February 19, 2008
I thought it was going to be another thick foggy night, but the mist had cleared up quite a bit by evening. Thus went the impetus for a fog-related title. I was quite early in arrival so I had time for some reading before the class.
On2 Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3 CBL into open hold
5,6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead double turn into hammerlock
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL and lead 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn to unwrap
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break and bring follower around on the left side to behind leader with L-R going over leader’s head like a neck-wrap for leader then leader turns full counterclockwise on 1,2,3 while leading follower to return to her original position with CBL walk (one way of doing this is a step in place on 1 possibly with slight turn then step slightly forward towards the direction follower should be travelling on 2 then complete a counterclockwise turn on left feet on 3)
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break and into Copa with R-L going over follower’s head and L-R low (follower ends up with something like hammerlock briefly) then lead follower into counterclockwise turn with R-L ending up as a neck wrap and L-R a body wrap after a touch-and-go (ends with leader behind follower both facing same direction)
6,7,1,2,3,5 follower is allowed to prep on 6, lead follower to unwrap on 7 for 1/2 turn clockwise, follower preps again on 2, lead follower to (multiple) counterclockwise stationary turn with lead coming between 2 and 3
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL from closed to open
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL start toss to switch from L-R to L-L and travelling full counterclockwise turn into half crucifix
6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead follower to stationary clockwise turn to get back to open
Chris asked me (and others) to give more assistance to the follower when leading multiple turns, which led to me talking to Lindsey about leading multiple turns whereupon she told me that girls like a lot of spinning. Mmm. Yeah, I suppose that's true for many (and being able to lead tons of spins is a good thing - as is restraint to not lead tons of spins when it is not appropriate).
For the second hour of the class, I noticed Chris using some musical instruments (clave, cowbell) as a prop for hearing the beats in Salsa music to a small class. I heartily approve (not that he needs it).
For the first time (or seemingly so to me), there was an effort to get the people who started out as absolute beginners to practice a little after the class to live music – initiated by Steve and joined in by me. Another good thing in my book – otherwise how is one supposed to get new people to dance – On2 or otherwise?
I should think that picking on beginners and practicing very basic steps even if it’s nothing more than forward-and-back basic, side-to-side basic and cross body lead would be a perfect way to get used to get used to On2 timing for On1 experts learning On2. After all those beginners will not notice if you make a mistake, and you need to start somewhere somehow.
Polly was present again. It seemed like forever since I last saw her, but I guess it was only 2 weeks ago. It must have felt longer because I had 5 Salsa outings in Cambridge between then and tonight. She mentioned that she was going to have a foot surgery this Friday, but it escaped my mind until just now as I write this. Hmm. I wonder how long she will be abstaining from dancing.
Nina was the only one arriving after the classes ended. I think she ended up having same number of dances as me – 7. I’d hazard to guess that she had an advantage over me on quality too. For whatever it’s worth, by the time she started dancing there were only three leads still dancing on the floor – and I think I easily could argue that I was the least experienced one dancing On2 (in fact I tried to argue this point with Natalia). I wonder if I want to feel inadequate.
As for my dancing, I feel that this week 3 of exclusive On2 dancing was the worst one yet – it’s getting worse and worse rather than better. I suppose it’s possible that I am same or no worse than week 1 or week 2, but my perception is otherwise – especially in regards to staying in time especially during shines. Perhaps it’s supposed to get worse before it gets better – initial euphoria to be replaced by real improvement. Or maybe I’m in a funk – having a bad week (or two). Such would be nothing new.
Music. It was fine. I wryly noted that NYC Salsa Vol 2 CD was being used heavily. Don't get me wrong - it's a good CD. I had suspected that Sally had been playing Don Astacio (quite a few times over past 3 or 4 weeks) and Ublabadu (once) from that CD. Maybe I should ask her if her copy has scratches on the track Tengo Testigo.
Fear not the darkness…
One of those days?
February 17, 2008
For me this had to be the worst SOS night in over a year. It was very crowded so their business is doing just fine. Yet it felt empty in many ways to me.
My dancing sucked all night. My best guess is that I was not really in a good dancing mood at the start of the evening, and throughout the evening I had more depressing dances compared to inspiring dances. Bluntly speaking none of the dances tonight would have qualified as inspiring – nothing better than pretty good and even those were quite rare. After the third or fourth song, things turned really bad thanks to a partner who decided to finish the dance prematurely – it was quite bewildering and my best guess is that she did not feel like dancing tonight (and I was enjoying the song too!). Either that or there’s something wrong with her psyche. In any case I don’t think I recovered afterwards, and things never got any better than okay for a moment here and there. By the end, I was avoiding asking people I would normally have because I was lacking confidence badly.
The musical selection was … I don’t know. I don’t know whether to blame the music for my form or blame my form for not enjoying anything including the music. It was a weird night. Sylvester played three (!) Bachata including two in a row! That never happened before! There were two Cha Cha as well. Also there were some Salsa selections, which left me bewildered – like the one played right after two Bachata songs in a row (with caveat that it did give me one of more successful dance of the evening with another caveat that the song seemed to go on forever and I wished it to end sooner). As evening progressed, I found myself skipping song after song even though I felt ready to dance again before the song started. The song I liked the best but did not dance to was a version of Ublabadu I had not heard before – quite earthy sounding.
There were other unusual bits about tonight. I was asked to dance Bachata! I think I was too surprised to do it well. It did not help that we got started more than half-way through the song. Did it happen because I seemed nice? Another unexpected occurrence was that in the middle of another (Salsa) dance, I noticed that my partner seemed to be struggling with her timing, and it felt as if she was slipping into On2 timing. I asked her if she would prefer to dance On2 and switched to On2 when she said yes. I think she did better with On2 although I think I ended up struggling a bit. I really hadn’t planned on dancing On2 at SOS until I became much more comfortable with it. It would be nice if I could call these highlights of the evening except it wasn’t that good. I think I might be finding it difficult to be happy and cheerful lately. Oh and also Mario was there - apparently dragged along by Shaan after returning to London this afternoon.
Why was I so bad tonight? Is it possible that I somehow was dancing well above my level while I was still recovering? Maybe I was dancing with less inhibition then? Or perhaps my timing is more confused after Tuesday On2 dancing for past two weeks? I don’t know. I hope it was just a really bad luck of many things going against me all at once. Maybe I’ll be just fine next time around.
I skipped the last two songs – combination of not liking the songs enough and wanting to avoid missing the train home. On the train home, I finished A Canticle For Leibowitz and started on American Psycho.
For me this had to be the worst SOS night in over a year. It was very crowded so their business is doing just fine. Yet it felt empty in many ways to me.
My dancing sucked all night. My best guess is that I was not really in a good dancing mood at the start of the evening, and throughout the evening I had more depressing dances compared to inspiring dances. Bluntly speaking none of the dances tonight would have qualified as inspiring – nothing better than pretty good and even those were quite rare. After the third or fourth song, things turned really bad thanks to a partner who decided to finish the dance prematurely – it was quite bewildering and my best guess is that she did not feel like dancing tonight (and I was enjoying the song too!). Either that or there’s something wrong with her psyche. In any case I don’t think I recovered afterwards, and things never got any better than okay for a moment here and there. By the end, I was avoiding asking people I would normally have because I was lacking confidence badly.
The musical selection was … I don’t know. I don’t know whether to blame the music for my form or blame my form for not enjoying anything including the music. It was a weird night. Sylvester played three (!) Bachata including two in a row! That never happened before! There were two Cha Cha as well. Also there were some Salsa selections, which left me bewildered – like the one played right after two Bachata songs in a row (with caveat that it did give me one of more successful dance of the evening with another caveat that the song seemed to go on forever and I wished it to end sooner). As evening progressed, I found myself skipping song after song even though I felt ready to dance again before the song started. The song I liked the best but did not dance to was a version of Ublabadu I had not heard before – quite earthy sounding.
There were other unusual bits about tonight. I was asked to dance Bachata! I think I was too surprised to do it well. It did not help that we got started more than half-way through the song. Did it happen because I seemed nice? Another unexpected occurrence was that in the middle of another (Salsa) dance, I noticed that my partner seemed to be struggling with her timing, and it felt as if she was slipping into On2 timing. I asked her if she would prefer to dance On2 and switched to On2 when she said yes. I think she did better with On2 although I think I ended up struggling a bit. I really hadn’t planned on dancing On2 at SOS until I became much more comfortable with it. It would be nice if I could call these highlights of the evening except it wasn’t that good. I think I might be finding it difficult to be happy and cheerful lately. Oh and also Mario was there - apparently dragged along by Shaan after returning to London this afternoon.
Why was I so bad tonight? Is it possible that I somehow was dancing well above my level while I was still recovering? Maybe I was dancing with less inhibition then? Or perhaps my timing is more confused after Tuesday On2 dancing for past two weeks? I don’t know. I hope it was just a really bad luck of many things going against me all at once. Maybe I’ll be just fine next time around.
I skipped the last two songs – combination of not liking the songs enough and wanting to avoid missing the train home. On the train home, I finished A Canticle For Leibowitz and started on American Psycho.
Quote of the day
February 15, 2008
Steph suggested that it should be “It’s the worst Bachata ever.” No. Not even close. “If I didn’t have a girlfriend…” was much better but still no cake.
Well past 3 AM, a bunch of us who were still standing had munches. Cyrille suggested "the kebab place over the bridge." There weren’t many options by this odd hour (e.g. no kebabs, which would have tempted me more) thus burgers for Liam, Cyrille and Zern while Euvian texted away in the car.
I danced to El Cantante again. Just under 10 1/2 minutes. It was the last song of the evening – I guess I had complete control over it. I don’t think anyone else danced to it, but then again the song did end after 3 AM. It could have been worse – I could have played live version of Ahora Si by Sonora Poncena at just under 16 1/2 minutes.
Let’s do the playlist. Second half first – after I relieved Sally.
Total songs for the evening = 17. 1 Bachata. 16 Salsa including 7 new. Given that the social started before 10 PM and ended after 3 AM, I estimate I played less than third of the songs for the whole evening. There were three DJs – Joe, Sally and me – unless you count Vish picking a couple of songs after the hours and Haihan possibly for one song.
Playlist (reverse chronogical)
El Cantante – Hector Lavoe (last song)
Quiero Enamorarte – Marco Ferretti (1)
Boranda – Sonora Poncena (2)*
Dejate Querer – Jose Alberto “El Canario”*
Hablame – Frankie Ruiz
Fantasia Cubana – German Villarreal
Ahora Si – Ismael Miranda
Picadillo – Tito Puente (50s version)
Que Bonito Es Sonar – Jimmy Bosch
Ya Lo Veras – Oscar D’Leon (first song of the second session)
(1) Worst Bachata according to Steph. I thought it worked great as a song to clear the floor at the end of a very late evening.
(2) Arguably the most questionable song choice of the evening in my opinion although some might argue for El Cantante.
Sally was the third DJ. Haihan might have picked a song too during this session. The selections were mostly taken from recent regular Thursday playlist - Alabanciosa, Juana Pena, Pa Los Bravos, Presumida (arguably my least favorite of Sally’s current selections – too similar to Noche De Salsa except not as good), Muneca (Eddie Palmieri - this one's new), Salsa Romantica, Don Astacio, etc. Vish placed her here apparently because Sally expressed desire to leave early. It might have worked better if I had gotten to a point where I played some Bachata and maybe a Merengue because there really wasn’t much chance of Sally playing those. What ended up happening was that from midnight to nearly 3 AM, there was nothing but Salsa. In any case, it afforded me more opportunity to dance – this time with more choice of partner and increasingly larger amount of space.
Another candidate is “I don’t know what that was about.” No further details necessary. Everyone who saw it should know what I’m talking about. After all, I wasn’t the only one who said it.
I took over as DJ right after the two official showcases and a photo session with people wearing red. I sang along to many of the songs including Bilongo (I wasn’t alone with this one), Ahora Si, Hablame, etc. I did not set out to play five new songs in a row deliberately - it just worked out that way.
Playlist (first session – reverse chronological)
Bamboleo – Fania All Stars (last song before handing it off to Sally) (3)
Bilongo – Eddie Palmieri*
Esa Bomba – Tito Rodriguez*
Esposa Querida – Lebron Brothers*
Que Paso Contigo – Willie Rosario*
El As De La Rumba – Machito*
Isla Del Encanto – Orquesta Broadway (first song after the shows)
(3) I was told, “You are a bad man.” Do you remember the woman who was dancing by herself for much of the later part of the evening? She wanted something more lively with the music, and when I asked for a specific suggestion she came up with Gypsy Kings. I said I would play a version of Bamboleo, and I think she mistook me to mean that I would play the Gypsy Kings version of Bamboleo. Thus the comment – if that makes sense. It could have been worse – I could have played Louie Ramirez. So is this the quote of the day? It’s one of the better ones, but not the best. By the way, she didn’t seem too thrilled that Sally was taking over – perhaps she was considered less likely to be manipulated.
The shows started rather late – well after midnight. Sally and many of her student performers were not present until after midnight. The big student group went first – I think there were 8 or 9 of them. The song used was La Salsa Nunca Se Acaba – there was a glitch, but I’m unsure what it was – maybe speed of the song? The second show was with four people from Laith Sami’s group including Danie and Rico with local connection. I was a little busy at the DJ booth, but the latter group’s choreography looked more polished from what little glances I was able to cast.
I suppose I could nominate yet another as a candidate. However, I promised that I wouldn’t do it to the person who said it – a promise from long ago. Can I give a hint? It involves a three-digit number. Hmm. I just remembered another comment, which came off the incident that led to one of the previous candidates. Hint. Bachata.
Joe was the DJ from the start to a well past midnight. It started very commercial, but there were some good ones later. My favorite was Chupa El Piruli. He played Lluvia Con Nieve again – possibly an alternate version maybe by La Charanga New York. The dance floor was very crowded much of the time. At Club Salsa, Joe doesn’t always play songs I like, but I enjoy the element of not knowing what will get played.
“You are perfect.” It’s a stranger thing to hear than you would guess because this was said to me by a man, someone I would not be able to point out in a line-up of normal-looking English men in their 20s. It came after I finished dancing to a Merengue of all things. I don’t think it was a come-on by the way – just a compliment. What was the (extenuating) circumstance? I was dancing with some drunk and very enthusiastic middle-aged woman, who essentially dragged me to the dance floor in the first place. I think I managed to make her look decent – or at least not out of place. Does what I said make the comment sound reasonable? I hope so. By the way, the woman in question picked on pretty much all the best leads present at the time. So I think this might be it – it certainly is most cringe-worthy. By the way, I have no illusions about being prefect.
Of all big parties at Club Salsa, Valentine’s might be my least favorite. Maybe it has the wrong vibes. It brings plenty of people, but it may put off many people from showing up as well.
“Hey! It’s the SOS man!” This one came from one of the visitors who came with Laith Sami’s people when I descended the stairs into the middle of the lessons. I didn’t recognize him from SOS, but I did recognize his companions including Rico as the Laith Sami dancers. When I told him that I lived here in Cambridge, he seemed astonished about me going down to SOS all the time. I said I only go once every 2-3 weeks – sometimes less. It’s true! I didn’t go last week or the week before. Considering that the guy is from London, it was quite amusing to hear me referred to as the man from SOS – people who know me well there know me as the guy from Cambridge. We talked briefly about Ealing (well – or Joice’s Bar in my only attempt) as well. This would have been really good as the quote of the day, but I think “You are perfect” wins by a nose because it is a little more … twisted.
Steph suggested that it should be “It’s the worst Bachata ever.” No. Not even close. “If I didn’t have a girlfriend…” was much better but still no cake.
Well past 3 AM, a bunch of us who were still standing had munches. Cyrille suggested "the kebab place over the bridge." There weren’t many options by this odd hour (e.g. no kebabs, which would have tempted me more) thus burgers for Liam, Cyrille and Zern while Euvian texted away in the car.
I danced to El Cantante again. Just under 10 1/2 minutes. It was the last song of the evening – I guess I had complete control over it. I don’t think anyone else danced to it, but then again the song did end after 3 AM. It could have been worse – I could have played live version of Ahora Si by Sonora Poncena at just under 16 1/2 minutes.
Let’s do the playlist. Second half first – after I relieved Sally.
Total songs for the evening = 17. 1 Bachata. 16 Salsa including 7 new. Given that the social started before 10 PM and ended after 3 AM, I estimate I played less than third of the songs for the whole evening. There were three DJs – Joe, Sally and me – unless you count Vish picking a couple of songs after the hours and Haihan possibly for one song.
Playlist (reverse chronogical)
El Cantante – Hector Lavoe (last song)
Quiero Enamorarte – Marco Ferretti (1)
Boranda – Sonora Poncena (2)*
Dejate Querer – Jose Alberto “El Canario”*
Hablame – Frankie Ruiz
Fantasia Cubana – German Villarreal
Ahora Si – Ismael Miranda
Picadillo – Tito Puente (50s version)
Que Bonito Es Sonar – Jimmy Bosch
Ya Lo Veras – Oscar D’Leon (first song of the second session)
(1) Worst Bachata according to Steph. I thought it worked great as a song to clear the floor at the end of a very late evening.
(2) Arguably the most questionable song choice of the evening in my opinion although some might argue for El Cantante.
Sally was the third DJ. Haihan might have picked a song too during this session. The selections were mostly taken from recent regular Thursday playlist - Alabanciosa, Juana Pena, Pa Los Bravos, Presumida (arguably my least favorite of Sally’s current selections – too similar to Noche De Salsa except not as good), Muneca (Eddie Palmieri - this one's new), Salsa Romantica, Don Astacio, etc. Vish placed her here apparently because Sally expressed desire to leave early. It might have worked better if I had gotten to a point where I played some Bachata and maybe a Merengue because there really wasn’t much chance of Sally playing those. What ended up happening was that from midnight to nearly 3 AM, there was nothing but Salsa. In any case, it afforded me more opportunity to dance – this time with more choice of partner and increasingly larger amount of space.
Another candidate is “I don’t know what that was about.” No further details necessary. Everyone who saw it should know what I’m talking about. After all, I wasn’t the only one who said it.
I took over as DJ right after the two official showcases and a photo session with people wearing red. I sang along to many of the songs including Bilongo (I wasn’t alone with this one), Ahora Si, Hablame, etc. I did not set out to play five new songs in a row deliberately - it just worked out that way.
Playlist (first session – reverse chronological)
Bamboleo – Fania All Stars (last song before handing it off to Sally) (3)
Bilongo – Eddie Palmieri*
Esa Bomba – Tito Rodriguez*
Esposa Querida – Lebron Brothers*
Que Paso Contigo – Willie Rosario*
El As De La Rumba – Machito*
Isla Del Encanto – Orquesta Broadway (first song after the shows)
(3) I was told, “You are a bad man.” Do you remember the woman who was dancing by herself for much of the later part of the evening? She wanted something more lively with the music, and when I asked for a specific suggestion she came up with Gypsy Kings. I said I would play a version of Bamboleo, and I think she mistook me to mean that I would play the Gypsy Kings version of Bamboleo. Thus the comment – if that makes sense. It could have been worse – I could have played Louie Ramirez. So is this the quote of the day? It’s one of the better ones, but not the best. By the way, she didn’t seem too thrilled that Sally was taking over – perhaps she was considered less likely to be manipulated.
The shows started rather late – well after midnight. Sally and many of her student performers were not present until after midnight. The big student group went first – I think there were 8 or 9 of them. The song used was La Salsa Nunca Se Acaba – there was a glitch, but I’m unsure what it was – maybe speed of the song? The second show was with four people from Laith Sami’s group including Danie and Rico with local connection. I was a little busy at the DJ booth, but the latter group’s choreography looked more polished from what little glances I was able to cast.
I suppose I could nominate yet another as a candidate. However, I promised that I wouldn’t do it to the person who said it – a promise from long ago. Can I give a hint? It involves a three-digit number. Hmm. I just remembered another comment, which came off the incident that led to one of the previous candidates. Hint. Bachata.
Joe was the DJ from the start to a well past midnight. It started very commercial, but there were some good ones later. My favorite was Chupa El Piruli. He played Lluvia Con Nieve again – possibly an alternate version maybe by La Charanga New York. The dance floor was very crowded much of the time. At Club Salsa, Joe doesn’t always play songs I like, but I enjoy the element of not knowing what will get played.
“You are perfect.” It’s a stranger thing to hear than you would guess because this was said to me by a man, someone I would not be able to point out in a line-up of normal-looking English men in their 20s. It came after I finished dancing to a Merengue of all things. I don’t think it was a come-on by the way – just a compliment. What was the (extenuating) circumstance? I was dancing with some drunk and very enthusiastic middle-aged woman, who essentially dragged me to the dance floor in the first place. I think I managed to make her look decent – or at least not out of place. Does what I said make the comment sound reasonable? I hope so. By the way, the woman in question picked on pretty much all the best leads present at the time. So I think this might be it – it certainly is most cringe-worthy. By the way, I have no illusions about being prefect.
Of all big parties at Club Salsa, Valentine’s might be my least favorite. Maybe it has the wrong vibes. It brings plenty of people, but it may put off many people from showing up as well.
“Hey! It’s the SOS man!” This one came from one of the visitors who came with Laith Sami’s people when I descended the stairs into the middle of the lessons. I didn’t recognize him from SOS, but I did recognize his companions including Rico as the Laith Sami dancers. When I told him that I lived here in Cambridge, he seemed astonished about me going down to SOS all the time. I said I only go once every 2-3 weeks – sometimes less. It’s true! I didn’t go last week or the week before. Considering that the guy is from London, it was quite amusing to hear me referred to as the man from SOS – people who know me well there know me as the guy from Cambridge. We talked briefly about Ealing (well – or Joice’s Bar in my only attempt) as well. This would have been really good as the quote of the day, but I think “You are perfect” wins by a nose because it is a little more … twisted.
Heavy Dilution
February 14, 2008
Or maybe a convergence of factors - Tuesday On2 venture and Valentine's Party primarily. Is Cyrille away? He didn't mention it, but I guess we didn't talk much Tuesday.
Unlike Tuesday, there was a shortage on the women's side from top to bottom - seemingly getting worse as one went down in experience.
Ivan apparently realized the situation but not until he set out from his home. Nina did appear - maybe 15 to 11 for perhaps 30 min of dancing - in her dazzling outfit #892.
I limited myself to 4 dances - graded A+, A-, C+ and C. I really can't do much unless my partner can stay in beat and is not bothered by transitions, etc.
Vish says he's expecting lotsa people tomorrow. Okay. As for DJ rotation (at least 4?), he says he'll play it by ear - meaning I have no idea when I'll go.
Music was mostly soft-core from Sally (Bailando and one other from Frankie Ruiz, La Musica Es Mi Vida from SHO, Felices Horas by Hector Lavoe, etc) and Mambo-heavy from Vish (Cuero Na Ma by Jose Mangual?, Quitate La Mascara, Cachondea by Joe Cuba, a song with a lot of transitions I did not recognize, etc).
Book of the moment: A Canticle For Leibowitz. Surprisingly good!
Or maybe a convergence of factors - Tuesday On2 venture and Valentine's Party primarily. Is Cyrille away? He didn't mention it, but I guess we didn't talk much Tuesday.
Unlike Tuesday, there was a shortage on the women's side from top to bottom - seemingly getting worse as one went down in experience.
Ivan apparently realized the situation but not until he set out from his home. Nina did appear - maybe 15 to 11 for perhaps 30 min of dancing - in her dazzling outfit #892.
I limited myself to 4 dances - graded A+, A-, C+ and C. I really can't do much unless my partner can stay in beat and is not bothered by transitions, etc.
Vish says he's expecting lotsa people tomorrow. Okay. As for DJ rotation (at least 4?), he says he'll play it by ear - meaning I have no idea when I'll go.
Music was mostly soft-core from Sally (Bailando and one other from Frankie Ruiz, La Musica Es Mi Vida from SHO, Felices Horas by Hector Lavoe, etc) and Mambo-heavy from Vish (Cuero Na Ma by Jose Mangual?, Quitate La Mascara, Cachondea by Joe Cuba, a song with a lot of transitions I did not recognize, etc).
Book of the moment: A Canticle For Leibowitz. Surprisingly good!
Sophomore Slump
February 12, 2008
I can’t remember for sure. Were there more men in the class last week – at least for the intermediate and improver class? This time there were many more women than men with the ratio becoming more skewed with less experience of the participants.
I was surprised to see Cyrille at the class – long trip for him. I was even more surprised to see Chanel, and I should have been even more surprised given the lengthy trip home she had. She did say she would return in February, but I expected her at Club Salsa instead. I guess she has kept herself updated of the Cambridge scene using internet – perhaps by Facebook or by this blog. It is amusing to think that I am defined by this blog for many people – good or evil, seemingly mostly good but definitely not exclusively so. Whatever. I don’t really care or think about it much – the novelty has worn off long ago.
Why do people try to learn to dance On2? Especially when the number of people dancing On2 is far fewer than people dancing On1 outside New York City? I used to think and I still think that people who insist on dancing On2 (especially those who choose to dance exclusively On2) outside NYC have a streak of masochistic or antisocial mentality because having smaller number of prospective dance partners make it more challenging to become proficient.
One explanation I hear often for wanting to learn On2 is that the best dancers dance On2. I don't think this is because On2 is inherently superior but is merely a historical artifact of NYC having the oldest and biggest Salsa community. So why am I interested in learning it? I think it’s a nice challenge, a change of pace. Also I think being able to dance On2 will allow me to dance with more people. However, I don’t think everyone is interested in dancing with more people – there certainly are cliques and people who prefer to keep an exclusive group.
Incidentally people who dance On2 in London have reputation of being elitist, exclusive, etc, but in I never have been refused a dance on the account of not being able to dance On2 or at least never received it as an excuse. I think I was asked if I dance On2 maybe half a dozen times over past 3 years or so, but they all danced with me anyway after learning that I didn’t. I doubt that they all decided to overlook it because they thought I was a hottie.
There are people who say that many things flow better or are easier dancing On2, but even those people would say that it depends on the moves – some moves are easier On1 (or perhaps a more precise wording would be that you have more time to execute some moves dancing On1 while you have more time with some other moves dancing On1).
I hear a lot of people say that dancing On2 is difficult – my personal experience tells me otherwise (it’s just matter of getting used to it). Then again people like Terence with over 50 years of teaching experience says that people progress faster dancing On1 compared to dancing On2 (I think he means On2 Palladium style rather than On2 Eddie Torres style, but I don’t think that that changes things – I think On2 Palladium should not be any more difficult either).
Intermediate On2 with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL with hook turn for leader ending with R-R
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa and let go R-R and reconnect R-L in front of follower – lead follower to free Copa stationary counterclockwise turn (lead coming on 3)
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL with hook turn for leader ending with L-R behind leader
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break, and move across ahead of follower’s path to normal CBL position while leading follower to travelling counterclockwise turn (I think this must be a double turn – starting the leading of the turn using R forearm and catching L for L-L connection and into half crucifix position with free R hand on follower’s shoulder
6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead follower to 1 1/2 stationary clockwise turn
6,7,1,2,3,5 I’m drawing something of a blank, but it might have been another CBL with hook turn ending with R-R because I think we somehow ended up with the next move and this might have been the bridge move…
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa-like start (or reverse CBL?) – block forward movement – block backwards movement, lead follower forward and leader moves into follower’s previous space
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break & open hold and into CBL with R-L starting high (drape possibility) and lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn into hammerlock L-R low
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break and bring follower forward to leader’s L side with half clockwise unwinding for follower keeping R-L in place (don’t pull – it’s more of a block – this happens on 2, I think), then lead follower backwards into counterclockwise turn (I think this makes most sense to do a touch-and-go for R-L wrap, but I am not sure if the routine was going that way)
The social afterwards was on the small side. Once again all but one dance for me was danced On2 – one special dispensation came near the beginning.
Perhaps I was making no more mistakes than I was last week, but I ended up thinking more pessimistic about how easy it would be to improve compared to last week. Perhaps I was feeling high because of novelty. Or perhaps I was trying to do even more than last week. In any case, I found myself ending up on On1 timing by mistake quite often – it seemed to happen even when I was dancing with someone who was more used to On2 timing so I can’t blame it on people who are less sure about On2 timing (or any timing for that matter). I guess music might have gotten more difficult earlier in the evening too – both in terms of speed and of structure.
Liam made a very late appearance but only for some hello for a few. He and Cyrille left early – perhaps for a drink somewhere. I left a little before 11 PM.
I can’t remember for sure. Were there more men in the class last week – at least for the intermediate and improver class? This time there were many more women than men with the ratio becoming more skewed with less experience of the participants.
I was surprised to see Cyrille at the class – long trip for him. I was even more surprised to see Chanel, and I should have been even more surprised given the lengthy trip home she had. She did say she would return in February, but I expected her at Club Salsa instead. I guess she has kept herself updated of the Cambridge scene using internet – perhaps by Facebook or by this blog. It is amusing to think that I am defined by this blog for many people – good or evil, seemingly mostly good but definitely not exclusively so. Whatever. I don’t really care or think about it much – the novelty has worn off long ago.
Why do people try to learn to dance On2? Especially when the number of people dancing On2 is far fewer than people dancing On1 outside New York City? I used to think and I still think that people who insist on dancing On2 (especially those who choose to dance exclusively On2) outside NYC have a streak of masochistic or antisocial mentality because having smaller number of prospective dance partners make it more challenging to become proficient.
One explanation I hear often for wanting to learn On2 is that the best dancers dance On2. I don't think this is because On2 is inherently superior but is merely a historical artifact of NYC having the oldest and biggest Salsa community. So why am I interested in learning it? I think it’s a nice challenge, a change of pace. Also I think being able to dance On2 will allow me to dance with more people. However, I don’t think everyone is interested in dancing with more people – there certainly are cliques and people who prefer to keep an exclusive group.
Incidentally people who dance On2 in London have reputation of being elitist, exclusive, etc, but in I never have been refused a dance on the account of not being able to dance On2 or at least never received it as an excuse. I think I was asked if I dance On2 maybe half a dozen times over past 3 years or so, but they all danced with me anyway after learning that I didn’t. I doubt that they all decided to overlook it because they thought I was a hottie.
There are people who say that many things flow better or are easier dancing On2, but even those people would say that it depends on the moves – some moves are easier On1 (or perhaps a more precise wording would be that you have more time to execute some moves dancing On1 while you have more time with some other moves dancing On1).
I hear a lot of people say that dancing On2 is difficult – my personal experience tells me otherwise (it’s just matter of getting used to it). Then again people like Terence with over 50 years of teaching experience says that people progress faster dancing On1 compared to dancing On2 (I think he means On2 Palladium style rather than On2 Eddie Torres style, but I don’t think that that changes things – I think On2 Palladium should not be any more difficult either).
Intermediate On2 with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL with hook turn for leader ending with R-R
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa and let go R-R and reconnect R-L in front of follower – lead follower to free Copa stationary counterclockwise turn (lead coming on 3)
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL with hook turn for leader ending with L-R behind leader
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break, and move across ahead of follower’s path to normal CBL position while leading follower to travelling counterclockwise turn (I think this must be a double turn – starting the leading of the turn using R forearm and catching L for L-L connection and into half crucifix position with free R hand on follower’s shoulder
6,7,1,2,3,5 prepare and lead follower to 1 1/2 stationary clockwise turn
6,7,1,2,3,5 I’m drawing something of a blank, but it might have been another CBL with hook turn ending with R-R because I think we somehow ended up with the next move and this might have been the bridge move…
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa-like start (or reverse CBL?) – block forward movement – block backwards movement, lead follower forward and leader moves into follower’s previous space
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break & open hold and into CBL with R-L starting high (drape possibility) and lead follower into 1 1/2 counterclockwise turn into hammerlock L-R low
6,7,1,2,3,5 open break and bring follower forward to leader’s L side with half clockwise unwinding for follower keeping R-L in place (don’t pull – it’s more of a block – this happens on 2, I think), then lead follower backwards into counterclockwise turn (I think this makes most sense to do a touch-and-go for R-L wrap, but I am not sure if the routine was going that way)
The social afterwards was on the small side. Once again all but one dance for me was danced On2 – one special dispensation came near the beginning.
Perhaps I was making no more mistakes than I was last week, but I ended up thinking more pessimistic about how easy it would be to improve compared to last week. Perhaps I was feeling high because of novelty. Or perhaps I was trying to do even more than last week. In any case, I found myself ending up on On1 timing by mistake quite often – it seemed to happen even when I was dancing with someone who was more used to On2 timing so I can’t blame it on people who are less sure about On2 timing (or any timing for that matter). I guess music might have gotten more difficult earlier in the evening too – both in terms of speed and of structure.
Liam made a very late appearance but only for some hello for a few. He and Cyrille left early – perhaps for a drink somewhere. I left a little before 11 PM.
Convergence?
February 8, 2008
Strange night. It was really crowded when I got there, and I think it became more so over next half hour or so. The ratio of people with more than a couple of months of lesson to people who seemed close to being beginners never felt more skewed than it did tonight. Zhenzhi had tried to initiate an outing tonight and prompted some people (e.g. Jane and Richard) to show up for a short time, but she herself ended up being a no show.
Vish was going to some charity event to DJ, so it was going to be Joe followed by me until Vish returned. I wasn’t sure if I was going to see Vish at all, but he was still there when I got there. I did not get there until the classes ended (in part because I was picking up Liam), so I had some trouble figuring out the teacher lineup but I think it must have been Joe, Danie and Vish.
Joe played music until well past 11 PM – maybe close to 11:30 PM. Songs he used included Lluvia Con Nieve, Part Time Lover, Besitos De Coco, Thinking Of You, Moliendo Café, La Muerte (remix) among others. I thought it was quite good especially considering the crowd he had. I think what he ended up doing was to keep beginner types to stay longer while the regulars simply waited for them to leave for more space, etc.
Cyrille and Zern showed up as well. Natalia and her friend showed up as well – as she mentioned on Tuesday. I think they were really it as far as CBers are concerned. I danced with few other people including a Bachata, but it was difficult. One of them seemed really nice in many ways (and for some reason familiar from both sides) although she probably needs more time and quality practice to become pretty good at Salsa – easier said than done (a chicken and egg problem too).
Playlist
El Verdadero Son – Estrellas Caiman
Bamboleo – Fania All Stars
Decia Que Me Queria – Cachaco
La Lucha (Feat. Shanny) – La Excelencia
Lloraras – Oscar D’Leon
La Musica Es Mi Vida – Spanish Harlem Orchestra*
Lluvia – Willie Rosario (-2%)
Margarito – Bobby Valentin
Cali Aji – Grupo Niche*
Quien Eres Tu – Francisco Aguabella*
Ven Tu – Domenic Marte
No Aguanto Mas – Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco
Dime Que Quieres – El Gran Combo (1)
Mirandote – Frankie Ruiz
Los Santos De Macoris – Rey Reyes*
Yambu – Tito Rodriguez (-5%)
Fiesta A La King – Tito Puente (70s)*
(1) Vish texted to say “Play Merengue” via Bulbul.
Total 18 songs. 1 Bachata. 1 Merengue. 16 Salsa including 5 new. The new songs played out as expected. SHO - no problem. GN - really nothing new. FA - Gordon thought it was great. I expected that it would have its fans, but it really wants dancers who could take advantage of it. RR - not bad, but I always thought this was going to be a problematic one - especially for first listening and possibly always for many. TP - Personally I like this song a lot, but I was expecting this one to be a disaster tonight given the conditions. I just wanted to see if I would be right - the only unfortunate thing was that Vish walked in during this song, and he might have thought that I was playing songs like this all night long. I also thought I had just the right song to play afterwards - I was overruled. (No biggie - Me Libere was either my second or third choice anyway)
There was a couple who wanted a song by Shakira - Vish never heard of it. I never heard of it either, but then again I know next to nothing about Shakira's music - aside from the song that gets played at Club Salsa now and then. I think it was the guy's birthday.
Work. Blah!
Strange night. It was really crowded when I got there, and I think it became more so over next half hour or so. The ratio of people with more than a couple of months of lesson to people who seemed close to being beginners never felt more skewed than it did tonight. Zhenzhi had tried to initiate an outing tonight and prompted some people (e.g. Jane and Richard) to show up for a short time, but she herself ended up being a no show.
Vish was going to some charity event to DJ, so it was going to be Joe followed by me until Vish returned. I wasn’t sure if I was going to see Vish at all, but he was still there when I got there. I did not get there until the classes ended (in part because I was picking up Liam), so I had some trouble figuring out the teacher lineup but I think it must have been Joe, Danie and Vish.
Joe played music until well past 11 PM – maybe close to 11:30 PM. Songs he used included Lluvia Con Nieve, Part Time Lover, Besitos De Coco, Thinking Of You, Moliendo Café, La Muerte (remix) among others. I thought it was quite good especially considering the crowd he had. I think what he ended up doing was to keep beginner types to stay longer while the regulars simply waited for them to leave for more space, etc.
Cyrille and Zern showed up as well. Natalia and her friend showed up as well – as she mentioned on Tuesday. I think they were really it as far as CBers are concerned. I danced with few other people including a Bachata, but it was difficult. One of them seemed really nice in many ways (and for some reason familiar from both sides) although she probably needs more time and quality practice to become pretty good at Salsa – easier said than done (a chicken and egg problem too).
Playlist
El Verdadero Son – Estrellas Caiman
Bamboleo – Fania All Stars
Decia Que Me Queria – Cachaco
La Lucha (Feat. Shanny) – La Excelencia
Lloraras – Oscar D’Leon
La Musica Es Mi Vida – Spanish Harlem Orchestra*
Lluvia – Willie Rosario (-2%)
Margarito – Bobby Valentin
Cali Aji – Grupo Niche*
Quien Eres Tu – Francisco Aguabella*
Ven Tu – Domenic Marte
No Aguanto Mas – Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco
Dime Que Quieres – El Gran Combo (1)
Mirandote – Frankie Ruiz
Los Santos De Macoris – Rey Reyes*
Yambu – Tito Rodriguez (-5%)
Fiesta A La King – Tito Puente (70s)*
(1) Vish texted to say “Play Merengue” via Bulbul.
Total 18 songs. 1 Bachata. 1 Merengue. 16 Salsa including 5 new. The new songs played out as expected. SHO - no problem. GN - really nothing new. FA - Gordon thought it was great. I expected that it would have its fans, but it really wants dancers who could take advantage of it. RR - not bad, but I always thought this was going to be a problematic one - especially for first listening and possibly always for many. TP - Personally I like this song a lot, but I was expecting this one to be a disaster tonight given the conditions. I just wanted to see if I would be right - the only unfortunate thing was that Vish walked in during this song, and he might have thought that I was playing songs like this all night long. I also thought I had just the right song to play afterwards - I was overruled. (No biggie - Me Libere was either my second or third choice anyway)
There was a couple who wanted a song by Shakira - Vish never heard of it. I never heard of it either, but then again I know next to nothing about Shakira's music - aside from the song that gets played at Club Salsa now and then. I think it was the guy's birthday.
Work. Blah!
Year of the Rat
February 7, 2008
The House of Catherine invited a bunch of people for CNY dinner this evening at the Peking Restaurant. The food was supposedly more authentic Chinese than any other restaurant in the area – nothing better until you get to London. Perhaps the most memorable part of the dinner was the wave after wave of chilli in the air followed closely by the gregarious proprietor with four daughters - she was very friendly with Zern.
Eventually Cyrille and I made it to Club Salsa after a second round at the Tram Depot – followed a little later by Zern. The number of people at the social was decent despite what I would have considered a diluting factor of new Tuesday evening venture, which probably has most amount of overlap in interested people. Surprise show included Steph, who apparently is stuck because of a train breakdown.
Unlike on Tuesday, everything but one dance tonight was On1. I suppose the dances of note included the one to Cachondea by Joe Cuba Sextet with Steph and one with Agnes where I decided to avoid free shines for the entire song. I also had my first Bachata in nearly 3 months. Despite staying until a little past midnight, however, I think I ended up dancing fewer than I did on Tueday.
Sally apparently decided not to DJ tonight so the duty fell mostly to Mark with some relief by Haihan. The general tendency was playing of very fast songs early in the evening and pretty much all night. By the end, Ivan seemed exhausted. I joked that he was getting too old for so many fast songs. I suppose there are other factors for him too – 7 weeks to go for him.
Other fast songs (well above 200 BPM at its slowest by my definition) I remember being played Merecumbe (Johnny Colon), Fuego A La Jicotea (Marvin Santiago), Puerto Rico (Frankie Ruiz), Hacha Y Machete (Alfredo De La Fe as well as Hector Lavoe), and Clave Mambo (Joe Cuba Sextet). Other unusual musical choices tonight (by Thursday standard anyway) included two Cha Cha and three Bachata.
The House of Catherine invited a bunch of people for CNY dinner this evening at the Peking Restaurant. The food was supposedly more authentic Chinese than any other restaurant in the area – nothing better until you get to London. Perhaps the most memorable part of the dinner was the wave after wave of chilli in the air followed closely by the gregarious proprietor with four daughters - she was very friendly with Zern.
Eventually Cyrille and I made it to Club Salsa after a second round at the Tram Depot – followed a little later by Zern. The number of people at the social was decent despite what I would have considered a diluting factor of new Tuesday evening venture, which probably has most amount of overlap in interested people. Surprise show included Steph, who apparently is stuck because of a train breakdown.
Unlike on Tuesday, everything but one dance tonight was On1. I suppose the dances of note included the one to Cachondea by Joe Cuba Sextet with Steph and one with Agnes where I decided to avoid free shines for the entire song. I also had my first Bachata in nearly 3 months. Despite staying until a little past midnight, however, I think I ended up dancing fewer than I did on Tueday.
Sally apparently decided not to DJ tonight so the duty fell mostly to Mark with some relief by Haihan. The general tendency was playing of very fast songs early in the evening and pretty much all night. By the end, Ivan seemed exhausted. I joked that he was getting too old for so many fast songs. I suppose there are other factors for him too – 7 weeks to go for him.
Other fast songs (well above 200 BPM at its slowest by my definition) I remember being played Merecumbe (Johnny Colon), Fuego A La Jicotea (Marvin Santiago), Puerto Rico (Frankie Ruiz), Hacha Y Machete (Alfredo De La Fe as well as Hector Lavoe), and Clave Mambo (Joe Cuba Sextet). Other unusual musical choices tonight (by Thursday standard anyway) included two Cha Cha and three Bachata.
It’s a great blog, borderline very good
February 5, 2008
My original planned title? Super Tuesday. I don’t want to talk about the Super Bowl.
It’s not excellent – I am a little surprised that excellent is better than great. Did I ask to be judged? No. Do I care? Not really. Am I surprised? Again no. There is no need to advertise a la our old friend Don Baarns. Internet is a scary place. They will find you somehow. Ask Google.
Great sounds good, no? Am I flattered? Not really. It’s at the precipice of being very good, which is not as good. For the moment, we make the top 10 list – for the sub-sub-category of dance, under performing-arts and under entertainment & recreation. But top 10 out of what? 65 blogs? Not exactly – given that only 31 received a grade. It does not take much to get to be included in the top 30 and get a grade of "average" – five entries will do. Of those graded, 67th percentile doesn't sound so hot. Ditto for 80th percentile - if that interpretation is to be taken.
Still... I’m ahead of Fred Astaire. Woohoo! Also one could take it like Michelin Guide – simply being reviewed in the first place (and arguably being noticed by complete strangers in the first place) might be worth some feathers on the cap. Also, it is for the moment number 1 for an amateur and numero uno for Salsa. Am I excited? Yeah, right.
What the heck am I talking about? Sorry, it won’t be that easy. I’m going to make you work. If you care that is. Here it is. Wait for it. Sorry Joe. There.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get back to me - again. After all it’s all about me me me. Believe it or not, I’m still not completely back to normal. However, I don’t notice it so much anymore because my leg hurts more. I think I pulled a muscle while dancing Ceilidh this weekend.
Finally to what this blog is supposed to be about. We need to get to there somehow, right?
I took part in a lesson! Ed joked for the first time in 10 years. Ha! I did feel rusty, though. I also had not danced On2 in about 2 months – or has it been longer than that?
Let’s see if I like this format. I’m not 100% sure on timing – more so than I have felt with On1 lessons as of late.
It's a new venture headed by Chris and Sally - call it joint project by Pure Salsa and Oh So Salsa (if that name is still in use).
Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL with lead turning counterclockwise and switching to R-R (cross pass)
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa-like start but bringing follower into CBL position (somewhat like bringing follower to CBL position starting with a full counterclockwise turn during the first four beats), then follower walks into clockwise travelling half turn – I think follower is beginning to turn clockwise on 5 then break back on next 6, but don’t take my words as a bible
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa start, block and bring follower to leader’s left side with a slight clockwise turn
6,7,1,2,3,5 this bit is more or less continuous with the previous bit… unwind the follower to turn counterclockwise (how much? – I think the lead to unwind comes on 1 but again not completely sure about this) block and lead follower to walk straight back and leader turns into the space to face follower
6,7,1,2,3,5 from open hold CBL with 1 1/2 travelling counterclockwise turn for follower
6,7,1,2,3,5 immediately prepare and lead follower to a stationary double turn
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL L-R toss forward to switch to L-L and 1 1/2 travelling counterclockwise turn for follower
6,7,1,2,3,5 L-L hat for leader and CBL finish
The level of attendance was more or less what I expected given the fringe nature of On2 (I mean small niche). At improver level and above, it was mostly people who are familiar with Sally and Thursdays at Club Salsa. All the beginners (mostly complete beginners) were unfamiliar to me. Possibly the biggest surprise of sort was Steve, who I hadn’t seen in a while and brought Natalia with him. The other Chris made an appearance too – I hadn’t seen him in a while. Apparently he’s started teaching a class in Huntingdon in January with Polly.
As I had said to Steph few days ago, I stuck to dancing On2 exclusively pretty much all night – making only one special dispensation at the end. I was making mistakes left and right, but it was a great fun because all those mistakes came from experimenting too much. Because most of my partners were not used to dancing On2, they did not know when things went wrong because I made a mistake or because they made a mistake. Often I was able to mostly correct my mistakes when I tried to lead the same move second or third time – usually I was rushing the first time around. If I were to get 10 more practices like this over next 2-3 months, I might find myself to be a passable On2 lead by London standard.
There was a performance by Emma and Chris – something of an unofficial one supposedly. I thought Emma was there for support only when I first saw her. She seemed to recognize me and we ended up chatting a couple of times – I guess I have danced with her something like 4 times over past 2 years and have been in range of conversation, etc few other times so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Mmm. I probably initiated the conversation first time around tonight too. I can’t remember for sure.
Liam did not get there until fairly late – nearly 11 and after the performance. Cyrille never made it – something of a surprise unless Steph made a last-minute call to inform him that I did not drive – I walked after finding most of my bicycle lights not working. Haihan made an appearance too – arriving even later than Liam. Nina was the last to arrive.
Haihan DJed for a little too. Unfortunately, he still seemed to be stuck in the rut with his song selection – I ended up pointing out to him that everything he played seemed to have vibraphone or marimba in it. This is very limiting considering that probably less than 10% of Salsa music utilizes those instruments. The most common driver of melody in Salsa is horn section combined with piano (with trumpet being most prevalent and trombone and saxophones often contributing also). Flute, violin, tres guitar are used less often lead the melody, and I’d guess that they are used about as frequently as vibraphone. I wryly noted that one of the songs Liam talked about liking was played for third week in a row – this time by Haihan after Sally played it last week and week before. I thought I heard vibraphone in it also although it was not as prevalent. This song by the way is Nabori by Cheo Feliciano.
The venue by the way is new. Slug And Lettuce. It was reasonably spacious especially considering that the number of people was not humongous – and considerably bigger than the main space at Club Salsa. Floor was old worn wood – decent – it would be interesting to see if the surface will stay consistent. The bar closed at 11, but the music went on for about half an hour more.
I ended up walking most of the way back with Steph and Liam – with Steph taking the scenic route with her bike. It’s so much easier to talk when you don’t have to concentrate on the road.
My original planned title? Super Tuesday. I don’t want to talk about the Super Bowl.
It’s not excellent – I am a little surprised that excellent is better than great. Did I ask to be judged? No. Do I care? Not really. Am I surprised? Again no. There is no need to advertise a la our old friend Don Baarns. Internet is a scary place. They will find you somehow. Ask Google.
Great sounds good, no? Am I flattered? Not really. It’s at the precipice of being very good, which is not as good. For the moment, we make the top 10 list – for the sub-sub-category of dance, under performing-arts and under entertainment & recreation. But top 10 out of what? 65 blogs? Not exactly – given that only 31 received a grade. It does not take much to get to be included in the top 30 and get a grade of "average" – five entries will do. Of those graded, 67th percentile doesn't sound so hot. Ditto for 80th percentile - if that interpretation is to be taken.
Still... I’m ahead of Fred Astaire. Woohoo! Also one could take it like Michelin Guide – simply being reviewed in the first place (and arguably being noticed by complete strangers in the first place) might be worth some feathers on the cap. Also, it is for the moment number 1 for an amateur and numero uno for Salsa. Am I excited? Yeah, right.
What the heck am I talking about? Sorry, it won’t be that easy. I’m going to make you work. If you care that is. Here it is. Wait for it. Sorry Joe. There.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get back to me - again. After all it’s all about me me me. Believe it or not, I’m still not completely back to normal. However, I don’t notice it so much anymore because my leg hurts more. I think I pulled a muscle while dancing Ceilidh this weekend.
Finally to what this blog is supposed to be about. We need to get to there somehow, right?
I took part in a lesson! Ed joked for the first time in 10 years. Ha! I did feel rusty, though. I also had not danced On2 in about 2 months – or has it been longer than that?
Let’s see if I like this format. I’m not 100% sure on timing – more so than I have felt with On1 lessons as of late.
It's a new venture headed by Chris and Sally - call it joint project by Pure Salsa and Oh So Salsa (if that name is still in use).
Intermediate with Chris and Sally
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL with lead turning counterclockwise and switching to R-R (cross pass)
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa-like start but bringing follower into CBL position (somewhat like bringing follower to CBL position starting with a full counterclockwise turn during the first four beats), then follower walks into clockwise travelling half turn – I think follower is beginning to turn clockwise on 5 then break back on next 6, but don’t take my words as a bible
6,7,1,2,3,5 Copa start, block and bring follower to leader’s left side with a slight clockwise turn
6,7,1,2,3,5 this bit is more or less continuous with the previous bit… unwind the follower to turn counterclockwise (how much? – I think the lead to unwind comes on 1 but again not completely sure about this) block and lead follower to walk straight back and leader turns into the space to face follower
6,7,1,2,3,5 from open hold CBL with 1 1/2 travelling counterclockwise turn for follower
6,7,1,2,3,5 immediately prepare and lead follower to a stationary double turn
6,7,1,2,3,5 CBL L-R toss forward to switch to L-L and 1 1/2 travelling counterclockwise turn for follower
6,7,1,2,3,5 L-L hat for leader and CBL finish
The level of attendance was more or less what I expected given the fringe nature of On2 (I mean small niche). At improver level and above, it was mostly people who are familiar with Sally and Thursdays at Club Salsa. All the beginners (mostly complete beginners) were unfamiliar to me. Possibly the biggest surprise of sort was Steve, who I hadn’t seen in a while and brought Natalia with him. The other Chris made an appearance too – I hadn’t seen him in a while. Apparently he’s started teaching a class in Huntingdon in January with Polly.
As I had said to Steph few days ago, I stuck to dancing On2 exclusively pretty much all night – making only one special dispensation at the end. I was making mistakes left and right, but it was a great fun because all those mistakes came from experimenting too much. Because most of my partners were not used to dancing On2, they did not know when things went wrong because I made a mistake or because they made a mistake. Often I was able to mostly correct my mistakes when I tried to lead the same move second or third time – usually I was rushing the first time around. If I were to get 10 more practices like this over next 2-3 months, I might find myself to be a passable On2 lead by London standard.
There was a performance by Emma and Chris – something of an unofficial one supposedly. I thought Emma was there for support only when I first saw her. She seemed to recognize me and we ended up chatting a couple of times – I guess I have danced with her something like 4 times over past 2 years and have been in range of conversation, etc few other times so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Mmm. I probably initiated the conversation first time around tonight too. I can’t remember for sure.
Liam did not get there until fairly late – nearly 11 and after the performance. Cyrille never made it – something of a surprise unless Steph made a last-minute call to inform him that I did not drive – I walked after finding most of my bicycle lights not working. Haihan made an appearance too – arriving even later than Liam. Nina was the last to arrive.
Haihan DJed for a little too. Unfortunately, he still seemed to be stuck in the rut with his song selection – I ended up pointing out to him that everything he played seemed to have vibraphone or marimba in it. This is very limiting considering that probably less than 10% of Salsa music utilizes those instruments. The most common driver of melody in Salsa is horn section combined with piano (with trumpet being most prevalent and trombone and saxophones often contributing also). Flute, violin, tres guitar are used less often lead the melody, and I’d guess that they are used about as frequently as vibraphone. I wryly noted that one of the songs Liam talked about liking was played for third week in a row – this time by Haihan after Sally played it last week and week before. I thought I heard vibraphone in it also although it was not as prevalent. This song by the way is Nabori by Cheo Feliciano.
The venue by the way is new. Slug And Lettuce. It was reasonably spacious especially considering that the number of people was not humongous – and considerably bigger than the main space at Club Salsa. Floor was old worn wood – decent – it would be interesting to see if the surface will stay consistent. The bar closed at 11, but the music went on for about half an hour more.
I ended up walking most of the way back with Steph and Liam – with Steph taking the scenic route with her bike. It’s so much easier to talk when you don’t have to concentrate on the road.
The Godfather
February 1, 2008
Dinner was at Sala Thong with Sergio, Natalie, Cyrille and Liam where the topic somehow was dominated by religion. Sergio and Natalie opted not to stay out late so it was only the three boys headed to Club Salsa afterwards – arriving around 10:30.
Joe was DJing and dancing at the same time. I couldn’t spot the third teacher, but it looked like Joe had brought along at least one and probably two other girls with him from London tonight. I had a dance with one of them before they left. I think Joe played Y No Hago Mas Na and Ban Ban among others. The other songs were familiar enough but not in my collection. One thing I have been noticing for past few weeks is that Joe has not been using pitch correction. I’m not sure if it’s by conscious choice.
Lindsey and Nicola were surprise shows but I wasn’t able to get a dance with them before they left – they had to get up early in the morning. Andrea was there but without Polly, and it did not seem like she stayed particularly long either. There were some others to dance with also before I started playing from my music collection including with some who I had not danced with in some time – I think she said first time this year.
Joe left me with a Bachata as the last song.
Playlist
Senora – Domenic Marte (1)
Quien Como Tu – Jose Alberto “El Canario”*
Me Dejo – Oscar D’Leon
Chango Ta Beni – German Villarreal*
Geisha Girl – Louie Ramirez*
Cuando Uno Se Enamorado – Bobby Valentin*
Ven A Medellin – Grupo Gale
El Apartamento – Willie Rosario*
Distinto Y Diferente – Don Perignon*
Mundy Baja – El Gran Combo
Rumbera – Willie Chirino
Lejos De Ti – Son Boricua
Musica Ligera – Toque De Keda
A La Yumbae – Tommy Olivencia
Duele Mas – Grupo Niche*
This Moment – Azabache*
Pa Borohol – Rey Reyes*
Acabo De Llegar – Alex Leon
El Negrito Del Batey – Direct Latin Influence (+5%) (2)*
Te Extrano – Extreme
Que Bonito Es Puerto Rico – Jose Alberto “El Canario”*
Vitamina – Sonora Carruseles (-5%)
Fantasia Cubana – German Villarreal*
Arrepentios Pecadores – Willie Rosario*
Para Darte Fuego – Frankie Ruiz
Tengo Testigo – Lebron Brothers*
Betece – Africando
Hacha Y Machete – Hector Lavoe (-2%)
You Will Remember Me – Domenic Marte
Let Me Love You – Mario*(3)
Tocate – Toque De Keda
Es La Musica – Massimo Scalici (-2%)
Fragile – Massimo Scalici (-2%)
(1) I noticed that the dance floor was quite empty. This was something of a problem all evening long.
(2) I speeded this up after consulting with Cyrille.
(3) Reggaeton request. I played this and one more. Afterwards they said I did play Reggaeton but they wanted “real” Reggaeton. I didn’t know their example by name. In any case I decided to go completely cheesy with my choice afterwards.
Total 33 songs. 26 Salsa (13 new - Duele Mas being a new uncut version). 2 Reggaeton (1 new). 2 Merengue (1 new). 3 Bachata.
I haven’t made a count but I’m guessing that the number of new songs I can play is getting fairly low after having a huge backlog for a quite a few months.
What I had been doing for past several occasions was to get those songs played and minimize same song getting played. Of 33 songs played tonight, only 5 songs had been played during previous 6 DJ sessions (during which total of 204 songs had been played) - Vitamina was played last week, Ven A Medellin was played two weeks ago, Te Extrano (Bachata) and Rumbera was played back on December 14th, and A La Yumbae (Merengue) was played 2 weeks ago and also on November 2nd.
My reasoning for limiting playing of any songs is that very few songs can withstand overexposure. If a song gets played only about once every 2 months or so, I don’t think anyone will get sick of it – as long as it is nice enough song to dance to in the first place. Among other difficulties I do get a temptation to play some songs more frequently. Another thing I end up guarding against is playing songs that Vishal or Sally had been playing frequently in past few months. In the long run, I think this approach will become more important on keeping things fresh because I cannot continue to get 10 new songs every week.
Regarding the Godfather title, it refers to an offer that could not be refused. I used it as an explanation for an incident which made Liam break out in laughter after I was done DJing.
Dinner was at Sala Thong with Sergio, Natalie, Cyrille and Liam where the topic somehow was dominated by religion. Sergio and Natalie opted not to stay out late so it was only the three boys headed to Club Salsa afterwards – arriving around 10:30.
Joe was DJing and dancing at the same time. I couldn’t spot the third teacher, but it looked like Joe had brought along at least one and probably two other girls with him from London tonight. I had a dance with one of them before they left. I think Joe played Y No Hago Mas Na and Ban Ban among others. The other songs were familiar enough but not in my collection. One thing I have been noticing for past few weeks is that Joe has not been using pitch correction. I’m not sure if it’s by conscious choice.
Lindsey and Nicola were surprise shows but I wasn’t able to get a dance with them before they left – they had to get up early in the morning. Andrea was there but without Polly, and it did not seem like she stayed particularly long either. There were some others to dance with also before I started playing from my music collection including with some who I had not danced with in some time – I think she said first time this year.
Joe left me with a Bachata as the last song.
Playlist
Senora – Domenic Marte (1)
Quien Como Tu – Jose Alberto “El Canario”*
Me Dejo – Oscar D’Leon
Chango Ta Beni – German Villarreal*
Geisha Girl – Louie Ramirez*
Cuando Uno Se Enamorado – Bobby Valentin*
Ven A Medellin – Grupo Gale
El Apartamento – Willie Rosario*
Distinto Y Diferente – Don Perignon*
Mundy Baja – El Gran Combo
Rumbera – Willie Chirino
Lejos De Ti – Son Boricua
Musica Ligera – Toque De Keda
A La Yumbae – Tommy Olivencia
Duele Mas – Grupo Niche*
This Moment – Azabache*
Pa Borohol – Rey Reyes*
Acabo De Llegar – Alex Leon
El Negrito Del Batey – Direct Latin Influence (+5%) (2)*
Te Extrano – Extreme
Que Bonito Es Puerto Rico – Jose Alberto “El Canario”*
Vitamina – Sonora Carruseles (-5%)
Fantasia Cubana – German Villarreal*
Arrepentios Pecadores – Willie Rosario*
Para Darte Fuego – Frankie Ruiz
Tengo Testigo – Lebron Brothers*
Betece – Africando
Hacha Y Machete – Hector Lavoe (-2%)
You Will Remember Me – Domenic Marte
Let Me Love You – Mario*(3)
Tocate – Toque De Keda
Es La Musica – Massimo Scalici (-2%)
Fragile – Massimo Scalici (-2%)
(1) I noticed that the dance floor was quite empty. This was something of a problem all evening long.
(2) I speeded this up after consulting with Cyrille.
(3) Reggaeton request. I played this and one more. Afterwards they said I did play Reggaeton but they wanted “real” Reggaeton. I didn’t know their example by name. In any case I decided to go completely cheesy with my choice afterwards.
Total 33 songs. 26 Salsa (13 new - Duele Mas being a new uncut version). 2 Reggaeton (1 new). 2 Merengue (1 new). 3 Bachata.
I haven’t made a count but I’m guessing that the number of new songs I can play is getting fairly low after having a huge backlog for a quite a few months.
What I had been doing for past several occasions was to get those songs played and minimize same song getting played. Of 33 songs played tonight, only 5 songs had been played during previous 6 DJ sessions (during which total of 204 songs had been played) - Vitamina was played last week, Ven A Medellin was played two weeks ago, Te Extrano (Bachata) and Rumbera was played back on December 14th, and A La Yumbae (Merengue) was played 2 weeks ago and also on November 2nd.
My reasoning for limiting playing of any songs is that very few songs can withstand overexposure. If a song gets played only about once every 2 months or so, I don’t think anyone will get sick of it – as long as it is nice enough song to dance to in the first place. Among other difficulties I do get a temptation to play some songs more frequently. Another thing I end up guarding against is playing songs that Vishal or Sally had been playing frequently in past few months. In the long run, I think this approach will become more important on keeping things fresh because I cannot continue to get 10 new songs every week.
Regarding the Godfather title, it refers to an offer that could not be refused. I used it as an explanation for an incident which made Liam break out in laughter after I was done DJing.
Was my mojo lacking?
January 31, 2008
I thought Sergio would finally make it tonight – until he texted me to say that he might not because of work still remaining. Somehow Cyrille must have smelled something wrong because he didn’t show up either. In the end the attendance was best described as slightly below average – Jane left early and Steph, Nicola and Nina arrived late. The only others among the usual suspects were Euvian and Charlotte.
The post for last night became a popular topic tonight with a couple of people – for unexpected reasons of course. In one case, I was misinterpreted – because I was trying to finesse and not offend one person, I ended up sounding as if I was putting another one down. In another case where I was half-expecting trouble, I got nothing but wholehearted agreement. With my luck, third person will confront me with a complaint.
Regarding yet another topic I didn’t think I was lacking in that department while recovering from illness – at least not regarding dancing. If anything I’m questioning whether I’m losing it as things went back to normal. Was it was a factor in me ordering a CD with a song entitled Mojito – I think not although it sounds neat. It does make me wonder – did it seem like I was lacking last couple of weeks?
Maybe Sally is to be blamed for what happened. It was almost as if Sally decided to borrow one of Vishal’s pre-recorded CD. Some of the songs played near the end included La Pantera Mambo, Dame Cinco, El Pito. Other songs included Quince Anos, Cuban Fantasy? (Tito Rodriguez?? - more likely the Big 3 Palladium Orchestra), something by Grupo Gale, Pa Los Bravos (Grupo Latin Vibe), another version of Picadillo, and the song Liam liked last week.
There was a birthday song played too. I think it was Periodico De Ayer – not sure if it was fast or short enough. Sally did end the song early with about 2 minutes to spare (the song is not quite 7 minutes long) – in part because partner switches were being made too rapidly. I’m not sure if I like the fact that I’m unlikely to ever have to deal with having my own birthday dance – for obvious reason (I don’t have one! haha).
No need to go into the exchange between Steph and William - I wasn't even there to hear the conversation, and they supposedly were making jokes about someone else. I have no idea if I wrote enough to allow me to remember the conversation a year from now.
I thought Sergio would finally make it tonight – until he texted me to say that he might not because of work still remaining. Somehow Cyrille must have smelled something wrong because he didn’t show up either. In the end the attendance was best described as slightly below average – Jane left early and Steph, Nicola and Nina arrived late. The only others among the usual suspects were Euvian and Charlotte.
The post for last night became a popular topic tonight with a couple of people – for unexpected reasons of course. In one case, I was misinterpreted – because I was trying to finesse and not offend one person, I ended up sounding as if I was putting another one down. In another case where I was half-expecting trouble, I got nothing but wholehearted agreement. With my luck, third person will confront me with a complaint.
Regarding yet another topic I didn’t think I was lacking in that department while recovering from illness – at least not regarding dancing. If anything I’m questioning whether I’m losing it as things went back to normal. Was it was a factor in me ordering a CD with a song entitled Mojito – I think not although it sounds neat. It does make me wonder – did it seem like I was lacking last couple of weeks?
Maybe Sally is to be blamed for what happened. It was almost as if Sally decided to borrow one of Vishal’s pre-recorded CD. Some of the songs played near the end included La Pantera Mambo, Dame Cinco, El Pito. Other songs included Quince Anos, Cuban Fantasy? (Tito Rodriguez?? - more likely the Big 3 Palladium Orchestra), something by Grupo Gale, Pa Los Bravos (Grupo Latin Vibe), another version of Picadillo, and the song Liam liked last week.
There was a birthday song played too. I think it was Periodico De Ayer – not sure if it was fast or short enough. Sally did end the song early with about 2 minutes to spare (the song is not quite 7 minutes long) – in part because partner switches were being made too rapidly. I’m not sure if I like the fact that I’m unlikely to ever have to deal with having my own birthday dance – for obvious reason (I don’t have one! haha).
No need to go into the exchange between Steph and William - I wasn't even there to hear the conversation, and they supposedly were making jokes about someone else. I have no idea if I wrote enough to allow me to remember the conversation a year from now.
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