August 22, 2008
After making an effort to drum up interest, I arrived maybe a minute after the lessons started. Also taking part in classes were Jane, Andrea, Rajiv, Steve, Sharon, Gabriela among many others.
Intermediate/Advanced On1 with Nelson Flores and Veronica Castillo
The warm-up / shine bits were turn combo (L turn, half R, half L, prep and spin R and prep and spin L), double spiral, and kick L on 7, R crossed over L on 1, turn quarter right with R to R on 2, swivel half left and with L on heel on 3, turn quarter right L crossed over R on 5, L back in position on 6, step on R on 7 slightly forward
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL inside turn for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 forward basic slightly to left of follower while giving L-R haircomb for leader getting follower’s R on leader’s L side (thus leader’s L is on leader’s R side) on 1,2,3 and lead follower to right turn on 5,6,7 with leader also turning left at the same time with newly established R-R hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R copa free turn for follower (R on hip lead) with leader turning R with hook step/turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 back briefly to closed hold then CBL ending L-R open
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break into Apache (bringing follower’s R behind her L waist – connect R-R and lead her into travelling clockwise unwinding turn) – switch to L-R after follower is through approximately full and have half turn more to go with leader doing something like a hook turn (on 7?) to face follower with L-R behind leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer R high with fingers pointing 9 o’clock (thumb down) – lead follower to double right turn stationary with R-L lead (touch-and-go for L-R low)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turn half left during 1,2,3 then leads follower forward and back on 5,6,7 bringing follower to leader’s R side – L-R comes up and R-L goes down during 5,6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz start at sweetheart position (I think I’ve referred to similar position as wrap elsewhere) and lead follower to travelling clockwise turn with R-L – free L hand on follower’s R hip around 7 while R-L starts high and comes down and brought behind follower’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic on 1,2,3 bring follower slightly forward on 5 and lead her to turn half counterclockwise catching R-R early to end in crucifix position
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare R-L-R then lead follower to stationary right turn – 1 1/2 or more
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL high cross pass
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R haircomb for leader with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise on 1,2,3 (I kept muffling the haircomb here for some reason – then again I have not yet incorporated high cross pass into my repertoire either) – get R under arm and lead follower to CBL with leader turning full counterclockwise on 5,6,7 (yeah… that move… I don’t have a good name for it even though I now use it all the time) - end by placing follower parallel and facing the line
1,2,3,5,6,7 continuous CBL (okay… that’s a new name for another move I have been using a lot)
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL and lead New York Walk with L-R (another new name for old move – follower turn half clockwise while travelling)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1/2 clockwise on 1,2,3 switching from L-R to R-R low and lead follower to 1 1/2 windmill turn (clockwise travelling) R-R going low-high-low-high-low
1,2,3,5,6,7 double switch R-R to L-R to R-R during 1,2,3 while leader does another half clockwise turn and then lead another windmill travelling turn with leader probably doing something like hook turn on 7 with R-R switch to L-R behind leader’s waist (I ended up making this a drop catch)
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa free turn for follower using L hand on follower’s hip for lead
next there might have been some move, which ended with L-R behind leader’s waist – otherwise start with L-R maybe after CBL … in any case
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower straight forward while disconnecting L-R connection (as opposed to Copa as I initially led Andrea – nice thing being that Andrea correctly read my mislead) – get behind follower hands on sides of follower’s hips
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic and lead follower to free travelling turn (I think the version here was clockwise – only a slight change in timing of turning lead between the two)
I liked the routine. Not too many spins - or spins for spins sake. Not overly twisty. Generally easy for me because I am quite familiar with many of the moves in some variation. However, many were of variations I had never tried or use regularly so it was a good exercise. Pretty much everything felt natural and it should mesh very well with type of moves I routinely lead. Quality teaching (followers holding their own weight, musical timing, etc). Nelson also made fun of exceedingly slow practice music.
This time I managed to get a dance with Veronica afterwards. It was On2 and mistake-filled. After 5 or 6 mistakes, I stopped counting. It was a little annoying, but nothing much could be done about it. Maybe I was a little tired yet not properly warmed up. Music didn’t help (including some skipping). It was the only On2 dance of the evening for me.
Nicola, Sally and Lindsey showed up later. Ditto for Cristian and Louise. There was a birthday dance for David from Saturday. Also some dances with a visitor from Norwich and some newbies and other visitors were notable. I opted not to DJ tonight and dance more instead. The only drawback from this was that my fingers were feeling a bit sore with dancing with followers with too strong frame/tension/whatever.
Showing posts with label Lessons - Latin Collective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lessons - Latin Collective. Show all posts
Rousing from slumber
September 10, 2007
Let’s just say I had time to kill and not a lot of ideas. In any case I thought it might be interesting to see how I would view these classes now after a long break from it. Apparently Joe was away last week visiting New York – buying new music and taking classes with Eddie Torres, etc. The teaching line-up today was Joe, Dani and Olga.
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 connect L-L over R-R open break into simple Copa fake
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz into 1 1/2 outside turn (travelling clockwise) L-L high and touch-and-go low for R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns around about 1/2 counterclockwise with R-R connected throughout (ahead on 1 and over lead’s head on 2,3) and L-L for shoulder drop-catch of sort (needs to step forward on 1) – leader is positioned behind and to right of follower by 3 – lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise turn ending with L-L hat for leader
Here we ended with getting back to closed hold. I think something more might have been planned but it was not revealed. A good one to practice could be a CBL with keeping L-L connection throughout and with free R hand going behind follower’s back first then over follower’s head as leader turns full counterclockwise on the spot to get back to open L-L hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 connect L-L over R-R open break into Copa start with both connections going over and leader overtaking on 2,3 – turn slightly towards follower (swivel clockwise) on 5 with L-L going to leader’s shoulder for touch-and-go during leader turning counterclockwise on 6,7 on L foot with R-R temporarily high to face follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 reconnect L-L over R-R open break and get behind follower (follower does not turn – very similar to Sergio’s routine from the last On2 class) – follower is moved to R on 5 with leader doing a hook step on 5 – leader moves ahead of follower from her L side on 6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 did a simple half clockwise turn on 1,2,3 with R connecting with both of follower’s hands and going over lead’s head – sway on 5,6,7 (remember that follower’s on L-R-L for 5-6-7 so lead to R-L-R from lead’s perspective)
The pace of the class was for me very relaxed. However, I doubt anyone else in the class would have used the same word. It could have been useful to get a practice a faster music but then again only with very few of the followers there. I wasn’t paying much attention to other leads, but I suspect many found the material challenging enough with slowed music. Some of the followers were often omitting some basic steps and guilty of backleading. Other major deficiencies noted were slow follow responses and turns. Most were overly tense or stiff although this is not necessary a bad thing at this point. Probably at least half the followers probably did not know how to count the beats in the music – to me this is the biggest weakness of running many classes simultaneously. Basically a typical Salsa class one might see in London and elsewhere.
There were a few faces I had not seen in a long time tonight – Serena and Kate (and Kate’s friend). What a surprise! Kate and her friend were both home abroad – I think Romania and Russia (Far East). Neither apparently went out dancing in 2 months or so. It was exciting to see them back nevertheless. Summer break is finally ending, and the scene should become lively again - although I suppose there are people moving away for school (Hayden, Polly, Andrea) or work (Mimi) also. Hopefully there will be some influx of already experienced newcomers too - like the one expected from California. In any case the social for Monday seemed to remain the weakest among all Club Salsa nights dedicated for Salsa.
No On2 class today - Sergio's vacationing abroad. Will there be one next week? I'll have to gauge the interest level - if I could get myself inspired enough.
Let’s just say I had time to kill and not a lot of ideas. In any case I thought it might be interesting to see how I would view these classes now after a long break from it. Apparently Joe was away last week visiting New York – buying new music and taking classes with Eddie Torres, etc. The teaching line-up today was Joe, Dani and Olga.
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 connect L-L over R-R open break into simple Copa fake
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz into 1 1/2 outside turn (travelling clockwise) L-L high and touch-and-go low for R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns around about 1/2 counterclockwise with R-R connected throughout (ahead on 1 and over lead’s head on 2,3) and L-L for shoulder drop-catch of sort (needs to step forward on 1) – leader is positioned behind and to right of follower by 3 – lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise turn ending with L-L hat for leader
Here we ended with getting back to closed hold. I think something more might have been planned but it was not revealed. A good one to practice could be a CBL with keeping L-L connection throughout and with free R hand going behind follower’s back first then over follower’s head as leader turns full counterclockwise on the spot to get back to open L-L hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL switch to R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 connect L-L over R-R open break into Copa start with both connections going over and leader overtaking on 2,3 – turn slightly towards follower (swivel clockwise) on 5 with L-L going to leader’s shoulder for touch-and-go during leader turning counterclockwise on 6,7 on L foot with R-R temporarily high to face follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 reconnect L-L over R-R open break and get behind follower (follower does not turn – very similar to Sergio’s routine from the last On2 class) – follower is moved to R on 5 with leader doing a hook step on 5 – leader moves ahead of follower from her L side on 6,7
1,2,3,5,6,7 did a simple half clockwise turn on 1,2,3 with R connecting with both of follower’s hands and going over lead’s head – sway on 5,6,7 (remember that follower’s on L-R-L for 5-6-7 so lead to R-L-R from lead’s perspective)
The pace of the class was for me very relaxed. However, I doubt anyone else in the class would have used the same word. It could have been useful to get a practice a faster music but then again only with very few of the followers there. I wasn’t paying much attention to other leads, but I suspect many found the material challenging enough with slowed music. Some of the followers were often omitting some basic steps and guilty of backleading. Other major deficiencies noted were slow follow responses and turns. Most were overly tense or stiff although this is not necessary a bad thing at this point. Probably at least half the followers probably did not know how to count the beats in the music – to me this is the biggest weakness of running many classes simultaneously. Basically a typical Salsa class one might see in London and elsewhere.
There were a few faces I had not seen in a long time tonight – Serena and Kate (and Kate’s friend). What a surprise! Kate and her friend were both home abroad – I think Romania and Russia (Far East). Neither apparently went out dancing in 2 months or so. It was exciting to see them back nevertheless. Summer break is finally ending, and the scene should become lively again - although I suppose there are people moving away for school (Hayden, Polly, Andrea) or work (Mimi) also. Hopefully there will be some influx of already experienced newcomers too - like the one expected from California. In any case the social for Monday seemed to remain the weakest among all Club Salsa nights dedicated for Salsa.
No On2 class today - Sergio's vacationing abroad. Will there be one next week? I'll have to gauge the interest level - if I could get myself inspired enough.
Afterglow
March 5, 2007
About an hour after using a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher to put out an ethanol fire, I was back at Club Salsa listening to Joe dividing the classes and trying to determine which one was the largest, etc (what a geeky starting sentence, no?). After some shuffling, the intermediates with Joe ended up by the DJ booth while the beginners with the new girl (I remembered her from the Sunday workshop a little over a week ago) took over the main floor. Danie had the improvers by the staircase. Because the numbers were skewed towards men for the intermediate while the opposite was true for the improvers (and also because I figured that I was unlikely to see too many new things in the intermediate class), I decided to partake in the improver class. Among other things it gave me an opportunity to check out Danie teaching the improver level class for only her second time. Overall I thought the way Danie taught the class was closer in content to Joe than either Tiz and (especially) Russell are to Joe.
Improver with Danie
The material itself was nothing new – not surprising at this point. The classes started with some shines (typical) followed by some turning exercises (less typical). Partner work done were as follows.
CBL
CBL with inside turn (1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling) for follower (optional haircomb for follower when ending in closed hold)
CBL with inside turn for follower ending in L-R hold for back-to-back basic
Leading follower to right turn on the spot (full clockwise stationary turn) followed by a right turn by leader or followed by a broken left turn for the leader
On second thought, I am not sure if I ever ran into a class where leader performed a full broken left turn On1 – especially with appropriate timing. Possibly Sergio used it at CDC couple of years ago, but I don’t have any notes to show this. In any case, I ended up using broken left turn a lot tonight.
It was quite relaxing.
I didn’t know what was going to happen with the social hour after the classes. No one from the usual group was there. However, I found that I was in a pretty good mood – with no built-up frustration of not being able to lead more difficult moves (perhaps because I got this out of my system by going to SOS last night). I felt patient and content to lead whatever was going to be easy for my partners. In the end I probably did some things most of them did not expect, but things were quite under control most of the time.
Speaking of SOS, one of the guys there last night was here for the social hour. We greeted each other and made mention of seeing each other last night. I’ll have to ask him his name next time though. Somewhat later in the evening, Raj made an appearance too.
I danced with about 10 people altogether. Most were singletons – with more than one dance for the evening with only two people.
Vishal was using the same old CD again. However, this time he played the CD through Montuno Street and Tambo. When Temba Tumba Timba came on, I started wondering if we’ll get to the end of the CD for a Cha Cha (Chin Chon Chow by Louie Ramirez – I like this one). To stack things in my favor, I approached Vishal and asked if he was going to play the CD to the end for the Cha Cha. And he did. I figured I didn’t need to pick a partner based upon knowing a lot of moves or being able to spin well, so I picked an elegant-looking girl with pretty good sense of timing. Supposedly she had a couple of Cha Cha lessons before, but I don’t know if it came into play much. Another decent On2 practice (Cha Cha)! Nice...
About an hour after using a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher to put out an ethanol fire, I was back at Club Salsa listening to Joe dividing the classes and trying to determine which one was the largest, etc (what a geeky starting sentence, no?). After some shuffling, the intermediates with Joe ended up by the DJ booth while the beginners with the new girl (I remembered her from the Sunday workshop a little over a week ago) took over the main floor. Danie had the improvers by the staircase. Because the numbers were skewed towards men for the intermediate while the opposite was true for the improvers (and also because I figured that I was unlikely to see too many new things in the intermediate class), I decided to partake in the improver class. Among other things it gave me an opportunity to check out Danie teaching the improver level class for only her second time. Overall I thought the way Danie taught the class was closer in content to Joe than either Tiz and (especially) Russell are to Joe.
Improver with Danie
The material itself was nothing new – not surprising at this point. The classes started with some shines (typical) followed by some turning exercises (less typical). Partner work done were as follows.
CBL
CBL with inside turn (1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling) for follower (optional haircomb for follower when ending in closed hold)
CBL with inside turn for follower ending in L-R hold for back-to-back basic
Leading follower to right turn on the spot (full clockwise stationary turn) followed by a right turn by leader or followed by a broken left turn for the leader
On second thought, I am not sure if I ever ran into a class where leader performed a full broken left turn On1 – especially with appropriate timing. Possibly Sergio used it at CDC couple of years ago, but I don’t have any notes to show this. In any case, I ended up using broken left turn a lot tonight.
It was quite relaxing.
I didn’t know what was going to happen with the social hour after the classes. No one from the usual group was there. However, I found that I was in a pretty good mood – with no built-up frustration of not being able to lead more difficult moves (perhaps because I got this out of my system by going to SOS last night). I felt patient and content to lead whatever was going to be easy for my partners. In the end I probably did some things most of them did not expect, but things were quite under control most of the time.
Speaking of SOS, one of the guys there last night was here for the social hour. We greeted each other and made mention of seeing each other last night. I’ll have to ask him his name next time though. Somewhat later in the evening, Raj made an appearance too.
I danced with about 10 people altogether. Most were singletons – with more than one dance for the evening with only two people.
Vishal was using the same old CD again. However, this time he played the CD through Montuno Street and Tambo. When Temba Tumba Timba came on, I started wondering if we’ll get to the end of the CD for a Cha Cha (Chin Chon Chow by Louie Ramirez – I like this one). To stack things in my favor, I approached Vishal and asked if he was going to play the CD to the end for the Cha Cha. And he did. I figured I didn’t need to pick a partner based upon knowing a lot of moves or being able to spin well, so I picked an elegant-looking girl with pretty good sense of timing. Supposedly she had a couple of Cha Cha lessons before, but I don’t know if it came into play much. Another decent On2 practice (Cha Cha)! Nice...
Monday lite
February 26, 2007
Adam apparently cancelled at last minute so the lineup was Russell, Danie and Vishal.
Fluff for laughs with Russell in the Intermediate class
CBL ending in CBL position with a kick to the behind with L foot on 1 before finishing next CBL
Men’s right turn on 1,2,3 (possibly after follower’s right turn) with follower’s L hand initially on leader’s L shoulder (ends on R shoulder) followed by a stare down on 5,6,7 (not so effective if she’s not looking)
Lead follower to a right turn with L-R with fake-out with R (bring down R slowly from forehead down the side of the face and down the chest, etc)
A hijack by the follower (from R-R lead but presumably could be done from other connections too)
1,2,3,5,6,7 from crossed hold L-L on top (after leading a right turn for follower starting with crossed hold R-R on top), Copa-like start (or rather reverse cross body might be better description as follower is placed on crucifix position on 3 – push with L-L to lead follower to keep going in the same direction and lead her into free 1 1/2 clockwise turn (it’s really more of momentum thing the way she turns rather than a directional lead… in fact the lead is to push her straight)
This was followed by a basic and turning on 5,6,7 (I can’t remember if it’s a clockwise or counterclockwise turn – I suppose either is doable) and getting back into closed hold
There was also a single turn for follower with leader turning 1/2 and doing a slam dunk followed by open break and turn and leading follower into multiple turns (in 2 bars)
After a quick pair of dances with Euvian and another dance with someone new, I decided leave around 10:20 in order to get some errands done and try to work on getting back to a more normal sleeping schedule. I considered trying at least one dance On2, but the music worked against that idea.
Adam apparently cancelled at last minute so the lineup was Russell, Danie and Vishal.
Fluff for laughs with Russell in the Intermediate class
CBL ending in CBL position with a kick to the behind with L foot on 1 before finishing next CBL
Men’s right turn on 1,2,3 (possibly after follower’s right turn) with follower’s L hand initially on leader’s L shoulder (ends on R shoulder) followed by a stare down on 5,6,7 (not so effective if she’s not looking)
Lead follower to a right turn with L-R with fake-out with R (bring down R slowly from forehead down the side of the face and down the chest, etc)
A hijack by the follower (from R-R lead but presumably could be done from other connections too)
1,2,3,5,6,7 from crossed hold L-L on top (after leading a right turn for follower starting with crossed hold R-R on top), Copa-like start (or rather reverse cross body might be better description as follower is placed on crucifix position on 3 – push with L-L to lead follower to keep going in the same direction and lead her into free 1 1/2 clockwise turn (it’s really more of momentum thing the way she turns rather than a directional lead… in fact the lead is to push her straight)
This was followed by a basic and turning on 5,6,7 (I can’t remember if it’s a clockwise or counterclockwise turn – I suppose either is doable) and getting back into closed hold
There was also a single turn for follower with leader turning 1/2 and doing a slam dunk followed by open break and turn and leading follower into multiple turns (in 2 bars)
After a quick pair of dances with Euvian and another dance with someone new, I decided leave around 10:20 in order to get some errands done and try to work on getting back to a more normal sleeping schedule. I considered trying at least one dance On2, but the music worked against that idea.
Workshop with Latin Collective
February 25, 2007
I was not especially keen on doing this, but Vishal tried hard to rope me in. I went in with "I don't care one way or the other - I will stay if the numbers are not skewed" attitude. Otherwise, I would have gone to London.
Men's Turn Combination Level 1 - Tiz
2 o'clock right turn
left turn (with stylization option - lifting L foot or slight hop on 2)
half right and half left (with stylization option involving R arm in front on 1 and L arm in front on 5)
full right spin followed by full left spin
Men's Turn Combination Level 2 - Tiz
double right turn (2 o'clock turn followed by hook turn)
double left turn (left turn start - prepare on 4 and spin 1 1/2)
One hour of it was a useful exercise. I also tried couple of full double right spin followed by full double left turn.
On1 Pattern - Tiz & Aiste
The theme was wrap.
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L open break into CBL and into wrap with traveling counterclockwise turn for follower (R-L across follower's stomach)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare/accommodate and lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise stationary turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 semi-open hold Copa with R-L going over (leader is turned about 1/4 counterclockwise on 3) - lead follower into full counterclockwise Copa turn with last second switch to L-L and with leader turning 3/4 counterclockwise
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare/accommodate and lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise stationary turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L hat for leader and basic (or leader could turn counterclockwise once or twice before doing the L-L hat
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL
1,2,3,5,6,7 semi-open open break into CBL and into wrap (lead with R-L - keep L-R high but this is not where the lead is coming from)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to L on 1 and back on 2,3 with leader getting in front and L-R now going low and R-L going high but above leader's L shoulder - lead follower into a stationary full counterclockwise turn into R-L wrap with leader also turning full counterclockwise and positioning himself into another wrap position (getting behind follower again)
An easy bit followed by a little tricky to lead move followed by another easy followed by fairly interesting move.
Food and drink break at the Sauce. At my table was Mimi, Cyrille, Zern, Euvian, Zhenzhi, Serena, Sebastian. I think there might have been one other, but I can't remember for sure (if so he sat quite far away from me). Also there were two others, who joined us later, but I had never seen them before. Mimi moved to a new place this morning. Zern talked about a couple of his fantasies. Sergio called to talk about doing some On2 exercise Tuesday.
On2 Partnerwork - Joe & Aiste
Basic footwork explained with explanation of the Conga pattern. Timing CD was used for practice. Not bad. I thought I did okay with the timing CD. I also tried leading the move with Aiste for 30 seconds to Periodico De Ayer immediately after the class, and she thought my timing was okay. I think (also according to Aiste) the tendency for many leads were to be early (starting the leads on 1 rather than on 2). I might have been better about this aspect than most although I did feel a bit shaky especially early on. After the class ended, I had full dance On2 with Zhenzhi - as long as I stuck to the material taught in class, I seemed in fairly solid footing. When I tried to improvise, it was hit or miss type of affair. I also had one other On2 practice with someone I hadn't seen before - tail end of Micaela by Sonora Carruseles - not bad at all.
Also done was CBL from closed hold (lead follower forward on 2)
Leading follower into stationary clockwise turn - start with in-place or slightly backwards step on 6 (prepare early on 7 getting to Pizza waiter position but turn lead does not come until 2?)
Leader's broken left turn upon completion of follower's turn
Something like open break on 6 (but not quite) to bring follower level by 7 with R-L hat for follower with R hand going to follower's back and lead follower to 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (forward lead on 2 then start the turn signal after 2)
On1 Turn Patterns with Shines - Joe & Aiste
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL low cross pass
1,2,3,5,6,7 The stomach move
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL open
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower to free clockwise turn with free R hand on follower's R wrist (held by L-R) with leader also turning full counterclockwise
1,2,3,5,6,7 bunny hop basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 sliding doors shine
I guess many people are still unaccustomed to incorporating shine into social dancing so this might have been worthwhile for them - especially with additional styling component added.
In summary, there was nothing groundbreaking for me, but at least three of the segments were of reasonable use for me. I certainly never practice turns and spins for a whole hour, and it also gave me time to digest and incorporate partially Sergio's suggestions into turning exercises. Having the On2 session led to me actually dance to a whole song On2 (perhaps that could be considered a breakthough on second thought) - without going completely nuts to boot. The first On1 turn pattern class gave me one or two options to work on. For me the pace could have been made faster, but it was a big class with wide degree of experience and skill.
Other notable things included my third time dancing to El Cantante by Hector Lavoe (the 10 1/2 min long song) - this time, rather large number of people danced to it from start to the end unlike last time I played it at Club Salsa. Joe brought along a guest along with Tiz and Aiste (Danie also taught beginners) - I did not have a hint about which one she was until the On2 class (although I did notice her earlier because of her height). During the On2 class, I noticed that she had rock-solid tension (probably the way Joe likes it) without being stiff. I was impressed enough to wait unusually (for me anyway) long time to ask her for a dance during the next break (Periodico De Ayer - Hector Lavoe) and also after the completion of the class. I told Cyrille that he should ask her for a dance, but I don't think he did.
Tomorrow's lineup is Adam Leilani, Russell and Danie. Joe is branching out quite a bit on Mondays. Adam is a pretty good dancer, and I suspect he would introduce something different compared to Joe or Tiz - it could be interesting.
I was not especially keen on doing this, but Vishal tried hard to rope me in. I went in with "I don't care one way or the other - I will stay if the numbers are not skewed" attitude. Otherwise, I would have gone to London.
Men's Turn Combination Level 1 - Tiz
2 o'clock right turn
left turn (with stylization option - lifting L foot or slight hop on 2)
half right and half left (with stylization option involving R arm in front on 1 and L arm in front on 5)
full right spin followed by full left spin
Men's Turn Combination Level 2 - Tiz
double right turn (2 o'clock turn followed by hook turn)
double left turn (left turn start - prepare on 4 and spin 1 1/2)
One hour of it was a useful exercise. I also tried couple of full double right spin followed by full double left turn.
On1 Pattern - Tiz & Aiste
The theme was wrap.
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L open break into CBL and into wrap with traveling counterclockwise turn for follower (R-L across follower's stomach)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare/accommodate and lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise stationary turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 semi-open hold Copa with R-L going over (leader is turned about 1/4 counterclockwise on 3) - lead follower into full counterclockwise Copa turn with last second switch to L-L and with leader turning 3/4 counterclockwise
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare/accommodate and lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise stationary turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L hat for leader and basic (or leader could turn counterclockwise once or twice before doing the L-L hat
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL
1,2,3,5,6,7 semi-open open break into CBL and into wrap (lead with R-L - keep L-R high but this is not where the lead is coming from)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to L on 1 and back on 2,3 with leader getting in front and L-R now going low and R-L going high but above leader's L shoulder - lead follower into a stationary full counterclockwise turn into R-L wrap with leader also turning full counterclockwise and positioning himself into another wrap position (getting behind follower again)
An easy bit followed by a little tricky to lead move followed by another easy followed by fairly interesting move.
Food and drink break at the Sauce. At my table was Mimi, Cyrille, Zern, Euvian, Zhenzhi, Serena, Sebastian. I think there might have been one other, but I can't remember for sure (if so he sat quite far away from me). Also there were two others, who joined us later, but I had never seen them before. Mimi moved to a new place this morning. Zern talked about a couple of his fantasies. Sergio called to talk about doing some On2 exercise Tuesday.
On2 Partnerwork - Joe & Aiste
Basic footwork explained with explanation of the Conga pattern. Timing CD was used for practice. Not bad. I thought I did okay with the timing CD. I also tried leading the move with Aiste for 30 seconds to Periodico De Ayer immediately after the class, and she thought my timing was okay. I think (also according to Aiste) the tendency for many leads were to be early (starting the leads on 1 rather than on 2). I might have been better about this aspect than most although I did feel a bit shaky especially early on. After the class ended, I had full dance On2 with Zhenzhi - as long as I stuck to the material taught in class, I seemed in fairly solid footing. When I tried to improvise, it was hit or miss type of affair. I also had one other On2 practice with someone I hadn't seen before - tail end of Micaela by Sonora Carruseles - not bad at all.
Also done was CBL from closed hold (lead follower forward on 2)
Leading follower into stationary clockwise turn - start with in-place or slightly backwards step on 6 (prepare early on 7 getting to Pizza waiter position but turn lead does not come until 2?)
Leader's broken left turn upon completion of follower's turn
Something like open break on 6 (but not quite) to bring follower level by 7 with R-L hat for follower with R hand going to follower's back and lead follower to 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (forward lead on 2 then start the turn signal after 2)
On1 Turn Patterns with Shines - Joe & Aiste
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL low cross pass
1,2,3,5,6,7 The stomach move
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL open
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower to free clockwise turn with free R hand on follower's R wrist (held by L-R) with leader also turning full counterclockwise
1,2,3,5,6,7 bunny hop basic
1,2,3,5,6,7 sliding doors shine
I guess many people are still unaccustomed to incorporating shine into social dancing so this might have been worthwhile for them - especially with additional styling component added.
In summary, there was nothing groundbreaking for me, but at least three of the segments were of reasonable use for me. I certainly never practice turns and spins for a whole hour, and it also gave me time to digest and incorporate partially Sergio's suggestions into turning exercises. Having the On2 session led to me actually dance to a whole song On2 (perhaps that could be considered a breakthough on second thought) - without going completely nuts to boot. The first On1 turn pattern class gave me one or two options to work on. For me the pace could have been made faster, but it was a big class with wide degree of experience and skill.
Other notable things included my third time dancing to El Cantante by Hector Lavoe (the 10 1/2 min long song) - this time, rather large number of people danced to it from start to the end unlike last time I played it at Club Salsa. Joe brought along a guest along with Tiz and Aiste (Danie also taught beginners) - I did not have a hint about which one she was until the On2 class (although I did notice her earlier because of her height). During the On2 class, I noticed that she had rock-solid tension (probably the way Joe likes it) without being stiff. I was impressed enough to wait unusually (for me anyway) long time to ask her for a dance during the next break (Periodico De Ayer - Hector Lavoe) and also after the completion of the class. I told Cyrille that he should ask her for a dance, but I don't think he did.
Tomorrow's lineup is Adam Leilani, Russell and Danie. Joe is branching out quite a bit on Mondays. Adam is a pretty good dancer, and I suspect he would introduce something different compared to Joe or Tiz - it could be interesting.
Diminishing returns
February 12, 2007
And then there are days like today.
There is no doubt that there are plenty of things I could learn to improve my dancing. This includes but is not limited to more turn patterns, shines, isolations, technique, tension, knowledge of music, interpretation of music, etc. More open to question is whether I am using my time efficiently by continuing my current set of classes.
For now, inertia carries me through because I don’t see any convenient alternative. Although the amount of things I learn within two hour period is not a great deal and despite the suspicion that some people think less of me because of some weird bias (along the lines of thinking that anyone taking classes cannot be very good – good dancers have no need of taking lessons or should be teaching), I still get some useful practice out of these classes.
I could add that getting a sustainable advanced level class (on1) in Cambridge to really suit me is no more likely to happen than getting a decent on2 classes started in Cambridge. I wonder how practical it would be to get some on2 practice without taking formal classes.
Intermediate with Latin Collective - Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower into a double stationary clockwise turn ending with leader turning 1/2 counerclockwise and doing a slam dunk to end R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break, bring follower forward and into a 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower with a R-R windmill motion with adjusting connections to keep R fingers pointing up final 1/2 turn for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start but finish with a Jesus check
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower for 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower ending with R-R haircomb/wash (and double-wash) for follower followed by CBL in next bar
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower into single stationary clockwise turn with R-L low to get R-L behind follower’s R waist*
1,2,3,5,6,7 step forward on 1 to accommodate follower, bring follower forward on 2, leader turns 1/4 counterclockwise while brining R-L into Copa-like position – between 3 and 5 bring R-L to an arc up and down like a windmill to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn and to get R-L across follower’s stomach for a wrap**
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic (somewhat like Mambo jazz) – release R-L and bring R to follower’s back to lead follower forward on 5 keeping L-R low and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn instead of a more typical clockwise turn and with leader turning counterclockwise on 7 (easier if follower does not take too long with her turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 use L-R pump motion to signal moving into closed hold for CBL
*Many ways to get into this position have been covered. One-up-one-down and over-and-under moves can be used. A double windmill move ending with switching hands could be employed as well.
**Same end position can be achieved keeping R-L low throughout
Somewhat less useful – at least in the case of Mondays – is the social afterwards. Euvian was there today, which counts for something. There were few other people who were worth dancing with – even though I get very little useful practice out in terms of learning to lead more complex moves, at least I feel like I’m being helpful and getting appreciated in return. It is rare that someone who I could dance without abandon would make it on Monday.
Cristian made a surprise appearance tonight, but this was likely a one-time thing to promote his Wednesday party. By the way I could be wrong, but to my eyes it looked like Cristian might have been practicing dancing on2 with a few unsuspecting souls tonight while reverting to on1 with better followers.
Vishal was using that same CD again – meaning yet another night with Micaela. I think I am getting so sick of Micaela that hearing it sometimes makes me lose all will do dance. I was thinking, “Okay, the next one is Thinking Of You. Do I feel like dancing to it?”
When I complained of fact that same CD was being used to Euvian, she suggested that I make my own CD to play instead. Not a bad idea, but I would want to make 6-8 CDs so that the same CD would not be heard for at least a month or so.
Margarita, which isn’t too bad especially if I ignore predictability, came on. I knew that Montuno Street and Tambo were coming up so I tried to gear myself up to those two songs. Alas, Vishal decided to switch CDs just as those two songs were about to start. Oi. Deflated again.
Tumbando Cabeza by Tabaco Y Ron was next. Ugh. I played it a few times last spring and decided that it was just so-so at best. Next? Estoy Caliente by Tabaco Y Ron – I gave up on that song after just one or two airplay – there are so many better songs new and old - why waste time on something so unremarkable? Tabaco Y Ron has not recorded even one exceptional song. I suppose Vishal will feel compelled to use the CD (and I could sympathize – I after all also used my Tabaco Y Ron CDs because I spent money on them and because some of the songs seemed just okay enough).
The next song was something I did not hear before. I tried asking a few different people all of whom either declined or hesitated so I decided that I had enough and left. It was one of those nights where I might have been better off leaving after a dance or two. Or perhaps I could have fumbled around trying to dance on2 - I don't think it would have made a big difference tonight.
I suppose I shouldn’t blame everything on music. The main floor was sticky once again while the wooden floor seemed full of sand. Even if better followers were present, dancing would have been a challenge. Surely Club Salsa will never seriously challenge Brit Salsafest or even SOS (where there are many highly competent people who seem to think dancing with me is worthwhile) except under exceptional circumstances. Certainly conditions like today do not inspire me to want to come back often.
Maybe I am coming off sounding very bitter or like a jerk. Too late. After years of this blog, I imagine everyone has made up his or her mind. No doubt some people will take my side while others will be indulgent or not blink an eye whereas yet more will take this as another reason to hate, despise or belittle. I think more than anything I am exhausted and still not fully recovered from having had little sleep recently. Remember - there will be always days of frustration - not every day can be great.
Tonight supposedly was Tiz’s last night at Club Salsa – once again.
And then there are days like today.
There is no doubt that there are plenty of things I could learn to improve my dancing. This includes but is not limited to more turn patterns, shines, isolations, technique, tension, knowledge of music, interpretation of music, etc. More open to question is whether I am using my time efficiently by continuing my current set of classes.
For now, inertia carries me through because I don’t see any convenient alternative. Although the amount of things I learn within two hour period is not a great deal and despite the suspicion that some people think less of me because of some weird bias (along the lines of thinking that anyone taking classes cannot be very good – good dancers have no need of taking lessons or should be teaching), I still get some useful practice out of these classes.
I could add that getting a sustainable advanced level class (on1) in Cambridge to really suit me is no more likely to happen than getting a decent on2 classes started in Cambridge. I wonder how practical it would be to get some on2 practice without taking formal classes.
Intermediate with Latin Collective - Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower into a double stationary clockwise turn ending with leader turning 1/2 counerclockwise and doing a slam dunk to end R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break, bring follower forward and into a 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower with a R-R windmill motion with adjusting connections to keep R fingers pointing up final 1/2 turn for follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start but finish with a Jesus check
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower for 1 1/2 clockwise turn for follower ending with R-R haircomb/wash (and double-wash) for follower followed by CBL in next bar
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower into single stationary clockwise turn with R-L low to get R-L behind follower’s R waist*
1,2,3,5,6,7 step forward on 1 to accommodate follower, bring follower forward on 2, leader turns 1/4 counterclockwise while brining R-L into Copa-like position – between 3 and 5 bring R-L to an arc up and down like a windmill to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn and to get R-L across follower’s stomach for a wrap**
1,2,3,5,6,7 basic (somewhat like Mambo jazz) – release R-L and bring R to follower’s back to lead follower forward on 5 keeping L-R low and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn instead of a more typical clockwise turn and with leader turning counterclockwise on 7 (easier if follower does not take too long with her turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 use L-R pump motion to signal moving into closed hold for CBL
*Many ways to get into this position have been covered. One-up-one-down and over-and-under moves can be used. A double windmill move ending with switching hands could be employed as well.
**Same end position can be achieved keeping R-L low throughout
Somewhat less useful – at least in the case of Mondays – is the social afterwards. Euvian was there today, which counts for something. There were few other people who were worth dancing with – even though I get very little useful practice out in terms of learning to lead more complex moves, at least I feel like I’m being helpful and getting appreciated in return. It is rare that someone who I could dance without abandon would make it on Monday.
Cristian made a surprise appearance tonight, but this was likely a one-time thing to promote his Wednesday party. By the way I could be wrong, but to my eyes it looked like Cristian might have been practicing dancing on2 with a few unsuspecting souls tonight while reverting to on1 with better followers.
Vishal was using that same CD again – meaning yet another night with Micaela. I think I am getting so sick of Micaela that hearing it sometimes makes me lose all will do dance. I was thinking, “Okay, the next one is Thinking Of You. Do I feel like dancing to it?”
When I complained of fact that same CD was being used to Euvian, she suggested that I make my own CD to play instead. Not a bad idea, but I would want to make 6-8 CDs so that the same CD would not be heard for at least a month or so.
Margarita, which isn’t too bad especially if I ignore predictability, came on. I knew that Montuno Street and Tambo were coming up so I tried to gear myself up to those two songs. Alas, Vishal decided to switch CDs just as those two songs were about to start. Oi. Deflated again.
Tumbando Cabeza by Tabaco Y Ron was next. Ugh. I played it a few times last spring and decided that it was just so-so at best. Next? Estoy Caliente by Tabaco Y Ron – I gave up on that song after just one or two airplay – there are so many better songs new and old - why waste time on something so unremarkable? Tabaco Y Ron has not recorded even one exceptional song. I suppose Vishal will feel compelled to use the CD (and I could sympathize – I after all also used my Tabaco Y Ron CDs because I spent money on them and because some of the songs seemed just okay enough).
The next song was something I did not hear before. I tried asking a few different people all of whom either declined or hesitated so I decided that I had enough and left. It was one of those nights where I might have been better off leaving after a dance or two. Or perhaps I could have fumbled around trying to dance on2 - I don't think it would have made a big difference tonight.
I suppose I shouldn’t blame everything on music. The main floor was sticky once again while the wooden floor seemed full of sand. Even if better followers were present, dancing would have been a challenge. Surely Club Salsa will never seriously challenge Brit Salsafest or even SOS (where there are many highly competent people who seem to think dancing with me is worthwhile) except under exceptional circumstances. Certainly conditions like today do not inspire me to want to come back often.
Maybe I am coming off sounding very bitter or like a jerk. Too late. After years of this blog, I imagine everyone has made up his or her mind. No doubt some people will take my side while others will be indulgent or not blink an eye whereas yet more will take this as another reason to hate, despise or belittle. I think more than anything I am exhausted and still not fully recovered from having had little sleep recently. Remember - there will be always days of frustration - not every day can be great.
Tonight supposedly was Tiz’s last night at Club Salsa – once again.
Cosmic balance restored
January 29, 2007
It was another one of those days where I didn’t leave work until 7:30 PM. The lineup today was Joe, Tiz and Niki. Niki arrived even later than I did - this was her first time. From what I gathered from overhearing her talking to the class whenever my mind wandered away from Joe's instructions, she seemed like an amusing character.
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 one up one down stationary double turn for follower ending with R-L behind follower’s R waist – offer L in front by 7 (could do this with leader’s turn on 7)
1,2,3,5,6,7 swapsi (early traveling counterclockwise turn for follower) ending with L-R behind follower’s L waist (all the lead comes from R-L)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1/2 clockwise and into open CBL with R-L pointing forward (L-R is let go) – lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn ending with R-L at leader’s chest level and L hand on follower’s L wrist
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns into follower’s L arm bringing R-L under L arm (switching to L-L with follower’s hand on leader’s R breast – step back on 5 to give forward momentum for follower and make R-R connection to lead follower into full counterclockwise traveling turn into half Jesus check with L hand on follower’s L shoulder (R-R should be enough to stop follower’s momentum)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise stationary turn and end with giving follower a R-R hat (follower could do a second haircomb with her free L hand next bar)
second hour
1,2,3,5,6,7 one up one down stationary double turn for follower ending with R-L behind follower’s R waist – offer L in front by 7 (could do this with leader’s turn on 7)
1,2,3,5,6,7 swapsi (early traveling counterclockwise turn for follower) ending with L-R behind follower’s L waist – throw follower’s L hand behind her back (over-rotate?) on 7 – in the same motion switch to R-R by 7/8 and get to L-L behind follower’s R waist by next 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 rocking step lead – bring R hand to follower’s shoulder by 3 – lead follower forward and into leader’s arm on 5 and lead follower to unwind 1 1/2 counterclockwise with leader stepping across on 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 staggering backwards to rotate as couple up to full turn or so counterclockwise and launch follower out into CBL finish to end in open position
Some of the girls including Anastasia did not arrive until the second hour. After a quick hello, Anastasia asked me to show the class material followed by a quick dance during the break. Euvian arrived near the end of the class. She too asked me to show the class material, which also was followed by a dance.
The floor was in poor condition - very sticky everywhere. Spinning was the most noticeable challenge, but even the most basic footwork was made less fluid. I seem to recall there being a lot of spills on Friday. I think there might have been a bigger than usual party on Saturday too. The upper wood floor was slow but somewhat more consistent. Hopefully cleaning will help to restore consistency of the floor.
My dancing was subpar compared to last week. Perhaps there were signs of decline last night (e.g. some of those stumbles during multiple turns). Often different variations of double turn leads were misinterpreted. Sometimes single turn lead was being misread as well. I wasn’t able to diagnose the problem – too subtle lead or perhaps outright poor lead? Some self-leading might have been caused by poor leads as well.
Obviously Jane cannot have her birthday every Monday. Although there were some nice girls about, it was a fairly weak night. The music provided was the same Vishal CD (originally noted here) used for last 3 Fridays (Micaela, Thinking of you, Margarita, Montuno Street, Tambo, Timba Temba Tumba, etc… I think the CD might end with Chin Chon Chow, but everyone including me left after the Merengue started so I couldn't confirm this). In some ways, I was relieved that at least one off night happened this week before Brit Salsafest starts. After all I wouldn’t want to peak too early.
It was another one of those days where I didn’t leave work until 7:30 PM. The lineup today was Joe, Tiz and Niki. Niki arrived even later than I did - this was her first time. From what I gathered from overhearing her talking to the class whenever my mind wandered away from Joe's instructions, she seemed like an amusing character.
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 one up one down stationary double turn for follower ending with R-L behind follower’s R waist – offer L in front by 7 (could do this with leader’s turn on 7)
1,2,3,5,6,7 swapsi (early traveling counterclockwise turn for follower) ending with L-R behind follower’s L waist (all the lead comes from R-L)
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1/2 clockwise and into open CBL with R-L pointing forward (L-R is let go) – lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn ending with R-L at leader’s chest level and L hand on follower’s L wrist
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns into follower’s L arm bringing R-L under L arm (switching to L-L with follower’s hand on leader’s R breast – step back on 5 to give forward momentum for follower and make R-R connection to lead follower into full counterclockwise traveling turn into half Jesus check with L hand on follower’s L shoulder (R-R should be enough to stop follower’s momentum)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to 1 1/2 clockwise stationary turn and end with giving follower a R-R hat (follower could do a second haircomb with her free L hand next bar)
second hour
1,2,3,5,6,7 one up one down stationary double turn for follower ending with R-L behind follower’s R waist – offer L in front by 7 (could do this with leader’s turn on 7)
1,2,3,5,6,7 swapsi (early traveling counterclockwise turn for follower) ending with L-R behind follower’s L waist – throw follower’s L hand behind her back (over-rotate?) on 7 – in the same motion switch to R-R by 7/8 and get to L-L behind follower’s R waist by next 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 rocking step lead – bring R hand to follower’s shoulder by 3 – lead follower forward and into leader’s arm on 5 and lead follower to unwind 1 1/2 counterclockwise with leader stepping across on 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 staggering backwards to rotate as couple up to full turn or so counterclockwise and launch follower out into CBL finish to end in open position
Some of the girls including Anastasia did not arrive until the second hour. After a quick hello, Anastasia asked me to show the class material followed by a quick dance during the break. Euvian arrived near the end of the class. She too asked me to show the class material, which also was followed by a dance.
The floor was in poor condition - very sticky everywhere. Spinning was the most noticeable challenge, but even the most basic footwork was made less fluid. I seem to recall there being a lot of spills on Friday. I think there might have been a bigger than usual party on Saturday too. The upper wood floor was slow but somewhat more consistent. Hopefully cleaning will help to restore consistency of the floor.
My dancing was subpar compared to last week. Perhaps there were signs of decline last night (e.g. some of those stumbles during multiple turns). Often different variations of double turn leads were misinterpreted. Sometimes single turn lead was being misread as well. I wasn’t able to diagnose the problem – too subtle lead or perhaps outright poor lead? Some self-leading might have been caused by poor leads as well.
Obviously Jane cannot have her birthday every Monday. Although there were some nice girls about, it was a fairly weak night. The music provided was the same Vishal CD (originally noted here) used for last 3 Fridays (Micaela, Thinking of you, Margarita, Montuno Street, Tambo, Timba Temba Tumba, etc… I think the CD might end with Chin Chon Chow, but everyone including me left after the Merengue started so I couldn't confirm this). In some ways, I was relieved that at least one off night happened this week before Brit Salsafest starts. After all I wouldn’t want to peak too early.
Mambo City
January 22, 2007
An e-mail from Sergio talked about today being Jane’s birthday. This sounded familiar although I am unsure where or from whom I heard this from. Sergio wondered if he should try to go tonight. I replied that there should be fairly large number of people from the team (by the way, my predictions were mostly but not entirely correct) and that Vishal probably would make a special effort at DJing with such a crowd.
I also said, “I thought everyone had their birthdays on Fridays. I guess sometimes it happens on Thursdays or Wednesdays. I didn’t think it would ever happen on a Monday.” I was rather pleased – after all I am a staple on Mondays and this would take no effort at all on my part – although I must also say that I also was trying to keep a low expectation and to be ready for anything – possibly even a horror of an evening.
Despite hurrying, I wasn’t able to leave work until after 7:30 and I was nearly half an hour late.
Joe Intermediate
CBL – open up shoulder on 2 for a more effective start and communication of lead (or intention) – instead of having far apart and flat (pointing perpendicular to the follower’s line), get feet (esp. L feet) pointing towards the direction follower will be traveling towards by 3 – use shoulders to help with the lead (and leverage) – when switching hands, get R-R established first and by 6
crossed hold L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower to leader’s R side (about 1/8 turn for follower as opposed to 1/4 turn more appropriate for Copa – lead is with R-R during 1,2,3) – lead follower forward into a Copa fake and into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn and moving along to a point behind leader (on his L side now) 7 (and 8??) with lead for the turns coming from L-L high with R-R kept low and intact for a wrap and released only after follower is led to leader’s L side (L-L goes over leader’s head as leader’s eyes (and head) turns from leader’s R side where follower was during 3 to 7 or so to leader’s L side by 7 or 8 or so
1,2,3,5,6,7 use proper tension etc to lead follower forward on 1 and continue lead her to overtake and turn 1/2 on 2,3 so that follower is now facing leader (and essentially back to position at previous 1) – windmill type of lead to a double clockwise turn (under-over-and under) and switch to R-L (leader could do a swivel turn here but I think simply getting the follower to do a double turn to get her L hand behind her R waist will be a pretty big challenge – I haven’t managed it thus far – on the other hand, I have been using this maneuver with a single turn finish for 1-2 months now)
Simple finish used for the class was to get follower to do a 1 1/2 (early) traveling counterclockwise turn with R-L lead kept low and ending with a closed hold
crossed hold L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL and lead follower into Jesus check or crucifix (keep top of follower’s fingers at about her shoulder level – this means the distance between her hands and her shoulder could be very short – about a hand length)
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower a slight step forward and to L on 1 (it helps to dip both connections slightly on 1) – best steps for leader is cross behind R foot on 1 – all this works as preparatory step for follower – lead follower to 1 1/2 over and under turn (clockwise stationary) with L-L to get follower’s L hand behind her R waist – leader does a swivel turn on 7 – switch to R-L and switch back to L-L on 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL (using the opening of shoulder maneuver to help follower propel forward on 3 with rocking step) – lead follower forward on 5 and tightly into L-L and lead follower to unwind counterclockwise 1 1/2 starting from 6 with L-L starting low and ending high
A simple finish would entail doing a L-L hat for leader and finish with CBL… another option is to do a 360 turn on 1,2,3 as a unit (leader should start this turn on 7 with R foot going across) – footwork demonstrated was something like a hook with L foot on 1 followed by in place steps on 2,3 as rest of the body catches up – finish with launching follower across her line on 5,6,7 (finishing with closed hold make the move rotational rather than linear)
Smiley Jane arrived towards the end of the first hour of classes. During a brief lull when I was without a partner, I went to greet her and wish her happy birthday. I also voiced my earlier thought about no one else celebrating his or her birthday on a Monday at Club Salsa. She replied that everyone used to do it on Fridays but that it’s always packed and thus not usually very fun. Besides – she wanted to celebrate it on her real birthday. I thought, “Very sensible.”
With likes of Euvian and Anastasia in the class as well as Jane who joined during the second half, the classes were more enjoyable than it was for most of December and January – even if greater part of it was mostly a review of things I knew fairly well.
I was a little surprised that by the end of the class, Sergio was the only one amongst people I had expected to show up among the CBL crowd. I was thinking that people like Phyllis, Sam and Richard surely would show up. I was less sure about Ivan, but he was one of the first to arrive after the end of the classes. Later I asked Ivan, “Does [you being here tonight] mean that you won’t be here Thursday night?” He replied, “I got a special dispensation for tonight.” I guess that means he’s allowed to go out twice this week. How special! Some people took a little longer to arrive, but it ended up being a pretty good group. There were a couple of surprise no-shows, but I am sure there were good reasons.
Some of the songs Vishal played were completely new to Club Salsa to the best of my knowledge. Among others, African Fantasy by Bobby Montez was played – I didn’t remember the song title or the artist until after it was over, but I did recognize it instantly as something familiar and knew that I had to dance to it. Despite it being a little too fast, it was great. The only regret was that the next song was Japan Mambo by Tito Puente and I had to sit that one out because I expended too much effort for African Fantasy. Incidentally, African Fantasy is in my collection (in fact, I had the CD with me tonight along with couple other CDs) – I simply had dared not play it (and Vishal now beats me to it). Japan Mambo on the other hand is not in my collection – high on my wish list but not a super-high priority item given that I already have so many unused “Mambo” for Fridays. At one point in the evening, 6-10 songs, which Vishal probably would call Mambo (most of which I did not recognize), were played consecutively.
For Jane’s birthday dance, she danced with Sean, Richard, Ivan and… Sergio. In a conversation later Sergio commented that he doesn't like birthday dances. He added that the only worse thing is to be stared at for not participating in the birthday dance. He also commented that I hadn’t participated. I gave a meek excuse that I was busy taking photos of the dance (and probably blinding the dancers with all the flashing). In fact, the only complaint I could make is that red eyes (and white eyes) are all too common with my new camera – it was never a problem with my big old SLR.
Later in the evening, one of my dance partners commented that I looked happy. I think my partner at the time might have been Zhenzhi but I am not entirely sure. In any case, I was quite happy. The music was a pleasant surprise. I had danced (mostly pretty well) with all girls I named above and more (I had not danced with Jane and maybe Sam when the comment was made, but that’s nitpicking - I danced with both subsequently). I think I had waited for some of the dances I had tonight for almost a year. I was asked for a dance at the beginning of the evening – it is always nice when it happens. I also danced with someone who was essentially a complete beginner (a check for community service). It felt as if I was at a nice friendly Salsa venue in a different city.
An e-mail from Sergio talked about today being Jane’s birthday. This sounded familiar although I am unsure where or from whom I heard this from. Sergio wondered if he should try to go tonight. I replied that there should be fairly large number of people from the team (by the way, my predictions were mostly but not entirely correct) and that Vishal probably would make a special effort at DJing with such a crowd.
I also said, “I thought everyone had their birthdays on Fridays. I guess sometimes it happens on Thursdays or Wednesdays. I didn’t think it would ever happen on a Monday.” I was rather pleased – after all I am a staple on Mondays and this would take no effort at all on my part – although I must also say that I also was trying to keep a low expectation and to be ready for anything – possibly even a horror of an evening.
Despite hurrying, I wasn’t able to leave work until after 7:30 and I was nearly half an hour late.
Joe Intermediate
CBL – open up shoulder on 2 for a more effective start and communication of lead (or intention) – instead of having far apart and flat (pointing perpendicular to the follower’s line), get feet (esp. L feet) pointing towards the direction follower will be traveling towards by 3 – use shoulders to help with the lead (and leverage) – when switching hands, get R-R established first and by 6
crossed hold L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower to leader’s R side (about 1/8 turn for follower as opposed to 1/4 turn more appropriate for Copa – lead is with R-R during 1,2,3) – lead follower forward into a Copa fake and into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn and moving along to a point behind leader (on his L side now) 7 (and 8??) with lead for the turns coming from L-L high with R-R kept low and intact for a wrap and released only after follower is led to leader’s L side (L-L goes over leader’s head as leader’s eyes (and head) turns from leader’s R side where follower was during 3 to 7 or so to leader’s L side by 7 or 8 or so
1,2,3,5,6,7 use proper tension etc to lead follower forward on 1 and continue lead her to overtake and turn 1/2 on 2,3 so that follower is now facing leader (and essentially back to position at previous 1) – windmill type of lead to a double clockwise turn (under-over-and under) and switch to R-L (leader could do a swivel turn here but I think simply getting the follower to do a double turn to get her L hand behind her R waist will be a pretty big challenge – I haven’t managed it thus far – on the other hand, I have been using this maneuver with a single turn finish for 1-2 months now)
Simple finish used for the class was to get follower to do a 1 1/2 (early) traveling counterclockwise turn with R-L lead kept low and ending with a closed hold
crossed hold L-L on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL and lead follower into Jesus check or crucifix (keep top of follower’s fingers at about her shoulder level – this means the distance between her hands and her shoulder could be very short – about a hand length)
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower a slight step forward and to L on 1 (it helps to dip both connections slightly on 1) – best steps for leader is cross behind R foot on 1 – all this works as preparatory step for follower – lead follower to 1 1/2 over and under turn (clockwise stationary) with L-L to get follower’s L hand behind her R waist – leader does a swivel turn on 7 – switch to R-L and switch back to L-L on 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL (using the opening of shoulder maneuver to help follower propel forward on 3 with rocking step) – lead follower forward on 5 and tightly into L-L and lead follower to unwind counterclockwise 1 1/2 starting from 6 with L-L starting low and ending high
A simple finish would entail doing a L-L hat for leader and finish with CBL… another option is to do a 360 turn on 1,2,3 as a unit (leader should start this turn on 7 with R foot going across) – footwork demonstrated was something like a hook with L foot on 1 followed by in place steps on 2,3 as rest of the body catches up – finish with launching follower across her line on 5,6,7 (finishing with closed hold make the move rotational rather than linear)
Smiley Jane arrived towards the end of the first hour of classes. During a brief lull when I was without a partner, I went to greet her and wish her happy birthday. I also voiced my earlier thought about no one else celebrating his or her birthday on a Monday at Club Salsa. She replied that everyone used to do it on Fridays but that it’s always packed and thus not usually very fun. Besides – she wanted to celebrate it on her real birthday. I thought, “Very sensible.”
With likes of Euvian and Anastasia in the class as well as Jane who joined during the second half, the classes were more enjoyable than it was for most of December and January – even if greater part of it was mostly a review of things I knew fairly well.
I was a little surprised that by the end of the class, Sergio was the only one amongst people I had expected to show up among the CBL crowd. I was thinking that people like Phyllis, Sam and Richard surely would show up. I was less sure about Ivan, but he was one of the first to arrive after the end of the classes. Later I asked Ivan, “Does [you being here tonight] mean that you won’t be here Thursday night?” He replied, “I got a special dispensation for tonight.” I guess that means he’s allowed to go out twice this week. How special! Some people took a little longer to arrive, but it ended up being a pretty good group. There were a couple of surprise no-shows, but I am sure there were good reasons.
Some of the songs Vishal played were completely new to Club Salsa to the best of my knowledge. Among others, African Fantasy by Bobby Montez was played – I didn’t remember the song title or the artist until after it was over, but I did recognize it instantly as something familiar and knew that I had to dance to it. Despite it being a little too fast, it was great. The only regret was that the next song was Japan Mambo by Tito Puente and I had to sit that one out because I expended too much effort for African Fantasy. Incidentally, African Fantasy is in my collection (in fact, I had the CD with me tonight along with couple other CDs) – I simply had dared not play it (and Vishal now beats me to it). Japan Mambo on the other hand is not in my collection – high on my wish list but not a super-high priority item given that I already have so many unused “Mambo” for Fridays. At one point in the evening, 6-10 songs, which Vishal probably would call Mambo (most of which I did not recognize), were played consecutively.
For Jane’s birthday dance, she danced with Sean, Richard, Ivan and… Sergio. In a conversation later Sergio commented that he doesn't like birthday dances. He added that the only worse thing is to be stared at for not participating in the birthday dance. He also commented that I hadn’t participated. I gave a meek excuse that I was busy taking photos of the dance (and probably blinding the dancers with all the flashing). In fact, the only complaint I could make is that red eyes (and white eyes) are all too common with my new camera – it was never a problem with my big old SLR.
Later in the evening, one of my dance partners commented that I looked happy. I think my partner at the time might have been Zhenzhi but I am not entirely sure. In any case, I was quite happy. The music was a pleasant surprise. I had danced (mostly pretty well) with all girls I named above and more (I had not danced with Jane and maybe Sam when the comment was made, but that’s nitpicking - I danced with both subsequently). I think I had waited for some of the dances I had tonight for almost a year. I was asked for a dance at the beginning of the evening – it is always nice when it happens. I also danced with someone who was essentially a complete beginner (a check for community service). It felt as if I was at a nice friendly Salsa venue in a different city.
Not inspired to come up with a title
January 15, 2007
As I started towards Club Salsa I thought, “I wonder if I should not have worn a light colored trousers. I hope tonight’s routine is not the type where I might get my sheen kicked often. Hmm. I’m probably overreacting. It was probably just freakish occurrence. It hasn’t happened for a while.” I didn’t arrive until about 7:50 PM and essentially missed the shine segment of the class.
The lineup today was Joe, Tiz and Danie.
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L hold prepare and lead follower to a double right turn (stationary clockwise) with leader (optional) turning full left starting on 7 (so leader’s hands turn so that fingers point up for follower’s second turn) and ending with stepping back on 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward and into over and under counterclockwise turn (traveling) to get R-L across her stomach and on her R waist (a wrap) – follower is squeezed between leader’s R shoulder and R-L connection – make L-R connection in front of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower forward and into 1 1/2 clockwise turn (minimal traveling) keeping R-L low (this could end behind her R waist) and L-R temporarily high [note: possibly could start with the couple rotating counterclockwise as a unit]
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold L-L on top start and lead follower to a double right turn (stationary clockwise) with leader (optional) turning ~full (or more likely 3/4) left starting on 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break (leader steps away from follower on 1 – this likely is not a straight backwards step because leader probably did not make a full turn) and bring follower forward and into over and under counterclockwise turn so that L-L is across follower’s stomach (but unlike in the previous segment, leader is positioned more behind follower so that follower is at level with leader’s L shoulder – as opposed to leader’s R shoulder in the previous move) – offer R hand in front to make R-R connection
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower forward and into 1 1/2 clockwise turn with all connections eventually ending together high
1,2,3,5,6,7 starting position here is crossed hold L-L on top (with L-L getting let go eventually) – leader starts to turn left on 1 so that by 3 R-R is behind leader’s L waist and leader is more or less in CBL position – apparently leader is leaning away from follower on 3 – leads follower forward on 5 for CBL finish with leader stepping back on 5 then leader turns 3/4 to right (clockwise) to face follower
Euvian arrived near the end of the first hour. She has not adjusted to time zone change yet so she didn’t stay very long. Rajiv and Sam arrived later – reprising their old role as each other’s chaperone. Supposedly Sam keeps Rajiv out of trouble and Rajiv drives Sam around. Does Rajiv ever get close to getting into a trouble? Maybe I don't know him well enough. Zhenzhi also arrived after the class ended, and I probably danced with her more than with anyone else tonight. Unfortunately, I was not in a very good form – I felt sloppy all around. I probably danced even less than I might have if they were not there, and I spent most of the evening chatting or watching Rajiv, Sam and Zhenzhi trying to remember the team routine from last year. Too bad there weren't any other leads from the usual circle, but then again Mondays has been really up and down so most people probably don’t see a reason to show up without assurances that their favorite partners will be there.
Sam revealed that she will be passing on the Brit Salsafest - after having done all the legwork for the hotel booking, etc. I had meant to bring up the topic of transportation, but her news made me forget all about it. With no one else among the San Miguel gang going, I had been exploring various options on my own whenever I felt like killing time. After last year's trip, I wanted to avoid driving - just too tiring especially for the return trip. I considered using Ryanair from Stansted to Blackpool - this could end up being the cheapest option. However, the most convenient option may be the train. Blackpool North rail station is fairly close to Winter Gardens (I think the distance is no greater than between Cambridge train station and OLEM Catholic Church). One amusing thing I discovered was that even though a train trip likely will involve a detour to London, it's cheaper to leave from Cambridge rather than London. Furthermore, the train fare is even lower if I leave from Whittlesford (which is more convenient from work) rather than Cambridge.
On a slightly different topic, Tony and Daniela are doing a Bachata Bootcamp in London on Saturday 20th of January. Beginners/Improvers from 9:30-1:30 and Intermediates from 2:30-6:30. A couple of people who read this blog asked me about the next Bachata date (there's none scheduled for the moment), and this seemed interesting enough given the number of hours involved. £20 for 4 hrs advanced (£25 on the door). £30 and £35 for all day. I haven't considered going but I could be talked into it easily. There is a party afterwards at the same venue.
http://www.salsa-uk.com/bootcamp/bachata.htm
In an evening filled with as much chats as dancing ended with a conversation with Danie - talking about dance performances (e.g. with Laith Sami's group), teaching dance (ballet when she was younger as well as Salsa). While she's fairly new to Salsa, she has an early start and takes dance as her main interest and profession (unlike most of us who treats it as a hobby - quite serious one for some). It could be interesting to see how far she goes.
As I started towards Club Salsa I thought, “I wonder if I should not have worn a light colored trousers. I hope tonight’s routine is not the type where I might get my sheen kicked often. Hmm. I’m probably overreacting. It was probably just freakish occurrence. It hasn’t happened for a while.” I didn’t arrive until about 7:50 PM and essentially missed the shine segment of the class.
The lineup today was Joe, Tiz and Danie.
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L hold prepare and lead follower to a double right turn (stationary clockwise) with leader (optional) turning full left starting on 7 (so leader’s hands turn so that fingers point up for follower’s second turn) and ending with stepping back on 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower forward and into over and under counterclockwise turn (traveling) to get R-L across her stomach and on her R waist (a wrap) – follower is squeezed between leader’s R shoulder and R-L connection – make L-R connection in front of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower forward and into 1 1/2 clockwise turn (minimal traveling) keeping R-L low (this could end behind her R waist) and L-R temporarily high [note: possibly could start with the couple rotating counterclockwise as a unit]
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold L-L on top start and lead follower to a double right turn (stationary clockwise) with leader (optional) turning ~full (or more likely 3/4) left starting on 7
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break (leader steps away from follower on 1 – this likely is not a straight backwards step because leader probably did not make a full turn) and bring follower forward and into over and under counterclockwise turn so that L-L is across follower’s stomach (but unlike in the previous segment, leader is positioned more behind follower so that follower is at level with leader’s L shoulder – as opposed to leader’s R shoulder in the previous move) – offer R hand in front to make R-R connection
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz and lead follower forward and into 1 1/2 clockwise turn with all connections eventually ending together high
1,2,3,5,6,7 starting position here is crossed hold L-L on top (with L-L getting let go eventually) – leader starts to turn left on 1 so that by 3 R-R is behind leader’s L waist and leader is more or less in CBL position – apparently leader is leaning away from follower on 3 – leads follower forward on 5 for CBL finish with leader stepping back on 5 then leader turns 3/4 to right (clockwise) to face follower
Euvian arrived near the end of the first hour. She has not adjusted to time zone change yet so she didn’t stay very long. Rajiv and Sam arrived later – reprising their old role as each other’s chaperone. Supposedly Sam keeps Rajiv out of trouble and Rajiv drives Sam around. Does Rajiv ever get close to getting into a trouble? Maybe I don't know him well enough. Zhenzhi also arrived after the class ended, and I probably danced with her more than with anyone else tonight. Unfortunately, I was not in a very good form – I felt sloppy all around. I probably danced even less than I might have if they were not there, and I spent most of the evening chatting or watching Rajiv, Sam and Zhenzhi trying to remember the team routine from last year. Too bad there weren't any other leads from the usual circle, but then again Mondays has been really up and down so most people probably don’t see a reason to show up without assurances that their favorite partners will be there.
Sam revealed that she will be passing on the Brit Salsafest - after having done all the legwork for the hotel booking, etc. I had meant to bring up the topic of transportation, but her news made me forget all about it. With no one else among the San Miguel gang going, I had been exploring various options on my own whenever I felt like killing time. After last year's trip, I wanted to avoid driving - just too tiring especially for the return trip. I considered using Ryanair from Stansted to Blackpool - this could end up being the cheapest option. However, the most convenient option may be the train. Blackpool North rail station is fairly close to Winter Gardens (I think the distance is no greater than between Cambridge train station and OLEM Catholic Church). One amusing thing I discovered was that even though a train trip likely will involve a detour to London, it's cheaper to leave from Cambridge rather than London. Furthermore, the train fare is even lower if I leave from Whittlesford (which is more convenient from work) rather than Cambridge.
On a slightly different topic, Tony and Daniela are doing a Bachata Bootcamp in London on Saturday 20th of January. Beginners/Improvers from 9:30-1:30 and Intermediates from 2:30-6:30. A couple of people who read this blog asked me about the next Bachata date (there's none scheduled for the moment), and this seemed interesting enough given the number of hours involved. £20 for 4 hrs advanced (£25 on the door). £30 and £35 for all day. I haven't considered going but I could be talked into it easily. There is a party afterwards at the same venue.
http://www.salsa-uk.com/bootcamp/bachata.htm
In an evening filled with as much chats as dancing ended with a conversation with Danie - talking about dance performances (e.g. with Laith Sami's group), teaching dance (ballet when she was younger as well as Salsa). While she's fairly new to Salsa, she has an early start and takes dance as her main interest and profession (unlike most of us who treats it as a hobby - quite serious one for some). It could be interesting to see how far she goes.
A cue? At 7:30 PM on a Monday?
January 8, 2007
When I arrived ~7:35-7:40 PM, there was a cue outside the Club Salsa about 8-9 people long. I think it drew some stares from people driving by. When I got to the top of the line and have a little chat with Vishal, he said there were over 65 people already the end of the line was still well beyond the door. I guess he won’t lose money this evening.
Tiz was delayed presumably due trouble with the rail service. He has been here 4-5 times since his supposedly last time (or he came more often than not). This caused some scrambling at the start with shine section for improvers and intermediate being taught at the same time in very cramped condition. I think the move was called chuck and 8-ball chuck – I didn’t find the move aesthetically pleasing (at least not for me) so I ignored it more or less. Even by the end of the shine section, Tiz hadn’t arrived, so Joe went back and forth between improvers and intermediates for another 10 minutes or so. I was volunteered into directing people to practice one up one down maneuver for the intermediate class. I started with simply calling counts and coordinating switching of partners. After a few rounds, I tried giving some additional directions/details, which I have heard dozens of times before. Then I added Mambo basic and CBL to start the one up one down so that it’s not just all spins for followers all the time. I knew several methods of getting out of the position, but I decided against trying to teach any of them because I didn’t think it was appropriate for me to hijack the class in such a manner.
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R open break and bring follower to leader’s R side with free R hand showing early for R-L connection and lead follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise over and under turn (let go L-R) to get R-L ending behind follower’s R waist – leader keeps his back to the follower’s line from 3 onwards and stay in that position
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L hand over leader’s L shoulder within follower’s reach (early connection is probably needed here) keeping both connection and bring follower forward on 2 behind leader’s back (leader is still facing away from the line as was the case from previous 3 onwards) and leader tilts his body bringing L-R low while bringing R-L high – use R-L to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise turn with L-R kept low for touch-and-go like maneuver and ending with a late L-R connection to help prevent further turn by follower (also into next move)
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L draped over follower’s head and down to behind her neck to start (with L-R to help keep follower from turning needlessly) and finish with simple CBL
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R CBL start with pull on 2 with free R hand showing in front – lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn over and under to get R-L ending behind follower’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 something like a Copa start but ending with follower and leader ending more or less back-to-back with R-L down toward direction follower came from – bring R-L straight up along the corridor between leader and follower (like windmill) and bring it straight down on 5 (so… it goes up on 4 and comes down on 5? – and I thought the feel of the direction could even be slightly towards the leader on 5 – at least initially… I noticed that tendencies (wrong of course) for me and some others at least initially was to wait too long before bringing R-L down and/or letting R-L move towards the follower too much during the windmill move) – the idea here is that follower turns 1 1/2 counterclockwise with minimal traveling and ending with R-L across follower’s stomach at her front R waist – overall a very tricky lead, which I have seen couple of times before and had little success mastering previously) – get ready to make L-R connection in front
1,2,3,5,6,7 option 1. briefly shown only – lead follower to turn 1/2 counterclockwise and leader getting around and ending in CBL position – I suppose this could be considered a version of around-the-world – could finish with CBL (this wasn’t the move practiced – just mentioned briefly – it seemed nice enough)
1,2,3,5,6,7 option 2. (move practiced) Mambo jazz start and lead follower forward on 5 and into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn ending with wrists together
1,2,3,5,6,7 the starting position is same as if follower was turned full clockwise with all connections intact – open break and Copa with R-L going over follower’s head and L-R going over leader’s head – let go L-R and use R-L to lead follower into free 1 1/2 Copa turn and end with closed hold for…
1,2,3,5,6,7 something like a CBL or something
I had my doubt about being able to incorporate the material into my arsenal despite the fact that it didn’t seem very difficult. Most of the time, I was in self-preservation mode trying to keep my shoulders safe from injury (and not letting some tough followers not dislodge my arm out of my sockets). I am not kidding when I say that my shoulders were feeling pain more than half dozen times trying to lead some of these moves.
I was resigned to having very small number of worthwhile dances as the second half the classes got under way. Without likes of Euvian in attendance, proper practice to incorporate the material into my repertoire has been extremely difficult. Without consistent participations of likes of Cyrille, the material being taught has been somewhat limited – still nice enough in quality but probably more limited in quantity. Then Stephanie showed up – enough said. Just having two trial at today’s routine with Stephanie was basically enough for me to figure out how to lead it reasonably well at normal speed – at least when dancing with her. I also danced with ~4 other people scattered throughout the night (e.g. when Stephanie went to check out Vishal as a lead).
I learned more details about how Stephanie improved so much over last summer over the after social chat that went on for a while. I also learned more about what the Salsa scene in Germany (or city or cities Stephanie frequented) is like – supposedly quite insular with very few people changing partners and with small cliques. It sounded a bit like the way Tony described the Italian scene, except Italy seems to have a large number of good instructors within the country unlike in Germany.
Luis is still miffed about me not playing more Merengue on Fridays. I am only up to 4 songs – 2 songs seem unpopular and yet another is not an obvious hit material. I see little point in getting Elvis Crespo or other popular Merengue songs Vishal plays all the time because I am sick of hearing the same old same old. I don’t have any great ideas about how I might find or recognize good Merengue. The fact that I am not very interested in Merengue as a dance doesn’t help. If people know of great Merengue, which is not already overplayed to death, let me know. It's not like I get paid to DJ (or looking to get paid) – I collect Salsa CDs because knowing many good Salsa songs can help with my dancing and I DJ because it can be fun and do it as something of a public service as well as a vanity project. Perhaps it also serves to keep me out of trouble with this blog by providing me with a relatively harmless topic. Somewhat like this blog, DJing is both a source of amusement and a burden.
I decided to pick a couple of songs (from Vishal's collection) at the end of the evening for dancing with Stephanie. The first was Man's World by Ray Santiago, and we got to hear the end of the song for the first time - a little weird. The last was Philadelphia Mambo by an artist I don't remember hearing (and don't remember now). This too ended strangely - although this was probably because of bad editing when CD was burned rather than the song itself. In any case, I didn't like this version particularly - either of Cal Tjader's versions would have been vastly preferred. Also it made me regret that I did not get to find out how Toby's Mambo by Tito Rodriguez Jr. sounds.
When I arrived ~7:35-7:40 PM, there was a cue outside the Club Salsa about 8-9 people long. I think it drew some stares from people driving by. When I got to the top of the line and have a little chat with Vishal, he said there were over 65 people already the end of the line was still well beyond the door. I guess he won’t lose money this evening.
Tiz was delayed presumably due trouble with the rail service. He has been here 4-5 times since his supposedly last time (or he came more often than not). This caused some scrambling at the start with shine section for improvers and intermediate being taught at the same time in very cramped condition. I think the move was called chuck and 8-ball chuck – I didn’t find the move aesthetically pleasing (at least not for me) so I ignored it more or less. Even by the end of the shine section, Tiz hadn’t arrived, so Joe went back and forth between improvers and intermediates for another 10 minutes or so. I was volunteered into directing people to practice one up one down maneuver for the intermediate class. I started with simply calling counts and coordinating switching of partners. After a few rounds, I tried giving some additional directions/details, which I have heard dozens of times before. Then I added Mambo basic and CBL to start the one up one down so that it’s not just all spins for followers all the time. I knew several methods of getting out of the position, but I decided against trying to teach any of them because I didn’t think it was appropriate for me to hijack the class in such a manner.
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R open break and bring follower to leader’s R side with free R hand showing early for R-L connection and lead follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise over and under turn (let go L-R) to get R-L ending behind follower’s R waist – leader keeps his back to the follower’s line from 3 onwards and stay in that position
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L hand over leader’s L shoulder within follower’s reach (early connection is probably needed here) keeping both connection and bring follower forward on 2 behind leader’s back (leader is still facing away from the line as was the case from previous 3 onwards) and leader tilts his body bringing L-R low while bringing R-L high – use R-L to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise turn with L-R kept low for touch-and-go like maneuver and ending with a late L-R connection to help prevent further turn by follower (also into next move)
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-L draped over follower’s head and down to behind her neck to start (with L-R to help keep follower from turning needlessly) and finish with simple CBL
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R CBL start with pull on 2 with free R hand showing in front – lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn over and under to get R-L ending behind follower’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 something like a Copa start but ending with follower and leader ending more or less back-to-back with R-L down toward direction follower came from – bring R-L straight up along the corridor between leader and follower (like windmill) and bring it straight down on 5 (so… it goes up on 4 and comes down on 5? – and I thought the feel of the direction could even be slightly towards the leader on 5 – at least initially… I noticed that tendencies (wrong of course) for me and some others at least initially was to wait too long before bringing R-L down and/or letting R-L move towards the follower too much during the windmill move) – the idea here is that follower turns 1 1/2 counterclockwise with minimal traveling and ending with R-L across follower’s stomach at her front R waist – overall a very tricky lead, which I have seen couple of times before and had little success mastering previously) – get ready to make L-R connection in front
1,2,3,5,6,7 option 1. briefly shown only – lead follower to turn 1/2 counterclockwise and leader getting around and ending in CBL position – I suppose this could be considered a version of around-the-world – could finish with CBL (this wasn’t the move practiced – just mentioned briefly – it seemed nice enough)
1,2,3,5,6,7 option 2. (move practiced) Mambo jazz start and lead follower forward on 5 and into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn ending with wrists together
1,2,3,5,6,7 the starting position is same as if follower was turned full clockwise with all connections intact – open break and Copa with R-L going over follower’s head and L-R going over leader’s head – let go L-R and use R-L to lead follower into free 1 1/2 Copa turn and end with closed hold for…
1,2,3,5,6,7 something like a CBL or something
I had my doubt about being able to incorporate the material into my arsenal despite the fact that it didn’t seem very difficult. Most of the time, I was in self-preservation mode trying to keep my shoulders safe from injury (and not letting some tough followers not dislodge my arm out of my sockets). I am not kidding when I say that my shoulders were feeling pain more than half dozen times trying to lead some of these moves.
I was resigned to having very small number of worthwhile dances as the second half the classes got under way. Without likes of Euvian in attendance, proper practice to incorporate the material into my repertoire has been extremely difficult. Without consistent participations of likes of Cyrille, the material being taught has been somewhat limited – still nice enough in quality but probably more limited in quantity. Then Stephanie showed up – enough said. Just having two trial at today’s routine with Stephanie was basically enough for me to figure out how to lead it reasonably well at normal speed – at least when dancing with her. I also danced with ~4 other people scattered throughout the night (e.g. when Stephanie went to check out Vishal as a lead).
I learned more details about how Stephanie improved so much over last summer over the after social chat that went on for a while. I also learned more about what the Salsa scene in Germany (or city or cities Stephanie frequented) is like – supposedly quite insular with very few people changing partners and with small cliques. It sounded a bit like the way Tony described the Italian scene, except Italy seems to have a large number of good instructors within the country unlike in Germany.
Luis is still miffed about me not playing more Merengue on Fridays. I am only up to 4 songs – 2 songs seem unpopular and yet another is not an obvious hit material. I see little point in getting Elvis Crespo or other popular Merengue songs Vishal plays all the time because I am sick of hearing the same old same old. I don’t have any great ideas about how I might find or recognize good Merengue. The fact that I am not very interested in Merengue as a dance doesn’t help. If people know of great Merengue, which is not already overplayed to death, let me know. It's not like I get paid to DJ (or looking to get paid) – I collect Salsa CDs because knowing many good Salsa songs can help with my dancing and I DJ because it can be fun and do it as something of a public service as well as a vanity project. Perhaps it also serves to keep me out of trouble with this blog by providing me with a relatively harmless topic. Somewhat like this blog, DJing is both a source of amusement and a burden.
I decided to pick a couple of songs (from Vishal's collection) at the end of the evening for dancing with Stephanie. The first was Man's World by Ray Santiago, and we got to hear the end of the song for the first time - a little weird. The last was Philadelphia Mambo by an artist I don't remember hearing (and don't remember now). This too ended strangely - although this was probably because of bad editing when CD was burned rather than the song itself. In any case, I didn't like this version particularly - either of Cal Tjader's versions would have been vastly preferred. Also it made me regret that I did not get to find out how Toby's Mambo by Tito Rodriguez Jr. sounds.
End of the year blues
December 18, 2006
Sean and Jamil were surprise participants of tonight’s class. Despite their presence, the crowd for tonight’s class was the smallest since mid-April. Presumably many people are away for the holidays.
The lineup once again was Joe, Tiz (again!) and Aiste.
Intermediate with Joe
Grapevine with heel-toe
1 L foot cross over R
2 R foot more or less in place or slightly back
3 L foot back to open
4 R foot in front on L on heel
5 R foot twist and slide slightly to R while L foot slides slightly back and to L
6 R foot back to open (slightly to L and back)
7 L foot cross over in front of R
8 R foot cross over in front of L – followed by Mambo basic
The main topic again was whip.
L-L behind follower’s R waist with free R hand on follower’s L shoulder by 3
1,2,3,5,6,7 rocking step start for follower on 1,2,3,5 using L-L for rocking step on 1 and 3 and R for leading follower forward on 5 into L-L followed by unwinding and downward lead with L-L to lead follower into double counterclockwise turn almost stationary with a 5-and and 6-and turning footwork
Two methods of getting into this position were practiced.
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower into double one-up one-down clockwise turn with switching to L-L
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower into a single clockwise turn with R-L low and L-R high with a switch late to L-L
Two methods for getting out of whipped (or lasso-ed) position were practiced.
double yo-yo
1,2,3,5,6,7 step with follower forward on 1 and turn her around 1/2 clockwise with L-L ending somewhat high and R hand flat on follower’s stomach – allow follower to step forward on 5, then lead follower to go back and into counterclockwise traveling turn while leader turns to his left (counterclockwise) as well while stepping into the space follower would have occupied if this were a simple yo-yo
[this was followed by a hat for follower with L-L and simple CBL]
another option
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to step to L on 1 then keep a neutral lead (follower does a recovering step) while leader steps in front of follower (L-L is kept by leader’s waist on 3 as leader is now positioned directly in front of follower) – leader steps back and to L on 5 while brining follower forward on leader’s R and into a free traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn starting on 6
Other people in class included Lorraine and Marian. I have known Lorraine and Marian at least since October of 2004. I note that they along with Sean are the people I have known in Cambridge Salsa scene the longest aside from the instructors. Lorraine in fact assisted Mauricio for a while in fall/winter of 2004. I don’t know everyone’s name even though I have seen and danced with some people for many months.
Susie, Sam and Isabel made a surprise appearance with no boys in tow.
Susie said Wednesday is her last day in Cambridge – so I may end up making an effort to show up. Hmm. I thought she was leaving in February, but what do I know?
Sam and Isabel seemed a bit withdrawn, maybe resigned and seemed drawn to each other and little else. I thought I detected a hint of wistfulness or something like an end-of-the-year blues from them, but perhaps I’m merely projecting (or call it transference). Or a distorted view through kaleidoscope eyes. How about, “soaking up or getting drunk in each other’s company for the moment and/or for an illusion of eternity?” Is it too rambling and long-winded? They are not always nice to me but I find them strangely compelling – sort of like the Cambridge Salsa scene in general – enough for me to write even if I don’t think it’s always for the best. It didn’t seem like there was anything I could do – maybe accidentally setting myself on fire would have cheered or at least amused them. I could see that they could get annoyed with this, but who can tell how their minds work?
I have no idea why Vishal kept drifting towards playing crapola music. It was such a contrast to practice music being played by Joe like Asia Mood, My Favorite Things among other goodies. At one point, I had to tell him to play something more danceable. His answer was to play Contigo, Caballo Viejo, etc., which were overly familiar but an improvement nevertheless as far as I was concerned. I personally found it strange that he insisted on drifting towards stuff no one seemed interested in dancing (aside from Sam and Isabel – but they were a special case tonight). I suppose there are and always will be plenty of things about Vishal I won’t understand.
Later in the evening, more people came to fill up the club. Among familiar faces were John, Gordon and Shila. Even though they seemed like their normal selves more or less, the general mood remained lethargic. In fact, I found the atmosphere to become more surreal as minutes ticked by. By 11, the club was quite crowded yet no one was dancing, and Vishal was playing what-the-heck kind of music. It turned out that there was a farewell party for some Spaniards. I still didn’t get the choice of music for this party (aside from a song that supposedly was a request), but I suppose I know nothing.
Sean and Jamil were surprise participants of tonight’s class. Despite their presence, the crowd for tonight’s class was the smallest since mid-April. Presumably many people are away for the holidays.
The lineup once again was Joe, Tiz (again!) and Aiste.
Intermediate with Joe
Grapevine with heel-toe
1 L foot cross over R
2 R foot more or less in place or slightly back
3 L foot back to open
4 R foot in front on L on heel
5 R foot twist and slide slightly to R while L foot slides slightly back and to L
6 R foot back to open (slightly to L and back)
7 L foot cross over in front of R
8 R foot cross over in front of L – followed by Mambo basic
The main topic again was whip.
L-L behind follower’s R waist with free R hand on follower’s L shoulder by 3
1,2,3,5,6,7 rocking step start for follower on 1,2,3,5 using L-L for rocking step on 1 and 3 and R for leading follower forward on 5 into L-L followed by unwinding and downward lead with L-L to lead follower into double counterclockwise turn almost stationary with a 5-and and 6-and turning footwork
Two methods of getting into this position were practiced.
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower into double one-up one-down clockwise turn with switching to L-L
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower into a single clockwise turn with R-L low and L-R high with a switch late to L-L
Two methods for getting out of whipped (or lasso-ed) position were practiced.
double yo-yo
1,2,3,5,6,7 step with follower forward on 1 and turn her around 1/2 clockwise with L-L ending somewhat high and R hand flat on follower’s stomach – allow follower to step forward on 5, then lead follower to go back and into counterclockwise traveling turn while leader turns to his left (counterclockwise) as well while stepping into the space follower would have occupied if this were a simple yo-yo
[this was followed by a hat for follower with L-L and simple CBL]
another option
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to step to L on 1 then keep a neutral lead (follower does a recovering step) while leader steps in front of follower (L-L is kept by leader’s waist on 3 as leader is now positioned directly in front of follower) – leader steps back and to L on 5 while brining follower forward on leader’s R and into a free traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn starting on 6
Other people in class included Lorraine and Marian. I have known Lorraine and Marian at least since October of 2004. I note that they along with Sean are the people I have known in Cambridge Salsa scene the longest aside from the instructors. Lorraine in fact assisted Mauricio for a while in fall/winter of 2004. I don’t know everyone’s name even though I have seen and danced with some people for many months.
Susie, Sam and Isabel made a surprise appearance with no boys in tow.
Susie said Wednesday is her last day in Cambridge – so I may end up making an effort to show up. Hmm. I thought she was leaving in February, but what do I know?
Sam and Isabel seemed a bit withdrawn, maybe resigned and seemed drawn to each other and little else. I thought I detected a hint of wistfulness or something like an end-of-the-year blues from them, but perhaps I’m merely projecting (or call it transference). Or a distorted view through kaleidoscope eyes. How about, “soaking up or getting drunk in each other’s company for the moment and/or for an illusion of eternity?” Is it too rambling and long-winded? They are not always nice to me but I find them strangely compelling – sort of like the Cambridge Salsa scene in general – enough for me to write even if I don’t think it’s always for the best. It didn’t seem like there was anything I could do – maybe accidentally setting myself on fire would have cheered or at least amused them. I could see that they could get annoyed with this, but who can tell how their minds work?
I have no idea why Vishal kept drifting towards playing crapola music. It was such a contrast to practice music being played by Joe like Asia Mood, My Favorite Things among other goodies. At one point, I had to tell him to play something more danceable. His answer was to play Contigo, Caballo Viejo, etc., which were overly familiar but an improvement nevertheless as far as I was concerned. I personally found it strange that he insisted on drifting towards stuff no one seemed interested in dancing (aside from Sam and Isabel – but they were a special case tonight). I suppose there are and always will be plenty of things about Vishal I won’t understand.
Later in the evening, more people came to fill up the club. Among familiar faces were John, Gordon and Shila. Even though they seemed like their normal selves more or less, the general mood remained lethargic. In fact, I found the atmosphere to become more surreal as minutes ticked by. By 11, the club was quite crowded yet no one was dancing, and Vishal was playing what-the-heck kind of music. It turned out that there was a farewell party for some Spaniards. I still didn’t get the choice of music for this party (aside from a song that supposedly was a request), but I suppose I know nothing.
Well, this piece is called “Lick My Love Pump” (or more pretentious crap)
December 11, 2006
Intermediate with Joe
Whip and Yo-Yo
L-L behind follower’s R waist with free R hand on follower’s L shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead rocking step for follower on 1,2,3,5 then whip follower into double counterclockwise turn to end on check with follower to end her turn with step forward on 1 – L-L ends in front of follower’s R waist with her arm across her stomach – leader steps a bit to R on 7 to help with stability
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower to step forward on 1 with leader stepping forward to accommodate this movement, then lead her around 1/2 clockwise on 2,3 with switch to R-L in something of open CBL position but with leader also turning 1/2 counterclockwise and stepping forward somewhat along with the follower (without overtaking however) on 3, lead follower forward on 5 and into free 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (yo-yo) – leader can make a clockwise turn and get back into closed hold for CBL next
How to get into the previous position
a trivial method
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower into full clockwise turn while keeping R-L low and switching to L-L
main method practiced
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top – open break and Copa-like start but with R-R going straight over the line rather than swerving in counterclockwise motion – lead is done with R-R on 1,2,3 – then with lead coming from L-L only, lead follower straight back into 1 1/2 clockwise turn keeping L-L low (downward movement rather than away movement so that there’s no traveling by follower) – R-R is used to give follower a haircomb with free R hand ending on follower’s L shoulder for rocking step
Other methods mentioned included using one-up one-down, over and under… also windmill is another possibility.
The lineup was Joe, Tiz (?!) and Aiste.
Smell the glove.
Intermediate with Joe
Whip and Yo-Yo
L-L behind follower’s R waist with free R hand on follower’s L shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead rocking step for follower on 1,2,3,5 then whip follower into double counterclockwise turn to end on check with follower to end her turn with step forward on 1 – L-L ends in front of follower’s R waist with her arm across her stomach – leader steps a bit to R on 7 to help with stability
1,2,3,5,6,7 allow follower to step forward on 1 with leader stepping forward to accommodate this movement, then lead her around 1/2 clockwise on 2,3 with switch to R-L in something of open CBL position but with leader also turning 1/2 counterclockwise and stepping forward somewhat along with the follower (without overtaking however) on 3, lead follower forward on 5 and into free 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn (yo-yo) – leader can make a clockwise turn and get back into closed hold for CBL next
How to get into the previous position
a trivial method
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower into full clockwise turn while keeping R-L low and switching to L-L
main method practiced
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top – open break and Copa-like start but with R-R going straight over the line rather than swerving in counterclockwise motion – lead is done with R-R on 1,2,3 – then with lead coming from L-L only, lead follower straight back into 1 1/2 clockwise turn keeping L-L low (downward movement rather than away movement so that there’s no traveling by follower) – R-R is used to give follower a haircomb with free R hand ending on follower’s L shoulder for rocking step
Other methods mentioned included using one-up one-down, over and under… also windmill is another possibility.
The lineup was Joe, Tiz (?!) and Aiste.
Smell the glove.
It's a hard life but someone's gotta live it
December 4, 2006
Again I wasn’t sure about Salsa tonight in part because of exhaustion and not feeling particularly well. However, I did tell couple of people that I would be there so there I was.
Vishal made a surprise announcement that Joe was stuck in a bad traffic on M11 and was expected to be either very late or be a no show. Russell arrived by his himself fortunately. Thus the class was divided into two with Russell taking the improver/intermediate class and Vishal and Susie taking the beginners. Susie was asked to help at the last minute, and she told me later that she enjoyed it very much despite feeling that she didn’t know enough. As for me, I don’t think I could have done it tonight had Vishal asked me.
Improver with Russell
The first hour was a little too Cuban for my taste although it did offer something new. The second hour was alright and was useful because it made it easier for me to dance with several people in the improver class later in the evening.
The gimmick here is that leader uses his left hand only.
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a single stationary clockwise turn with L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7,1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower to R and lead her to walk around or promenade around leader during 5,6,7,1,2,3 (simple counterclockwise walkaround without a turn) and finish with leading follower to a stationary clockwise turn on final 1,2,3
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower into Copa-like position on 3, but as in more Cuban movement allow follower to step back on 5 before leading follower back to original position with 1/2 clockwise turn to face leader again (perhaps I will change my mind later but this bit seems a little too Cuban for my taste) – leader’s L forearm of L-R connection is placed on follower’s back of neck to lead this movement
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL position while keeping L-R high and far away – this supposedly helps prevent follower from doing counterclockwise traveling turn – and lead follower into 1/2 clockwise traveling turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns full clockwise on 1,2,3 leaving follower’s R hand on leader’s L shoulder initially with the aim of getting it placed on the R shoulder after the completion of the turn – leader’s neck goes underneath the arm on 5 to get follower’s R hand back to the L side possibly followed by a body roll as R is dropped down to reconnect L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 I think this might have been a simple Copa with challenge of using just L-R once again
second hour
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top – lead follower into stationary clockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard Copa from crossed hold L-L on top and R ending on follower’s shoulder before leading follower’s Copa turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L hat for leader while getting into CBL ending back with R-R hold with L-L underneath once again
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to stationary clockwise turn ending with toss of R-R to get R-R on top again
1,2,3,5,6,7 an odd Copa – starts out with open break and with R-R going over and L-L leading follower forward on 2 – the movement for follower is somewhat more like CBL rather than Copa but that’s not quite right either – follower takes a big step forward with L foot on 2 while leader makes a similar step with R foot and follower’s R foot trails along on 3 to end in something like Copa position – end with crucifix position on 3, then lead follower straight back on 5 (leading a turn is apparently a possibility as well but it wasn’t covered) with leader doing a hook turn – end with R-R on top again probably
1,2,3,5,6,7 the odd Copa again (rather like open break CBL but with forward movement by follower on 2, which is the unusual bit) and in continuation and in same direction lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn
Mondays as club night has not been bustling, but tonight was alright with me. Although it does not bring out the best of Cambridge, I would have considered dances with at least eight different people as being quite useful experience – fun, learning and or helpful. People do get better, and if I can help, why not? And I do all this because I am such a genuinely super duper nice person :p
Again I wasn’t sure about Salsa tonight in part because of exhaustion and not feeling particularly well. However, I did tell couple of people that I would be there so there I was.
Vishal made a surprise announcement that Joe was stuck in a bad traffic on M11 and was expected to be either very late or be a no show. Russell arrived by his himself fortunately. Thus the class was divided into two with Russell taking the improver/intermediate class and Vishal and Susie taking the beginners. Susie was asked to help at the last minute, and she told me later that she enjoyed it very much despite feeling that she didn’t know enough. As for me, I don’t think I could have done it tonight had Vishal asked me.
Improver with Russell
The first hour was a little too Cuban for my taste although it did offer something new. The second hour was alright and was useful because it made it easier for me to dance with several people in the improver class later in the evening.
The gimmick here is that leader uses his left hand only.
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower to a single stationary clockwise turn with L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7,1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower to R and lead her to walk around or promenade around leader during 5,6,7,1,2,3 (simple counterclockwise walkaround without a turn) and finish with leading follower to a stationary clockwise turn on final 1,2,3
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower into Copa-like position on 3, but as in more Cuban movement allow follower to step back on 5 before leading follower back to original position with 1/2 clockwise turn to face leader again (perhaps I will change my mind later but this bit seems a little too Cuban for my taste) – leader’s L forearm of L-R connection is placed on follower’s back of neck to lead this movement
1,2,3,5,6,7 into CBL position while keeping L-R high and far away – this supposedly helps prevent follower from doing counterclockwise traveling turn – and lead follower into 1/2 clockwise traveling turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns full clockwise on 1,2,3 leaving follower’s R hand on leader’s L shoulder initially with the aim of getting it placed on the R shoulder after the completion of the turn – leader’s neck goes underneath the arm on 5 to get follower’s R hand back to the L side possibly followed by a body roll as R is dropped down to reconnect L-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 I think this might have been a simple Copa with challenge of using just L-R once again
second hour
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top – lead follower into stationary clockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 standard Copa from crossed hold L-L on top and R ending on follower’s shoulder before leading follower’s Copa turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-L hat for leader while getting into CBL ending back with R-R hold with L-L underneath once again
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to stationary clockwise turn ending with toss of R-R to get R-R on top again
1,2,3,5,6,7 an odd Copa – starts out with open break and with R-R going over and L-L leading follower forward on 2 – the movement for follower is somewhat more like CBL rather than Copa but that’s not quite right either – follower takes a big step forward with L foot on 2 while leader makes a similar step with R foot and follower’s R foot trails along on 3 to end in something like Copa position – end with crucifix position on 3, then lead follower straight back on 5 (leading a turn is apparently a possibility as well but it wasn’t covered) with leader doing a hook turn – end with R-R on top again probably
1,2,3,5,6,7 the odd Copa again (rather like open break CBL but with forward movement by follower on 2, which is the unusual bit) and in continuation and in same direction lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn
Mondays as club night has not been bustling, but tonight was alright with me. Although it does not bring out the best of Cambridge, I would have considered dances with at least eight different people as being quite useful experience – fun, learning and or helpful. People do get better, and if I can help, why not? And I do all this because I am such a genuinely super duper nice person :p
The straw that broke the camel's back
November 27, 2006
This was the ninth evening in a row involving some sort of dancing; I chose not to write a post about barn dancing on Saturday. I was not particularly enthusiastic about doing yet another Salsa night, but habit won out. It was a rather quiet night – probably not helped by last week and especially yesterday having been so busy.
The instructors today were Joe, Russell and Aiste.
Intermediate with Joe
Theme was called Copa fake – Copa anti-turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top – open break and bring follower in on R somewhat like Copa with connections together (about chest level and slightly to R of leader’s body) – lead follower back into 1 1/2 clockwise turn with a windmill-like lead (down and up) with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise [I think follower’s footwork may involve making hooking turn step on 6 – but the lead for the turn supposedly comes on 4 – keep connections together as follower’s turn is led]
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in on L side of leader with R-R draping over follower’s head – R-R will be let go and use L-L low to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with L-L ending behind follower’s R waist – get free R hand on follower’s L shoulder [this is a Copa fake - see below for a practice from a different easier angle]
1,2,3,5,6,7 use palms of L-L to help lead follower to twist properly on 1 and on 3 – lead follower forward on 5 with free R hand and lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn (minimize traveling) with L-L coming up after completion of follower’s first turn … see couple of options next
option 1 Joe’s version – overtake on R side while getting back into closed hold and move around follower on her R side to change follower’s line during next 1,2,3 [some people referred to this as around-the-world] – finish with simple CBL finish on 5,6,7 or one can keep turning as a unit indefinitely
option 2 a version I was trying out a little … I think it’s a reasonable alternative worth practicing given an opportunity – leader turns 1/2 counterclockwise and end with L-L above leader’s L shoulder – bring L-L down while doing L foot cross over behind R foot on 1, then move to L on 2,3 to make a lane for follower while switching to R-L then lead follower into one of many possible versions of 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn or full traveling counterclockwise turn into wrap, etc.
practice of Copa fake above from a different easier angle - crossed hold R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break facing follower and bring follower in on R side with R-R draped over follower’s head – keep follower moving in the same direction and use L-L low to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn so that L-L ends behind follower’s R waist
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 start with standard Copa start and lead follower immediately back into 1 1/2 clockwise turn (on 4) with lead coming from R-L low with L-R high simply keeping follower in place and not traveling too much – L-R preferably goes over leader’s head immediately after completion of follower’s turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in on leader’s R side (somewhat like leader’s back side with leader also turning almost 1/2 counterclockwise maybe?) – lead follower forward on 5 and into what amounts to be a simple CBL finish with L-R briefly raised and leader facing away from follower line with R-L behind leader’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower forward (with leader facing direction follower is headed) and into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with leader moving into the line with clockwise turn with free L hand going over and switching to L-R … there are couple of options here
option 1 – by next 1,2,3 leader make enough of clockwise turn to get into CBL position and finish with simple CBL
option 2 – by next 1,2,3 leader turns enough to end facing away from follower with another switch to end with R-R or R on follower’s R wrist connection – lead follower forward on 5 and into 1 1/2 free counterclockwise traveling turn with leader turning clockwise and getting back into closed hold
I left after a little under an hour. I need more sleep. I won't say that I will try to cut down on how often I go out dancing - I've said it too many times without sticking to it. I probably could do some serious re-write of the Pasion de Invierno (such horrible unsatisfactory writing!), but I probably won't do that either. I'm spending way too much time on this…
This was the ninth evening in a row involving some sort of dancing; I chose not to write a post about barn dancing on Saturday. I was not particularly enthusiastic about doing yet another Salsa night, but habit won out. It was a rather quiet night – probably not helped by last week and especially yesterday having been so busy.
The instructors today were Joe, Russell and Aiste.
Intermediate with Joe
Theme was called Copa fake – Copa anti-turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top – open break and bring follower in on R somewhat like Copa with connections together (about chest level and slightly to R of leader’s body) – lead follower back into 1 1/2 clockwise turn with a windmill-like lead (down and up) with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise [I think follower’s footwork may involve making hooking turn step on 6 – but the lead for the turn supposedly comes on 4 – keep connections together as follower’s turn is led]
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in on L side of leader with R-R draping over follower’s head – R-R will be let go and use L-L low to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with L-L ending behind follower’s R waist – get free R hand on follower’s L shoulder [this is a Copa fake - see below for a practice from a different easier angle]
1,2,3,5,6,7 use palms of L-L to help lead follower to twist properly on 1 and on 3 – lead follower forward on 5 with free R hand and lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn (minimize traveling) with L-L coming up after completion of follower’s first turn … see couple of options next
option 1 Joe’s version – overtake on R side while getting back into closed hold and move around follower on her R side to change follower’s line during next 1,2,3 [some people referred to this as around-the-world] – finish with simple CBL finish on 5,6,7 or one can keep turning as a unit indefinitely
option 2 a version I was trying out a little … I think it’s a reasonable alternative worth practicing given an opportunity – leader turns 1/2 counterclockwise and end with L-L above leader’s L shoulder – bring L-L down while doing L foot cross over behind R foot on 1, then move to L on 2,3 to make a lane for follower while switching to R-L then lead follower into one of many possible versions of 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn or full traveling counterclockwise turn into wrap, etc.
practice of Copa fake above from a different easier angle - crossed hold R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break facing follower and bring follower in on R side with R-R draped over follower’s head – keep follower moving in the same direction and use L-L low to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn so that L-L ends behind follower’s R waist
open hold
1,2,3,5,6,7 start with standard Copa start and lead follower immediately back into 1 1/2 clockwise turn (on 4) with lead coming from R-L low with L-R high simply keeping follower in place and not traveling too much – L-R preferably goes over leader’s head immediately after completion of follower’s turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower in on leader’s R side (somewhat like leader’s back side with leader also turning almost 1/2 counterclockwise maybe?) – lead follower forward on 5 and into what amounts to be a simple CBL finish with L-R briefly raised and leader facing away from follower line with R-L behind leader’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower forward (with leader facing direction follower is headed) and into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with leader moving into the line with clockwise turn with free L hand going over and switching to L-R … there are couple of options here
option 1 – by next 1,2,3 leader make enough of clockwise turn to get into CBL position and finish with simple CBL
option 2 – by next 1,2,3 leader turns enough to end facing away from follower with another switch to end with R-R or R on follower’s R wrist connection – lead follower forward on 5 and into 1 1/2 free counterclockwise traveling turn with leader turning clockwise and getting back into closed hold
I left after a little under an hour. I need more sleep. I won't say that I will try to cut down on how often I go out dancing - I've said it too many times without sticking to it. I probably could do some serious re-write of the Pasion de Invierno (such horrible unsatisfactory writing!), but I probably won't do that either. I'm spending way too much time on this…
Calm before the storm – on the eve of Tony Lara IV
November 20, 2006
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top – Copa with both connections going over – lead follower into Copa 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with windmill motion – traveling is minimal for follower – leader turns full clockwise at the same time as follower’s final turn [note: This was by far the most difficult bit – no one in the class came close to finishing the 1 1/2 turn in time with some finishing it as late as on next 3, 4 or even 5. Not even Joe was managing to lead this in class at anything resembling normal speed by the way. It’s certainly not an impossible move; I might have seen some other people (maybe Rajiv) lead something very similar if not identical to this move.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 [This part is not that bad except it requires that previous move be finished on time. Because the connections are so tangled, there is no obvious alternate entry that I could think of] leader turns 1/2 clockwise and brings L-L down to R chest level on 1,2 then turns 1/2 counterclockwise on 3 as L-L is briefly released and reconnected underneath R-R on 3 – R-R is draped over follower’s head on 5 (like a hat but keep the connection) [in an accelerated version, follower is then brought forward into Cuban walk (thus 1/2 clockwise traveling turn) with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise to get into reverse crucifix position)]
The draping over part can be started on 1, and the other parts should be fairly easy to do if so. In fact, I don’t think the move is that difficult even if draping is started on 5 – it just needs some practice. In any case, it’s worth thinking about in terms of breaking down the components into easier bits before trying the most difficult version demonstrated today.
In any case… after the reverse crucifix…
1,2,3,5,6,7 men’s shine from semi-open position (reverse crucifix) cross over walks LRL RLR with a 1/2 clockwise turn on 7,8
1,2,3,5,6,7 double hat for follower on 1,2,3 to get back to closed postion
Joe suggested that this move (centered around men’s shine) is nice when piano does a little crescendo…
starting with crossed hold R-R on top and ending with R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7
option 1. lead a touch-and-go double turn with extra touch-and-go at the end
option 2. lead a single turn for follower with leader turning full clockwise at the end keeping all connection intact throughout
option 3. lead a touch-and-go double turn for follower with leader turning full clockwise at the end keeping all connections intact throughout
crossed hold with R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa with R-R going over – lead follower into Copa turn by lowering R-R (pulling the zipper move) to get R-R behind follower’s L waist
R-R behind follower’s L waist
option 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L in front of follower’s face – into CBL – use R-R to lead follower forward and let go only after 5 – use L-L to lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn (leader should be able to get back into the original position at the end)
option 2
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L in front of follower’s face – into CBL – lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn (overturning her a bit at the end) and start to overtake from the R side (from leader’s perspective) on 7 in preparation for bringing follower’s L hand behind her R waist (while keeping R-R behind her L waist – I think I had referred to this position once as straighjacket position, but I suppose something like a reverse straightjacket or handcuffed position would be more appropriate)
1,2,3
easy option 2a – simply get around 1/2 by 3/4 (this would mean 2 full turns for follower starting from previous 1)
more challenging option 2b – get around completely (full walk) by 3/4 and in the process turning follower a further 1/2 counterclockwise (this would mean 2 1/2 turns for follower starting from previous 1)
5,6,7 lead follower into 1 1/2 unwrapping counterclockwise traveling turn with L-L connection intact (kept low)
note on shines
Triple spiral
minimize those kicks or at least make movements smaller and subtler – when the kick is made like a real kick and especially with R foot caught flat-footed, the movement appears to lose a lot of grace.
name (it’s been around a while but I didn’t know how exactly it went til now)
1,2,3,5 basic Mambo
6 L foot forward and slightly to R
7 R foot on toe crossed behind L
8 R foot slightly back
1 L foot in front of R foot (crossed in front of)
2 R foot slightly back
3 L foot on toe crossed in front of R
4 L foot slightly forward
5 R foot behind L (crossed behind)
6 L foot slightly forward
7 R foot behind L
8 L foot bunny hop
1 basic Mambo
Apparently this is Tiz’s last class at Club Salsa for foreseeable future. According to Joe, Nicky [Price, probably] will substitute for Tiz. Russell will be back at some point. Adam Leilani probably will come back now and then too.
While the overall number of students seemed no different, the number of more experienced followers has dropped considerably over past several weeks. With caveat that there were people who have been learning Salsa for longer duration of time, Susie probably was the most experienced follower in class tonight – or at least the person who could follow the most number of turn patterns I can lead.
Possibly many people stayed away tonight in anticipation of busy week this week. There’s the Bachata event tomorrow. some people will have the Salsa team practice on Wednesday (and an outing to Club Salsa thereafter for some), Thursdays have been a strong night of dancing for some time now, and the CDC Salsa ball will be held on Sunday. It was a little regrettable that I couldn’t make any use of residual aftereffect of having had a good SOS trip yesterday. The contrast between SOS yesterday and Club Salsa tonight was stark. Then again, the class especially during the first hour was brutal and my legs were feeling quite tired by the end of the second hour. Also I was feeling a bit sleepy as well.
It was amusing to note that the frequency of declines I get for a dance from strangers in London or in Cambridge on a given night is still about the same (arguably higher in Cambridge).
Intermediate with Joe
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top – Copa with both connections going over – lead follower into Copa 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with windmill motion – traveling is minimal for follower – leader turns full clockwise at the same time as follower’s final turn [note: This was by far the most difficult bit – no one in the class came close to finishing the 1 1/2 turn in time with some finishing it as late as on next 3, 4 or even 5. Not even Joe was managing to lead this in class at anything resembling normal speed by the way. It’s certainly not an impossible move; I might have seen some other people (maybe Rajiv) lead something very similar if not identical to this move.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 [This part is not that bad except it requires that previous move be finished on time. Because the connections are so tangled, there is no obvious alternate entry that I could think of] leader turns 1/2 clockwise and brings L-L down to R chest level on 1,2 then turns 1/2 counterclockwise on 3 as L-L is briefly released and reconnected underneath R-R on 3 – R-R is draped over follower’s head on 5 (like a hat but keep the connection) [in an accelerated version, follower is then brought forward into Cuban walk (thus 1/2 clockwise traveling turn) with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise to get into reverse crucifix position)]
The draping over part can be started on 1, and the other parts should be fairly easy to do if so. In fact, I don’t think the move is that difficult even if draping is started on 5 – it just needs some practice. In any case, it’s worth thinking about in terms of breaking down the components into easier bits before trying the most difficult version demonstrated today.
In any case… after the reverse crucifix…
1,2,3,5,6,7 men’s shine from semi-open position (reverse crucifix) cross over walks LRL RLR with a 1/2 clockwise turn on 7,8
1,2,3,5,6,7 double hat for follower on 1,2,3 to get back to closed postion
Joe suggested that this move (centered around men’s shine) is nice when piano does a little crescendo…
starting with crossed hold R-R on top and ending with R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7
option 1. lead a touch-and-go double turn with extra touch-and-go at the end
option 2. lead a single turn for follower with leader turning full clockwise at the end keeping all connection intact throughout
option 3. lead a touch-and-go double turn for follower with leader turning full clockwise at the end keeping all connections intact throughout
crossed hold with R-R on top
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa with R-R going over – lead follower into Copa turn by lowering R-R (pulling the zipper move) to get R-R behind follower’s L waist
R-R behind follower’s L waist
option 1
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L in front of follower’s face – into CBL – use R-R to lead follower forward and let go only after 5 – use L-L to lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn (leader should be able to get back into the original position at the end)
option 2
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L in front of follower’s face – into CBL – lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn (overturning her a bit at the end) and start to overtake from the R side (from leader’s perspective) on 7 in preparation for bringing follower’s L hand behind her R waist (while keeping R-R behind her L waist – I think I had referred to this position once as straighjacket position, but I suppose something like a reverse straightjacket or handcuffed position would be more appropriate)
1,2,3
easy option 2a – simply get around 1/2 by 3/4 (this would mean 2 full turns for follower starting from previous 1)
more challenging option 2b – get around completely (full walk) by 3/4 and in the process turning follower a further 1/2 counterclockwise (this would mean 2 1/2 turns for follower starting from previous 1)
5,6,7 lead follower into 1 1/2 unwrapping counterclockwise traveling turn with L-L connection intact (kept low)
note on shines
Triple spiral
minimize those kicks or at least make movements smaller and subtler – when the kick is made like a real kick and especially with R foot caught flat-footed, the movement appears to lose a lot of grace.
name (it’s been around a while but I didn’t know how exactly it went til now)
1,2,3,5 basic Mambo
6 L foot forward and slightly to R
7 R foot on toe crossed behind L
8 R foot slightly back
1 L foot in front of R foot (crossed in front of)
2 R foot slightly back
3 L foot on toe crossed in front of R
4 L foot slightly forward
5 R foot behind L (crossed behind)
6 L foot slightly forward
7 R foot behind L
8 L foot bunny hop
1 basic Mambo
Apparently this is Tiz’s last class at Club Salsa for foreseeable future. According to Joe, Nicky [Price, probably] will substitute for Tiz. Russell will be back at some point. Adam Leilani probably will come back now and then too.
While the overall number of students seemed no different, the number of more experienced followers has dropped considerably over past several weeks. With caveat that there were people who have been learning Salsa for longer duration of time, Susie probably was the most experienced follower in class tonight – or at least the person who could follow the most number of turn patterns I can lead.
Possibly many people stayed away tonight in anticipation of busy week this week. There’s the Bachata event tomorrow. some people will have the Salsa team practice on Wednesday (and an outing to Club Salsa thereafter for some), Thursdays have been a strong night of dancing for some time now, and the CDC Salsa ball will be held on Sunday. It was a little regrettable that I couldn’t make any use of residual aftereffect of having had a good SOS trip yesterday. The contrast between SOS yesterday and Club Salsa tonight was stark. Then again, the class especially during the first hour was brutal and my legs were feeling quite tired by the end of the second hour. Also I was feeling a bit sleepy as well.
It was amusing to note that the frequency of declines I get for a dance from strangers in London or in Cambridge on a given night is still about the same (arguably higher in Cambridge).
Gotta go with what's there
November 13, 2006
Intermediate with Tiz
angled Suzy
1,2,3 Slave to left
5,6,7 Suzy Q to left
1,2,3 Slave to right
5,6,7, Suzy Q to right
(followed by Mambo basic)
from last week – name?
1,2,3 da-da-da-da-da (5 steps in all - Johnny might have referred to this as crazy steps or such)
5 R foot on heel to front R
6 slide to back left with L
7 slide R foot back together
(followed by Mambo basic)
from last week - slave grapevine?
1,2,3 slave (L cross over to R with typical slave leaning motion on 1, R in place on 2, L back to original spot on 3)
4 R cross over in front of L
5 weight on L
6 R cross over to R
7 L cross over in front of R
8 R cross over in front of L
(followed by Mambo basic)
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL low cross pass – end getting ready to switch to R-R (R hand can be on follower’s R forearm briefly)
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hold, Copa with R hand to follower’s leading hip and L hand to trailing hip – lead follower to do standard Copa turn on her own (preferably with both her hands over her head in diving position) – leader could do a clockwise turn and get back to facing follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 open hold, Copa with R-L going over follower’s L shoulder and L-R kept low – lead follower into 1 1/2 Copa traveling counterclockwise turn with R-L high (I was keeping R-L at same height throughout but this was not necessarily the way this was taught – I think the point might have been to try to get follower to turn on her own power) – keep L-R at waist level throughout briefly letting go before reconnecting it behind follower’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower into traveling swapsi turn (1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower) so that R-L ends behind follower’s R waist – leader can turn clockwise briefly letting go R-L before reconnecting it behind follower’s R waist – L-R ends behind leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start (letting go L-R) but lead follower into overall 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn instead – I think the lead was to come immediately after 3 (on 4?) to lead follower to turn this direction instead of doing normal Copa – in one version, the position ended with R-L across follower’s stomach on her R side while in another version
1,2,3,5,6,7 there was a bit starting with follower's R hand across her stomach (possibly the end of previous turn pattern), allow follower forward on 1 and turn her around counterclockwise on 2,3 and continue her into traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with leader also turning clockwise at the same time. I think the leading was done with R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open hold, simplest Copa start and ending with free R hand on follower’s back on 8 (or in a version done tonight, follower ends doing only a full traveling turn as opposed to 1 1/2 traveling turn for the Copa… with the full turn version, follower would end doing a full turnaround on next 1,2,3 as opposed to doing a half turnaround on 1,2,3)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to a half or full turnaround on 1,2,3 (follower is walking around leader in counterclockwise fashion), then lead follower into Cuban walk on 5,6,7 (follower continues moving around leader in counterclockwise fashion to start with but ends with a clockwise 1/2 traveling turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top, touch-and-go double turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower straight forward while leader gets around follower from her R side and get around behind her to her L side
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz start and lead follower into full traveling clockwise turn with R-R ending across follower’s stomach on her L side
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to turn 1/2 counterclockwise on the spot on 1,2,3 while leader turns 1/2 clockwise at the same time – lead follower into Cuban walk (traveling 1/2 clockwise turn) with R-R ending in a elbow-to-elbow position and end with drop catch to end with L-R
After a long stretch of time without extensive dancing (the weekend SOS plan having been aborted because of too many complicating factors (i.e. people getting ill, my trust of the train system reaching a new low, too much bicycling including a ludicrous “shortcut” or a “scenic route” on an increasingly harrowing footpath between Stapleford and Sawston, too much work and not enough time)), I felt ready for a good exercise.
Upon receiving a reminder from Vishal about making fliers for the Bachata event with Tony & Daniela, I whipped up something in a hurry. If life has not been so chaotic lately, I would have done this sooner. As it was more glitches encountered meant that the fliers had to be printed using normal paper rather than thicker photo paper. Also the fliers were cut at the Club Salsa just before the classes started.
Between arriving early and Joe and Tiz arriving late, there was more lull than usual leading to chitchats. Perhaps the most striking conversation involved being a third party to a conversation between two women talking about leads of various men seen about at Club Salsa. I thought such conversations happened in places where men were unlikely to overhear the conversation (unless it is a one-on-one conversation), so it felt a little strange (as well as getting me to strain to listen for any veiled allusions to my lead in general). Perhaps they trusted that the contents of this conversation weren’t going anywhere and that it was harmless. Less surprising were comments, gawking, etc about what people were wearing, etc.
It was a little difficult to remember all the material from the class – not because the material was difficult (of course it would depend on the level of the student) but perhaps because it was not unusual enough (or it’s my memory becoming worse with less use and with increased age). Maybe because I yawned couple of time (or did I? I don’t remember for sure), I noticed some others yawning during the class. Joe modified his usual joke about Club Salsa being the smallest Salsa club in the universe to about Vishal working on getting a larger space – perhaps using dynamite. Joe also talked about starting a level 4 class started but needing more space to do so. I have no idea if level 4 is economically feasible.
Random fluctuations dictated that there be nearly twice as many women as men in the intermediate class today. However, this did not have much effect on how the social part of the evening unfolded. If form holds true, opposite will happen next week.
Generally my dances (or leads) felt more on the restrained side but presumably would have been considered very busy by most of my partners. No doubt some like it while others find it to be too much.
Tomorrow has the postponed CDC Salsa social at the University Centre. I also spotted posters for the big CDC Salsa event (Pasion de Invierno on Nov 26th) for the first time at Club Salsa. It probably helped Vishal’s sensibility because it’s being held on a Sunday and thus not competiting with any of the Salsa evenings at Club Salsa (meaning everyday but Sunday).
Quote of the day - "You're the one who's supposed to remember the routine and write it on your blog. (I'm not supposed to remember) I'm supposed to just follow."
I was saying I had a memory lapse about the material. I think I managed to squeeze it out of my head after returning home.
Intermediate with Tiz
angled Suzy
1,2,3 Slave to left
5,6,7 Suzy Q to left
1,2,3 Slave to right
5,6,7, Suzy Q to right
(followed by Mambo basic)
from last week – name?
1,2,3 da-da-da-da-da (5 steps in all - Johnny might have referred to this as crazy steps or such)
5 R foot on heel to front R
6 slide to back left with L
7 slide R foot back together
(followed by Mambo basic)
from last week - slave grapevine?
1,2,3 slave (L cross over to R with typical slave leaning motion on 1, R in place on 2, L back to original spot on 3)
4 R cross over in front of L
5 weight on L
6 R cross over to R
7 L cross over in front of R
8 R cross over in front of L
(followed by Mambo basic)
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL low cross pass – end getting ready to switch to R-R (R hand can be on follower’s R forearm briefly)
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hold, Copa with R hand to follower’s leading hip and L hand to trailing hip – lead follower to do standard Copa turn on her own (preferably with both her hands over her head in diving position) – leader could do a clockwise turn and get back to facing follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 open hold, Copa with R-L going over follower’s L shoulder and L-R kept low – lead follower into 1 1/2 Copa traveling counterclockwise turn with R-L high (I was keeping R-L at same height throughout but this was not necessarily the way this was taught – I think the point might have been to try to get follower to turn on her own power) – keep L-R at waist level throughout briefly letting go before reconnecting it behind follower’s L waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower into traveling swapsi turn (1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn for follower) so that R-L ends behind follower’s R waist – leader can turn clockwise briefly letting go R-L before reconnecting it behind follower’s R waist – L-R ends behind leader’s R waist
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start (letting go L-R) but lead follower into overall 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn instead – I think the lead was to come immediately after 3 (on 4?) to lead follower to turn this direction instead of doing normal Copa – in one version, the position ended with R-L across follower’s stomach on her R side while in another version
1,2,3,5,6,7 there was a bit starting with follower's R hand across her stomach (possibly the end of previous turn pattern), allow follower forward on 1 and turn her around counterclockwise on 2,3 and continue her into traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn with leader also turning clockwise at the same time. I think the leading was done with R-R
1,2,3,5,6,7 open hold, simplest Copa start and ending with free R hand on follower’s back on 8 (or in a version done tonight, follower ends doing only a full traveling turn as opposed to 1 1/2 traveling turn for the Copa… with the full turn version, follower would end doing a full turnaround on next 1,2,3 as opposed to doing a half turnaround on 1,2,3)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to a half or full turnaround on 1,2,3 (follower is walking around leader in counterclockwise fashion), then lead follower into Cuban walk on 5,6,7 (follower continues moving around leader in counterclockwise fashion to start with but ends with a clockwise 1/2 traveling turn)
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top, touch-and-go double turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and bring follower straight forward while leader gets around follower from her R side and get around behind her to her L side
1,2,3,5,6,7 Mambo jazz start and lead follower into full traveling clockwise turn with R-R ending across follower’s stomach on her L side
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to turn 1/2 counterclockwise on the spot on 1,2,3 while leader turns 1/2 clockwise at the same time – lead follower into Cuban walk (traveling 1/2 clockwise turn) with R-R ending in a elbow-to-elbow position and end with drop catch to end with L-R
After a long stretch of time without extensive dancing (the weekend SOS plan having been aborted because of too many complicating factors (i.e. people getting ill, my trust of the train system reaching a new low, too much bicycling including a ludicrous “shortcut” or a “scenic route” on an increasingly harrowing footpath between Stapleford and Sawston, too much work and not enough time)), I felt ready for a good exercise.
Upon receiving a reminder from Vishal about making fliers for the Bachata event with Tony & Daniela, I whipped up something in a hurry. If life has not been so chaotic lately, I would have done this sooner. As it was more glitches encountered meant that the fliers had to be printed using normal paper rather than thicker photo paper. Also the fliers were cut at the Club Salsa just before the classes started.
Between arriving early and Joe and Tiz arriving late, there was more lull than usual leading to chitchats. Perhaps the most striking conversation involved being a third party to a conversation between two women talking about leads of various men seen about at Club Salsa. I thought such conversations happened in places where men were unlikely to overhear the conversation (unless it is a one-on-one conversation), so it felt a little strange (as well as getting me to strain to listen for any veiled allusions to my lead in general). Perhaps they trusted that the contents of this conversation weren’t going anywhere and that it was harmless. Less surprising were comments, gawking, etc about what people were wearing, etc.
It was a little difficult to remember all the material from the class – not because the material was difficult (of course it would depend on the level of the student) but perhaps because it was not unusual enough (or it’s my memory becoming worse with less use and with increased age). Maybe because I yawned couple of time (or did I? I don’t remember for sure), I noticed some others yawning during the class. Joe modified his usual joke about Club Salsa being the smallest Salsa club in the universe to about Vishal working on getting a larger space – perhaps using dynamite. Joe also talked about starting a level 4 class started but needing more space to do so. I have no idea if level 4 is economically feasible.
Random fluctuations dictated that there be nearly twice as many women as men in the intermediate class today. However, this did not have much effect on how the social part of the evening unfolded. If form holds true, opposite will happen next week.
Generally my dances (or leads) felt more on the restrained side but presumably would have been considered very busy by most of my partners. No doubt some like it while others find it to be too much.
Tomorrow has the postponed CDC Salsa social at the University Centre. I also spotted posters for the big CDC Salsa event (Pasion de Invierno on Nov 26th) for the first time at Club Salsa. It probably helped Vishal’s sensibility because it’s being held on a Sunday and thus not competiting with any of the Salsa evenings at Club Salsa (meaning everyday but Sunday).
Quote of the day - "You're the one who's supposed to remember the routine and write it on your blog. (I'm not supposed to remember) I'm supposed to just follow."
I was saying I had a memory lapse about the material. I think I managed to squeeze it out of my head after returning home.
Ready to wear
November 6, 2006
Intermediate with Tiz
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead double (or single) hammerlock turn (clockwise stationary) for follower with leader turning full counterclockwise to end with L-R behind leader’s R waist and R-L reconnected behind follower’s R waist – end position is like at the end of low cross pass
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa with L-R released and 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower with R-L connected and with leader turning half counterclockwise and end with R-L above leader’s R shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower into 1/2 clockwise traveling turn (Cuban walk) keeping R-L high
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break showing free L to make L-R connection as follower is brought in like Copa with L-R going over around from (leader’s) R side and R-L kept low – lead follower straight back on 4 to lead follower back on 5,6,7 as leader releases R-L and turns clockwise (1 1/2 to 1 1/2) and moving into follower’s previous spot to get L-R behind to get into end of low cross pass position
1,2,3,5,6,7 reconnect R-L, prepare and lead follower into double stationary clockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn with free R hand ending on upper back of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward and around leader from his L side on 1,2,3,4 and lead follower into 1/2 clockwise traveling turn on 5,6,7,8 – so follower is walking around leader in counterclockwise manner ending essentially where she started - at all points leader stays facing the same direction throughout – it could help for leader to do an accommodating steps for follower so that she doesn’t have to travel as much in my opinion (this would involve doing a crossover step to R with L foot on 1 and a crossover step to L with R foot on 5)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and get into CBL position and lead follower into 2 1/2 clockwise traveling turn switching to R-R (follower has started turning a little by 3 (3 is a good spot to switch to R-R) with leader also turning while traveling (preferentially simultaneously with follower during her final turn) to face same direction while staying to her L side – R-R kept relatively high (above leader’s R shoulder)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break bringing R-R over and connecting with L-L in front and then also getting L-L over as well and letting go R-R (like a series of windmill) to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with follower’s L hand ending behind her R waist and leader turning clockwise and switching to R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L for L-R and open break and into Copa position with L-R going over and leader moves into follower’s previous position with 1/2 counterclockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower into double turn (stationary clockwise) – I don’t think there was any more after this although this leaves things dangling a little … I tried doing 1/2 counterclockwise turn and trying a couple of positions with connections going over leader’s head and down to either neck level or waist level, etc.
Most of the moves are similar to ones I already use using same principles yet they offer variations and different possibilities. I should think these should be easy to incorporate into my repertoire.
It was somewhat quite night by the Monday standard for the club part of the evening. The main floor was very sticky early in the evening but became fine by the end of the evening. Music was pretty good. My dancing was probably a little on the wild and energetic side (but without any collisions) – possibly a leftover from the Scala or perhaps overcompensating for having more energy than I did at the Scala.
One of the highlights was a trio of dances involving Aiste. I noted her dancing first with Rajiv. This among other things inspired me to ask her for a next dance, which I enjoyed – pretty energetic and with only one noticeable miscue. Her next dance was with Joe; I don’t think I have seen Joe dance with Aiste – at least not for a very long time. Their dance was on-2 and was notable for a lot of spinning by both Joe and Aiste. It was one of the more watchable dancing (social or performance) I have seen in a while. Spontaneity and improvisation mixed with a little mistakes here and there showing slightly rough and not practiced to death look yet still looking spectacular and fun – I think it’s great.
I think it all might have been inspired in part by a comment made by Vishal – possibly a game of one-upmanship.
I felt hungry throughout. In fact I have been hungry all the time since Saturday afternoon. Too much exercise this weekend probably made me lose weight. Hopefully I can get back to my lazy (or lazier) routine in a few days.
Intermediate with Tiz
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead double (or single) hammerlock turn (clockwise stationary) for follower with leader turning full counterclockwise to end with L-R behind leader’s R waist and R-L reconnected behind follower’s R waist – end position is like at the end of low cross pass
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa with L-R released and 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn for follower with R-L connected and with leader turning half counterclockwise and end with R-L above leader’s R shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and lead follower into 1/2 clockwise traveling turn (Cuban walk) keeping R-L high
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break showing free L to make L-R connection as follower is brought in like Copa with L-R going over around from (leader’s) R side and R-L kept low – lead follower straight back on 4 to lead follower back on 5,6,7 as leader releases R-L and turns clockwise (1 1/2 to 1 1/2) and moving into follower’s previous spot to get L-R behind to get into end of low cross pass position
1,2,3,5,6,7 reconnect R-L, prepare and lead follower into double stationary clockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn with free R hand ending on upper back of follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward and around leader from his L side on 1,2,3,4 and lead follower into 1/2 clockwise traveling turn on 5,6,7,8 – so follower is walking around leader in counterclockwise manner ending essentially where she started - at all points leader stays facing the same direction throughout – it could help for leader to do an accommodating steps for follower so that she doesn’t have to travel as much in my opinion (this would involve doing a crossover step to R with L foot on 1 and a crossover step to L with R foot on 5)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break and get into CBL position and lead follower into 2 1/2 clockwise traveling turn switching to R-R (follower has started turning a little by 3 (3 is a good spot to switch to R-R) with leader also turning while traveling (preferentially simultaneously with follower during her final turn) to face same direction while staying to her L side – R-R kept relatively high (above leader’s R shoulder)
1,2,3,5,6,7 open break bringing R-R over and connecting with L-L in front and then also getting L-L over as well and letting go R-R (like a series of windmill) to lead follower into 1 1/2 clockwise traveling turn with follower’s L hand ending behind her R waist and leader turning clockwise and switching to R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer L for L-R and open break and into Copa position with L-R going over and leader moves into follower’s previous position with 1/2 counterclockwise turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower into double turn (stationary clockwise) – I don’t think there was any more after this although this leaves things dangling a little … I tried doing 1/2 counterclockwise turn and trying a couple of positions with connections going over leader’s head and down to either neck level or waist level, etc.
Most of the moves are similar to ones I already use using same principles yet they offer variations and different possibilities. I should think these should be easy to incorporate into my repertoire.
It was somewhat quite night by the Monday standard for the club part of the evening. The main floor was very sticky early in the evening but became fine by the end of the evening. Music was pretty good. My dancing was probably a little on the wild and energetic side (but without any collisions) – possibly a leftover from the Scala or perhaps overcompensating for having more energy than I did at the Scala.
One of the highlights was a trio of dances involving Aiste. I noted her dancing first with Rajiv. This among other things inspired me to ask her for a next dance, which I enjoyed – pretty energetic and with only one noticeable miscue. Her next dance was with Joe; I don’t think I have seen Joe dance with Aiste – at least not for a very long time. Their dance was on-2 and was notable for a lot of spinning by both Joe and Aiste. It was one of the more watchable dancing (social or performance) I have seen in a while. Spontaneity and improvisation mixed with a little mistakes here and there showing slightly rough and not practiced to death look yet still looking spectacular and fun – I think it’s great.
I think it all might have been inspired in part by a comment made by Vishal – possibly a game of one-upmanship.
I felt hungry throughout. In fact I have been hungry all the time since Saturday afternoon. Too much exercise this weekend probably made me lose weight. Hopefully I can get back to my lazy (or lazier) routine in a few days.
I suppose it is possible to have more fun and satisfying dances
October 30, 2006
Intermediate with Tiz
triple spiral
goes over 2 bars. turn 1/2 clockwise on 1. suzy Q’s with R foot kicks on 4, 7 and 4, then get back to original position
slave grapevine
slave on 1,2,3
R foot cross over in front on 4
L foot to normal standing position on 5
R foot slightly back on 6
L foot cross over in front of R on 7
R foot step over L on 8 and get back to mambo basic on 1,2,3
Both of these were covered last week too. I’m all for repetition even if it’s easy for me.
Turn patterns
I’m omitting quite a lot of technical details Tiz tried to impart. I thought it was very well done but it would simply take too much time to describe it all in full.
1 L-R double turn
2 R-L double turn
3 touch-and-go double turn followed by Copa (L-R going over while R-L is used for initial lead with R going to follower’s hips)
4 touch-and-go double turn
5 R-L one up one down double turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 one-up-one-down double turn with R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 show L for L-R going over for Copa start and all connections pointing towards direction follower came from – leader moves into follower’s previous position on 5 and turn 1/2 counterclockwise with R-L on leaders R shoulder to face follower – reconnect R-L like drop catch at about chest level
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1/2 counterclockwise with R going over and switching to R-R – lead follower forward on 5 briefly with R-R (disconnected after this initial lead) for CBL finish for follower with leader turning full counterclockwise (with optional nifty pointing visual trick using free L hand/fingers)
I liked it.
6 R-L one up one down double turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 one-up-one-down double turn with R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to 1 1/2 counterclockwise overall traveling turn (follower's footwork is different than it is with typical 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn from CBL) with R-L kept low throughout and with leader at reverse CBL-like position on 3 and staying on that same side (R-L ends across follower’s stomach)
1,2,3,5,6,7 mambo jazz and unwrap follower (1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn for follower)
7 double hammerlock turn
followed by Copa and 1 1/2 wrapping counterclockwise Copa turn followed by preparation and unwrapping stationary clockwise 1 1/2 turn
8 double hammerlock turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 double hammerlock turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with L-R going over and all connections pointing towards the direction follower came from followed by leader occupying follower’s previous position and turning 1/2 counterclockwise underneath both connections
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower into double clockwise stationary turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 simple finish involving left turn for leader to get back into open position (of course there are many other options)
The middle bit isn’t too bad. Keep it smooth throughout.
9 double (or single) hammerlock turn with leader turning clockwise
1,2,3,5,6,7 double (or single) hammerlock turn with leader turning 3/4 to full clockwise on 7 or 8 briefly letting go R-L and bringing L-R down (early preparation would be useful - hook turn is fine here)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward and back while leader gets behind and around follower from her right side with connections kept above follower's shoulder (like crucifix position - supposedly less stressful for follower) - be careful not to be forceful here
1,2,3,5,6,7 mambo jazz and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling turn (clockwise or counterclockwise - it probably doesnt' matter much)
I'm not a big fan of this kind of move (risking injury), but maybe this one's not so bad.
Tiz was quite good at talking up followers in the class - justified or not - and being a good cheerleader overall. At one point, he claimed that he knew only of one person - a guy (Lee, of course) - as being a lighter follower.
I thought it was going to be just an okay Monday. Then Stephanie showed up. Enough said really. If I say any more nice things about her, I’ll probably get in trouble. Even Sey (by Africando) is pretty fun if I don’t have to think and worry about keeping everyone in time to the music. I tried to dance with most of the followers in my class, but I was only partly successful. When one gets spoiled with good dance partners, making sure to dance with large number of less experienced partners can become a conscientious effort.
Quote of the day – “I know how to move. I just don’t know what to do with you.”
I’m not sure if I got the quote exactly right. It’s all mental. It was fun all-around.
Vishal played some really nice tunes tonight. One song might have been Hector Lavoe’s “Mi Gente” or a cover of it. There might have been at least one other song with Hector in lead vocals. There were better songs too. I asked about some of them, but did not recognize the song titles (and no artist information).
Quote of the day 2 – “You keep asking me when I am changing my shoes.”
Hmm. It is becoming a bad habit – highly unfortunate. It’s not just limited to one or two people either.
I bet many people like having a small not-too-critical audience. When things seemingly are too good, it is both nice and scary.
Intermediate with Tiz
triple spiral
goes over 2 bars. turn 1/2 clockwise on 1. suzy Q’s with R foot kicks on 4, 7 and 4, then get back to original position
slave grapevine
slave on 1,2,3
R foot cross over in front on 4
L foot to normal standing position on 5
R foot slightly back on 6
L foot cross over in front of R on 7
R foot step over L on 8 and get back to mambo basic on 1,2,3
Both of these were covered last week too. I’m all for repetition even if it’s easy for me.
Turn patterns
I’m omitting quite a lot of technical details Tiz tried to impart. I thought it was very well done but it would simply take too much time to describe it all in full.
1 L-R double turn
2 R-L double turn
3 touch-and-go double turn followed by Copa (L-R going over while R-L is used for initial lead with R going to follower’s hips)
4 touch-and-go double turn
5 R-L one up one down double turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 one-up-one-down double turn with R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 show L for L-R going over for Copa start and all connections pointing towards direction follower came from – leader moves into follower’s previous position on 5 and turn 1/2 counterclockwise with R-L on leaders R shoulder to face follower – reconnect R-L like drop catch at about chest level
1,2,3,5,6,7 leader turns 1/2 counterclockwise with R going over and switching to R-R – lead follower forward on 5 briefly with R-R (disconnected after this initial lead) for CBL finish for follower with leader turning full counterclockwise (with optional nifty pointing visual trick using free L hand/fingers)
I liked it.
6 R-L one up one down double turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 one-up-one-down double turn with R-L
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to 1 1/2 counterclockwise overall traveling turn (follower's footwork is different than it is with typical 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn from CBL) with R-L kept low throughout and with leader at reverse CBL-like position on 3 and staying on that same side (R-L ends across follower’s stomach)
1,2,3,5,6,7 mambo jazz and unwrap follower (1 1/2 traveling clockwise turn for follower)
7 double hammerlock turn
followed by Copa and 1 1/2 wrapping counterclockwise Copa turn followed by preparation and unwrapping stationary clockwise 1 1/2 turn
8 double hammerlock turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 double hammerlock turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 Copa start with L-R going over and all connections pointing towards the direction follower came from followed by leader occupying follower’s previous position and turning 1/2 counterclockwise underneath both connections
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare and lead follower into double clockwise stationary turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 simple finish involving left turn for leader to get back into open position (of course there are many other options)
The middle bit isn’t too bad. Keep it smooth throughout.
9 double (or single) hammerlock turn with leader turning clockwise
1,2,3,5,6,7 double (or single) hammerlock turn with leader turning 3/4 to full clockwise on 7 or 8 briefly letting go R-L and bringing L-R down (early preparation would be useful - hook turn is fine here)
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower forward and back while leader gets behind and around follower from her right side with connections kept above follower's shoulder (like crucifix position - supposedly less stressful for follower) - be careful not to be forceful here
1,2,3,5,6,7 mambo jazz and lead follower into 1 1/2 traveling turn (clockwise or counterclockwise - it probably doesnt' matter much)
I'm not a big fan of this kind of move (risking injury), but maybe this one's not so bad.
Tiz was quite good at talking up followers in the class - justified or not - and being a good cheerleader overall. At one point, he claimed that he knew only of one person - a guy (Lee, of course) - as being a lighter follower.
I thought it was going to be just an okay Monday. Then Stephanie showed up. Enough said really. If I say any more nice things about her, I’ll probably get in trouble. Even Sey (by Africando) is pretty fun if I don’t have to think and worry about keeping everyone in time to the music. I tried to dance with most of the followers in my class, but I was only partly successful. When one gets spoiled with good dance partners, making sure to dance with large number of less experienced partners can become a conscientious effort.
Quote of the day – “I know how to move. I just don’t know what to do with you.”
I’m not sure if I got the quote exactly right. It’s all mental. It was fun all-around.
Vishal played some really nice tunes tonight. One song might have been Hector Lavoe’s “Mi Gente” or a cover of it. There might have been at least one other song with Hector in lead vocals. There were better songs too. I asked about some of them, but did not recognize the song titles (and no artist information).
Quote of the day 2 – “You keep asking me when I am changing my shoes.”
Hmm. It is becoming a bad habit – highly unfortunate. It’s not just limited to one or two people either.
I bet many people like having a small not-too-critical audience. When things seemingly are too good, it is both nice and scary.
Tired ramblings
October 23, 2006
This might have been the first time I learned nothing new, which is not necessarily the same thing as having attended a class that was useless.
Materials covered included (Tiz in intermediate) –
1. Double turn led with L-R
2. Double turn lead with R-L
3. Double turn touch-and-go
4. with L-L and R-R crossed, leader turning 1/2 clockwise or counterclockwise followed by leading follower into a CBL movement while leader turns full counterclockwise – leader is in something like crucifix position except with connections being directly above leader’s shoulders. In one variation, R-R goes over leader’s head while in another variation, R-R is released between 6 and 7 after initiating the lead on 5 while L-L too is released along leader’s arm and reconnected extended (not fully extended of course)
5. Double hammerlock turn
5a. followed by leading follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn (starting with open break) into a wrap followed by mambo jazz and leading follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise unwrapping turn
6. Double turn with L-R ending with leader turning 1/2 clockwise for drop catch to R-R
6a. followed by leader turning on 1,2,3 then leading follower into another double turn
The material was covered possibly with even more emphasis on technical details perhaps in anticipation for their all-dayer this weekend.
I cannot say that my technique leading these moves is flawless every time, but I didn’t think the amount of detail given tonight (which was not small for most people in class in my opinion) was nothing more than fairly general reminder for me. Perhaps I could have worked more on hitting all the footwork except I was usually quite busy trying to keep people upright and not crashing into other people.
Tiz repeatedly said (more than?) 90% of the leaders were not leading the move as nicely as he would like them to. I think there were maybe 12 men in this class, so this estimate (if his numbers were accurate) would indicate that only one guy was doing it satisfactorily. Now that number is just small enough to keep me on my toes because while I would guess that the chance of me doing everything properly was pretty good but this was by no means certain. Things emphasized included signaling clearly, economizing on movement, using proper amount of force (not excessive but not losing clarity), and keeping leads smooth (continuous rather than abrupt – unless it is necessary of course).
As for followers, it was not said if anyone was doing double turns well. Of course, if 90% of the leaders are not leading properly… Then again, a really good follower would be able to overcome so-so leads. However, attending drop-in classes alone is unlikely to be sufficient to reach such a point – even attending several workshops probably is insufficient. A lot of outside practice probably would be necessary to reach and expand one’s full potential.
Random thought – I would guess that in most cases 50 lessons (or approximately one lesson a week for a year) should be enough learn most things an instructor has to offer. This does not mean a student will learn nothing after 50 or so lessons but I would imagine that the rate of return would diminish longer it goes on.
Bad habits are difficult to break. I think Tiz might have said something like it. It’s an oft used remark made by many people.
Quote of the day – “Maybe it’s just as well. If I were over 6 feet tall, I probably would be too vain.”
That comment was worth a good laugh.
The dancing afterwards was pretty good by Monday standard. It was very nice to see Annetta again – first time since before the UK Salsa Congress. I had a dance with Aiste. This too was very nice, but it only made me more convinced than ever that merely having a social dance or two with performer-level followers will do little to improve my dancing skills.
Ivan too was there and I had opportunity to talk with him more than I had in a while. I talked him into dance with someone new, which I suspect was not a torture for him but still something he probably became somewhat unaccustomed to doing. It did have some unforeseen but not unpredictable consequences. A thought I had afterwards was something like, “I might have opened a small can of worms.”
Vishal told me that he was invited to DJ again at the next Scala Saturday and he asked me if I would be willing to guide him there again. Yikes. I told him I will think about it and get back to him.
Quote of the day 2 – “I was getting tired just reading it.”
Perhaps I should be acting my age. What did you say, sonny? Also I probably write too much. Feeling sleepy…
This might have been the first time I learned nothing new, which is not necessarily the same thing as having attended a class that was useless.
Materials covered included (Tiz in intermediate) –
1. Double turn led with L-R
2. Double turn lead with R-L
3. Double turn touch-and-go
4. with L-L and R-R crossed, leader turning 1/2 clockwise or counterclockwise followed by leading follower into a CBL movement while leader turns full counterclockwise – leader is in something like crucifix position except with connections being directly above leader’s shoulders. In one variation, R-R goes over leader’s head while in another variation, R-R is released between 6 and 7 after initiating the lead on 5 while L-L too is released along leader’s arm and reconnected extended (not fully extended of course)
5. Double hammerlock turn
5a. followed by leading follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise turn (starting with open break) into a wrap followed by mambo jazz and leading follower into traveling 1 1/2 clockwise unwrapping turn
6. Double turn with L-R ending with leader turning 1/2 clockwise for drop catch to R-R
6a. followed by leader turning on 1,2,3 then leading follower into another double turn
The material was covered possibly with even more emphasis on technical details perhaps in anticipation for their all-dayer this weekend.
I cannot say that my technique leading these moves is flawless every time, but I didn’t think the amount of detail given tonight (which was not small for most people in class in my opinion) was nothing more than fairly general reminder for me. Perhaps I could have worked more on hitting all the footwork except I was usually quite busy trying to keep people upright and not crashing into other people.
Tiz repeatedly said (more than?) 90% of the leaders were not leading the move as nicely as he would like them to. I think there were maybe 12 men in this class, so this estimate (if his numbers were accurate) would indicate that only one guy was doing it satisfactorily. Now that number is just small enough to keep me on my toes because while I would guess that the chance of me doing everything properly was pretty good but this was by no means certain. Things emphasized included signaling clearly, economizing on movement, using proper amount of force (not excessive but not losing clarity), and keeping leads smooth (continuous rather than abrupt – unless it is necessary of course).
As for followers, it was not said if anyone was doing double turns well. Of course, if 90% of the leaders are not leading properly… Then again, a really good follower would be able to overcome so-so leads. However, attending drop-in classes alone is unlikely to be sufficient to reach such a point – even attending several workshops probably is insufficient. A lot of outside practice probably would be necessary to reach and expand one’s full potential.
Random thought – I would guess that in most cases 50 lessons (or approximately one lesson a week for a year) should be enough learn most things an instructor has to offer. This does not mean a student will learn nothing after 50 or so lessons but I would imagine that the rate of return would diminish longer it goes on.
Bad habits are difficult to break. I think Tiz might have said something like it. It’s an oft used remark made by many people.
Quote of the day – “Maybe it’s just as well. If I were over 6 feet tall, I probably would be too vain.”
That comment was worth a good laugh.
The dancing afterwards was pretty good by Monday standard. It was very nice to see Annetta again – first time since before the UK Salsa Congress. I had a dance with Aiste. This too was very nice, but it only made me more convinced than ever that merely having a social dance or two with performer-level followers will do little to improve my dancing skills.
Ivan too was there and I had opportunity to talk with him more than I had in a while. I talked him into dance with someone new, which I suspect was not a torture for him but still something he probably became somewhat unaccustomed to doing. It did have some unforeseen but not unpredictable consequences. A thought I had afterwards was something like, “I might have opened a small can of worms.”
Vishal told me that he was invited to DJ again at the next Scala Saturday and he asked me if I would be willing to guide him there again. Yikes. I told him I will think about it and get back to him.
Quote of the day 2 – “I was getting tired just reading it.”
Perhaps I should be acting my age. What did you say, sonny? Also I probably write too much. Feeling sleepy…
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