where it seemed like an effort was being made, my estimation was that their conception of musicality was quite different than my sensibilities. Who knows, of course, if my ideas evolve (which it almost certainly will if I keep this up) to match some of the people I saw tonight. Then again, the issue at hand may have more to do with mentality and possibly even technique (with a big caveat that I have no illusion that my technique is any better let alone flawless) rather than in differences in how people hear same music with different ears.

One girl there tonight seemed particularly taken with how I danced with her. Then again I would not be surprised if at least one or two girls were nonplussed about our connection. This is all without taking into account one’s ability to mask disappointment or delight. BO was an issue with at least one person.

The walk from Bar Salsa (north of Leicester Sq) to SGS (east of Pimlico) took about 35 minutes. This includes time spent to consult London AZ, to buy a drink a 24 hour convenience store, and to ask a photographer about a demonstration still going strong next to the Parliament building (near Westminster) – the demonstration was about the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

p.s. Vishal apparently is committing to the Sauce path. Cue music.

Mystery Salsa Blogger Strikes Bristol

2009-04-05T22:47:00.002Z

Long weekend based at Bath, UK

April 3, 2009

Two hour to Heathrow. Fifteen minutes wandering in Heathrow. Eton College. Windor Castle. Bibury. Arrival at Bath – Tasburgh Guest House. Wandering down to the canal path at sunset. Dinner at Sala Thai.

I forgot my power cord, so my laptop only has battery power until Monday – starting with less than 80% capacity to begin with. For some reason, internet connection was sporadic at Tasburgh on both April 3 and 4.

April 4, 2009

Roman Baths Museum. Walking in Bath. Stonehenge. Avebury Circle. Castle Combe. Lacock. Dinner at Peking Restaurant in Bath.

Around 9:40, I set forth for Bristol on A4. Bristol is a mere 13 mile or so away from Tasburgh, but the Google map estimated journey time was 30 minutes. No wonder. The route was filled with 30 and 40 mph zones. After two whole days of mistake-free navigation, I got lost twice within 5 minutes after leaving the hotel. Once I arrived at Bristol, it got much worse. It was only around 10:50 that I finally arrived at intended location (I did manage a free parking).

It was just as well that I arrived so late. The venue was called Warehouse, a new venue with a guy going by the name Eldj running the show upstairs for the Salsa crowd. However, I found a sign saying that upstairs Salsa room would open at 11 PM – rather than expected 10 AM. Hmm, maybe I should have taken hint from the Eldj emphasizing that the party ends at 3 AM while glossing over my other inquiries. Downstairs there were perhaps 30 people moving to Merengue and nondescript Latin music – with hardly anyone attempting partnering. At 11:05, the staircase was still blocked with a pair of chairs with the same 11 PM sign still attached to it. I had seen a bunch of people going up and down, so I decided to simply make my way inside.

Hmm. There was no physical barrier between downstairs and upstairs meaning in some areas, one could hear music from both floors. I found total of 9 people upstairs - two girls working at the bar, a pair of girls sitting with drinks – unlikely dancer candidates, a guy and two girls making a trio sitting far from the DJ booth – again very unpromising, and the DJ and a girl chatting with the DJ – the last one seemed the most likely candidate (and proved so later). The first song I was ready for happened to be a Cha so I asked her for a dance. I don’t think Cha On2 was her forte though. After a little thought, I decided to approach the DJ to make a request for a slower paced song for Salsa. I found La Llave (Grupo Latin Vibe) in his collection and decided that it would make for a reasonable re-set. I decided to stick to On1 this time.

For whatever its worth I didn’t bother with On2 all night; I don’t think there were any regular On2 dancers there tonight. I had thought it possible that there could be some On2 crowd based on the fact that Brendan was once based here. Of course one night in one venue cannot define the Bristol scene, and I am fairly sure that Warehouse Saturdays occupies the current hottest Salsa spot in Bristol right now. Also my best guess was that I did not see any local instructor or performer types tonight (but who knows for sure?)

I must say I had begun to worry that no one else with the most basic partner dance experience would show up by the fifth or the sixth song. I had made my second request by then (Soulsa – Estrellas Caiman) thinking that no one else who might care had showed up to that point. I might have come off seeming a little pushy so I decided to back off and left the DJ to his devices. In any case, I imagine he played several more songs picked with me as a likely enthusiastic audience (among other things he played a New Swing Sextet tune from their new album, Night In Tunisia by Sonora Poncena, Clasiqiendo Con Ruben by Afro-Cuban All-Stars) before returning to what I imagine were more in favor with the other locals finally arriving closer to midnight and beyond.

By the time I left around 12:40, the group upstairs had grown to as many a 30 or so. I’m guessing I danced with about 8-10 people for total of around 20 dances or perhaps twice as many as anyone else had danced up to that point. People there seemed to be predominantly Cuban style although I imagine that several of the girls danced slot or linear style with some partners in the past (and possibly one of the lead too except I though I saw him do Cuban at one point also). My initial expectation was low and it had fallen even further after the first 30+ minutes or so. So ending up with as many partners and dances I left the premises content.

I got lost after arriving in Bath after 1 AM. It was considerably simpler to find myself out of the mess, and there was no busy traffic to contend with unlike in Bristol.

April 5, 2009

Loss of water pressure during shower at Tasburgh, which has been a high class hotel slash guesthouse in general. A long day of driving. Dunster Castle. Exmoor (Porlock Weir-Lynmouth-Combe Martin-Ilfracombe). Clovelly. Another dinner at Peking.

I might expand the other travel section at some other point – not sure if I’ll post it in this blog though.

Salsa and Sauce

2009-04-02T18:10:00.005Z

April 1, 2009

Club Salsa at Sauce - no joke. That it started on April 1st – priceless. Moving from 1 Station Road to 3 Station Road – sublime. The clincher? At the end of the night, I decided to take a peek at the old venue. Under new management of Mohammed Alabi, it’s reopening as Salsa-Cambridge will be re-opening on Friday 10 April 2009 at 9 PM. I wish all the best to Mohammed, who I feel is one of the nicest guys around in the Cambridge Salsa scene. I suppose he has wanted to run a Salsa club in Nigeria for a long time, so this might help in some ways. That Vish seems to be keeping open the option of running his Club Salsa at Sauce on Fridays rather than at Sorrento Hotel makes for a great deal of intrigue. It might be for the best that I won’t be around to see what happens firsthand – too much comedy.

I arrived at Sauce around 10 – maybe shortly before. I’m guessing the people there were the usual suspects plus some more people appearing to show support. Vish was there when I arrived but left shortly thereafter leaving one of his minions to gather up the old familiar DJ mixer and CD player at the end of the evening. Apparently Nicola is teaching with Cristian and Vish now, which probably explains appearance by Lindsey, Charlotte and Annette. Dan was there without Kafe. There also were a number of people I had not seen much recently – I think some of them had been regulars on Wednesdays, which I had lost track of for quite some time. Shorty and Abbe showed up later in the evening. I also tried to guess which one was the owner of Sauce – the one Vish had talked to me about a good number of times.

I had not expected much dancing, but it went much better than I expected. The party lasted until midnight with Cristian playing short snippets of pop anthems for kicks. The windows were fogged up by the heat generated by people dancing. Most of the people walking by seemed to be Salsa people; I suppose there might be a little more general foot traffic on weekends (this is one possible trump card Sauce has over Sorrento Hotel).

Apparently there is talk of converting the remaining carpeted floor to wood floor (e.g. downstairs and the elevated area on main floor) at the Sauce. I imagine that Sauce had been used to getting a decent number of Salsa dancers stopping by for drinks before, during and after lessons. In any case, the guy I pegged as the owner seemed to be getting a little kick out of hosting the dance party – if nothing else for novelty value. I might add that if there’s another flooding (and if I were a betting man, I would bet on more flooding), it should only affect small downstairs. I know I am biased, but it’s pretty obvious which side will be favored to “win” the latest battle of Salsa nights in Cambridge even with one less ammunition (read me), no?

Home Away From Home

2009-03-30T20:47:00.005Z

March 29, 2009

I was groaning and moaning in disgust as I finally made it to bed closer to 4 than 3. What an unfortunate time for the daylight saving hour to begin. Not that I would have liked it to start next week or the week after it. Perhaps two weeks ago would have worked nicely. Personally I could do without it – just stick to one time or the other.

It was a struggle to get up shortly after 9 to head back to work where the one final Sunday morning experiment in the UK waited. This was an intense session – hardly any time for a break even for short lunch. When I was finally ready to go, it was past 7 meaning taking the train option was no good. In any case, I felt I needed to come back after dancing anyway so I drove.

Traffic was light. I made the trip in what may have been a personal best time. I’ll take favors from Tyche wherever I can get. After another fish and chips (I think the fish that melts in your mouth from the Café Valencia before SOS outings is one of things I’ll definitely miss about the UK – their chips are nothing to write home about though), I was ready to go.

The queue at the SOS was again very slow moving. I have no idea why it takes some people so long to pay to get in. The social seemed to have just started, and the DJ had put on Babarabatiri by Willie Rosario. As the queue finally started moving after whoever was causing the bottleneck had disappeared, I took a peek at the DJ booth and was surprised and pleased to see Sean there.

It was as if the madmen have taken over the asylum. There had been some rumblings about the choice of music at SOS for a long time (make it a constant steady stream of complaints), and this seemed to mark a dancer deciding to take over. This meant I was able to recognize somewhere between half to three quarters of the songs getting played. Later in the evening another dancer I have seen for a while (named James) took over. Tamambo dubbed them WBE (White Boys Entertainment). There also was a live Conga player.

The songs they played included La Ley Del Guaguanco (or similar by Tito Rodriguez), Cuando Te Vea (Tito Puente), Rebelion (I think it was Joe Arroyo), Brujeria (Mark Dimond), No Critiques (twice! Manny Oquendo), Arinanara (Eddie Torres Mambo Kings Orch), Cinturita (Eddie Palmieri), Lluvia Con Nieve (Mon Rivera), La Palomilla (Joe Cuba), Siguelo (which version? – seemed pretty close to Javier Vazquez), an unknown Charanga version of Bilongo (?), Bomba Carambomba (Sonora Poncena), Bajo Con Tumbao (Eddie Palmieri). There’s more … I’m fairly sure there was a SHO? Noche De Salsa (or something similar sounding)? Never mind familiar sounding songs with titles I don’t know.

At one stretch, I thought I was back in Cambridge listening to a combination of Sally and Vish of old (for Vish when he was playing for the LA-crowd) and said so to Liam. It also made me wonder how much variety could be expected with multiple DJ sessions from them given so many of the songs played seemed to be from the best of the UK favorites. In any case, it meant that I was dancing more than my usual share by my recent SOS standard. I suppose that now matters to me more than the future – given I don’t expect much of one for me personally given my impending move.

It was one of the more fun SOS nights ever with many highlights.

After one dance (it might have been a Cha Cha – possibly with Helen), I heard the start of No Critiques and saw Miriam right in front of me unoccupied. I was like what the heck and decided to ask her for a dance – I think this was my only second time ever even though I’ve been coming to SOS for more than 4 years (and I imagine I was a familiar face for at minimum 2 years for her). The dance was going okay although I never had the illusion that I was giving her the best dance of her life. Then it was time for a long section ripe for shines. She was doing set shines (and she has tons of those) but certainly not in a set sequence while I was just moving to the music while also trying to blend with what she was doing and somehow keeping up. It was quite challenging and I frankly was feeling rather outclassed in many ways and perhaps looking a little awed. But the music really dictated that the shine section be continued – so I did. And it went on and on and on. It was fun but hard. I probably would have simply chalked it up to experience except she thanked me at the end smiling and saying it was lovely or something like it. Alright! I’ve arrived! I’ll gladly drink that ego-booster. Again I have no illusion that it was the best dance of night for her but it was certainly at minimum a sign not to wait for another six months before asking her again. Too bad I’m leaving soon (or maybe it’s great to leave on a high note).

Heck ego-boosting compliment aside, I think there were quite a number of dances I enjoyed as much and possibly more tonight as the one with Miriam. (Frankly I don't have energy to dance like that for more than a few songs a night before needing a long break.) This time I had about the same number of really good dances with On1 and On2. For whatever its worth I think I tried lead more than my usual share of irregular improvised moves for SOS. (One of which did not work well with multiple attempts with multiple partners – I usually don’t continue with things that don’t work and I am not sure why I kept it up. If I remember correctly, I tried it first with Miriam with poor success so I probably wasn’t leading it well. It really makes me wonder what I was thinking. Answer: I wasn’t doing it deliberately.)

One of the thanks I received was in French. Hmm. A non-English speaking Frenchwoman visiting England for Salsa? It seems unlikely. Or simply saying merci automatically out of habit or out of oxygen? (After all, I probably was saying thank you rather than merci most of the time after the dances when I was visiting Paris.) Possibly consciously declaring her foreign-ness or superiority of the French language, etc?

I was soaking wet within the first hour. Usually I avoid that until the last 30 minutes or so. Good times. I’m going to miss SOS too. Despite it being outside Cambridge, it often felt more like my Salsa home than any other place. Maybe other socials (e.g. Jimmy’s) will eclipse it in my estimation one of these days. Maybe not. I don’t know how future will turn out.

One thing for certain – the next one (April 19) will be my last one as an English resident (and possibly for good). Liam suggested dinner beforehand. I’ll check with Sergio too. Maybe others will ask to join. Who knows?

In the end, I went back to work. Until 2 AM this time. Two more official work days to go – then I’ll have time for things like haircut.

I’m a stranger here myself

2009-03-28T17:22:00.002Z

March 27, 2009

Mari (or was it Sam?) asked me if I was going to miss Cambridge. Not going by past history. I imagine I will think about some people from time to time, and I expect I will remember many people if I run into them again. Aside from some people (many already gone) and being able to visit other parts of Europe with relative ease, I probably will miss the sunsets well past 9 PM in June.

I wonder why I told Jo that I won’t be in early in the morning. I had forgotten that the Friday nights no longer last until 2 in the morning. Just trying to get whatever that can be done would and should keep me occupied until the very last minute. Even tonight it took an effort to get to the new venue by shortly after 10.

By the time I arrived Kafe was acting as the DJ. No sign of Joe. Vish is away in Lithuania once again – he had asked me not to mention it in advance. The music felt mostly Saturday type with a smattering of classics. For most part I would guess that the kind of music Kafe finds exciting only has a small overlap right now. It was pretty cool seeing Cumbia danced in what I imagined was traditional way – as opposed to dancing Salsa to Cumbia.

I continued down the path of distancing myself from the scene. It has been going on for more than a year. A year ago, I thought I was going to be leaving in 6 months. At no times since then did I ever think that I would be here for more than 9 months. Thus there had been very little incentive for me to make new friends while old friends moved away or drifted away from the scene here. I think I have done an excellent job at becoming a stranger here.

It should be interesting to see how things go back in the States. Would I keeping going out Salsa dancing? Would not having a daily Salsa blog lead me to become less interested in it? I would imagine that I wouldn’t have the reason to think about it when not dancing. It should be liberating in some sense not to have to worry about people getting offended by whatever I write – Rich was giving me unnecessary advice and could have saved himself a lot of time writing had he known about the future of the blog as I outlined in the Resolution Jam post (well – maybe he derived pleasure writing all that stuff).

What about Club Salsa? Is Sauce the future of Club Salsa? Apparently the Monday and Wednesday classes will be held at Sauce. It’s beautiful. It’s such a minimal move – just next door to the old location. Wednesday classes and party will start on April 1st – no joke. Heck, even next Friday’s party will be at Sauce rather than Sorrento Hotel due to availability. Mondays at Sauce start on April 6. Hilarious.

There is one more Cambridge post to go for April 17 (unless I end up at the Sauce on April Fools). Exit stage left.

Club Salsa at Sorrento Hotel

2009-03-21T20:46:00.005Z

March 21, 2009

Until Vish sent me an e-mail saying he would be okay with the music-wise tonight, I was under the impression that today was a Thursday. This makes sense taking into consideration that I thought yesterday was Wednesday. There have been countless times when I couldn’t remember whatever the date I was living in, but mistaking days of the week was something new.

Why should it matter? Isn’t every day like another just as any date is like another? Not quite. I go out Salsa dancing on Fridays like clockwork when I’m in Cambridge. It used to be Fridays and Thursdays. Before that it was Fridays, Thursdays and Mondays. Sometimes Sundays – usually to London. Occasionally Wednesdays or Saturdays. Rarely Tuesdays. Maybe it happened because I didn’t go out dancing last Friday?

Anyhow this mistake threw a monkey wrench into my plan for the day. I picked the clothes in the morning thinking it was Thursday. I planned my work for today yesterday night (feeling harried) thinking that today was Thursday. I considered my chores (when to go buy groceries, gasoline, what’s for dinner) with the idea that I would be going out dancing tomorrow night, not tonight. I waited on mentioning a new interesting result to Derek until he left early for the weekend.

I didn’t change a thing.

After a couple of road works and wrong turns, I drove into the Hotel Sorrento car park. It was bigger than I expected but tight in space nevertheless. It was past 10 PM. Vish exclaimed that I was late in arriving when he saw me coming in through the hotel reception door. I guess they were serious about trying to start the lessons at 7 (and finishing at 9 … although no doubt there were some delays). In any case the social must have been going on for at least a little while because the showcase started about 3 songs after my arrival.

I had not had a single dance when the lights came on the showcase (Miguel and Mayana barefooted to old time music). I was preoccupied checking out the new digs. White tile floor. Lots of brick columns and arches. Compared to the 1 Station Road, the venue was airy, spacious and highly presentable when the lights were on. The speaker and DJ mixer looked unfamiliar. Sound quality seemed decent enough – at least at the volume used tonight, there were no shrill moments one got from time to time at the old location.

Will people miss the old grungy venue? I imagine some will have fond memories of it – flooded floors, blown circuits, floor of glue-like stickiness one minute and ice-rink slipperiness another and more. I suppose the foot traffic between the train station and town centre and maybe a somewhat more central location might be missed too. Anyhow the past is behind us to be buried and forgotten, and this is the future.

I guess I had a little over 90 minutes of dancing – one of the announcements before the showcase was that the party will end at midnight and also that they applied for a license to play music beyond midnight. The turnout for the launch was quite good so it meant I had to try to pack a lot of dancing into a short time. Dan mentioned that he never saw me looking damp at CS. I suppose he might be right – although I thought I danced quite a bit last time or not so long ago on the night when I did not act as a DJ.

Lotsa old faces. Sebastian and Katya were visiting from Switzerland/France, which brought out her close friends all together as well. Sally, Lindsey and Nicola visited. Polly was there – I think I got her on the verge of mental breakdown on the dance floor a couple of times (some bystanders seemed to enjoy the dance though). Johnny. Serap. Rajiv. Mark. No Haihan. The last dance was with Abbe.

Early end to the evening apparently left too much unspent energy for many. I hung around joining the stragglers reluctant to go home so early. I ended up joining Vish and a large group for an after-party outing to the Fez Club – apparently a possible landing spot for the next CSE night. Vish directed me through a maze of streets to end up parking at Market Square (not sure but I may know a less confusing route). In any case, it kept me up until past 2.

Like A Clockwork

2009-03-16T18:00:00.002Z

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.

Club Salsa Is Dead, Long Live Club Salsa?

2009-03-14T12:16:00.007Z

March 13, 2009

I was expecting it (just imagine Cambridge is Manhattan) - heck I could even claim to have argued for it in my conversation with Vish, but it still came as a surprise to me.

Of course it is a surprise if I make the usual drive with no notion of anything being amiss only to see a closed door and no sign of life. On a window next to the door was a sign - Due to change in management Club Salsa is closed - or something like that.

A brief lookaround showed that the signage above was changed - electric sign was replaced with a banner. All the photos facing the outside window was gone. I would guess that the sound system was largely gone inside.

At least it gave me time to do grocery shopping and then do some cleaning (actually more organizing than cleaning) at home.

Obviously I don't have the first-hand information on what's going on, but this is what one can find out from the clubsalsa.co.uk website (which Vish still owns) and JC's Salsa/Tango Cambridge website or by the usual suspect Facebook wall posts.

Vishal's Club Salsa Friday is moving to Sorrento Hotel for now starting next week. The weekender appears to be on - more news to appear at the Club Salsa website later. The classes on Mondays, Wednesday, Thursdays and Saturdays are in limbo.

What about the old Club Salsa? Who knows? Maybe it'll stay a Salsa club run by someone else. Maybe not. Maybe I'm being flippant, but I have very little stake in this matter.

[Updates. The weekender is truncated. Friday showcase is on, but Saturday and Sunday events are cancelled. Also the Wednesday team may be looking for a new venue in consultation with Vish.]

Time Enough For Little

2009-03-07T23:59:00.001Z

March 6, 2009

I had considered another fictional job with a different narrator – again along the lines of the middle section of The Savage Detectives. In fact I had written several paragraphs with large number of invented names. This had been done on the train ride to Paris last weekend. I even made a grand plan to make all of the remaining Cambridge posts in the same manner all with new narrators for different posts. Then it all fizzled. The interest and time went away – more importantly the time. Also I became unsure of the character motivations as well. It is shelved for now.

A standard abbreviated post instead then. It felt like an abbreviated night anyway despite being there from 10 to beyond 2 and despite it being fairly busy. I came close to breaking a sweat only once all night – Bilongo with Jane. My impression was that it was more work than fun for her – in retrospect I completely botched the first third of the song. For other dances there wasn’t much to botch, and I could have recited a mantra, “keep it simple, don’t make it overwhelming …”

Sam made it once again. I thought I saw her early, but she said she arrived late. She definitely stayed late. A belated start on a new-year resolution she said. Once again she looked strikingly happy dancing – dancing a lot more and with more people than the Sam I remembered of yesteryear. About the only thing that did not change was the controlling personality displayed tonight in the form of coming up with many song requests. I don’t think I can stay annoyed with her for very long.

Anette was there also for the first time in about 8 months, another nice blast from the past. Ditto Cambiz. The Royston trio was there, but only Steve stayed until very late. No Johnny. No Serap. Haihan was there but did not dance much. I can’t say that I was surprised or that I don’t understand it. No Steph. A personal favorite move by Mark was a perfectly apt side-to-side step. Vishal once again acted as the DJ for a fairly long time, which made perfect sense in preparing for the life without me. NYC Salsa CD was heavily used once again (Todo Tiene Su Final, Nina Y Senora, Bilongo, Presidente Dante, others?).

Playlist

Aquel Cantor – Erick*
Que Traigo Es Sabroso – Eddie Torres Mambo Kings Orchestra*
Sin Ti Moriria – Domenic Marte* (1)
Como Quiera – Jose Alberto “El Canario”*
La Cura – Frankie Ruiz (2)
La Muerte – El Gran Combo
Castigala – Los Nemus Del Pacifico* (3)
(v) Suavemente – Elvis Crespo (4)
Te Extrano – Extreme (5)
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (old vibe version sans vocals)
Los Caminos De La Vida – Ismael Miranda & Junior Gonzalez
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe
Mira Ven Aca – Johnny Colon (6)

(1) First of Sam’s request. Presumably she asked Vish too.
(2) Sam makes another request. I made her dance with me.
(3) It is rather silly to call this new given how often Vish had played this song.
(4) Oft repeated request requiring borrowing one of Vishal’s CD.
(5) This was Sam’s second request. I didn‘t know the third song she (and Mark) was looking for (Vea?).
(6) I had been wondering if I could keep Mark and Sam on the dance floor for the next song as well for five songs in a row - success. In fact many of the remaining people dancing stayed through this end sequence. This song was started shortly after 2 AM, and Vishal closed it with Lamento Boliviano.

Total = 13 songs. 1 Merengue (Vishal’s), 2 Bachata including 1 new, 1 Cha Cha. 9 Salsa including 4 new.

I think it would serve Vishal well for him to start the painful process of reorganizing his CDs - organized by artists and with real song titles.

merci beaucoup

2009-03-02T21:59:00.009Z

February 28, 2009

After staying at CS until well past 2 with quite a bit of dancing, I set up the alarm for 8:15 for my little getaway / scouting trip to Paris. This was so because I thought figuring out ins and outs of St. Pancras Eurostar station setup in advance of early morning trip for 5 in April. How early do I need to get there? How complicated is the boarding set up?

I arrived at Cambridge train station at 9:15 AM or so on my bicycle with two backpacks. This gave me a plenty of time to buy the ticket (useful because the queue was quite long). I bypassed the 9:30 slow train and opted for 9:45 direct train. Either would have got me to Kings Cross at about the same time, 10:30.

My Paris Gare Du Nord train was scheduled to depart at 11:20. I thought I would have plenty of time to explore. After spotting the check-in, I found my way to the electronic ticketing booth. With ticket on hand, I decided to get on the train early.

There were 3 people in front of me. I felt relaxed. The attendants on the other hand looked a bit anxious and asked me if I was getting on the 11 train. I was a little puzzled but said yes anyway. They asked me to hurry as they attached a new boarding pass to my ticket.

Ah. It’s a schedule change. I found out on the train that a new schedule had been in place since February 23. First there was a security check just like in the airports. Then there was a Passport check for entree to France. I got on the train at 10:57. The train departed shortly after 11 just as I clicked to publish the blog post The Savage Detectives. I don’t know if I made it on time.

The English Southeast is not as flat as East Anglia. Even though Eurostar offers little in terms of sights, even I could see that much. To think that I had considered the flatness as one of the defining impression of England when I first visited. There wasn’t a great deal of French scenery to see in the fast-moving and oft view-challenged Eurostar railtracks.

At least it gave me time to get some work done.

After arrival at Paris Gare du Nord, I briefly explored the station for departure points for Eurostar back to London as well as Thalys for Netherlands for future. After a walk to the Est Hotel, after check-in, after seeing a very plain room at street-level with a window facing the main street, the first thing on my mind was to look for free wi-fi spots. Utter failure.

Jardin de Villemin wi-fi spot was non-functional. I had difficulty locating my back-up location (because I marked the wrong spot on the map) – I did find a third spot on Sunday morning but it did not operate on Sundays. Les Forum Halles would have worked fine except I did not get there until the evening outside the working hours. Who would have thought that they would operate wi-fi spots for working hours only (e.g. 9-5 Mon-Fri, 1-5 Sat … this is not exact, but that is the general idea)? Looking for wi-fi spot did lead me to watch large number of people playing a game of Boules at Jardin de Villemin – a game I first saw watching Jean de Florette.

By the way, crossing the street with green walk sign in your favor is not as safe as it is in the UK. In the UK pedestrian is king. When pedestrian walk sign is green, there is no traffic going across that crosswalk. Paris is like the USA – vehicles turning want to get across the pedestrian crosswalk and will try to do this before the pedestrian starts to cross the street. Even with a green light, a pedestrian in Paris has to be very careful – arguably more so than in the USA too (with caveat that outside cities like New York, Boston and San Francisco there are not many large heavy-pedestrian areas in the USA).

Sightseeing was secondary to getting a feel of the city in this trip but sightseeing could not be avoided. I covered the walk from the train station to the Seine. I was a little startled to see can’t-miss gatherings of streetwalkers – I was reminded of the descriptions of the way they greet each other I read in several of John Irving books. I thought their dresses and make-up were de facto uniforms of a sort.

What of an old description I read and used about Salsa dancers in the UK or at European congresses dressing like prostitutes? In the middle of otherwise busy shopping district full of casual or chic dressed Parisians, I would say that even the most provocatively dressed Salsa dancers don’t wear their make-up like the streetwalkers here.

The sightseeing highlight was walking the full length of the south bank of the Seine in the evening. This I planned on instantly after seeing the Seine and being reminded of the Goldie Hawn dancing scene in Everyone Says I Love You. It was very pretty – I wouldn’t mind taking that walk few more times under different circumstances.

I also watched the services inside Notre Dame cathedral and walked through the Latin Quarter while surveying some hotels there. Finally I walked the grounds of the Louvre and Forum de Halles in the dark before making my way back to the hotel on foot - time for more work.

March 1, 2009

Some more work after getting up. A short stroll to the Canal and around in futile search for free wi-fi and better luck finding cheap breakfast. Back to the hotel. Ate and showered. More work.

Barrio Latino

I had counted on finding out the hours for Barrio Latino for Salsa dancing after getting to Paris. I vaguely remembered that it started from around 2 and ended around 7, but when do the lessons end? I thought it best to go early and find out in person and spend the rest of the time exploring the Bastille area as a possible hotel option in April.

Taking the Metro from Gare du Est to Bastille (1.60 euro single ticket – surprisingly lengthy queue due to ticketing machine breakdown), I arrived at Barrio Latino at 1:30. The attendant did not speak much English but I managed to find out that the lessons started at 2 and goes to 3:30.

Bastille seemed like a more interesting district to stay compared to Gare du Nord/Est area. It might be cheaper too. For the purpose of the April trip, it probably would be less convenient for the main train stations but perhaps slightly better for trips to the main attractions – close call on the latter. In addition to Barrio Latino, Balajo (the main Tuesday LA/NY Salsa venue) is also in Bastille area not far from Barrio Latino. The Latin Quarter on the south side of Seine is nicer than both districts but more expensive.

One of the most surprising things about Paris was the preponderance of Japanese restaurants. I saw one near my hotel, three or four more on the walk to the Louvre area, two or three more in the Latin quarter, four or five in the Bastille area. Later in the guidebook, I saw that I hadn’t even touched the Japan-town area of Paris to the northwest of Louvre. I saw no more than a quarter that number of Chinese restaurants by contrast.

I decided to try a Japanese/Korean place for lunch. It seemed to be operated by the Chinese. The décor was primarily Korean and secondarily Japanese – nothing Chinese in sight except for the language used by the staff. Incidentally the type of food I ate was decidedly non-French – a kebab (and to think I never went to such places in the UK), an Indian (why oh why?), Japanese/Korean and to be seen later a hamburger.

I returned to Barrio Latino around 3:15 in order to catch a glimpse of the lessons. It seemed that the policy was to keep others in the lobby until very close to the end of the lessons. While standing around I struck a conversation with a cute Israeli salsera visiting Paris for two weeks. The turn pattern class was followed by a shine, and it all ended with some sort of cool-down type group exercise.

Barrio Latino is a multi-floor venue and a moderately expensive restaurant. The main dance floor could be observed easily from circular balconies upstairs (and many did so). The floor was extremely crowded and dancing spilled onto the lobby as well as the second floor by the end. Coat-check was free of charge for 2 items, but drinks were quite expensive (something like 7 euros for Coke - not sure if the entry included a free non-alcoholic drink as was the case at O'Sullivans).

For people familiar with the London scene, I would describe Barrio Latino Sundays as a party with elements of Bar Salsa Mondays (as a restaurant venue – except I would imagine that most people would say that Barrio Latino has more interesting décor and nicer floor plan) but also elements of SOS Sundays (I doubt there are any random non-dancers trying to dance here given the Sunday afternoon timing).

For me it was very much like going to SOS except for the crowding and that I didn’t know anyone. I would say that not having reliable familiar people to dance with was more than compensated by not having people I became accustomed to not asking for dances. I say this because on any given Sunday, I probably have twice as many of the latter as I do the former. Figuring out prospective partners, who would be nice to dance with, was easy enough.

I’m guessing that about one third of the dances I had were On2. I had fun dancing either. All the dances were singletons except for one. I was struck up for conversations by a few followers – somewhat unusual (I think one was named Louisa?). Most people seemed able for short exchanges in English if not more. Random bias – I think the French girls generally dress nicer than the British counterparts.

The music was fine. The social started off with Ken Moussoul Guis Li. Things got a bit too fast for too long at times. I wouldn’t say it was On2-centric at all but to say that the music was congress-like might not be far off mark. I probably knew less than 10% of the songs by heart (Mojito, A El, others?). Ana Y Saoco became a very shine-heavy dance for me.

When I was getting ready to leave around 7, I had decided that I probably would be able to make it to O’Sullivans later in the evening after all. At the start of the social, I felt a little tired and thought that I might have tweaked my arm leading the Israeli girl before the social actually kicked off. Maybe I paced myself well?

O’Sullivans

Back to the hotel. Shower. Change clothes. More work – there’s been a lot of it in this trip. Then to Montmartre.

O’Sullivans is literally next door to the Moulin Rouge. On the other side are venues of more explicit nature. The Salsa room is at the back. Spacious venue with mix of concrete floor (where the lessons were held) and part wood floor closer to the main O’Sullivans venue.

The person manning the Salsa entrance spoke fluent English unlike at Barrio Latino and let me know about the free drink with the entrance ticket. I didn’t see any brilliant dinner options outside and I took his suggestion to use the food option at O’Sullivans. Thus the hamburger – it was decent. Finally a beer – sorely missed at the Indian restaurant last night.

Speaking of beer, this billboard advertisement on the metro for beer was hilarious: Amsterdam Explorator (6.8%), Navigator (8.4%), Maximator (11.6%). Alcohol content is all-important.

Regarding the Paris metro, the most striking for me was the seat plan. Most fixed seats were for four people facing each other with little legroom in between. Were they designed with people of shorter height in some distant past?

I must say that I was a little worried about the small number of people at the start of the social at O’Sullivan’s. At first there was only one couple – dancing On2. Then one more joined in for the second song. Then another couple joined in for the third song. There seemed to be higher proportion of On2 dancers, however.

I finished my food in time for the start of La Salsa Nunca Se Acaba. I recognized a much higher proportion of songs compared to at Barrio Latino. Other songs included El Yoyo, La Quiero A Morir, Un Verano En Nueva York, some other El Gran Combo and Gilberto Santa Rosa, Madre (this one I’m not familiar with), El Cantante (Hector Lavoe version as my last song of the night) among others.

More people came in as the night wore on. It was nowhere near as busy as Barrio Latino by the time I left shortly after midnight (the party was supposed to go until 3 AM), but it still was quite good. On average, there were less beginners and improvers here compared to Barrio Latino. Not quite half of my dances were On2. All the dances were singletons once again with one exception I danced a Cha and a Salsa.

My legs held up remarkably well despite the Barrio Latino social from 3-7 PM and another 2 hours or so at O’Sullivans. Perhaps the break in between was very helpful. Perhaps the nice new scene was inspiring and invigorating. I think I could have gone another hour easily without any problem. I decided to end it to give myself enough time for the metro and to catch up on sleep. It also meant I ended the night on a high note – one of three best dances of the evening.

Comparing Barrio Latino and O’Sullivans, I generally would say if one has to choose between the two, I would recommend Barrio Latino to the first-time visitors. This comes with a major caveat that O’Sullivans is really good too. It’s just that the sheer madness at Barrio Latino seems more likely to impress more people. However, for people who care about having a decent space (because Barrio Latino can get way too crowded) yet decent number of dance partners, O’Sullivans has an upper hand. The best option is to try both.

I think Paris scene is younger than London. In terms of age of dancers, it’s not very different, but the leads were not very strict about keeping timing they started with. Didn’t I note this aspect regarding a youtube clip some time ago? I wonder if the sign of older scene is preponderance of really good-looking social leads accompanied by social followers who don’t look as good (the other end naturally for the younger scene would be not-so-many superb-looking social leads with plenty of very good social followers). This seems to work for me in comparing the DC-London-Paris scenes.

March 2, 2009

Nothing much here. 10:15 train instead of 9:45. I would have preferred to 9:15 but there was no free seat. The train was full. It’s a very long train.

I had tried to put up the "fictional" post for Friday at St. Pancras station Saturday morning. I saw that I had not succeeded upon returning to St. Pancras Monday morning and belatedly put it up.

Regarding the title, it was a phrase I heard quite a lot in this trip. I had merci part figured out after consulting the French phrases section of my guidebook. I had to use the internet after returning to figure out the word and the meaning. Nice.

It was a quite relaxing trip. Avoiding airplanes and airports and short commutes overall helped.

The Savage Detectives

2009-03-02T11:37:00.000Z

Ian Bargman. Kingston Arms, Cambridge. United Kingdom. February 27, 2009.

Aren’t you deejaying tonight? I asked him. He played some nice songs not played by other deejays don’t play. He merely shrugged and smiled in response before going back to the dance floor with yet another girl. He wasn’t the talkative type. Friendly usually, but he could go on for an hour or more without talking to anyone in the club. I suppose with loud music this club is not the best place for a conversation. Even with his circle of close friends he did not seem to speak very much.

Now that I think of it, most of his friends in the club had moved away by then. There was that French boy and the Peruvian boy, who had been gone for a year or more by then. I think those three sometimes called themselves the San Miguel Gang. It must have been an inside joke – their drink of choice at the club, I think. Not my choice for beer by the way. For a while, they were the new cool kids – along with several Asian kids, who hung around with them. And that Swedish girl Mimi; she was a big part of that group too.

Mimi. This reminds me. She wasn’t the first Mimi around. There was another Mimi, who caused a lot of stir while she was around. Compared to her, this Mimi hardly caused a ripple. I suppose I have been around for a very long time. I was here when Vishal was deejaying the biggest night in the Catholic parish on Friday nights – before Ivan and the first Mimi came onto the scene here. Ah. Those were different days. I still remember Vishal and his helpers hauling in and out of the church hall those big speakers and mixers every week.

I guess that makes me an old-timer. Are you wondering if I dance well having been around so many years? I don’t want to brag, but I like to think I can hold my own. I won’t say I am one of those with hundreds of moves like some of the boys seem to be able to do within a year or two. I like to think that experience counts for something though. I dance with those kids now and then too, and I don’t think they begrudge me for asking for a dance now and then. I enjoy myself – that’s the most important thing anyhow.

Speaking of Mimi, she came back one night not far from that night. Maybe it was a week before that night. Yes, I remember him dancing with Mimi that night. She was dancing mostly with us old-timers, but he was one of the few, who did not know her from the old times, to dance with her. It’s not surprising since he seemed to revel in dancing with new people. Not everyone here is like that. I don’t remember much about that dance – it must not have been especially memorable. I think Mimi looked like she was enjoying it, but doesn’t she look that way most of the time?

What does Mimi look like? She is beautiful, dark-haired, long and slender. Not quite as long as Nina of course – now she had breathtakingly long legs. Wasn’t she a fiction writer? Gorgeous dancer too – she brought the best out of Ivan, who was the new hotshot back in the days. Now that I think of it, so many of those girls were very beautiful. Perhaps at my age, all those young girls look beautiful – especially those tall slender ones. No, I don’t mean to say the short ones are not beautiful. There was that Asian girl – from Germany I believe. She was the best.

Unlike the other girls I talked about, the German girl was still around coming to club more often than not when the university was in session. It was about a month before he left for America - less than two months in any case. By that time, she was one of very few people really friendly with him - her and that short kid from Singapore. Did I mention that he was not particularly talkative? In any case, I think those two probably talked with him as much as any other people at the club – along with Vishal, of course.

I knew everyone there pretty well, but Vishal is a special case. After all we go way back together. We started this dance at about the same time. Vishal of course has an entirely different personality compared to him. For one thing Vishal is very talkative and gregarious. After all this is people business, and sociability or at least acting friendly with everyone is very important for success in running places like this. You have to be able to provide grease – smooth things between people and keep everyone happy.

I think it was about a year after he first showed up at the club when Vishal had to intervene because of that blog business. Funny isn’t it? Even now he is defined by that blog more than anything else. There were more than a few people, who were upset when they learned about that blog. I personally thought it was no big deal – well written but not particularly provocative. He was given hard time for quite some time afterwards. Even now some people really don’t like him because of it. Like that girl – well, she stopped coming to the club. Maybe it will change now that he’s gone. She was really beautiful too.

Certainly he was not universally liked. Who is? There was a girl no longer here with a dreamy body. She seemed friendly with him in the beginning, but somewhere along the way their relationship soured. After a while, they even stopped looking at each other. This is such a small place and both of them were about as regular as they come so it was easy to see what’s going on. Actually I think it was she who disliked him more than the other way around; there were a few nights when I saw him looking at her maybe to say something but she would refuse to acknowledge him, and he would never get the nerve to say anything without her turning around.

My personal preference is to stay out of that sort of business. By the way this girl didn’t like me either. A funny thing is I heard that she didn’t like me because she thought I was a bit of a pervert. I say funny because she could be a real coquette while dancing adding little seductive flourishes here and there. Perhaps it’s the difference in age issue. If you are young, you are sexy. If you are old, you are pervert, a deviant. In any case, it is merely an opinion of just one girl among thousands, who visited the club. I happen to know that most women consider me a perfect gentleman.

It was one of those monthly special party nights that Friday, which Vishal had set up with a big-time Salsa promoter in London named Joe Davids. The special attraction was a couple named Sean and Solvita, who had won the London Latinfest dance competition last summer. They had been to Cambridge for the Christmas party last year, and they reprised the Bachata-Salsa combo showcase with a great deal of crowd-pleasing acrobatics. They stayed until very late to social dance with people here. They may have helped to bring some new visitors as well as a few people, who I had not seen in a while – like Serap and Sam.

As the night went on hurtling toward the closing time, it occured to me that Vishal may continue to play his music until closing. That was when I asked him the question. This is not to say I did not like Vishal’s music. On the contrary, the way Vishal had been selecting his music has not been all that different lately compared to him. Perhaps his leaving will mark end of an era one some ways (for example, no more of that blog business) but not necessarily in the kind of music getting played. Meanwhile he kept dancing on and on – much more so than I had seen in a very long time and Vishal kept rolling on with surprising selection of song choices.

Karma, traveling and the light fantastic

2009-02-23T13:33:00.003Z

February 22, 2009

Wanting to go was never the question. In what manner was the only thing at stake.

Normally I would have gone straight from work. Not this time. Because I had counted on stopping at home, I had left everything at home.

I thought I left with plenty of time left. However, along M11 there was an incident, which caused the traffic to a complete standstill in both directions. By the time I was clear of the incident, I pretty much decided that I would not be able to make it to the train station on time. Given the time and traffic, I also decided driving would be too painful.

When I got home, I wasn’t even sure if I would even try to get to the train station. I did. No dinner. Miraculously I made it to the train station with about 4 minutes to spare for the 7:20 train. The ticketing machine was acting strangely so that took another 2 minutes. I went through. Now which platform am I supposed to go to? Platform 4. I turned right. Platform one, two, three. Okay I must want to turn right again. I got onto an empty train going through three or four cars. Hmm. This is weird. I looked out of the train. It’s platform 3! Oh no. Where is platform 4? Darn! I was supposed to turn left and had no business missing the train! I seem to make wrong decisions all the time when rushed. I saw the train leaving as I got near platform 4.

Now what? There is a train leaving at 7:28. It’s a slow one though. I bet this wouldn’t get to Kings Cross until 9 rather than 8:15 or whatever time the earlier was supposed to arrive in London. Oh well. I already paid for the train ticket. Royston. Baldock. Letchworth. Hitchin. Stevenage. Finsbury Park. Finally Kings Cross. Hmm. That was a little better than I expected. 8:40 PM.

One would think karma might at least favor me with a nice SOS. Karma schumala. SOS was held on the South side tonight. On second thought, maybe it was the curse. You know who you are – the reason why I had planned to go home first.

The outside signs were not great either. As I neared the entrance following a herd coming down from the North side, Eva walked out of the entrance with Mauro and told the group not to go in – a sure sign that it must be ridiculously hot tonight. I considered going back and actually turned around. But then another pair of people I know walked in and asked me if I was going in. I said in a minute after getting rid of my glasses.

It was hot and steamy alright. I didn’t have much will to do much to start with. It took me three songs to get my first dance in. After a break and another dance, someone asked me so I ended up with a two in a row. After that, I lost the will for quite some time. By ten, I had only five dances. All night long, I’m not sure if I had ten dances. I probably did. Maybe even twelve. I think it was close to two thirds On2 – or trying to stay On2 in some cases. I really couldn’t fault some of the partners for losing concentration given the conditions and perhaps their inexperience or (absence) of expertise.

A bit after 10, I was asked for a dance right after another. I was amused for two reasons. The song being played was the second version of Camina Prende Y Fogon of the night. Also just like the first time I was asked, I ended up dancing On1 – I’m thinking half of my On1 dances were by someone who asked me. To boot, the next song was the second version of Agua Limpia Todo for the night. There were many others versions of lesser known covers (e.g. Hacha Y Machete, Mambo Diablo (T.P. but from the 70s), Bilongo (T.R.), others?), many of which I would have been happy to dance to if it weren’t so hot.

It wasn’t like they weren’t using the AC. The funniest thing was that the AC right in front of the DJ was so overworked that the DJ must have thought he was looking at the dancers through a mini downpour. The floor was wet of course. They even placed a large green bucket underneath a particularly wet spot. By the time I was came over to the DJ booth to comment on the second duplicate songs of the night, the bucket was full and in danger of overflowing. No joke.

There was absolutely no reason to stay for the last song. I wasn’t going to take any chances missing the 11:15 train back to Cambridge. I did dance with someone I know for the next to last song – one of my favorite London partners – as perhaps could be demonstrated by the fact that tonight I only danced with only two people, whom I have danced with more than once before ever to my best knowledge. Too bad the song was the most difficult song of the night too.

I wonder if I’m lacking sleep. I feel like I have been having mild hallucinations frequently. Maybe it’s because I’m hungry too now. I’m breaking down things I’m watching into actions and consequences – more in the physical sense than mental sense. I pull my fingers against each other and watch my arm moving in response. I see a video where a guy pulls a girl into an elevator and I break down the mechanics of how it is being done. I’m sorry; I don’t love you. I’m not sure if I like you all that much either. I think I’m getting sleepy.

The laptop has 21% of battery power left – supposedly good for 38 minutes of power. I think there’s about 20 minutes of train ride left before arrival. What’s with using beans to write? The words make no sense to me. Maybe it’s heat exhaustion – but I didn’t dance very much, and I’m not especially tired – at least not due to physical exertion. I am also cold though not as cold as about half hour ago when my clothes were wetter. I seem to get these hallucinatory sensations once a year or two – perhaps most vividly in Phoenix on my way to a grand Oregon-California trip before graduate school. I guess it’s an amusing coincidence that Ben just e-mailed to suggest a dip at Lake Ediza?

It really hasn’t been the most efficient day aside from making travel plans – not that I am anywhere near finished with this either. Paris next weekend and then a 2-week trip in April in the UK, France and possibly Netherlands – I guess I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be my grand European trip.

Hmm. The train stopped. It’s Cambridge. I better hurry and get off. I don’t want to go to Ely.

Hear from a Mimi, see another Mimi

2009-02-21T15:46:00.004Z

February20, 2009

I seem to have become accustomed to waking earlier while going to bed late. Probably because of lack of sleep I have been feeling a bit dazed lately. Even without it, I suspect I would have felt disoriented by the musical selection.

Lately Joe had been mixing in a lot of R&B Salsa and such but not this time. Early on he had a Javier Vazquez double (Tu No Me Has Visto Miguel & Se Formo Rumbantela), and his set concluded with a Tito Puente double (El Numero Cien & Mambo Gozon original) followed by Cuando Te Vea cover by German Villarreal. Things were fine in between with gems like Llevatela, which I had been thnking of playing for several weeks. Mandingo's Swing A La Moderna was the only predictable track. Only his Bachata selections could be considered off-kilter (but who know if people's taste will change in another six month's time?).

Perhaps it was more the case of playing music to suit the people.It was an odd mix alright. Haihan was there before me dancing with Jane; I arrived at around 10:10 AM. Like last week Natalia was there but only for very early part of the evening once again. Mark and Ivan arrived shortly afterwards. Haihan thought it was a very good crowd.

There was a new girl whom all old-timers seemed to know quite well. After seeing Ivan hanging around her for quite some time before and after a dance (as well as seeing Johnny do the same), I had a pretty good guess for her identity.

When Ivan became free I asked, “An old friend?” He replied smiling, “Yeah, my first dance partner in Cambridge.”

“It’s Mimi, isn’t it? Funny. I didn’t have to be told to know who she is. By the way would you believe I just heard from the other Mimi earlier this week too?”

The past and the present, the queen-bee of Cambridge Salsa during the time I jokingly refer to as the golden age when Cuban style dominated. What about the future? How would it look if one of the San Miguel Gang were to make a return trip to Cambridge Salsa scene in 5 years?

People who I’m used to seeing arriving later in the evening showed up early tonight. That too was disorientating. Steph arrived a bit later too. Despite all that I was not dancing a lot more than I was dancing.

Now what about Vish? It was one thing when he played Bilongo (Eddie Palmieri) and Todo Tiene Su Final (Colon & Lavoe), but I think I lost it when he played Los Rumberos by Mark Dimond & Frankie Dante. I can’t decide what was most surprising. Was it that Vish played this song (apparently gotten from NYC Salsa CD)? Or was it that there were plenty of people dancing to the song? Or was it that all the potential partners I would have liked to ask had all been taken quickly by others?

I felt somewhat dispensable as DJ. Can I do any different? Would playing the full introduction of Borinquen cause confusion and uproar?

Playlist

Borinquen – Sonora Poncena (1)
Chiquilla – Raphy Leavitt*
Sirena – Santiago Ceron*
Philly Mambo – Cal Tjader (-4%)* (2)
Me Libere – El Gran Combo
Sandunguera – Los Van Van*
El Verdadero Son – Estrellas Caiman
Para La Luna – Los Nemus Del Pacifico
Telarana – Jose Curbelo* (3)
Mary – Joe Arroyo
Solo Se Que Tiene Nombre De Mujer – Angel Canales (4)
Cuando Se Canta Bonito – Willie Rosario (-3%)
A Pedir Su Mano – Juan Luis Guerra
Rompe – Daddy Yankee
Musica Ligera – Toque D Keda
Otra Oportunidad – Jimmy Bosch (5)

(1) Confusion? Check. Anyone dancing? Hardly. Uproar? Not quite. I guess I have enough credit with the audience not to be booed off the DJ booth.
(2) I’m definitely pushing it to the limit despite all others that came before.
(3) Haihan requested Cha Cha. He later wanted to select something of his own (by Azuquita?), but there was not enough time for me to listen to enough of it beforehand.
(4) Steph found beats confusing in the middle.
(5) Vish wanted to have one more Bachata here as the final song a little after 1:30 AM. I thought I would have one more dance.

Total = 16 songs. 1 Merengue. 1 Bachata. 1 Reggaeton. 1 Cha Cha new. 12 Salsa including 4 new.

This probably was one of the worst DJ work in terms of connecting with the crowd for me in a long time. Or maybe I was feeling unusually sensitive.

Late Arrival

2009-02-14T19:48:00.002Z

February 13, 2009

Haihan said, “I thought you weren’t coming.”

“Because I’m so late?” – it was nearly 11 PM.

I continued, “I didn’t leave Gurdon until 9:30.”

I had been working in Cambridge proper all week and working quite intensively too. I don’t think I’ve had many such intense days in a row since leaving Boston. Maybe there were a day or two in row here and there, but even those have been relatively rare.

Anyhow a week outside normal environment meant some unusual experiences. The awful catering service in transition led to lunches at Downing College and Savino’s with referral from Sergio. I might have bicycled in snow possibly for the first time – I don’t recall for sure if I ever did this in Portland. I discovered the joy of drafting (or slipstreaming).

Compared to past Valentine’s parties, this one wasn’t particularly crowded thus there was plenty of space to dance. Quite a few regulars from past year were missing – out of town, out of mind or possibly intending to go to the CDC Salsa Ball instead. I didn’t learn about the CDC Salsa Ball until tonight, and because of work I think I’m more likely not to attend than to attend.

Joe was back. Vish was in Lithuania. The DJs were in order Joe, Shorty, Haihan then me. Johnny was off for his own party. Steph was complaining that she wasn’t taking a break from dancing and that she had been drowning with dance practices (more hip hop). She also used a cold/flu excuse just like Sergio. No Liam – at least not tonight.

I think I might have had more On2 dances than On1 dances tonight. It was pretty close in number. The number of partners might have been greater for On1 – there were three On2 partners. The On2 dances with Steph were not a fiasco like the last time – three of the better dances were to Ojos Chinos remix (played by Shorty), Erben On The Phone (opener by Haihan), and Titoro. Haihan finished with Evil Ways (Cal Tjader), and I took over around 1 AM.

Playlist

Mambo For Vibes – Hilton Ruiz
Ay Amor, Cuando Hablan Las Miradas – Orquesta Guayacan
Titoro – Bobby Montez* (-3%)
Guallando – Fulanito
Impacto – Daddy Yankee
Te Extrano – Extreme
Hong Kong Mambo remix – Tito Puente (DJ Duste Remix Re-cut)
Canto Al Amor – Sonora Poncena
Bailando – Frankie Ruiz
Una Mulata En La Habana – Adalberto Alvarez
Lindo Yambo – Santiago Ceron
Lloraras – Oscar D’Leon
Luna Negra – Rey Ruiz

Total = 13 songs. 1 Merengue, 1 Reggaeton, 1 Bachata, 10 Salsa including 1 new. I danced to Titoro, Canto Al Amor, Lindo Yambu and Luna Negra.

A trio of drunk guys begged me to play one more to have fun and make fool of themselves dancing. I chose Guayacan Pasodobles (scrached section in my CD removed).

Atrophy Prevention

2009-02-09T16:19:00.002Z

February 8, 2009

Let’s just say it was for regular maintenance – to avoid skills from atrophying.

I must be out of shape. By 10:30, my legs were shot. By the last song, I could feel that my left leg was about to cramp up. I can’t believe it – this was the first time it happened to me at SOS. Heck, I can’t remember it happening at Congress nights. Is it the shoes? After all I also had some problem at Athens. Or is it because I’m exerting more energy. Perhaps I’m just getting old.

At least I had several really nice dances tonight. For a change, I had many more great On2 dances compared to great On1 dances. As for total number, it was about half and half. There were two awful dances too – one On1 and one On2, one no surprise and one a small surprise. Both used to be better. One has been difficult for a long time - she seems to willfully disregard following - on time and in general. The other has started developing odd habits and getting worse starting about 3 dances ago - this time she was consistently losing balance and dragging me down along; no idea if it's growing pains. I also had one Bachata for a change – I was asked.

There was a new DJ. I think his name is Eric (the Saint) from DR. He started off the set with Ken Moussoul Guis Li. The third song was Mambo Is Here To Stay by Latin Giants of Jazz. Other songs used included Avisale A Mi Contrario (TR), Abaniquito (Pucho), Trompeta y Flauta (Duste rmx). On the whole I liked his selections a lot.

I ran into Liam and Robin. Robin was taking lesson (level 4?). Liam is talking about visiting Camb this week.

I’m too busy to write a better post, and I was too distracted to write anything on the train. I wonder how many SOS trips I have left. Two? Three? Five?

Snowy White

2009-02-07T19:42:00.003Z

February 6, 2009

Snowy week – it snowed on Sun, Mon, Thu and Fri. The final MOT was done after three trips. Soaking was not fun. Am I losing weight?

At CS, I arrived shortly before the final practice song. I picked Abandoname Fue (Orchestra Harlow) with more than half minute at the start cut off.

Playlist

La Muy Muy – Roberto Torres (1)
Me Gusta Todo – Los Nemus Del Pacifico*
Se Me Fue – Conjunto Yumuri (2)
A El – Oscar D’Leon
Almendra – German Villarreal
Ponme El Alcolado Juana – El Gran Combo
Mary – Joe Arroyo
Campanero – Jose Mangual Jr
Mentira – Cheo Feliciano*
Perico Macona – Angel Canales (3)
Alonzo – Cal Tjader (4)

Total = 11 songs all Salsa including 2 new.

(1) Both Mark and Jane are here early. Both may have been involved with teaching.
(2) Ivan is here again – second week in a row.
(3) Vishal used the same song as his second or third Salsa selection – it was completely unexpected given he never played it before and I haven’t played it in over a year. His selections tonight felt carefully chosen in my opinion.
(4) I haven’t played this in more than 2 years – it was something of a disaster back then. Anyhow I danced with Jane to this one. It was arguably the most musically satisfying On2 dance I’ve had anywhere to date. The only downside was that it was the first dance of the night for me, and I knew right away that there was nowhere to go but down from then onwards.

No Haihan today so Vish was the DJ for the remainder of the evening. I'll probably have a longer set next week.

Mark mentioned near the end of the evening that he liked the songs I played. I didn’t think there was anything special initially, but how frequently I play these songs. Considering the last time I played these songs, two songs were played two weeks ago, three songs more than two or three months ago, two songs about 5-7 months ago, and two songs more than a year ago. In addition, it’s a surprise when someone else uses these songs on their playlist.

No doubt the frequency of play would increase if I were a real DJ working longer hours and more nights, but as it stands these songs are far from getting spoiled by overuse. I might add that even though I say that I haven’t heard any other DJ use many of these songs, all but one of the songs are recommended by salsanewyork.com – so it’s not like they’re being picked from nowhere (in fact it indicates to me that the I wasn’t being particularly adventuresome by New York standards).

Tonight was a night for dance rejections. I had three for Periodico De Ayer (Vish played this after Todo Tiene Su Final) and another three for another song – it might have been Bilongo by Eddie Palmieri. Vish’s other selections included Castigala, Sey, Africando, Clave Mambo, Ping Pong (?), Me Libere remix, Caballo Viejo, Fragilidad, Lo Bonito Y Lo Feo, a song somewhat similar to Cairo except much longer. There were three On2 dances – first time with Sharon.

Itchy.

Cocinando La Salsa

2009-01-31T14:03:00.004Z

January 30, 2009

The low point – two Reggaeton followed by a birthday dance for Richard and William. It was very busy at the start of the night, but opportunities for dancing had been limited in part because it was so crowded everywhere. It was considerably less crowded now and more people were filing out. I thought about skipping the next song, but Vish never played Ublabadu before – it ended up an On2 dance. At least until then dances not had were more on my mind over ones I had.

I arrived about 15 minutes before the end of the classes. On the way to the DJ booth, I glimpsed Andrea, Richard and a girl who I think was a part of the performance trio tonight. Umm – I guess it was a little more than a glimpse with Andrea, but she gives nice friendly greeting for lotsa people. Haihan was early to arrive as well – apparently quite tired; he stayed in the DJ booth quite a lot.

I kicked it off the night as the first DJ.

Playlist

La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe
Volver Volver – Grupo Gale
De Todas Maneras Rosas – Ismael Rivera (1)
Isla Del Encanto – Orquesta Broadway
Cuera Maraca Y Bongo – Los Nemus Del Pacifico* (2)
Mirame A La Cara – Miles Pena*
Que Buena Baila Usted – Oscar D’Leon (3)
Periquito Pin Pin – Tommy Olivencia (canta: Hector Tricoche)
Mi Ritmo Es Bueno – Bobby Valentin (4)*
Aguardiente – Mark Dimond* (canta: Angel Canales)
Asia Minor – Machito*
El As De La Rumba – Jose Alberto “El Canario” (5)
Abran Paso – Orquestra Harlow
Mulato Rumbero – Eddie Torres Mambo Kings Orchestra*
Ritmo Sabroso – Alfredo De La Fe & Fruko
Hasta El Fin – Monchy & Alexandra (6)
Bamboleo – Fania All Stars (canta: Celia Cruz)

--showcase-- (7)

Soledad – La 33
Sandunguera – Los Van Van*
Telefono – El Gran Combo*

(1) Ivan is here. Surprise! Ditto Raj and Polly.
(2) Oops. Wrong CD. I meant to play from the first disc of the 2 CD set.
(3) Vish later played this one near the end of the night. There’s more excusable than playing Trucutu by himself twice or for that matter playing Sey by Africando two or three (!) times.
(4) Ivan’s favorite from about a year ago.
(5) Shila asked me where I get music (downloading?). He had a big reaction when I said I buy CDs.
(6) I had been holding off on playing Bachata despite Shila’s request because I thought the showcase was ready to go shortly. I finally gave in.
(7) Duende trio. Danie, Andrea and a third girl I don’t know. Music used was Mi Jeva by Joe Cuba.

Total = 20 songs. 1 Bachata. 20 Salsa including 7 new.

Haihan said I shoud dance with Theresa Tan from Malaysia. Maybe in April, May or June. [note: wrong name, but I've figured it out anyway]

I think who was not there was at least as remarkable as who was there. I overheard that Steph was taking a break. I'll blame coursework for now.

Vish said he wanted to DJ next, but he did not show up so Haihan took over for several songs. Vish did take over afterwards, but he seemed rather absentminded.

Feeling restless yet impaired...

Revolving Doors

2009-01-24T19:13:00.009Z

January 23, 2009

I arrived too close to the end of the lessons to figure out who was part of the teaching team tonight. Joe was not there whereas Vish, Kafe and Dan were. Mark was there early so I think he might have been involved as well.

No cool-down track was used, and the social dancing started with Vish’s pre-recorded CD (starting with Ven A Medellin by Grupo Gale and El Pito by Isidro Infante). It was a three DJ rotation this time with Vish’s pre-recorded CD followed by Haihan, then Vish, then me, then Vish again to close the night.

People in attendance were fairly large in number to start with but there were not much of an overlap with last week. Steph was there after having performed in her Agnes show as was Raj sans the show. Some of the other old Thursday regulars showed up as well. The old Thursday people all left by around the time Haihan departed or shortly thereafter.

Demetrios showed up a bit later in the evening. From what I saw of his Chan Chan during Vish’s last set, I might say that the student is now the master – or at least a role reversal could be argued about. It took him less time than me, and he seems to be able to deal with partners with imprecise timing better than me (for me, it’s a chore not a challenge).

Hmm. How about that ever-growing all-male clique? I suppose it’s not a clique. I wonder if the absence of reliable (read salsaholic) followers is causing a replica of old Buenos Aires Tango scene. It’s threatening to become a commonplace sight.

There was a circle dance for Abbe. She brought me a Champagne glass afterwards – thanks. I danced with her to Ritmo Sabroso. She wanted to try an On2 dance again, and I got her on the floor when Vish inexplicably started Alto Songo by Afro-Cuban All-Stars. However, he switched the song to the Spanish version of Playa No More so I went back to On1. Thus there was only one On2 dance for me tonight (a bit sloppy one to Bomba Carambomba by Son Boricua – my partner did not like the song).

The most notable newcomer tonight was Christine from Freiburg. Due to her ride not showing up, she and her friend stayed until closing. She said she arrived at Cambridge about 3 months ago and previously tried CS on a Wednesday and a Saturday. She left for her friend’s place with help from another.

For me the dances during the early part of the evening were as whole below expectations. Possible factors included rustiness, nervousness, after-effects of previous lousy partners, and general common beginner issues. Dances after finishing my set on the other hand were more satisfying arguably with reasons other than merely change of expectations.

Vishal was using more CDs for Salsa than he had been in last couple of years. Quite a few of his songs or CDs appeared to be suffering from degradation.

Other chats were with Robin (general dance stuff), Bojan (Ntoman) and Tomas (the reason for shortage of ...).

Playlist

Amor Perfecto – El Gran Combo
Las Mujeres – Los Nemus Del Pacifico*
Noche De Salsa – Louie Ramirez
Soy Antillana – Celia Cruz & La Sonora Poncena*
La Musica Es Mi Vida – Spanish Harlem Orchestra
La Guitarra – Erick*
Babarabatiri – Tito Puente
Rosalia – Juan Luis Guerra
Te Extrano – Extreme
El As De La Rumba – Jose Alberto “El Canario”*
Lindo Yambu – Cheo Feliciano
Sonando – Poncho Sanchez
Avisale A Mi Contrario – Roberto Roena
Abaniquito – Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers (-3%)
Que Le Den Candela – Los Van Van*
Ritmo Sabroso – Alfredo De La Fe & Fruko* (-3%)

Total = 16 songs. 1 Bachata. 1 Merengue. 1 Cha Cha. 13 Salsa including 6 new.

Lee Wright Tribute Night

2009-01-18T15:40:00.003Z

January 17, 2009

Journey back and forth was fast. It was a bit windy. One of the roundabouts at Aldgate disappeared. It was a little jarring but it made the travel more efficient. It rained during a 2 block walk from my car to the Bar Fly Club ULU.

The first person I saw at the door was Helen – obviously not in New Zealand. The first person from Cambridge was Richard. Making my way around all the rooms being used, I saw that pretty much all of who’s who in London was present – aside from ones travelling afar, etc. I think it might take less time to mention who wasn’t there (and I’m not going to make such list public). Lee was a beloved figure.

London sure is a big city. It would not be a stretch to say that there were at least as many people if not more here tonight compared to the New Year Resolution Jam at DC. People are on average younger. It’s less On2 heavy; I would guess less than quarter of my dances were On2. I would infer that followers here on the whole had seen not as many good leads as in DC.

There were three rooms – all of them were full of photographs of Lee; many taken with people who were acting as volunteers for tonight’s event. I only took a glimpse of the third room (Lee’s dance floor upstairs), which at the time was the least populated and supposedly with most varied music format and also had a large sheet on the wall for people to leave behind messages and handprints. The main room was the most crowded at all times. I ended up dancing in that room only twice. This was because I found the music in the second room (music all night) to be just as good in the main room without it being so crowded. Just as useful was that the second room had cooler temperature and better spots for leaving drinks. The second room was also much better lit compared to dark main room. This however meant that I did not see as many people as I would have had I stayed in the main room all night.

Despite the presence of dance floor and music during performances, most people opted to watch dance showcases when such were available. More than a couple of songs were played to no more than three couples during the shows. The shows by Anke & Gil (Austria/Mexico), Eva & Mauro, Mamboleo, Miriam & Colleen, Mambata, Element Dance Co., Fahrenheit, Lee’s student groups from Newbury and Brighton, Marchant & Davina, Diablo Dance Co., Shaan & Aiste were all great and were interspersed with moving speeches. Shelley was the MC of course.

I think either I had a very good night as a lead or my lead has improved considerably (possibly helped a great deal from the DC trip). I say this based on reactions from quite a few people I have had previous dances with. On general I think more people seem to like the way I lead now compared to some time ago – although I might add that this is not necessarily the case with some people I have known for very long time.

Hardly anyone left before closing time at 2 AM. Tamambo was handing out fliers for SOS anniversary extravaganza to people on their way out. I would have bought a Saturday party pass except it was never available for purchase. Now I have serious doubt as to whether I’ll go at all.

Countdown Begins

2009-01-17T18:52:00.001Z

January 16, 2009

Acille mentioned that it has been very cold in Cambridge while I was away. DC on the other hand had mostly mild weather while I was there. Weather in Cambridge now is better. So far so good.

I arrived at CS near 10. Making my way to the DJ booth and saying happy new year to several people on the way, I noticed no Joe. Final practice track was being played. Playa No More was ready to go. It looked like I was going to go first.

Playlist – Part I

Huracan – Bobby Valentin
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
No Dejemos Que Muera El Amor – Miles Pena*
Se Me Fue – Conjunto Yumuri
Muchachita – Orquesta Guayacan*
Asi Son – El Gran Combo
Almendra – German Villarreal
Tu No Me Has Visto Miguel – Javier Vazquez (mislabelled Sonora Matancera)

I was about to play a Merengue next when Vishal came by and asked to have him start off with a Merengue. Perfect timing, I thought. Vishal upped the tempo a bit, and then Haihan took over. Meanwhile I danced.

First I was going to ask Jane or maybe someone else except they were occupied one way or another. I settled on a random girl except I realized it was Natalie just as I started asking; I was delighted.

Cambridge is a younger scene in every way compared to DC. People are younger too – no doubt helped by the university. I wonder if the North Carolina scene headlined by the Cobo Brothers and three major universities is similar to Cambridge? Cambridge does not have anyone at the calibre of Cobo Brothers of course.

Cambridge have lower average standard compared to DC (e.g. me at DC might be equivalent to somewhere between Demetrios and Dan at Cambridge), but here I get the benefit of familiarity. I rarely danced more than once a night with one person. I danced multiple times with at least 4 people (one – twice, one – two or more likely three times, one newcomer whom I liked in terms of timing and connection but possibly not rated as highly by others – three times, one – more than three times). I easily could have danced multiple times with more people had they stayed longer (e.g. Jane, who was about the only person there tonight good for complicated songs).

It was a weird night in terms of attendance. According to Haihan, classes started this week. So having people like Natalie and Wei-Shen made sense. But no Mark or Stephanie. However, Zhenzhi, Sam (tired) and Richard were there. Johnny yes, Ivan no, Mauricio no. Sacha. David. No Sharon. No John!

A number of people asked me about my impending departure – Haihan, Vishal and Abbe. For whatever its worth, my schedule here will be normal until the end of March. I’ll be travelling for much of April, and I’ll be returning to the States for good in mid-late April. I might make a CS appearance in April just prior to departing but there’s no guarantee on that score. I prefer not to have a “leaving dance” and promise to make it really boring if forced to give one.

Dan asked me about On2 shines and others. I gave a couple of examples, but the thing is I improvise on the spot about 90% of the time often not even thinking about the timing. The standard thing would be to be on R foot on 2, 5, 7 and L foot on 1, 3, 6 whether On1 or On2. However, I don’t always follow such rigid rule and more often than not use 4 and 8 as well as syncopations. Because I generally do my shines on percussion solo, it gets to be quite free-flowing (no hard and fast rule about breaking on 1 or on 2). Of course, it’s not all about the feet either – rest of the body (shoulder, arm, chest, hips, etc) can move to the beat as well.

Playlist – Part II

Ken Moussoul Guis Li – Africando
Tee Pee Mambo – Tito Puente*
Para La Luna – Los Nemus Del Pacifico*
Te Pone La Cabeza Mala – Los Van Van*
Usted Abuso – Celia Cruz & Willie Colon (-4%)
Remember Me – Eddie Torres and His Mambo Kings Orchestra*
No Es Una Novela – Monchy & Alexandra

Total = 15 songs. 1 Bachata. 14 Salsa including 6 new. Mohammed was excited by Los Nemus Del Pacifico getting played (without the song picked being the ubiquitous Castigala presumably).

DC Dance Collective Second Week Monthly

2009-01-11T23:11:00.005Z

January 10, 2009

This event is held on the second Saturday and fourth Saturday of every month. The fourth Saturday might be a regular DC Salsa Meetup night, which increases the total number of attendees mostly by adding more beginners.

I was very curious to see the On2 class material in DC so I left home early. Actually I was later in arriving than I had intended. Lucky for me the spinning class was held before the turn pattern class. Thus I ended up gabbing with Tanya and Maylis before the turn pattern class started.

Intermediate On2 class with Psyon

6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL inside turn for follower from open hold both connections intact
6,7,1,2,3,5 R turn for leader with both connections intact with L-R ending behind leader’s neck [note: I got hung up on how to end in this position – it took me so long to figure this out (I still am not completely sure) so I ended up sitting out rest of the session] – possibly a full basic here or toss R-L behind follower’s back R waist
6,7,1,2,3 re-connect R-L behind follower’s back R waist and begin as if Copa ending somewhat like back-to-back with follower with both connections still intact – however, this cannot be led like a Copa because what’s wanted is a in-and-out half turn for follower rather than 1 1/2 turn so the pressure on R-L needs to be very small and delicately measured – while follower is turning (with L-R now disconnected), leader also turns towards follower and turn right (starting on 2) to face away from follower (with both now facing same direction on the same line for follower as the start of previous bar and with R-L now wrapped around front of the leader and on leader’s L waist
5,6,7,1,2,3,5 leader turns full R leading with R-L and with L-R connected above leader’s R shoulder – it seemed like leader started turning his foot on 5 while most of the turn happening on 6 – this is one of those moves leader turns full turn while getting follower to move around to the other side effectively making a half turn travelling except here follower’s turn is more like New York walk (right turn to end) rather than simple CBL (left turn) [note: this does not sound too difficult although it is something I never tried and the timing is non-standard for the follower – not standard New York walk timing in any case]
6,7,1,2,3,5 now from mirror-image of CBL position lead follower to 1 1/2 (R-L now disconnected) inside travelling turn (1 1/2 counterclockwise)
6,7,1,2,3,5 leader turns half R with L-R on 6,7 and transferring from L-R to R-R and lead free broken left turn for follower lead presumably coming right after 2 – here lead also turns to get back to facing follower but I don’t remember if the turn was to L or to R

Some of the class videotaped the material at the end of the class. Too bad I got so confused at the start. Even though this was far from impossible class, I think I would have had struggled with unfamiliar turns and techniques at 3 or 4 other points. I think there were more people checking out the On2 classes than the On1 classes.

With some analysis mostly done while watching, I probably could do okay with a remedial class. In fact I might be able to salvage something (I especially liked the middle bit) with practice. The fact that I haven’t had any regular classes since April (with one-off on August and September) probably made me a little rusty although the real trouble was with unfamiliarity with the patterns and pace of instruction.

By the way, it was indeed Psyon (and Maylis) I saw the other night doing a more challenging version of Sergio and Lindsey. I think Maylis said it was like going to a battle. Tonight’s display/practice for them was fast footwork more than partner work.

Tanya was referring me to prospective dancee partners left and right all night – it bordered on sublime and comical. As a result more than a third and perhaps close to half of my dances may had something to do with her. I think I would have had a great time without it, but I am also fairly sure it made it even better.

Names, names, names. Trying to remember more than one or two new names a day is hard. Maylis was easier because she was the first and was with an unusual name. The second had a name probably starting with a letter D and undisclosed Chinese-sounding last name – it might have been Diana, but even after second time hearing it from Tanya I’m not completely sure. I ended up refraining from commenting on her top; I couldn’t decide whether it was a conversation starter or killer. Kate I remembered from the first CG – another case of first name of the evening (I’m not that good). I remembered Janet’s name afterwards helped by meetup photo from long time ago. One other new person with name I greeted was Mr Mambo Tommy Smith.

This was the first night out ever where I had more On2 dances than On1 dances by a large margin – I’m thinking that more than two thirds of the dances were On2. Previous high was On2 up on On1 by a single dance at SOS London. Here I would estimate that more than half of the dances on the floor were On2. My impression is that there were more “serious” dancers here than there were at Clarendon Grill in previous weeks and here two weeks ago.

Hong Kong (Michi Sarmiento Y Sus Bravos), Arinanara (Eddie Torres and His Mambo Kings Orchestra), Cal Tjader, Grupo Latin Vibe, Bongo Loco (Lebron Brothers), Ti Mon Bo, Salsa Buena, etc closing with Salchicha Con Huevos. I can’t remember them all by title, but I think I knew more than 10 songs spot on this time around. Music was from the 50s to 00s with smatterings of jazzy tunes, flutes, vibraphones and strings – classics interspersed with obscure. Not too fast – at least not all the time. The only time I thought it was too fast (especially given the late hours), I overheard Earl tell the DJ to slow down to good effect.

One person told me that the turn towards more familiar was unusual but may indicate more than one-off change. There were two Bachata – I don’t think there was a Bachata last time although there wasn’t a second room this time also. No Merengue – no complaints. No Timba – ditto. Aforementioned Hong Kong was the only song I recognized as Colombian.

I am not sure why things have changed, but based on tonight I would say that DC Dance Collective second (and fourth) Saturday could be considered the best venue for people serious about Salsa especially those serious enough to learn On2 dancing in On1 dominated area. Presumably it helps to be pretty good to start with, and it also helps to get to know the people in the scene. Then again I don’t think I was especially good, and a thought that these people will find me to be a fraud after seeing me a few more times came to my mind more than once.

So what do I make of my off-hand assessment “It feels like an old scene on a down cycle?” made after my first visit? Well… it is an old mature scene – there have been good dancers here for longer than in London. What about “down?” I don’t think I have a strong basis to make a good assessment from what I have seen only. I don’t think it’s growing rapidly, but I’m guessing it’s holding fairly steady with influx and outflux of people more or less balancing out. If it’s down, it is no more down than it is in London. At least in terms of On2 dancing, I cannot say with certainty that SOS London is better than here despite London SOS attracting larger number of people. I look forward to seeing how things compare in London - presumably first at Lee Tribute event next weekend.

Annoying travel note - Is the speed limit in DC highways (295/395/etc) really 40 mph rather than standard 55 mph? If so, why are there so few speed limit signs (I haven't spotted one yet)? I might be looking at a large number of speeding tickets. Yuck.

Clarendon Grill One Week Later

2009-01-07T01:22:00.006Z

January 5, 2009

This time I arrived shortly before 10 as the second Merengue was being played – I am under the impression that the 2 Merengue followed by 2 Bachata around 10 PM is more or less fixed into the program at Clarendon Grill these days.

While in topic of music, I was struck by variety of Salsa music (not Bachata or Merengue or Cha Cha) played. If anything, tonight’s music was more inclusive than what I would have used in Cambridge or elsewhere. For example, Boogaloo Blues by Johnny Colon would not have cracked top 50 Cha Cha for me as a DJ. There was a definite Cuban possibly Timba track at one point. A couple of Charanga were played as were a few old-time pre-70s sounding songs. There also were some Romantica and some Colombian. Combine tonight’s party with my last two DC parties, I had little reason to think about lack of variety in Salsa music. Thus I felt even more puzzled about the seemingly atypical and deliberately obscure and difficult music choices I found on my first night out. My confusion was cleared partially when it was explained to me that the DJs at DC Dance Collective try to emulate Frankie Martinez’s Abakua Friday socials in NYC. This was a new to me - I had not considered that there were DJs emulating Frankie like the legion of dancers emulating Frankie. I’m now guessing that the musical choice would have been less puzzling to me if I had seen the social without the large number of beginner dancers from the meetup group – a party of a small group of people practicing their craft so that they would be able to blend in with Frankie’s crowd.

While I enjoyed all the dances at Clarendon Grill once again, it was somewhat anticlimactic following the Resolution Jam especially in terms of absolute number of dances and dance partners. I missed the luxury of glancing around the room for few seconds and picking out prospective dance partners and dancing whenever I want. Phrases like "I just can't get enough" and "What I got was just enough to make me frustrated" partially summarize my thought for the evening - I guess that makes it two in a row. I also never got a sense of concrete improvement in my dancing – not surprising given a trip like this is not conducive to such efforts. All this makes me wonder if my priorities are all out of whack.

I had some chat with Tanya, Josh and Earl. Jimmy was around too for greetings etc.

Usually I don’t pay much attention to other leads, but tonight was something of an exception – possibly because I had too much down time. There was at least one performer type lead of note (leading a lot of broken left turns repeatedly and seemingly giving his partner a challenging exam – with his partner doing quite well in following … it was all quite intimidating) – I wondered if this was Psyon, but I did not try to find out his identity. Yet another very smooth lead with very good control caught my eyes a few times – no introductions there either.

Resolution Jam

2009-01-04T22:02:00.018Z

January 3, 2008

The Resolution

I’ll be back in Cambridge for few more months in 2009. Nothing will change while I’m still in Cambridge. I’d like to make one more trip abroad – the most likely possibility is checking out the Paris scene in February/March for a long weekend.

Once I’m out of Cambridge and the UK, I would prefer to change the way I post. I think it will stop being a daily blog – by this I mean I will cease to write about every Salsa outing on day-to-day basis.

I suppose if I were to be in a very small scene, perhaps I could use the blog to drum up interest. However, in a larger established scene this blog in current format likely will cause me more headache than its’ worth.

I think I could document any lessons or moves I am working on. I could still write about travelling and seeing other places. If I were to DJ, posting the playlist should be reasonable. Otherwise I think I should limit covering the local scene to minimum - possibly a monthly update or less.

I think it would be nice to see how it feels to live outside a fishbowl in the Salsa world.

An Interlude

How about if I say that I stirred things a little while I am here? Let’s start with a quote.

A Quote

“I trust it will adhere to that time schedule. I wouldn't want to read in some obscure blog about the DC salsa scene how the Resolution Jam unbelievably shut down for an eternity at the height of the evening for amateurish performances and a dance contest. The folks I know, myself included, are coming primarily to dance - not watch.” – attributed to Bailandus Africanus (January 2, 2009 on the DC/MD/VA Salsa MeetUp Forum)

An Announcement

For those checking out this blog from DC area – could you refrain from reprinting this entry in a public forum? I’ll be providing a separate review minus personal and extraneous stuff for such purpose. To best of my understanding, this post will not be sent to Josh automatically by Google alert.

Nacho

I took off shortly after 8 to Arlington. First I was to meet Ignacio at his new place. After missing my exit on 395, however, it was a struggle to figure out where I was. A phone call later and a brief glance at the map finally revealed that I was rather far off to west of his place. When I finally located his building, finding on-street parking became a bigger issue. More than half hour later than I hoped for, I finally saw Ignacio face-to-face for the first time in over 3 years.

The Past

On his way to Spain, Ignacio decided to have a layover in the UK for two nights to hang out with me. He arrived at Cambridge on Friday. Next day, we drove to London – finding a hotel in the Victoria district. After a quick tour of a few major sights (British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and Buckingham Palace), we had a dinner in some restaurant on Queensway in the Bayswater district.

Near the restaurant was a small dance club advertising Salsa dancing. The place was sparsely occupied. The dance floor was tiny – no more than 5 square meters or enough for no more than ten couples at most. Hardly anyone was dancing. This place by the way is absolute nowhere in the London Salsa world. My Salsa research for venues in London about a year later showed no sign of this club’s existence.

It was also the first time I heard Salsa music (and presumably Merengue and most likely some other Latin music). I can say that the music made absolutely no impression on me – I neither loved it nor hated it. I couldn’t distinguish between Salsa, Merengue and whatever else the DJ was playing.

I remember a group of buxom ladies of African descent and an Asian from Far East hitting on these women all night for dances all night long. I don’t think the women were particularly impressed with the Asian guy as a dance partner but his persistence seemed to lead to a few dances. Being a neophyte, I have no idea how he danced but the impression that remains was that he did little but sway while burying his head in the women’s chest – I think he was a little shorter than all of the women.

Ignacio might have danced once with some of the women the Asian guy was hitting on. Mainly we passed the time drinking and seeing who else would show up. Eventually a few more people drifted in. Ignacio danced for maybe 2 or 3 songs with a Caucasian woman – probably English. I thought she looked nice enough, but Ignacio did not seem particularly impressed when he returned.

After another drink or so, a pair of Hispanic girls showed up. Ignacio seemed to hit it off with one of them. He must have danced with her for well over half dozen dances – probably in groups of three dances for three times or so. It might have been a little less than that because he probably danced at least twice with her friend. I was doing nothing but drinking and watching – first by myself and later with whomever among the Hispanic pair Ignacio was not dancing with.

I remember complimenting the girl about how nice she looked dancing, and she in turn complimented Ignacio for being a really good dancer and making her look good. It was her first time stepping into this Salsa club. Before leaving, Ignacio and the girl exchanged contact information – I don’t think anything came out of it aside from one e-mail maybe.

I think it was on the way back to the hotel (we hailed a taxi after some wandering around) that Ignacio suggested to me that I take up Salsa dancing – that it was a great way to socialize. Or perhaps he made the suggestion for the second or third time – I am fairly sure the topic of Leipzig came up before we entered the Salsa club. In any case I said that I would start after an upcoming trip I to Cape Cod/Boston immediately followed by another trip to Newquay/Cornwall in next couple of weeks. Just under one month later, I had my first Salsa lesson in Cambridge.

This Salsa night out, my first, happened on August 28, 2004.

The Jam

Ignacio and I headed off to the Resolution Jam shortly before 10. The signage outside the Salsa Room still had old sign for Cecilia’s. There was a line or queue. The music had started by the time we were outside. Shortly after 10:10, we were in.

The place was packed with people dancing – more crowded than the other time I visited. The venue felt even larger than last time too. Possibly there was more space than previously because the staff removed many of the tables and chairs. Only a smattering of small tables lined the walls of the venue. Even when the new portable floor is considered, the SOS at Royal Sonesta Hall probably has less wood dance floor space than here. The crowd estimate was over 600 people.

I had not known what to expect from him considering that the last time he went out dancing was over a year ago. Apparently he hadn’t gone out dancing for another 2 years prior to it. In our conversation later in the evening, it sounded like our London outing was not far from being one of the last few times he went out Salsa dancing. Oh well. It was no surprise that his confidence would be shaky, and it could not have helped to have this event be his first night out after a long furlough. I think he ended up dancing only once all night. He said he would want to have around ten refresher lessons to feel more comfortable at this type of night.

After settling in putting our coats tucked away and in my case changing into dancing shoes (the one I still don’t have high opinion of in terms of comfort), Ignacio and I did watched people dancing for 3 songs or so. One of the leads I’ve seen in two previous nights in trip approached me – a guy named Jimmy. He whispered in my ear that I was famous. I grinned and said he was exaggerating. It was essentially a repeat of what happened in Cambridge except people here were far friendlier about it – no doubt helped by the fact that I was a visiting guest.

The music was pretty much all Salsa with a sprinkle of Cha Cha. The variety of Salsa seemed even greater here compared to DC Dance Collective and Clarendon Grill nights I experienced earlier in this trip. Keep in mind that musical choice often change from night to night even with same DJs (and many venues here rotate DJs). I liked the music or perhaps more precisely I liked the combination of the music and the followers available.

There were four dance showcases. The first two were from Philadelphia – Calle Luna composed of 4 couples and Calle Sol composed of 3 couples. Third was a couple from Boston. Last were 4 couples including Milton Cobo. The level of choreography and execution went more or less according to form by the order of appearance. The first act probably could have made opening night series of performance in middling European Congress. Milton Cobo is a known quantity in European Salsa Congress circuit except I would add that Cobo Brothers would travel to Europe with smaller number of dancers and likely would have included his brother James, who I think was not here tonight. In any case, I quite liked the first 30 seconds of Cobo Brothers act. Making a space for the showcase took a bit, but the rest of it once the space was cleared went quickly without much dithering.

The judges for the Jack and Jill contest were summoned before and after the Cobo Brothers Dance Company’s performance. The dance contest itself was run fairly efficiently with a single round of dance to perhaps two thirds of the song Merecumbe by Los Titanes. Ignacio tried to goad me into entering. It was something I had considered (of course I seem to consider such contests all the time without ever actually participating), but I ultimately decided against it. Even before the start of the night, I thought I had earned enough notoriety. Even before the start of this trip, I thought it silly to enter as a short-time visitor. Finally, it looked like there were way more eager leaders compared to followers; I may very well have entered if the opposite were true.

As for the contestants, it was not easy for me to pick out the winner between 8-10 couples. I probably would have danced a bit differently and less frantically than most of the contestants at least at the start of the song – even if it may not have been the best winning strategy. Most of the contestants appeared to be very competent social dancers; no one caused me to scratch my head in confusion as I had in all other Jack and Jill contests. If I had to choose between the contestants, I would have picked the pair with the lead holding a white towel on his back pocket because I thought he did a somewhat better job dancing to the music. However, I have no idea who won in the end.

One benefit of the showcase and contest break was that it gave me a small opportunity to survey the room and the occupants. The venue was large and crowded and I was not mingling as much as I would have if I were by myself. Thus I was able to spot among others my favorite dance partner from Virginia Beach. At the conclusion of the dance contest, I sauntered over to the opposite side to greet her. She recognized me but already had a dance partner for the first song (and a very crowded dance floor), but we caught up afterwards. She seemed quite happy to see that I remembered her well. I danced with her to the third song and a couple more in the course of the rest of the evening.

I took a short break a little after 1 to give Ignacio a ride home; he said he was feeling the effects from antihistamine. The party was still going strong by the time I returned except there was now more room for dancing. It was also easier to spot prospective partners. As is the case usually, proportion of people who were primarily watching rather than dancing went down as the night progressed. However, there still were many people I had not danced with and would have liked to ask. Thus dancing was even more fun during the last hour.

Probably the biggest complaint I could make is that the party ended too early. The announcement for the last song came at 2:30 or so. Lights came on promptly. There were still tons of people. I had not danced with many of the people remaining. I have danced with no more than a couple of people I had danced with in two previous nights. I think the party could easily have gone to 3:30 or perhaps even beyond. With lights on and after a minute or so, the DJ put on another song followed by one more – both Romantica. I danced to the first but not the second (most people had changed shoes, etc by the time these songs came on).

I also got together with Tanya and Beto for a friendly chat sharing laughs, etc – I had said brief hello and/or dance with both individually earlier. Tanya introduced me to Josh also. I suppose the blog controversy was good for accelerating the process of familiarization and perhaps friendship. It was also at the end of the night I caught up with Mr. Earl Rush. Here's another retrospective.

Earl Rush

A highly enthusiastic and tireless DC promoter, Earl Rush sometimes tries to impersonate a Godfather figure. However, between the bluster and goofiness, his antics come across to me as completely harmless and even humorous because it is transparently clear that it is all in good fun. Before dancing Salsa, I seem to recall reading somewhere that he had hip hop dance background.

One of the most lasting memories I have of Earl is not surprisingly from the first time I saw him in December 4, 2005. I believe he was the first person I saw in person executing a Copa using his feet on follower’s hips. This is a move not used much in Europe; the last person I saw using this move was Mario B, who was visiting Scala at end of August 2008 from NYC.

However unusual this move was, an even more striking one came moments later. Earl was dancing with a latecomer to the party; her name is Christina, whom I met again briefly about a year ago. In the middle of the dance, Earl took Christina’s hand and got her to get a hold of his dress shirt, which was tucked in properly in his semi-formal gear. Earl then maneuvered the hands, etc. to get the shirt to come off undone and leaving her hand on his shirt while his hand moved away. The end effect to was to make it look like Christina started undressing Earl right there on the dance floor. For whatever its worth, there was no nudity involved as Earl was wearing an undershirt.

Formal Review of Resolution Jam (January 3, 2008)

Earl had asked me to send him a review. Considering the fact that I did not attend the afternoon’s workshop or the evening classes, a full review is impossible. However, I thought a review of the social including a comparison to how things are done elsewhere might be useful. I will be sending him a copy for his pleasure after more editing, and he may do whatever he want with it. I would appreciate no further action from others unless Earl likes it.

StuckOnSalsa hosted the Resolution Jam at the Salsa Room (2619 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA). The Salsa Room was formerly known as Cecilia’s Night Club - in fact the signage for Cecilia’s was still present on the outside mast of the venue at the time of this event several months after the venue name change. I arrived shortly before 10, and the music was already on - early by European standard.

The Salsa Room, which also holds weekly Salsa nights, has a large dance floor - I estimate it is around 700 square meters or over 7000 square foot. Perhaps the ideal capacity is a shade over 500 people for a Salsa event although the venue can hold more people. I would guess that over 600 people attended thus it was quite crowded. In general Salsa venues are smaller in Europe.

In terms of atmosphere and crowding, this Resolution Jam was comparable to Scala Bank Holiday Salsa all-night party in London, which is held 5 times a year between April and August on Sundays preceding Holiday Mondays. The attendance at Scala generally ranges from 1000 to 1500 people although the number of people dancing in the main room tends to be considerably smaller. Scala has 4 separate rooms, and the main room for classic Salsa has less dance space compared to the Salsa Room thus crowding on the dance floor is arguably more problematic at Scala during the height of the party from around 11:30 to 2:30.

For those familiar with Bar Salsa in London, Scala Bank Holiday Salsa party could be considered a souped-up version of Bar Salsa. I have been to Bar Salsa on only one Monday, but the common consensus is that Mondays and Wednedays are the only worthwhile nights for serious Salsa dancers at Bar Salsa; weekend at Bar Salsa supposedly is more of a meat market.

Significant number of people in attendance arrived from out of Washington DC – Baltimore metropolitan area at least as far as Boston to North Carolina. Many local dancers seemingly fairly inactive in local social scene appeared to come out of woodwork to attend this well-established big party. Combine with the die-hard regulars and relative newcomers to the Salsa world, there was no shortage of people to dance with.

Four showcases were given by Calle Luna from Philadelphia, Calle Sol from Philadelphia, a couple whose name I did not catch from Boston and Cobo Brothers dance company from North Carolina. These performances were similar in calibre seen in various European Congresses - Cobo Brothers in fact are regulars in the European Salsa Congress circuit, typically performing in the middle of the biggest party night.

Making a space for the showcases was done in an improvised manner with the organizers struggling to make sufficient amount of floor space for the performers. It worked fairly well although I would suggest that it may have helped to have the organizer on the middle of the performance space to direct people to move beyond a certain area using their body/arm/finger to mark the area as is done in places like SOS (Salsa On Sundays) in London - the best weekly London Salsa venue in my opinion.

Aside from the initial delay in getting the performance area ready, the performances and a Jack and Jill dance contest were run with minimal fuss at least compared to European standard. Dance contests I have seen in England and rest of Europe often involved multiple rounds with additional time spent weeding out weaker candidates. Here the contest was limited to a one song played about two thirds of the way through. The performances in Europe are often preceded by lengthy introductions and promotions of other events and sometimes other inanities.

My biggest complaint is that the party ended too early. There still were tons of people I would have liked to dance with by closing time including many local dancers. I suppose it's not entirely a bad thing to finish the party near the height of fun, but I think I easily could have had a fabulous time for another hour or more.

It was interesting for me to learn that the DC Congress parties (in June) last until only 3 AM. By comparison Scala Bank Holiday party lasts until 6 AM. Salsa parties lasting until 5 AM is common in Europe; the one in Athens supposedly went on until 8 AM on some nights (with social dancing resuming around midnight after a long series of showcases in case of Athens).

In closing, StuckOnSalsa once again delivered the Salsa highlight of my DC trip. Kudos to Earl Rush et al.

Clarendon Grill Three Years Later

2008-12-30T18:20:00.006Z

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

2008-12-28T22:08:00.033Z

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

2008-12-22T16:48:00.000Z

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

2008-12-21T18:22:00.004Z

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

2008-12-20T15:43:00.003Z

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

2008-12-16T18:16:00.004Z

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

2008-12-14T21:29:00.003Z

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%?)

2008-12-13T18:39:00.010Z

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

2008-12-06T20:58:00.007Z

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

2008-12-01T20:21:00.013Z

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.

Athens, Part 1

2008-11-29T19:05:00.008Z

Posted near Syntagma Square using free public wire-less internet connection

Before

November 27, 2008

“One, two, three,” I counted in quick succession under my breath. “Four,” I uttered wryly and with a hint of smile in disgust as I tugged open yet another door. Then came a series of corridors with identical quick turns. The corridors look all the same except that at the middle of the corridor are two colored square tiles. Long corridors have two squares of same colors, and short corridors have two squares of different colors. Orange and blue squares follow two orange ones, and two blue squares come next. It’s a veritable maze. Then another door waits. This one requires that a button on the wall be pressed before. Next is the reception area. There is another door and another button, then a corridor leading to dining area. Finally a door leads me outside, but not without asking me to press yet another button – a different shaped one this time.

I came to despise doors here in England. Some require access cards, some require pressing of a button on the wall – sometimes well disguised and located rather far away. Going up or down one flight of stairs can require opening as many as four doors. At night some of the stairs are not lit. I have walked up and down dark stairs not knowing that yes there are buttons for the lights as well. Too many doors and too little lights are two of many things I won’t miss about England.

One of the rooms I often visit requires a Duesenberg of a hike. I would leave my building – two doors both requiring pressing of button on the way out and access card on the way in. I would then walk to the next building over to enter it at the North end. From here, I make way all the way to the South end of the building through eleven doors and one stairwell each way. Four of the doors are access card-controlled. Even after years of doing this I sometimes I open the wrong door or stairway and find myself in a dead-end. It’s a 15-minute trip altogether at night. Maybe it would only take half the time during daytime, but I almost always end up going at night.

As I make my way outside to make the trip one more time, a voice came, “It’s raining outside.” Great. It’s something of a surprise to see another soul at this hour. It’s only a drizzle, thankfully. “One,” I started counting again. This was my fourth trip this week. For whatever its worth I guess I won’t be making this trip tomorrow.

Prologue

November 28, 2008

I opened my eyes. The alarm clock hasn’t gone off yet. It’s an early afternoon flight, so I can afford to move at a leisurely pace. I checked the alarm clock again. Damn. I had set it to go off in the afternoon – again. The second alarm went off as I got up. For a change I walked to the bus station rather than calling for a taxi. Maybe half hour or so later and after a stop at Boots for more toiletries, I arrived with ten minutes to spare.

From Cambridge to Luton Airport, the only public transport option is the number 787 coach run by National Express. It’s the same bus, which meanders through half dozen or so towns before getting to Heathrow Airport. I won’t miss that bus when I’m out of here. Even just getting to Luton Airport, it stops at Royston, Baldock, Hitchin and Luton before getting to the airport. You get to see all these countryside and towns you never wanted to see.

Thankfully Luton Airport itself was fairly manageable in size if a bit dark and dingy like much of England. It also was crawling with the Salsa people heading to Athens like me. The first one I spot was a guy I think is with Laith Sami’s group entering the WC. At the queue at the gate, it became evident that perhaps as many as half of the London group would be on the flight. Some I recognized by face only while I knew a few by name as well, but a rather large number perhaps half I deduced to be in the group by the way they interacted with each other.

“Hello, sir” came from Shaan. Maybe I come across as aloof. Most of the times even with people we become reasonably familiar with, the best we manage is to offer smiles at each other. Inside Salsa party is not exactly conducive to conversations with loud music and people busy dancing and whatnot.

I drifted in and out of Survivor (by Chuck Palahniuk). This is the one where the story is told mostly in reverse-time. Moreover the pages are ordered backwards, but the chapters are not. This means I have to flip a few pages to get to the start of a new chapter, and then flip backwards as I read over the paragraph. It took me two or three chapters before I figured out the entire system. On the plane, I came across a part involving dancing Cha-Cha with Fertility Hollis.

For lunch, I bought two sandwiches from Pret-A-Manger. I suppose two is something of an overkill, but I managed to miss lunch twice this week because I wasn’t able to get to the diner at work on time. It seemed like I might have lost some weight by mid-late week, and I don’t have a big desire to lose weight at this time.

Athens

Nice airport. There was nothing frivolous but it had a bright and airy atmosphere. The passport check was beyond simple. Baggage claim was efficient. Rail transport to downtown Athens looked brand spanking new – clean and spacious (though not as spacious as Hamburg). The fare was rather expensive (10 euros for return trip – but seemingly for a limited time – the ticket operator asked me when I was returning and he gave me a ticket that said 48 hours when I replied Sunday), but it’s still cheaper than taxi.

At least two other couples from UK in Salsa business took the Metro with me. I think the big London group opted for taxi. One of the couples (one was Wesley from Birmingham) actually exited at Akropoli station like me. It turned out that they booked at the same hotel. Moreover, they were bumped to a sister hotel like me as well. I originally booked at Phillipos Hotel, but found myself at the Herodion Hotel. I suppose it’s an upgrade from 3 star to 4 star hotel, but I couldn’t tell you if there was any real tangible benefit. The bed is big (queen size), but it dips in the middle.

By the time I finished minimal unpacking in the hotel room, I was hungry again. Local time was around 9:30 meaning it was not even close to my usual dinner time back in GMT. Based upon information I gathered at a highly extensive Athens Guide free on internet, I had settled on one of the two touristy but good local taverns not faraway from my hotel in the Plaka. Coming up with options for meals has become a rather high priority whenever I visit a new city. Plans can fail (e.g. York), but alternative seems like an almost certain failure.

In choosing tonight’s restaurant, I think I scored a solid hit. Vyzantino Taverna served very solid Greek food at the heart of Plaka leaden with tourist traps. Based on how the internet review and my take on Vyzanitino, I’d guess that the Plaka Restaurant next door would have been a solid back-up choice. I had the special of the day fish cooked with lemon sauce (8 euros), which was delicious. It came with spinach, which was decent, and zucchini, which I wasn’t too thrilled with. I had also ordered Tzatzi (more like a yogurt sauce with some fresh vegetables rather than salad) as an appetizer (4 euros). I had not ordered any bread (1 euro), but the restaurant ordered it for me, which was actually quite appropriate. My assessment is that I would have been better off ordering a regular salad or perhaps just bread and butter on the side. Tzatzhi probably isn’t for just one person unless he or she really likes it.

Friday social

The Tram to the Taekwondo Stadium on the other hand was painfully slow - the guidebooks describe it as leisurely. After a <5 minute walk to the Loeforos Voullagmenis station, it was going to be a slow 19-stop or 20-stop trek to Aghia Skepi. After 12 stops and about 20 minutes, I lost patience and decided to get off at Amfitheas. I walked rest of the way thinking that I might save time this way. Perhaps 15 minutes later as I approached Aghia Skepi, I saw a Tram arrive from the direction I would have come from. So I didn’t save any time by taking the “shortcut.”

Perhaps even worse was finding the entrance to the stadium. It was so frustrating. I bet it took me at least 10 minutes after spotting the stadium to get to the entrance. The venue location in fact was the least attractive thing about this Athens Salsa Festival. It was far from the historical city center and without a decent Metro access. When I was booking for a hotel, I did consider picking a hotel very close to the Salsa venue, which would have made trips to and from the airport and tourist sites more problematic. A hotel with good Line 2 Tram access as well to the tourist sites and Metro was my ultimate compromise. I would not be surprised if the access to the venue from the hotel and city centre turns out to be the biggest complaint from the out-of-towners.

The first person I knew and chatted with was AndrewS, who informed me that I had arrived just in time to hear to first song after the performances. In the end I managed to arrive shortly after midnight after all the shows were finished. Hooray! I had a few dances before New Swing Sextet started off. Mario was the second person I exchanged greetings with followed by Roger from Hemel Hempstead and then Mark and Lisa from Oxford. In all there must have been well over 30 maybe over 40 people from the United Kingdom, including the girl I think of as “Abby Bridges” and Rico (maybe he was there with the Laith Sami group – I seem to recall seeing that name on the list of performers somewhere).

Some of the early dances featured partners, who seemed too intent to show off their skills. That got a little tiring especially dancing to a live band playing long-ish songs. I also felt slightly dehydrated early, which I overcame by buying three bottles of water at the start of the evening. The bar was rather far away from the dance floor, but water was cheap (0.50 euros for 500 ml bottles). I danced mostly on the main floor, but I also had one dance on the concourses with marble floor with a girl, who probably was a bit intimidated. I think her friend videotaped us, which I found amusing. In retrospect, it was a great space to make a spectacle of yourself.

I think this Friday compared favorably to the UK Congress at Bournemouth in terms of social dancing tonight. I think this was a little better than Hamburg this summer also. All dances were singletons. There was only one girl I was tempted to ask more than once mostly because the first dance was to a Cha Cha – not particularly good one at that (I Like It Like That done by New Swing Sextet – I would have preferred El Raton). I recognized and danced with more than a few faces from the Hamburg Congress. I also danced with a handful of London girls. In one case, I amused myself by cutting in to ask a girl displacing Mario. It ended up a Cha Cha also.

The songs played by New Swing Sextet included Che Che, My Favorite Things (I might have been dancing on marble floor for this one – either this or En El Balcon or perhaps Maria Cervantes), El Bongo, Bobo Tu Te Quedaras, En El Balcon, Maria Cervantes and La Palomilla at the end. There was a short burst of fireworks followed by explosion of streamers. It was cute, but it would have been even better if they could have cleared the streamer from the floor at the end of the show – maybe taking a quick 5 minute break to clear the debris.

Probably around 30-40% of my dances were On2. Right now I don’t have a clear preference for On2 over On1 although some songs seem to suit one of the other. The song I danced with “Abby” for example was something I had difficulty getting into for On2 timing so I quickly switched to On1 despite the fact that she most likely prefers On2. I think it also depends heavily on what the follower is comfortable with. The proportion of followers, who expressed a preference for On2 increased as hours progressed for whatever its worth.

A benefit or penalty for not attending the shows (and workshops) is that I am quite limited in being able recognize the “elite” by their face. I did spot previously never seen-live Magna for a brief second. I know Susana and Shelley, but most others are mysteries to me (e.g. Vanda, Tamara (who I might have danced with at Salsa Kingdom) … heck I can’t even remember who else was supposed to be there). Oh yeah – there’s Lisa, whom I am under the impression that she would be happy dancing with Mark 90% of the time even at major Congresses. The only other celebrity Salsa Congress circuit female personalities I might be able to recognize at an airport would be Edie and Burju.

Henry Knowles was stuck somewhere in Asia. I actually liked the substitute DJ, who played a few decent covers. Julian the Duke was better than usual as well although he did resort back to playing Avisale A Mi Contrario, which I skipped. Songs played included Muneca (unknown cover), Nina Y Senora (TP), Lluvia (unknown cover), Mujer Erotica, Perdoname, Alejate (HL). There were plenty of songs I did not recognize. On the whole, I don’t think there was a single song I really disliked all night in the main room.

The main room with nothing but two Cha Cha all night closed around 4:20 AM. The after-party moved to “Room B” with a series of Reggaeton, a Merengue, a Bachata followed by a Timba before moving back to Salsa, which still seemed to be the genre of choice for most people still there. By this time, my feet were feeling sore so I ended up not dancing at all during the after party. I finally exited the room around 5:30 AM.

I caught a Tram going back directly to Syntagma after about 8 minute wait. It took about 35 minutes to get to my station. It wasn’t too bad in grand scheme of things although taxi no doubt would have been faster. A group of Londoners including Andrew and Shelley were using that option (back to a hotel called Metropolis). Breakfast started at 7 AM, so I stayed up a little longer for it before hitting the bed.

Never Again

2008-11-23T20:08:00.005Z

November 22, 2008

Kafe was at the DJ booth when I walked in with a mild headache. A Cumbia played on. It would have been better to have been in control of the music from the very beginning. I would rather not do this tonight, I thought. A promise is a promise though so tough it out.

Big Dan and Kafe must have been teaching tonight. They get to experience joys of Saturday. Kafe stayed until past nominal closing time.

Playlist

La Muy Muy – Roberto Torres
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
Acabo De Llegar – Alex Leon
Thinking Of You – Lenny Kravitz (salsa remix) (1)
(v) Suavemente – Elvis Crespo
No Es Una Novela – Monchy & Alexandra (2)
El Pito – Sonora Carruseles
Visa Para Un Sueno – Juan Luis Guerra (3)
Loco De Amor – Evolucion A R (4)
Whenever Whenever – Shakira (5)
(v) Merengue Mega Mix #1 (6)
Playa No More – Crystal Sierra
Te Quiero – Oliver
Ojos Asi – Shakira (7)
Es La Musica – Massimo Scalici
Guallando – Fulanito
Get It Up – EuroCuban Project
Ven Tu – Domenic Marte
Pin Pon – El Medico (8)
(v) Remember (Merengue) [no idea about the artist]
(v) Sweet Dreams - Fatman Scoop (Reggaeton?)
(v) Simarik – Tarkan (Turkish Pop) (9)
Me Libere – El Gran Combo (10)
Rompe – Daddy Yankee
(v) Asi Asi (Merengue)
(v) Macarena – Los Del Rio (Latin Pop)
Aicha – Africando (11)
A Pedir Su Mano – Juan Luis Guerra
(v) Pobre Diabla – Don Omar (Reggaeton)
(v) Dile – Don Omar (Reggaeton) (12)
Cali Pachanguero – Galieo Y Su Banda (13)
La Tortura – Shakira
(v) Gasolina – Daddy Yankee
(v) “Lambada” (Latin Pop)
(v) Tocarte (FF 100) (14)
(v) Hot Hot Hot (Latin Pop) – Arrow or Buster Poindexter? (15)
Hips Don’t Lie – Shakira* (16)
(v) Projecto (Pump?) (Merengue) (17)
(v) Bailando (artist?) (Reggaeton)
(v) Loco (?) (18)
(v) Mambo No 5 – Lou Bega (Pop)
Valio La Pena – Marc Anthony (19)
(v) Pintame – Elvis Crespo
(v) Chequete Chequete Chee – Los Guajiros Del Puerto Veo Veo? (20)
(v) 1 MP (was this Merengue?) (21)
Nadie Como Ella – Marc Anthony (22)
Quiero A Morir – Dark Latin Groove (DLG)
(v) Chayenne (probably Pop – I can’t remember)
Panamena – Willie Colon (canta: Hector Lavoe)* (23)
(v) my handwriting is not very legible … something like … Ah Muras … no idea…
Playa Fa Sho – Toby Love
Whenever Whenever – Shakira (24)
El Cantante – Marc Anthony (25)
Lamento Boliviano – Toque D Keda (26)
(v) Pesame La Botella (Merengue) (27)

(1) This did not seem a particularly good Salsa crowd. No offence meant to people who were there. By this time Johnny had arrived and was dancing with whoever was around. There was also that old couple. No regulars though. No good Latino dancers either. Back in June when I was the DJ for two Saturdays, I felt I could get away with playing more Salsa especially in the beginning. I did not get the same vibe this time. Perhaps I could have danced, but it wasn’t really the lack of leaders that was the problem. Besides I have a headache.
(2) Hmm. I’m not sure about Bachata either. Merengue was popular though.
(3) See! Already I’m giving up on playing more than one Salsa in a row. No one told me to do this.
(4) Another Bachata falls flat on its face. Tough crowd.
(5) You can see I’m getting desperate. This gets girls going at least. I’m hating life now.
(6) I would have preferred to not play this until no earlier than 11 PM.
(7) Perhaps I could have saved this until later because there was a guy who asked for something Arabic later thinking that this would be an international night. I’m just trying to survive this ordeal.
(8) Reggaeton. This is a bit earlier than expected based on what I saw this summer, but they are clamoring for it. I think what was okay back in June is no longer okay merely 5 months afterwards.
(9) Another one perhaps to have saved until later. I didn’t know Tarkan was a Turkish Pop artist.
(10) Let’s try counting here. I went five songs without Salsa until this song.
(11) This was in response to a request for something Arabic. Aicha was originally done by Khaled, an Algerian artist. I didn’t know at this point that Tarkan was Turkish. I had already used up Ojos Asi, which was the only song I was fairly sure about having Arabic sound. It is Salsa. Counting again, I went three non-Salsa before playing this.
(12) I didn’t realize at the time that I was playing two Don Omar songs in a row. They are from the same album “The Last Don” no less.
(13) Someone finally blew their top because I was playing too many Salsa. She brought the flier for Saturday advertisement that I am supposed to play the music listed there – I think it says Reggaeton, Merengue, Salsa and Latin Pop with Shakira and Daddy Yankee prominently displayed. For whatever its worth, I went three songs without Salsa before this. Not counting the first four Salsa to start off the night (it should make sense coming after a Salsa lesson), I have played up to this point – 7 Salsa, 7 Merengue, 5 Reggaeton, 4 Bachata, 2 Miscellaneous Pop, 2 Shakira with another Shakira already cued up. Somebody please put me out of my misery. Did I mention I have a headache?
(14) I don’t remember what this was. Was is Reggaeton? Possibly by Plan B?
(15) I am not sure if it was either one of them.
(16) Some girl wanted a birthday (Kelly) announced along with a Shakira (Beyonce was the initial request).
(17) Don’t remember. Don’t care.
(18) See 17.
(19) So I went 10 songs without Salsa and hating life. A girl who may have just arrived asked for something I didn’t recognize followed by this song. I decided that I like her. Surprisingly there are still people who can dance Salsa. Johnny and Dan are long gone by this point. Ditto for the old couple.
(20) John came by. I think this song is making my headache worse.
(21) You know, I wouldn’t do this for money. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
(22) I don’t care if she doesn’t really know how to dance Salsa. She was pretty much the only good thing about tonight so far. Having said that I’m not sure whether I danced with her to this song or the next song. My best guess is that it was to DLG.
(23) IT WAS A REQUEST!!! He asked for Hector Lavoe then named this song. I’m feeling much better.
(24) I know I played this already, but it was a request. I’m pretty sure everyone at the start of the night is gone by now. Hmm. Correction. I think Kafe is still around. Demetrios and Anna arrived late.
(25) I danced with the girl who requested Valio La Pena again. She started the turnaround. Bulbul was at the DJ booth to start the next song.
(26) This was to be the last song, but Bulbul wants to keep it going … again!
(27) I left it so that a Cumbia would come on next. Bulbul had other ideas. I decided to let him DJ.

Total = 24 songs from Vishal’s CDs and 32 songs from my CDs. The breakdown is not worth the bother because I cannot categorize some of Vishal’s music - all Reggaeton, Merengue and Pop. I left youtube link for some of them. As for mine, they were 16 Salsa including 1 new, 6 Bachata, 3 Merengue, 2 Reggaeton, 5 Shakira (1 repeat, 1 new).

That should have been the end. However, Bulbul decided to play Caballo Viejo unexpectedly. Demetrios was getting a drink. I thought I would occupy Anna with one dance except she essentially dared me to keep going despite a torrent of Reggaeton from Bulbul. It was a bit intense. Things had improved greatly after 1 AM, and this was as good a way as any to end the night on a high note. The headache by then had subsided into the background. Having a reputation as a good dancer has its benefits.

Start of Another Long Weekend

2008-11-22T17:12:00.010Z

November 21, 2008

Opera and Shakira. Odd mix, I know. It has been that kind of week - staring down the chasm, hanging on in quiet desperation. Running but never catching up and getting shorter of breath.

Remarkable was the number of people who opted not to go to Manchester. Presumably Mark, Jane, Haihan, Ed and Sally’s gang went, but more surprising were who stayed behind.

I don’t know how much the recent economic turmoil has affected matters and whether depression is more a state of mind rather than a reality in people’s pocketbooks. What is certain was that this party with invited performance by Miguel and Mayana was no disaster.

The Royston trio was here. Steve says he’s feeling better after having his food allergy diagnosed. I’ve had other friends with similar problems – I think it has to rank among the worst kind of allergy to have.

Vish was away but only because he went to Lithuania rather than Manchester. Presumably he’s boozing and partying hard as well as working as DJ and instructor. It means another Saturday outing for me. Joy.

Big revealed himself as Dan. Actually Steph already told me last weekend. She also told me about Robin. What was new was Small as Kafe (spelling uncertain). Dan is the leader for the 2008 rookie of the year and quite possibly ‘da man’ by this time next year. These Cambridge-based fast-risers are infrequent – I think it fair to compare Dan to the likes of Liam, Chris and Hayden.

I was complimented on my timing. Funny thing is that I feel a little iffy about my On2 timing right now. I have resorted to experimenting what feels better during what little social dancing opportunities available. Better would be a more formal instruction or refresher from a trusted source.

Steph suggested that we (as in a larger group back at Coventry) had the same argument about timing during Miguel and Mayana’s performance. Miguel danced socially with rather large number of people with his gap-toothed smile in short time he was available. My first On2 dance of the night was with Mayana. Naturally Liam's inappropriate comment was remembered.

Johnny and Serap both made it tonight. Serap looks unchanged. I had two dances with her – the second as Miguel and Mayana were leaving but not without a bit of bantering.

The unlikely and delightful German Rock-n-Rolla Natalie was back. Too bad I’m such an old curmudgeon. Did we have a German trio tonight – with Steph being another unlikely German?

Steph might have spent as much time chatting as dancing whether it was with Raj, Dan, Robin or others. I’ll have to ask her later about her dances with Joe.

I feel even less enthusiastic about Athens than I did about Hamburg (or perhaps a more accurate phrase would be “I find it difficult to believe that I am going, and I doubt I will find the trip to be of any significance - even more so than I had felt about Hamburg.”)

Playlist

Cuando Te Vea – German Villarreal (1)
Anacaona – Cheo Feliciano
No Aguanto Mas – Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco
Hasta El Fin – Monchy & Alexandra
Brujeria – Mark Dimond (2)
Night In Tunisia – Sonora Poncena
Evil Ways – Cal Tjader* (3)
Bilongo – Charanga De La 4 (refined shortened remix)
Somos Iguales – Spanish Harlem Orchestra*
Esposa Y Querida – Lebron Brothers* (4)
Descarga Cachao – Tito Rodriguez (-8%)
Si Tu Te Vas – Juan Luis Guerra
Te Extrano – Extreme
Pastorita – Conjunto Yumuri
Macho Perez – Hector Tricoche
Ntoman – Africando
La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe
Ahora Quien – Marc Anthony (5)
Guallando – Fulanito (6)
Lamento Boliviano – Toque D Keda
Whenever Whenver – Shakira* (7)
Otra Oportunidad – Jimmy Bosch
Quiero Enamorarte – Marco Ferretti
Chan Chan – Buena Vista Social Club (8)
Ojala Que Llueve Café – Juan Luis Guerra
Yo No Engano A Las Nenas – Eddie Palmieri* (9)
I Wanna Love You – Pablo Bachata
Rompe – Daddy Yankee
La Tortura – Shakira*
A La Memoria Del Muerto – Fruko Y Sus Tesos* (10)
Ven Tu – Domenic Marte

(1) I switched the first two songs in their order after having written it down. Joe noticed. It was done because I decided that the third song should be a Merengue.
(2) An occasional challenge is good in my opinion. Robin and Dan both struggled – maybe Dan less so. I played this song a little over one year ago.
(3) Essentially a request. I mostly shined with Steph.
(4) I had not realized until I started on the blog that I had never played this song or the song before. I guess they were buried in the list of “songs to play at some time in the future” for a very long time.
(5) A change of plan from Valio La Pena for a dance.
(6) Mauricio is still around for what I think of as his theme song.
(7) First time using my own CD.
(8) This or the song before was supposed to be the last song. Bulbul wanted to carry on to 2:30.
(9) Essentially a request – for Demetrios.
(10) By this point, I’m trying to drive people away rather than keep the party going. I’m tired.

Total = 31 songs. 5 Bachata. 4 Merengue. 1 Reggaeton. 2 “new” Shakira. 2 Cha Cha both new. 16 Salsa including 3 new. I had more or less given up on playing Salsa for almost an hour at the end.

The Curse of Steph

2008-11-17T18:18:00.002Z

November 16, 2008

I lost one hour. Needlessly I left without completing all the tasks I hoped to finish. Only after hearing surprised Steph over the phone did I realize that I was one hour early.

One hour later, I tried phoning Steph again only to find that I was out of credit. Fortunately she came out right afterwards without prompting. The ride to the train station etc went without hitch.

I noted that the last time I used my mobile phone to talk to someone was 4 months ago. It was to call a taxi on behalf of a stranger. Maybe using mobile phones to talk to people is becoming obsolete.

This was Steph’s fourth time at SOS. Just like the three previous occasions, SOS was moved to the South side of the Royal National Hotel. Maybe she’s cursed. Leon’s mom said that the other room was being used for Bridge.

For me it was decided a subpar SOS evening. It was bound to happen after two superlative trips recently. Make it one of the worst ones for this year. Steph had a great time though.

Liam was there too. I hadn’t seen him in quite some time. It was nice to see him too. Watching him dance a little reminded me that he could move.

The DJ was Sylvester. I didn’t have to see him to guess that although I did look to confirm after listening to first four or five songs. You can tell by heavy use of non-standard covers.

A highlight or a lowlight. As I was greeting and chatting with Amir, Miriam came by to get Amir to dance with her. Maybe 10-15 minutes later, Miriam did it again while I was chatting with Liam.

Lotsa “high-profile” people tonight. Leon, Tamambo, Susana, Inaki, Mauro, Eva, Frank, Natalie, Niko et al. Maybe they came together for Lee.

From around 10 to 10:30 or so, I had a stretch where I did not dance to 4 or 5 songs in a row. The songs were all quite fast and I was having difficulty gathering inspiration to ask anyone for a dance.

Near the end, Sylvester played Angel Canales Theme Song – probably slowed down. I started with someone new, but she seemed to be struggling from the start and bowed out due to problems with her eyes. I was keen enough to continue yet hard-pressed to find anyone remotely inspiring. I stole Steph away from Liam.

After a reasonable first 30 seconds or so, the dance degenerated into fiasco. We moved from one spot to another, then later into yet another spot. In the end trash talking with Liam became a part of the dance.

Liam was funny. He later came by to say, “You know I wasn’t laughing at you?” I know. Then, “You wouldn’t really care even if I was.” Right again. It’s not that I don’t think highly of his skills, etc in terms of dancing, but I also wouldn’t be bothered by anyone’s criticisms. I’m comfortable with where I am and where I might be going dance-wise, and I don't consider dancing ability a particularly important issue.

It wasn’t all disaster; I think some of the dances ended amicably enough, but I never felt like I ever hit a sweet spot. No unqualified pleasant dances tonight. Even the best ones came with asterisks.

I imagine I was a rather listless company for train chats. The most amusing vignettes Steph revealed was about a phone call about Tiz (on the way in) and Liam’s reaction to the Great Wall Of China (on the way back). It’s just a f----- wall.

It was doubly amusing to see a text Steph received from Liam on the way back. He told her to tell me that I have some new cool moves. I have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about.

Now There Is One

2008-11-15T22:05:00.003Z

November 14, 2008

Mood; feeling a little stretched. Time is tight. So many uncertainties. It’s times like these where I think lack of attachments is … allows for limiting compromises. Whatever. I know nothing.

Cambridge is down to one Salsa party for Friday night. At least for tonight, it seemed to mean a more lively and crowded mix with everyone under one roof. Possibly it will mean less number of people staying home. Who knows?

I arrived after the classes ended for a change. It meant I parked away from my usual spot – in a different area altogether. I did not come close to hitting anyone’s car for whatever its worth. It reminds me – I would not be surprised if Station Road is one of the worst places to leave your car. On two different occasions, I came back to find (1) one of my wing mirrors on the pedestrian’s side destroyed (as if someone on a bicycle on the pavement or sidewalk ran into it) and (2) my front windshield cracked. In both cases, I would guess that vandalism was as likely as accident.

Mark, Jane (new haircut) and Steph were all quite early in arriving. No Haihan. Johnny was there, but no Serap once again. I don’t want to start a silly rumor but I’m beginning to wonder if Serap is expecting. I could be completely off base here, and please take this as idle speculation. The Cuban contingent was more heavily represented than it has been in recent weeks. Latinos (mostly new faces to me) were quite heavily represented as well – especially earlier in the evening. Also there were a lot of familiar faces but different from last week. Mauricio is becoming a regular.

As usual Joe played as the DJ first. His selections were somewhat schizophrenic. His selections I recognized included Swing A La Moderna (Mandingo Y Su Son), Rebelion (not Joe Arroyo version), Aicha (not Africando), No Es Una Novela (Monchy & Alexandra), Playa No More (remix?). Steph and I danced to two of the less bland songs played by Joe – both were On1. Vishal played few songs next including a version of Me Libere and Asia Mood (or was it Nina Y Senora?). I only got around to the DJ booth around 12:30.

Playlist (el numero cien)

Loco De Amor – Evolucion A R
El Cantante – Marc Anthony*
Lluvia Con Nieve – Mon Rivera
Dejate Querer – Jose Alberto “El Canario”
Caballero Y Dama – Celia Cruz & Willie Chirino
Silencio – Chivirico Davila
A La Yumbae – Tommy Olivencia
Perdios – Monchy & Alexandra
Disco Azucar – Los Van Van (1)
Preparen Candela – Willie Rosario
[Eye 2 Eye – Grupo X] (2)
El Yoyo – La Charanga New York (-5%)
Quiero A Morir – Dark Latin Groove (DLG)
La-La-La – Direct Latin Influence (3)
Dime Que Quieres – El Gran Combo
Musica Ligera – Toque D Keda (4)
Luna Negra – Rey Ruiz
Una Mulata En Habana – Adalberto Alvarez Y Su Son (5)
A El – Oscar D’Leon
Quiero Llenarte – Frankie Ruiz (6)
Perdoname – Gilberto Santa Rosa

(1) I had this slotted earlier (at Caballero Y Dama slot). I took it off the list, and then summoned it again while Perdios was being played.
(2) Marc asked me to play this from his CD. It sounds exciting, but it is quite fast as Cha Cha. Since it’s not mine, I won’t include it in the summary.
(3) I danced to this one. One interesting note is that it was the only On2 dance of the night with someone outside the “usual suspects” list to boot. It was the second dance of the evening with the same person.
(4) Song info request – second time for this song. I think I might be the only person here who plays this one.
(5) Yup. Another Cuban tune. Son this time.
(6) Jane was spoken for. I think this means I’ll be going without dancing with her for well over a month given GBSEx and Athens.

Total = 20 songs. 3 Bachata. 1 Merengue. 16 Salsa including 1 new.

p.s. I learned that I now have a nephew named Anderson.

Worse Or Better Than Ever?

2008-11-08T19:54:00.005Z

November 7, 2008

Quietly I despaired as I scanned the club walking across it. Has Cambridge scene deteriorated so quickly? The pipeline looked thin at all levels with the number of people, who continue with lessons for more than a few weeks, looking smaller than ever. Even the beginners seemed unable to do the simplest basic steps, which really should be doable for many followers after even just one 2-hour lesson.

I rather felt sorry for Joe as he cranked out songs after songs he deemed likely to find favor with people ignorant of Salsa music. I felt sorry for myself as I contemplated a role of overseer of decline and fall of Cambridge Salsa scene. The hoped-for keepers of the torch still remaining had not shown up yet – aside from Jane, who was there presumably assisting with instructions.

After a few dispiriting dances with beginners, I actually found someone new and not at all hopeless to dance with. Right afterwards as I was asking Lorraine for a dance, Joe asked me to take over at the DJ booth. I asked him to play one more.

As I was about to take over, I spotted Steph. Haihan arrived shortly thereafter. Quite a few more experienced people arrived in bunches so by the time I started my first song, the scene was looking much improved – albeit still on the quiet side. By the middle of my second DJ session, I had changed my opinion about the state of Cambridge Salsa scene. On the lead side, it is arguably stronger than ever despite absences of likes of Sergio, Ivan and Cyrille.

Playlist

Con Eso – El Gran Combo
El Pio Pio – Sonora Poncena
Quien Como Tu – Jose Alberto “El Canario”
Pa’ Borojol – Rey Reyes
Lluvia – Willie Rosario (-5%) (1)
Hoja En Blanco – Monchy & Alexandra
Fantasia Cubana – German Villarreal (2)
Sama Thiel – Africando

break (3)

Playa Fa Sho – Toby Love (4)
Sin Negro No Guaguanco – Lebron Brothers
Vive Y Vacila – Ray Barretto*
Volvere– DLG (Dark Latin Groove)* (-5%) (5)
Brujeria – El Gran Combo (6)
Hong Kong Mambo – Tito Puente (DJ Duste remix remixed – shorter of 2 remixes I made)*
Violent’s Guaguanco – Angel Rene & Johnny Rodriguez Orquesta (7)
Busca Lo Tuyo – Eddie Palmieri (-5%)*
Telarana – Jose Curbelo*
Nina Mele – Angel Canales*
Satin And Lace – Tito Rodriguez
Mama Guela – Gilberto Santa Rosa (-5%)
[Haihan’s selection from his collection … Senales De Humo – Juan Luis Guerra]
Cali Pachanguero – Galieo Y Su Banda* (8)
Quien Eres Tu – Francisco Aguabella (9)
Tumba El Quinto – Linda Leida Y La Bahia
Ojos Asi – Shakira* (10)
Arrepentida – Angel Canales* (11)

break (12)

Gotas De Lluvia – El Gran Combo

(1) I tried to arrange song selections so that Haihan could get a nice Salsa and Bachata to dance to before he took over for a little while.
(2) My original expectation was that this would be my last song of the first set. However, I half expected Haihan to dance to this one because he did not get to Steph in time for Lluvia earlier.
(3) Haihan took over for 8 songs or so. The selections were surprisingly challenging. It would be fair to say that my song selections for my second set were influenced by his selections and their reception. Mark was here by this time. No Ivan – I’m now guessing that he’s taking an extended leave – possibly because of adjusting to his new teaching duties or possibly because he has lost interest a la Sergio.
(4) A request from Haihan.
(5) Again this was something of a reaction to Haihan’s choices. It threw off a few people, which in turn further affected my selections later on.
(6) A request – this time from a Colombian (?) girl. This was an alternative to Besame by Maelo Ruiz.
(7) These song selections are rather atypical and reflects what I thought was popular tonight. Rather highbrow stuff.
(8) Another request from the same Colombian girl. An alternate to Kisomba (no idea what was meant by that). I don’t have the full Grupo Niche version of Cali Pachanguero so I played this copy-cat version.
(9) I think the highbrow moment might be waning a little. Or maybe this was placed poorly. Or maybe it simply did not sound exciting.
(10) I was wondering if it was time to change gears once again based on reactions to Quien Eres Tu. I guess I was wrong. I actually did not mind clearing the floor because I wanted to get Steph for the next song. Vish came over to suggest changing the song, but I was in the process of finding the appropriate start point for the next song – to cut about a minute at the start so that it is only slightly over 8 minutes long. I asked Haihan to take over briefly, and he complied despite feeling quite tired and sleepy by then.
(11) Zero to sixty in 5 seconds or something like that.

Total = 26 songs. 2 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha new. 1 Latin Pop new. 22 Salsa including 7 new.

Dancing mood tonight – rushed and impatient after I started dancing with Steph. I thought some of the dances deserved a whack in the head with a lecture, “What were you thinking?” I would give my form tonight a failing grade.

A monthly affair

2008-11-03T19:12:00.007Z

November 2, 2008

It was that time of the month? Kidding aside, it does seem like SOS is becoming a once a month affair. Thus far going less frequently has made the experience more consistently enjoyable. Also it does seem like I’m still evolving and generally getting more confident from one month to next.

Roger thought there were more guys than usual and at higher calibre than usual tonight. I didn’t notice anything. Heck, I couldn’t be bothered to check out the girls to see who’d be good to dance with after a short while because nothing really stood out. I ended up asking people who I either knew was good or people who looked like they might be pretty good. It worked for most part.

Overall the dances were almost unanimously excellent. Pretty much the only exception was a dance fairly early in the evening with a total beginner with little sense of moving in time to the music; that song felt really long. Amusingly another guy asked her right after me – possibly because it was so obvious that she was a beginner. My partner right afterwards was a somewhat inexperienced intermediate and danced a little too big. Fortunately, I had tons of room so it was not a problem – the dance was pretty fun in fact. Again amusingly another guy (pretty good lead I might add – and maybe a little picky as well) grabbed her right afterwards. In both cases, I really doubt I would have been so eager to dance with either of my partners if I had been watching. Did I make them look better than they were or did they think they could do better than me? Pretty much every dance felt really good. It has been a long time since I felt like I was locked-in and totally in the zone for such an extended length of time.

It wasn’t like I can thank the musical selection for this. I think it was Julian the Duke who was the DJ. He played better than average set for him, but I would not have called it special or spectacular. Songs played included Mentirosa, Tiembla, El Cantante, Mambo Is Here To Stay (Latin Giants of Jazz), Cosas Nativas, Lluvia (Willie Rosario?), Chango Ta Beni (German Villarreal), Hace Tiempo (after a technical difficulty with the start of previous song). Cha Cha selections were better than usual by SOS standard. Thankfully Julian skipped Avisale A Mi Contrario once again.

Between one-fourth to one-third of my dances were done On2. I’m getting to a point where my On2 is almost indistinguishable from my On1 in terms of comfort level. At least that is how it felt tonight. I felt confident enough to finally ask Miriam for a dance; it went fine except the song ended a little too quickly and a little too abruptly for me. It’s probably silly for me to judge her, but she is very nice to dance with.

No Leon. No Tamambo. I think Mauro was in charge. Sharon was there and seemed to be getting her money’s worth. Other people I said hello to included Sean, Amir and that guy I had brief chat with at the last Scala and SDE.

Prediction: O 54 M 45. 370+ EV. 56 Senate (+ 2 Ind).

It's the dancer, not the style

2008-11-01T18:06:00.001Z

October 31, 2008

Halloween on a Friday might not be the ideal Salsa night because everyone and their friends will have their own party. Heck, CS wasn’t the only place holding a “special” Salsa party in Cambridge this time. It did bring in more people dressed up in costumes compared to previous years, however. I didn’t wear a costume. I did wear a shirt I had never worn before – Vish seemed to like it. It was a little itchy.

Quick roundup. Singapore – no. Royston – yes. The team – no, no and no with one exception from an old captain. Hardcore Cubans – no again except for the heads. So what did that leave? The hardcore regulars – the ones you can more or less depend on every week and have been doing so since before my time. I suppose the new regulars – Big, Small, Penguin-shirt, the new Asians, the beautiful Liars, etc. Sharon, Will, Lorraine.

Dancing highlight. My first dance in some 776 days made me exclaim, “Finally!” Was it worth the wait? Yes. I could have danced with her all night. Did I? No. I am not exactly popular with some crowds, and I think some of their brain might explode if I tried and succeeded. It might be akin to trying to subvert one of the revered leaders of a rival religion. Can’t we agree that good people are good regardless of their religion and move on?

I found myself on the front row for the return of the human vibrator inadvertently. Yes, I’m referring to Leandro, who was as entertaining as last time.

Playlist

La Paella – Jose Alberto “El Canario” (1)
La Cartera – Orchestra Harlow
Clasiquiendo Con Ruben – Afro-Cuban All-Stars
Solo Se Que Tiene Nombre De Mujer – Angel Canales
Chanchullo – Fania All-Stars
Miye Na We – Africando
Descarga Cubana – Cal Tjader
Si Tu Te Vas – Juan Luis Guerra
Hoja En Blanco – Monchy & Alexandra*
Perla Fina – Monguito*
Guaguanco Del Gran Combo – El Gran Combo
Ahora Si – Ismael Miranda
El Jibaro – Orquesta Flamboyan* (2)

(1) This got Joe to sing along. I saw Leandro dance to this one and Angel Canales later.
(2) Ouch. This was a poor Cha Cha dance for me.

Total = 13 songs. 1 Merengue. 1 Bachata new. 2 Cha Cha including 1 new. 9 Salsa including 1 new.

Vish played two more Cha Cha after me. I think it means there may have been more Cha Cha played than Merengue, Bachata, or Reggaeton tonight. Salsa was abandoned after 2.

Salsa Del Este 2008

2008-10-26T19:42:00.005Z

October 25, 2008

The day started with my absentee ballot back on my door. Oh well. At least there probably is enough time left to send it again. Slowly but (hopefully) surely things are moving along to complete my exit strategy. Pent up pressures of long list of task from the summer seem to be slowly dissipating. Soon enough the era of the blog might be considered the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Maybe the “oppressed” will re-emerge from the caves. Who knows? It will be beyond my control (and care) anyway.

On to Salsa Del Este. Nice venue! It’s miles better than Chilford, where the first SDE was held. The room used is better than almost everything else I’ve seen in the UK - better than London Mary Ward Hall or Royal National Hotel (sites of SOS London), Scala, Cambridge Guildhall, Coventry Colliery Club or Park Hall Hotel (Salsa Kingdom). It was not a big downgrade from places like Blackpool Winter Gardens Royal Empress Ballroom or Spanish Hall (minus the gaudy ceilings) used for the Britfest or BIC ballrooms used for the last UK Congress. Nice and spacious and with a sound system, which was most remarkable for being innocuous (i.e. no painfully loud spots or silent spots – I don’t even remember where the speakers were located!).

I arrived around 9:40 as the classes were wrapping up. The Singapore contingent was the first group I ran into. I initially mistook Angie for Isabel but covered it up until I revealed my mistake at the end of the night to Haihan. There were plenty of familiar faces – the Pure Salsa crew, the Royston trio, Raj, Sam, Johnny, Sharon, Will, Laura, Dimitrios, but there were quite a few surprise no-shows as well – Ivan foremost. Big but not Small. Polly mentioned that Andrea is back in London. Serap was not feeling well apparently. I’d add that there was surprisingly small overlap between the CS party last night and tonight – mostly because the entrenched regulars really don’t travel.

The music choice was not especially to my liking for the first half. After a few timba/son, I decided to throw Mauricio a curveball by requesting a Charanga of his choice. The first one he played was rather obscure, and he played a few more during the second half of the party. I was tempted to ask for another request or two but never got around to it (it would have been either a Cha Cha – there was one played during the second half of the party – or Cal Tjader, which would be have been a bigger challenge).

For whatever its worth, the songs I remember being played during the second half included El Cantante, Muneca (Alfredo De La Fe), Descarga La Moderna, Lejos De Ti, Hong Kong Mambo (Duste remix or possibly a modified version of it), Moliendo Café (unknown version), Pedro Navaja. The second half playlist in fact was quite similar in tone to how I might have picked the songs if I were the DJ. I think the first half songs included Bamboleo (Fania All Stars), Babarabatiri (Willie Rosario).

I probably danced with people outside Cambridge scene for just about half of the songs. I’m guessing I had about 25-30 dances altogether. Perhaps one third of the dances were On2. More shines than typical even by Congress standards.

Here I bury four paragraphs worth of stuff I’m keeping private (for my own amusement only).

Minor things of note. Chris B is no longer with puresalsa (not included in the slide show - maybe it merely reflected his absence for tonight only)? Chris S went out of the way to say hello – much appreciated. Moe Flex is – has a great personality.

The performances were – easy to watch. Three were from Irene Miguel productions – more performer-driven rather than costume-driven for a change. Artsy but not flowery. The last one involved a trio from Salsology with Sally getting a hometown center stage partnered with Mushi. If nothing else it worked out well for height purposes. Chris was partnered with Emma. The girl making up the third couple (on left) was one of very few people I failed to ask for a dance – among the people I had marked as one of the people I definitely wanted to ask. For me the best part was that I found perspective partners among performers as well as from their entourage (as well as teacher’s entourage).

Summary. I really enjoyed this one. For me anyway, it was an excellent facsimile for a Congress night and arguably better than an average SOS night. By the way average means 50th percentile and certainly does not mean bad. Certainly I rate this one level higher than that one Coventry party last year. This evaluation does not account for the price of the evening or the travel required.

Frank Santos and Natalie Baltao take their turn at CS

2008-10-25T16:57:00.005Z

October 24, 2008

Time of arrival – around 9:40 PM. That’s my alibi for tonight. No Joe. I think there were four classes. One was led by the guests Frank Santos and Natalie Baltao in the new corner. Main floor was occupied by Vish looking a little harried. I think the other two were led by --- geez, I don’t know their names --- I’ll try to find out for myself and maybe for this blog soon but for now I’ll call them – the big guy and the small guy. Hopefully no one’s offended.

So unexpectedly I led off as the DJ of the night. It sounded like Haihan might show up as a DJ, but he didn’t. No Steph – as expected more or less. No Ivan – hmm. Jane was helping with teaching, I think. Mark showed up later. Sally was there too – briefly. Johnny. Rajiv. Here’s my playlist – shorter than expected – not that I really cared.

Playlist

Songorocosongo – Hector Lavoe (1)
Huracan – Bobby Valentin (2)
Sin Sentimientos – Grupo Niche (3)
Porque Adore – Mark Dimond & Frankie Dante (4)
Se Me Fue – Conjunto Yumuri (5)
Que Bonito Es Puerto Rico – Jose Alberto “El Canario” (6)

(1) Starting with a song 7 min 50 sec long is definitely unconventional, but I wasn’t sure if I was starting off until less than a minute before starting. I put the song on long time before that half-guessing that I might be taking it out if someone else wanted to start. I think a lot of people waited a long time for this song to end – thinking that surely it won’t go on for so long.
(2) Frank’s dancing.
(3) Still going. With Jane if I remember correctly.
(4) Crowd disperses a little. Frank and Natalie were together on the floor very briefly for this.
(5) I took the opportunity to ask Natalie for a dance. On2.
(6) I had next two songs lined up (Oscar D’Leon followed by Santiago Ceron), but Vish took over instead. He started with a Bachata, a hiccup of Bachata, mostly instrumental Salsa which got progressively faster (I was dancing with Jane on this one) and following it with three really fast songs in a row starting with Timbalero by El Gran Combo. Timbalero has BPM of ~250. It was played at -5%, which would bring it down to a little under 240 BPM. Here are some other fast songs in comparison – Fuego A La Jicotea (207-210 BPM), Merecumbe (204-219 BPM), Un Verano En New York (204-221 BPM). How do they compare to slow songs? How about La Llave (165 BPM), Ahora Quien (168-179 BPM), Perdoname (158 BPM – original studio version).

Total = 6 songs all Salsa nothing new.

After starting my first dances with Natalie and Jane, I was a little at a loss as how I was going to proceed. It gave me a pause for a little to start with, but it got easier as night went along. I actually managed a second dance with Natalie later (second time was On1, which ended up being a shine-fest) also. I daresay I left a favorable impression – if nothing else by simply having danced more than once with her. Part of the difficulty early on with finding partners was that many of the girls seemed busy chatting, which I was reluctant to interrupt.

Fru was there with her friends. I think they are more of Saturday irregulars. It was nice to see them anyway and I danced a few with them.

Other dances. I kept drifting into On2 timing while dancing with Sharon to Cuando Te Vea (German Villarreal version). I never quite got into dancing Salsa with a recent newcomer – haven’t got her name but she has ballet background. How about that one with Aileen – one which she always start off by saying she’s not used to whatever style she called it (it really makes little difference in my opinion – the person makes bigger difference than the style). There was a visitor from Essex I had few dances with – Cecille I think? There were several with another newcomer with no name and no background. A dance with Louise to a rather corny song was preceded with a Zouk joke, complimentary.

Frank and Natalie's performance piece was done to Aguzate (not all of it) by Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz. I couldn't see anything past the wall of people, however.

I was there until closing time chatting with Vish about the last week's post, etc. Next up. SDE.

No Brawls Thankfully

2008-10-18T15:35:00.002Z

October 17, 2008

That was different! No more of the same old uneventful boring night. Instead the night was action-packed, at least for me.

Vish was away; I don’t know where. Joe was going to leave early. In fact I think Joe only played 2 or 3 songs so I was in the DJ booth right after arriving. Joe suggested keeping the speed of the songs slow but upbeat – a lot of beginners around. I looked around. It was no different than usual.

Johnny was there early. I think they had to change the teaching venue at the last minute and couldn’t use the venue for social afterwards so most people moved over to CS tonight. No Serap though; I haven’t seen her in ages.

Playlist

Momposina – Santiago Ceron (1)
Sientate Ahi – Oscar D’Leon
Camina Prende Y El Fogon – Conjunto Yumuri
La-La-La – Direct Latin Influence (2)
Almendra – German Villarreal (3)
El Menu – El Gran Combo
Prestame Tu Mujer – Grupo Gale
Soulsa – Estrellas Caiman (4)
This Moment – Azabache
Dos Locos – Monchy & Alexandra (5)
El Agua Del Clavelito – Johnny Pacheco
Asi Son – El Gran Combo (6)
Boranda – Sonora Poncena (shortened remix) (7)
Mentirosa – Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz
La Libertad – Rey Reyes
Esta Cobardia – Frankie Ruiz
Mambologia – Maximo Rodriguez & Sus Estrellas Panamenas
Nadie Como Ella – Marc Anthony
No Aguanto Mas – Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco
Pecado – Toque D Keda
Que Bonito Es Puerto Rico – Jose Alberto “El Canario”
Swing La Moderna – Ray Barretto (8)
Dejame En Paz – Johnny Colon (9)
Salchicha Con Huevos – Jimmy Sabater con Son Boricua (10)
Bamboleo – Fania All Stars
Ven A Medellin – Grupo Gale
Juana Pena – Willie Colon (11)
Ojala Que Llueve Cafe – Juan Luis Guerra
No Hado Facil – Monchy & Alexandra* (12)
Cuando Te Vea – Tito Puente
Yay Boy – Africando
Que Bonito Es Sonar – Jimmy Bosch
Cairo – Orquesta Cheo Diaz (-5%)*
Ajiaco Caliente – Eddie Palmieri
El Cepillo – Fulanito
I Wanna Love You – Pablo Bachata
Mambo Mongo – Mongo Santamaria (Fania) (13)
Esas Lagrimas – Gilberto Santa Rosa
Quiero A Morir – DLG (Dark Latin Groove)*
Rompe – Daddy Yankee
A Pedir Su Mano – Juan Luis Guerra
Playa Fa Sho – Toby Love
Ay Amor, Cuando Hablan Las Miradas – Orquesta Guayacan (14)
Caballo Viejo – Roberto Torres
El Negrito De Batey – Direct Latin Influence
Quiero Enamorarte – Marco Ferretti
Periodico De Ayer – Hector Lavoe (15)
Bailando – Frankie Ruiz
Aicha – Africando (16)
Otra Oportunidad – Jimmy Bosch (17)

(1) Definitely slow. Upbeat? Well... maybe not especially. Contrast is good.
(2) Steph got me for this one. On2. After I stopped the next track from playing at the same time. DJ techinque-wise, it wasn't the smoothest of the nights. Dancewise, we both went off time once or twice. I wasn’t quite settled in. It didn’t stop people from watching and commenting afterwards. Playing the next song was a little messy.
(3) Haihan and Weishen are here. No Ivan, Mark or Jane.
(4) Sally is here too promoting Salsa Del Este. She stole my pen a few times causing confusion.
(5) A girl (Turkish?) asked me to dance to this one. Another surprise! New partner for new dance with some irregular timing made this a challenge. I also picked a difficult song to transition into.
(6) Sally stole my pen again! I borrowed one from Steph.
(7) I got into a really interesting (maybe call it heated) argument around here. Apparently someone scratched [let’s say Mr. X’s] car, and X thought it was me. Again. I say again because X convinced me about two years ago that I probably did (and I gave him my insurance info and called my insurance company to pay him for repairs). It wasn’t me this time. Unfortunately it seemed quite impossible to convince him otherwise. Two years ago, I had a reason to think that I might have been responsible, but this time there was absolutely nothing that made me think it happened again. X claimed that it must have happened last Friday. However, I arrived at CS before X (while the lessons were still underway) and left after X (at the time of early closing). Nowadays I almost always park in an isolated space away from all other cars when coming to CS, and last Friday was no different. Moreover X had not even parked in the same car park! Amazing. X then tried to suggest that it might have happened on a Wednesday. I haven’t been to CS on Wednesdays in more than a year! How about the week before? Again I am pretty sure I parked away from all other cars. I suspect for last 2-3 months if not more, I always arrived before X and left after X. For whatever its worth, I don’t remember even coming near hitting any car anywhere for years anywhere let alone CS. It was quite bizaare. I felt like I was in some alternate reality or such. The only thing X could focus on was the color of paint left on his car, which he claimed matched mine (like red/burgundy is such a unique color). In the end I could do little but laugh about it. I wasn’t the only one laughing. No one will believe claim like this based on color of the paint. X claimed that his car paint was on my bumper – I have no idea what that was about except maybe he was trying to browbeat me into admitting something I did not do. Two years ago, it didn’t take much for him to convince me that I was responsible. Why was it so easy for me to admit the “truth” back then (actually tonight’s incident makes me wonder if I was really responsible two years ago) yet I would be so intent on “lying”? Maybe I’m being really stupid writing this account, but then again it seemed like X was telling anyone and everyone that I hit his car. So it’s not like this is going to make things any worse. Maybe X will apologize to me for false accusation, intimidation and throwing insults next time - maybe not. It doesn’t matter to me. One last humorous point - the incident did keep me from visiting the toilet for about half an hour or so; I didn’t want to get punches thrown at me.
(8) Pavlov reaction from Haihan.
(9) Nice reaction from that old timer who knew Tony from way back.
(10) Another with Steph.
(11) Party pooper from Haihan.
(12) Wow. I didn’t realize I went so long without playing something brand new.
(13) Spinfest with Steph.
(14) Rajiv still here and dancing with Sharon on this one. He’s doing some different things. Cool.
(15) I stopped Sharon from leaving for a dance with her.
(16) This was supposed to be the last song.
(17) Cries of one more song led to this one with lights left on. I also ended up dancing (starting with simple sway then a couple of basic steps) with woman who just came down moments ago - at her male escort's request.

Total = 50 songs. 1 Cha Cha. 1 Reggaeton. 4 Merengue. 5 Bachata including 1 new. 39 Salsa including 2 new.

I got me a ticket for Salsa Del Este party. Other excitements included a broken wine bottle in the DJ booth. Cristian and Sandra made a very brief appearance at the end of the night. Did Sally request Bachata?

Slogging Into Michaelmas

2008-10-11T16:30:00.007Z

October 10, 2008

Okay. The students are back. Haihan, Mark, Weishen, Steph. Ditto Ivan. Does this mean students are gone too? Andrea, Polly? No Jane today meant a severe shortage on follower's side. Notable addition from Singapore is Nicole, who I suppose is might be at about Agnes's level few years ago.

Both Haihan and Stephanie said they hardly went dancing during summer. Steph commented that she's going to need a few weeks to get back into shape. I suspect she's right. Sadly even a very rusty Stephanie is ... (thought better left unsaid).

I think Joe went a little too far in diluting the genre so that even when he played perfectly reasonable songs, some people were blowing raspberries. It might have caused Vish to get cold feet as well. Incidentally he commented that he couldn't remember when he did not DJ on Fridays (when he was here of course) as he called for the last song shortly after 1:30. Last time it happened? Aug 29 and Aug 1 before that.

I chatted with Ivan briefly about the CDC Salsa classes. Even he didn't know who was going to be teaching the Monday classes. It starts in 3 days! I might add that it would have made more sense to hold the class on Tuesdays or Thursdays. I'm guessing that Sally is planning on continuing her Monday classes at St. Ives.

Playlist

Hasta El Fin – Monchy & Alexandra
Camina Prende Y El Fogon – Conjunto Yumuri
Tu No Me Has Visto Miguel – Sonora Matancera? (Javier Vazquez)
Geisha Girl – Louie Ramirez
Sama Thiel – Africando*
Tu Tu Ta Ta – Eddie Palmieri*
El Swing De Fruko – Fruko Y Sus Tesos (-5%)
Loco De Amor – Evolucion A R
Espiritu Burlon – Santiago Ceron
Bilongo – Charanga De La 4 (refined remix)
Cualquiera – Oscar D’Leon
Sonando – Poncho Sanchez
Gotas De Lluvia – Grupo Niche
Ublabadu – Fania All Stars (canta: Hector Lavoe)
Ran Kan Kan – Tito Puente (Live at Birdland)
Caballo Viejo – Roberto Torres (1)
El Apartamento – Willie Rosario
Dos Locos – Monchy & Alexandra
Si Tu Cocinas Como Caminas – Henry Fiol
Con Eso – El Gran Combo
Oye La Banda – Jose Alberto “El Canario”
Me Enamorado De Ella – Juan Luis Guerra
Musica Ligera – Toque D Keda
Ole Gitana – Ismael Miranda & Junior Gonzalez
Otra Oportunidad – Jimmy Bosch

(1) This was for a birthday dance – it was played for less than 2 minutes.

Total = 25 songs. 1 Merengue. 3 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha. 20 songs including 2 new.

Sergio wasn't there to given demonstration of leads more subtle than mine.

Same As It Ever Was

2008-10-07T19:44:00.002Z

October 6, 2008

Cooler head prevailed or so I thought to delude myself. In any case, it had been a while since I saw how things were on Mondays. The answer was no different than the way I left it: dance with everyone who stays behind and it last until 11 or so. I would guess that this week was below average still. Johnny said there were more people last week, and Steve said it wasn’t very good. Vish incidentally was away with another gig. As I was told Sergio, Friday is still the best bet. Of course for vast majority a quiet night can be great for stress-free practice time, and tuition should be same as Friday but with more space.

Seven Week Itch? Whatever.

2008-10-06T10:57:00.006Z

October 5, 2008

The urge to dance at SOS was not the critical factor. In fact I was getting quite used to not going to SOS after not having made the trip for several weeks. Sure the long hiatus would have been a reasonable excuse but the clincher was the idea that a change in setting – getting on a train with a computer but without internet connection – might do something to get on with writing that letter I have been putting off. So I said temporary goodbye to distraction otherwise known as work, politics (yes, we can!) and play and got on the train making a pointed omission to bring a book to read to clinch the deal. It was going to be a one-way deal of course but it’s still better than nothing, and the inward trip went as planned. Some progress was made – not extensive, but every small step is a minor victory.

Now onto SOS itself. A quote of Fruity’s “Oh dear, oh dear” might have been appropriate given relative dearth of followers especially of the type I am used to dancing with. It meant exploring options I had been reluctant to take for reasons I cannot even remember. It turned out to a good thing – I think I found another favorite – lovely all around and seemingly into what I was doing even if I couldn’t completely shake off the idea that it might have been for a show. I suppose I might know better after another dance next time I see her. After a solid first couple of hours, the final hour turned into exquisite category. This would have to place tonight at the top quartile for this year – it rivalled the brilliant night the week before Hamburg.

A part of the reason was that Julian the Duke went away from playing his usual consistently mediocre repertoire. For a change, he didn’t play Avisale A Mi Contrario. On the other hand, he played songs like Ajiaco Caliente and Clave Mambo, neither of which I did not get around to dance to unfortunately. Other than two uninspired Cha Cha (why is that I rarely hear neither simple solid Cha Cha nor brilliantly weird funky Cha Cha in London?) and questionable final song of the evening (Sonero Del Barrio by Tabaco and Ron is the best he could think of???), it was a quite excellent mix overall. About a third of my dances were On2 – no big problems to speak of despite lack of practice (well – at least nothing more than usual).

One of the first people I saw was Quentin – back from NYC. He commented that there were a lot of new good dancers in London now while checking out one guy in particular – I got a good look at him later and it was Nelson Flores. What the heck was he doing here? No Veronica. I might add what the heck was Quentin not taking advantage of the NYC On2 scene? I also saw Roger for the first time in a while. Heck, seemingly all the guys I know were there including Sean, Simon, Andrew and Amir but none with their female counterpart. I only got a chance to say hello to some of them. It was amusing to see Jamil seemingly having integrated into the On2 community in London. Oh I almost forgot – Goldilocks was there too. Ditto for Liam and the other London kid from last week.

So it was a nice trip overall. Not gratuitous. It was also somewhat productive – in dance and in other matters. Insightful in some ways especially with a move I had been working on forever. It’s amazing how much difference a few centimeters could make – or maybe about 5-10 centimeters in this case to add a little bit of clarity of direction. Heck, playing it right could lead to some amusing variation also.

Here concludes another episode full of gobbledegook to try the patience of likes of NP.

[note added later: The Nelson question was answered in Sally's regular post - he's teaching a performance course in London now with Irene. No doubt he's doing other guest gigs too.]

Six Months To Go

2008-10-04T20:04:00.000Z

October 3, 2008

Weird night. It seemed like only the hard-core regulars and newcomers were present. Perhaps a lot of people went away on a vacation before school starts next week. No Ivan. No Rajiv. None from that circle in fact. Maybe a sizeable contingent made their way to the rumored El Gran Combo concert in London.

Joe as usual started off. Among songs he played and I found striking were Rumbera (Willie Chirino) and Perdios (Monchy & Alexandra). Other songs included Swing La Moderna (Mandingo Y Su Son) and Merecumbe (Johnny Colon).

Other than a small birthday crowd (with birthday song well after 1 AM) and a brief appearance by Cristian to put up some posters for another attempt at starting Sunday gigs, hardly anyone seemed to come in after lessons finished. Steve was there, but he was there taking lessons too. Oh I almost forgot – Johnny showed up like he did last week. Another contingent might have been from that language school.

Playlist

Tiembla – El Gran Combo*
Ken Moussoul Guis Li – Africando
Cosas Nativas – Frankie Ruiz*
La-La-La – Direct Latin Influence
Tu Musica Popular – Don Perignon
Cuando Te Vea – German Villarreal
Don Lengua – Santiago Ceron
Rebelion – Joe Arroyo*
No Es Una Novela – Monchy & Alexandra
Pastorita – Conjunto Yumuri
A El – Oscar D’Leon
Isla Del Encanto – Orquesta Broadway
Che Che – New Swing Sextet
Dime Que Quieres – El Gran Combo
El Cayuco – Tito Puente (short version)
Tu Nuevo Amor – Ismael Miranda & Junior Gonzalez

Total = 16 songs. 1 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha. 14 Salsa including 3 new.

Vish finished the evening keeping things typical – Lo Bonito Y Lo Feo (Grupo Niche), Sey (Africando) before turning to somewhat more irregular tunes like Asia Mood (Tito Puente), Besitos De Coco (Azabache) and Descarga La Moderna (Ray Barretto).

A lot more repeat dances than usual – I was somewhat in the mood and it wasn’t like there were a whole lot of people to choose from. Should I be looking forward to kids coming back for school? Not sure. Who’s coming back? Haihan, Mark, Stephanie. Anyone else?