April 29, 2007
I thought I wasn't going to go to SOS until it was nearly 5 PM. I had to scramble to pick up Cyrille by 7 for decent departure time. Fortunately the roads were clear unlike last couple of weeks for the most part so it only took 90 minutes between picking up Cyrille and entering Mary Ward Hall.
There were two major events keeping people away from SOS. One was MamboCity Five Star Congress. The other was a Cachao concert at the Barbican - I seriously considered going to this concert. At 8:25-8:30, social had not started yet, and the place looked rather quiet.
At times the place looked as deserted as I have ever seen SOS. Rather large number of regulars was missing. The number of fans was same as before with a somewhat cooler temperature and lower density of people keeping things from becoming too hot and sweaty. Sound volume was better than last two weeks, but this may also be due to there being fewer bodies.
Songs played included - Hong Kong Mambo, La Llave (not sure if I remember this correctly), Mujer Erotica, Sun Sun Babae (not sure which version), El Verdadero Son (not totally sure), La Banda (artist?), Siempre Sea (?), Swing La Moderna, Guaguanco Del Gran Combo. One Cha Cha - it was fairly short and the only opportunity to practice On2.
I thought I wasn't very good tonight. I am in a rut. I also thought the people there were not as good compared to normal standard - it felt like junior varsity version of SOS. More I go, worse I think it is. Cyrille enjoyed the change - especially dancing with many new people.
The only Cambridge folks I saw were Johnny, Serap and Ed. From LDA, only Simon, Jana and Anna were there. Quentin was back (for a week after going away for only about a month!). Amir was the nominal DJ, but he let someone else play music for much of the social. The substitute was uneven - the most questionable choice being a pure instrumental track with not much going on but being very fast and quite long.
It was nice to have a company for a change. The subject of scary times was rehashed.
A kingdom for a song
April 27, 2007
Music started right after end of lessons. I decided to hit the floor running.
Playlist
La Loma Del Tamarindo - El Gran Combo (1)
La-La-La - Direct Latin Influence (2)
La Llave - Grupo Latin Vibe (3)
Sientate Ahi - Oscar D'Leon
Otra Oportunidad - Jimmy Bosch
Malanga Amarilla - Cachao (4)
Brujeria - El Gran Combo
Rubias De Nueva York - Willie Rosario* (5)
Caballero Y Dama - Celia Cruz & Willie Chirino
Noche De Salsa - Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz*
Que Buena Baila Usted - Oscar D'Leon (6)
break (7)
Malaguena Salerosa - Eddie Palmieri*
Estoy En Ti - Willie Rosario* (8)
No Hay Amigo - Orchestra Harlow* (-2%) (9)
Ven Tu - Domenic Marte
Pecado - Toke D Keda (10)
Ya No Puede Ser - Celia Cruz-Ray Barretto-Adalberto Santiago*
Chango Ta Beni - Willie Rosario* (11)
Soulsa - Estrellas Caiman*
a Merengue from Vishal's collection … something different
break (12)
Cuidadate Compay - Eddie Palmieri (13)
Mentirosa - Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz*
Ave Maria Lola - Roberto Torres
Se Me Fue - El Gran Combo (14)
Fuego A La Jicotea - Marvin Santiago*
La Ley Del Guaguanco - Tito Rodriguez* (15)
El Abaniquito - Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers
El Swing De Fruko - Fruko Y Sus Tesos (-4%)
Musica Ligera - Toke D Keda
You Will Remember Me - Domenic Marte
El Guaguanco Del Gran Combo - El Gran Combo (16)
Abuelita - Hector Lavoe (17)
break until the final song
En El Balcon - Tito Rodriguez* (18)
(1) Slow song, but not really a beginner's song.
(2) Not messing around.
(3) No need to give beginners junk food.
(4) There's a Cachao concert in London (UK premiere) this Sunday at the Barbican.
(5) I think I spotted Rajiv by this point. This could be one of more interesting nights. Others spotted more or less in order of appearance included Euvian, Zern, Sam, Isabelle, Cyrille, Haihan and Stephanie.
(6) One of songs I know Rajiv will dance to 99% of the time. Unfortunately, I'm lukewarm about it. It's fine, but it's not even in my top 50. Maybe not even top 100. Another trouble was that Vishal decided to take over after this song. It's so much nicer if I leave with a song I would really like to dance to.
(7) Vishal played a Merengue, Lamento Boliviano, Ahora Quien, La Salsa Se Nunca Acaba and La Palomilla. I rather liked this selection but not the order. If I had one dance under my belt, I probably would have danced to Ahora Quien or La Salsa Se Nunca Acaba or both. I danced to neither. I love La Palomilla, but Vishal signalled to me that this would be his last song. I cannot cue the next song while dancing, can I? I tried asking someone anyway - ready to tell Vishal to play one more, but it didn't work. So… no dance yet.
(8) At the start of this song, bunch of people started asking me for Merengue. Bad sign. Very bad sign.
(9) When I woke up this morning, I had this song playing in my head for no obvious reason. I don't know if this has anything to do with my upstairs neighbor playing a very small set of songs by Fleetwood Mac for couple of weeks day and night. I had this song/album for well over a year but had not listened to it for about a month until today.
(10) I recalled a certain someone listing this song as being one of her favorite - over a year ago?
(11) The Merengue people are getting hostile.
(12) Vishal followed it up with another Merengue. His Salsa selections were not as good as the first time around. No dance yet for me. Vishal's last song was Me Libere, overplayed but still better than everything else in this set.
(13) I decided to start with Cha Cha. Some people were made aware of it in advance. Vishal came back asking to wait playing Cha Cha until… say after 1 AM when things get quieter. Come on, Vishal! There's at best 50% chance that I would still be playing after 1 AM. Playing one early is the only way to make sure that at least one decent one gets played sometime during the evening. Ideally I would like to play at least 2 per night.
(14) Shila exclaims, "This is a great song." Duh.
(15) Sam stopped by asking for some song to be played so that she can dance with Rajiv. Neither of songs she suggested was not in my collection - one I think was Hoy Aprende by Adolescents Orquesta. Based upon later conversation, I doubt she found this one satisfactory.
(16) Cyrille asked for the title of this song.
(17) I would have liked to dance to this. It didn't happen.
(18) The goofy couple seemed to really like this song and asked for more information on it. I finally got a dance.
Total 33 songs. 4 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha. 1 Merengue (Vishal's). 27 Salsa including 11 new.
Other people in the premises included Pauline, Andrea, Gordon, Luis, Lorraine, Michelle. Johnny and Serap stayed pretty long. I think both might have been giving private lessons. Steve and Natalia showed up rather late.
After taking over for the last time, I think Vishal started with couple of Merengue and Reggaeton. Or did those come after Playa No More? Hips Don't Lie was played right after Playa No More - I'm fairly positive that it was indeed requested because someone asked me to play it and I directed her to Vishal. Anyhow, the Salsa selections after the Merengue/Reggaeton were of predictable quality.
Not having danced yet and not being inspired, I made a request to Vishal around 1:20 AM for Ray Santiago's "A Man's World." I didn't think it would seem especially out of character. I also asked him to let me know when he plays it so that I could find someone to dance with.
By around 1:30, the songs sounded a little better. And then Vishal played Merecumbe by Johnny Colon. Oh no! It's a great song, but it's the wrong song. I also don't want it played right before Ray Santiago. At least Sam got a song she can dance to with Raj.
I believe Vishal went to some non-Salsa again. A Cha-Cha-like song was played too. I didn't like it. Get It Up (Eurocuban Project) and Alabanciosa (Manny Oquendo) were some of the Salsa song played later. By this point, I had written down the name of the song for him.
1:55 AM. No sign of Ray Santiago. Stephanie had changed her shoes, etc. Isabelle was long gone. Vishal asked me if I had anyone to dance with. I told him I will check, and I found Sam. It was difficult to get Sam to yes quickly because she wanted to check with Rajiv to see if they were going to leave very soon. Meanwhile, Vishal put some other song on. Eventually, Sam agreed.
I went back to tell Vish. He wasn't there. He was dancing. I checked the other CD player to see if Ray Santiago was in it. Nope. No sign of the CD anywhere. Okay. I'll just have to play something else. I picked En El Balcon by Tito Rodriguez. I had planned to save that one as long as possible.
Afterwards, I mentioned to Vishal that he never played my song. He said he did, but a quick check and confirmation from Dani showed that he did not. It looked like he got the CD loaded but accidentally played something else.
Given the people who were there, I could easily have danced dozen times tonight. And I thought last night was poor by such qualification.
C'est la vie.
p.s. To the Ballare people tomorrow night, remember to get your hands up and make some noise!
Music started right after end of lessons. I decided to hit the floor running.
Playlist
La Loma Del Tamarindo - El Gran Combo (1)
La-La-La - Direct Latin Influence (2)
La Llave - Grupo Latin Vibe (3)
Sientate Ahi - Oscar D'Leon
Otra Oportunidad - Jimmy Bosch
Malanga Amarilla - Cachao (4)
Brujeria - El Gran Combo
Rubias De Nueva York - Willie Rosario* (5)
Caballero Y Dama - Celia Cruz & Willie Chirino
Noche De Salsa - Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz*
Que Buena Baila Usted - Oscar D'Leon (6)
break (7)
Malaguena Salerosa - Eddie Palmieri*
Estoy En Ti - Willie Rosario* (8)
No Hay Amigo - Orchestra Harlow* (-2%) (9)
Ven Tu - Domenic Marte
Pecado - Toke D Keda (10)
Ya No Puede Ser - Celia Cruz-Ray Barretto-Adalberto Santiago*
Chango Ta Beni - Willie Rosario* (11)
Soulsa - Estrellas Caiman*
a Merengue from Vishal's collection … something different
break (12)
Cuidadate Compay - Eddie Palmieri (13)
Mentirosa - Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz*
Ave Maria Lola - Roberto Torres
Se Me Fue - El Gran Combo (14)
Fuego A La Jicotea - Marvin Santiago*
La Ley Del Guaguanco - Tito Rodriguez* (15)
El Abaniquito - Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers
El Swing De Fruko - Fruko Y Sus Tesos (-4%)
Musica Ligera - Toke D Keda
You Will Remember Me - Domenic Marte
El Guaguanco Del Gran Combo - El Gran Combo (16)
Abuelita - Hector Lavoe (17)
break until the final song
En El Balcon - Tito Rodriguez* (18)
(1) Slow song, but not really a beginner's song.
(2) Not messing around.
(3) No need to give beginners junk food.
(4) There's a Cachao concert in London (UK premiere) this Sunday at the Barbican.
(5) I think I spotted Rajiv by this point. This could be one of more interesting nights. Others spotted more or less in order of appearance included Euvian, Zern, Sam, Isabelle, Cyrille, Haihan and Stephanie.
(6) One of songs I know Rajiv will dance to 99% of the time. Unfortunately, I'm lukewarm about it. It's fine, but it's not even in my top 50. Maybe not even top 100. Another trouble was that Vishal decided to take over after this song. It's so much nicer if I leave with a song I would really like to dance to.
(7) Vishal played a Merengue, Lamento Boliviano, Ahora Quien, La Salsa Se Nunca Acaba and La Palomilla. I rather liked this selection but not the order. If I had one dance under my belt, I probably would have danced to Ahora Quien or La Salsa Se Nunca Acaba or both. I danced to neither. I love La Palomilla, but Vishal signalled to me that this would be his last song. I cannot cue the next song while dancing, can I? I tried asking someone anyway - ready to tell Vishal to play one more, but it didn't work. So… no dance yet.
(8) At the start of this song, bunch of people started asking me for Merengue. Bad sign. Very bad sign.
(9) When I woke up this morning, I had this song playing in my head for no obvious reason. I don't know if this has anything to do with my upstairs neighbor playing a very small set of songs by Fleetwood Mac for couple of weeks day and night. I had this song/album for well over a year but had not listened to it for about a month until today.
(10) I recalled a certain someone listing this song as being one of her favorite - over a year ago?
(11) The Merengue people are getting hostile.
(12) Vishal followed it up with another Merengue. His Salsa selections were not as good as the first time around. No dance yet for me. Vishal's last song was Me Libere, overplayed but still better than everything else in this set.
(13) I decided to start with Cha Cha. Some people were made aware of it in advance. Vishal came back asking to wait playing Cha Cha until… say after 1 AM when things get quieter. Come on, Vishal! There's at best 50% chance that I would still be playing after 1 AM. Playing one early is the only way to make sure that at least one decent one gets played sometime during the evening. Ideally I would like to play at least 2 per night.
(14) Shila exclaims, "This is a great song." Duh.
(15) Sam stopped by asking for some song to be played so that she can dance with Rajiv. Neither of songs she suggested was not in my collection - one I think was Hoy Aprende by Adolescents Orquesta. Based upon later conversation, I doubt she found this one satisfactory.
(16) Cyrille asked for the title of this song.
(17) I would have liked to dance to this. It didn't happen.
(18) The goofy couple seemed to really like this song and asked for more information on it. I finally got a dance.
Total 33 songs. 4 Bachata. 1 Cha Cha. 1 Merengue (Vishal's). 27 Salsa including 11 new.
Other people in the premises included Pauline, Andrea, Gordon, Luis, Lorraine, Michelle. Johnny and Serap stayed pretty long. I think both might have been giving private lessons. Steve and Natalia showed up rather late.
After taking over for the last time, I think Vishal started with couple of Merengue and Reggaeton. Or did those come after Playa No More? Hips Don't Lie was played right after Playa No More - I'm fairly positive that it was indeed requested because someone asked me to play it and I directed her to Vishal. Anyhow, the Salsa selections after the Merengue/Reggaeton were of predictable quality.
Not having danced yet and not being inspired, I made a request to Vishal around 1:20 AM for Ray Santiago's "A Man's World." I didn't think it would seem especially out of character. I also asked him to let me know when he plays it so that I could find someone to dance with.
By around 1:30, the songs sounded a little better. And then Vishal played Merecumbe by Johnny Colon. Oh no! It's a great song, but it's the wrong song. I also don't want it played right before Ray Santiago. At least Sam got a song she can dance to with Raj.
I believe Vishal went to some non-Salsa again. A Cha-Cha-like song was played too. I didn't like it. Get It Up (Eurocuban Project) and Alabanciosa (Manny Oquendo) were some of the Salsa song played later. By this point, I had written down the name of the song for him.
1:55 AM. No sign of Ray Santiago. Stephanie had changed her shoes, etc. Isabelle was long gone. Vishal asked me if I had anyone to dance with. I told him I will check, and I found Sam. It was difficult to get Sam to yes quickly because she wanted to check with Rajiv to see if they were going to leave very soon. Meanwhile, Vishal put some other song on. Eventually, Sam agreed.
I went back to tell Vish. He wasn't there. He was dancing. I checked the other CD player to see if Ray Santiago was in it. Nope. No sign of the CD anywhere. Okay. I'll just have to play something else. I picked En El Balcon by Tito Rodriguez. I had planned to save that one as long as possible.
Afterwards, I mentioned to Vishal that he never played my song. He said he did, but a quick check and confirmation from Dani showed that he did not. It looked like he got the CD loaded but accidentally played something else.
Given the people who were there, I could easily have danced dozen times tonight. And I thought last night was poor by such qualification.
C'est la vie.
p.s. To the Ballare people tomorrow night, remember to get your hands up and make some noise!
Not much on the horizon
April 26, 2007
I thought Sally would be away (Barcelona), but she was here.
Intermediate/Advanced with Sally & Mark
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hold - open break start - bring follower forward to leader's L side (R-R would have to go over his head and by 4, follower is positioned behind leader because leader has turned slightly clockwise) - make L-L connection (somewhat like reverse crucifix except leader's L arm is essentially straight) and lead follower to a 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn with L-L (keep L arm more or less straight and keep it going over follower's head) with leader turning counterclockwise to end facing away from follower with L-L over leader's L shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer R by leader's R waist early and make R-R connection - leader turns 1/2 clockwise during 1,2,3 - it's probably better to lead follower to turn full clockwise right after 3 (although I am unsure if this indeed was the instruction) while reconnecting L-L as this turn is led - lead follower forward to leader's R on 5 and 1/2 clockwise turn on 7 with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise at the end to face the follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top - prepare and lead follower to touch-and-go stationary multiple turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold L-L on top - leader turns 1/2 counterclockwise with L-L on leader's R shoulder - lead follower to 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn like CBL with R-R leading (keep it about above leader's head)
1,2,3,5,6,7 re-establish crossed hold R-R on top - something like a Copa start with R-R moved to be positioned to R of follower's head and with L-L positioned to L of follower's head - lead follower to a Copa-type turn except this is now a double turn ending in half crucifix (R-R intact)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare on 1,2 and lead follower to turn 1/2 clockwise on 3 - lead follower to 1 1/2 traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise over and under turn to leader's R side to get R-R behind follower's L waist
Some people like Zern, Euvian and Raj went next door for drinks, but I ended up staying behind. Ed asked me about the "lady" who left a scathing comment (or a.k.a. suggestion #1 back in February) and whether I had any more communications with the person (I don't know whether it was a man or a woman). No. I did get to talk to Ed about Liam still owing me money for petrol. I was also asked a question about the song (with counts) that Sally was using as a practice song by another guy - it was a "classic" - Lovely Day.
Start of Easter term (or just coincidence) brought forward more people than usual. However, surprisingly many people were missing also. Stephanie is back. Cyrille was a surprise no show. Natalie showed up. Ivan was AWOL. Lindsey was back after a fairly long absence - as was Chris. Mimi on the other hand is away. Marie was back after an even longer absence - at one point she was sitting right next to me without becoming aware of it. No Nina. Brendan was there but not accompanied by Diana or Jay. Phyllis and Agnes were there for second week in a row, but no signs of Zhenzhi, Sam or Isabelle. Sean, Richard and Haihan yes, Thomas and Zoon no.
Sally had the music on autopilot for earlier part of the evening. The autopilot CD included Ayer (Gloria Estefan), Soledad (La 33), Malaguena Salerosa (Eddie Palmieri), Noche De Salsa (Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz). Later songs included Merecumbe (Los Titanes - probably had one of top 3 dances of the evening), La Llave (Grupo Latin Vibe - another good dance tonight in terms of interestingness), El Quinto De Beethoven (Cesta All-Stars - I had this song longer than Sally, but I don’t think I ever played it. Too long and too fast. I don't think there are many people who would enjoy dancing to this song with me even if I try to make it easy for them. Perhaps trying to make it easy doesn't help. Maybe I should have wiggle myself out of dancing to this song.), Mundy Baja (El Gran Combo - an easier song to deal with. I would have been okay dancing to this one even though I was tired after El Quinto, but no takers), Picadillo (Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri - My suspicion is that most people here won't like dancing to this one with me), La Salsa Nunca Se Acabo (Susie Hansen), Ritmo Pa Borinquen (Grupo Latin Vibe), La Agonia (Lebron Brothers - My partner lost her timing and couldn't get it back for a while. It makes me think twice about playing it on a Friday), Pa Bravo Yo (Pupy Santiago? not sure).
Chris and I talked about London Salsa scene a bit - in particular Bar Salsa and also about dancing with rhyme and reason. I saw him doing a shine later. It seemed alright but I am not sure if he liked the reaction from his partner, and he seemed to revert to massive spin mode. I think many although not necessarily all girls who can spin well prefers to be spun a lot whether it's called for or not.
I'm bored and unenthusiastic - not about today in particular but in general.
I thought Sally would be away (Barcelona), but she was here.
Intermediate/Advanced with Sally & Mark
1,2,3,5,6,7 R-R hold - open break start - bring follower forward to leader's L side (R-R would have to go over his head and by 4, follower is positioned behind leader because leader has turned slightly clockwise) - make L-L connection (somewhat like reverse crucifix except leader's L arm is essentially straight) and lead follower to a 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn with L-L (keep L arm more or less straight and keep it going over follower's head) with leader turning counterclockwise to end facing away from follower with L-L over leader's L shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 offer R by leader's R waist early and make R-R connection - leader turns 1/2 clockwise during 1,2,3 - it's probably better to lead follower to turn full clockwise right after 3 (although I am unsure if this indeed was the instruction) while reconnecting L-L as this turn is led - lead follower forward to leader's R on 5 and 1/2 clockwise turn on 7 with leader turning 1/2 counterclockwise at the end to face the follower
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold R-R on top - prepare and lead follower to touch-and-go stationary multiple turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 crossed hold L-L on top - leader turns 1/2 counterclockwise with L-L on leader's R shoulder - lead follower to 1 1/2 counterclockwise traveling turn like CBL with R-R leading (keep it about above leader's head)
1,2,3,5,6,7 re-establish crossed hold R-R on top - something like a Copa start with R-R moved to be positioned to R of follower's head and with L-L positioned to L of follower's head - lead follower to a Copa-type turn except this is now a double turn ending in half crucifix (R-R intact)
1,2,3,5,6,7 prepare on 1,2 and lead follower to turn 1/2 clockwise on 3 - lead follower to 1 1/2 traveling 1 1/2 counterclockwise over and under turn to leader's R side to get R-R behind follower's L waist
Some people like Zern, Euvian and Raj went next door for drinks, but I ended up staying behind. Ed asked me about the "lady" who left a scathing comment (or a.k.a. suggestion #1 back in February) and whether I had any more communications with the person (I don't know whether it was a man or a woman). No. I did get to talk to Ed about Liam still owing me money for petrol. I was also asked a question about the song (with counts) that Sally was using as a practice song by another guy - it was a "classic" - Lovely Day.
Start of Easter term (or just coincidence) brought forward more people than usual. However, surprisingly many people were missing also. Stephanie is back. Cyrille was a surprise no show. Natalie showed up. Ivan was AWOL. Lindsey was back after a fairly long absence - as was Chris. Mimi on the other hand is away. Marie was back after an even longer absence - at one point she was sitting right next to me without becoming aware of it. No Nina. Brendan was there but not accompanied by Diana or Jay. Phyllis and Agnes were there for second week in a row, but no signs of Zhenzhi, Sam or Isabelle. Sean, Richard and Haihan yes, Thomas and Zoon no.
Sally had the music on autopilot for earlier part of the evening. The autopilot CD included Ayer (Gloria Estefan), Soledad (La 33), Malaguena Salerosa (Eddie Palmieri), Noche De Salsa (Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz). Later songs included Merecumbe (Los Titanes - probably had one of top 3 dances of the evening), La Llave (Grupo Latin Vibe - another good dance tonight in terms of interestingness), El Quinto De Beethoven (Cesta All-Stars - I had this song longer than Sally, but I don’t think I ever played it. Too long and too fast. I don't think there are many people who would enjoy dancing to this song with me even if I try to make it easy for them. Perhaps trying to make it easy doesn't help. Maybe I should have wiggle myself out of dancing to this song.), Mundy Baja (El Gran Combo - an easier song to deal with. I would have been okay dancing to this one even though I was tired after El Quinto, but no takers), Picadillo (Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri - My suspicion is that most people here won't like dancing to this one with me), La Salsa Nunca Se Acabo (Susie Hansen), Ritmo Pa Borinquen (Grupo Latin Vibe), La Agonia (Lebron Brothers - My partner lost her timing and couldn't get it back for a while. It makes me think twice about playing it on a Friday), Pa Bravo Yo (Pupy Santiago? not sure).
Chris and I talked about London Salsa scene a bit - in particular Bar Salsa and also about dancing with rhyme and reason. I saw him doing a shine later. It seemed alright but I am not sure if he liked the reaction from his partner, and he seemed to revert to massive spin mode. I think many although not necessarily all girls who can spin well prefers to be spun a lot whether it's called for or not.
I'm bored and unenthusiastic - not about today in particular but in general.
Yo No Tengo Amigo
April 22, 2007
Only me because no one I asked was willing. By car because traveling by train would have been insane. There was Land Rover breakdown on M11 just prior to junction 10 and a minor collision on Bow Street for requisite traffic jams. There were other poor drivers on the road - both menacing and inept.
Although it was not as bad as last week, SOS was still rather warm and did not seem to have enough fans. It was fairly quiet too - perhaps SOS is getting bad reputation about the heat problem. Summer could be interesting.
Music volume was way too low at times making it difficult to hear the beats. Some of it might have been song choice - the sole Cha Cha they played confused me to no end because differentiating 2 from 6 was very difficult for a large part of the song. I felt blasé about too many of the songs. Some of the biggest ho-hum songs - Que Buena Baila Usted (sorry Oscar) and Lamento Boliviano. I don’t recall seeing so few people dancing to Bachata at SOS - I think I imagined a collective groan when Lamento Boliviano came on - it was like we've heard this song too many times where we came from.
Natalie was there. Ditto for Rico, Rajiv, Vera. Tracy was back - she's practically ubiquitous. Spotted Julian for the first time in a while. Ditto for Helen - I see Amir more often. Joe was there with an entourage.
My form was interesting. I spotted Miriam for the first time in a while, and it came to my head that maybe I should ask her for a dance - I never got around to it though - maybe another time. A Latvian I danced seemed a little incredulous when I asked her - I wondered if she was a total beginner, but she was pretty good - she didn't dance very much at all though - I don't recall her dancing with anyone else - I wondered if she was a visiting dignitary or such. Her friend was a little unusual - mainly because she was wearing glasses with a skimpy outfit. A really good follower asked me for a dance - nice - I had been thinking about asking her after having seen her around last few times I visited. Hopefully the dance was good enough that she would not mind me asking her another time. Another good follower I like to dance to old-sounding song made a comment, "Perfect ending." I was too slow to make a reply along the lines of "Only because you made it possible." The song this time was a version of Picadillo (Fania All-Stars maybe?). The girl I danced with for the last song asked me where I was from. Hmm. I think I was talking a lot more than usual while dancing tonight with caveat that most of the conversations were not initiated by me.
There was a performance by the Leon Rose Project - three guys - Leon, Inaki and a third guy. The song used was Man's World (Ray Santiago). The sound volume for this song was fabulous compared to most of the songs used for the social.
Only me because no one I asked was willing. By car because traveling by train would have been insane. There was Land Rover breakdown on M11 just prior to junction 10 and a minor collision on Bow Street for requisite traffic jams. There were other poor drivers on the road - both menacing and inept.
Although it was not as bad as last week, SOS was still rather warm and did not seem to have enough fans. It was fairly quiet too - perhaps SOS is getting bad reputation about the heat problem. Summer could be interesting.
Music volume was way too low at times making it difficult to hear the beats. Some of it might have been song choice - the sole Cha Cha they played confused me to no end because differentiating 2 from 6 was very difficult for a large part of the song. I felt blasé about too many of the songs. Some of the biggest ho-hum songs - Que Buena Baila Usted (sorry Oscar) and Lamento Boliviano. I don’t recall seeing so few people dancing to Bachata at SOS - I think I imagined a collective groan when Lamento Boliviano came on - it was like we've heard this song too many times where we came from.
Natalie was there. Ditto for Rico, Rajiv, Vera. Tracy was back - she's practically ubiquitous. Spotted Julian for the first time in a while. Ditto for Helen - I see Amir more often. Joe was there with an entourage.
My form was interesting. I spotted Miriam for the first time in a while, and it came to my head that maybe I should ask her for a dance - I never got around to it though - maybe another time. A Latvian I danced seemed a little incredulous when I asked her - I wondered if she was a total beginner, but she was pretty good - she didn't dance very much at all though - I don't recall her dancing with anyone else - I wondered if she was a visiting dignitary or such. Her friend was a little unusual - mainly because she was wearing glasses with a skimpy outfit. A really good follower asked me for a dance - nice - I had been thinking about asking her after having seen her around last few times I visited. Hopefully the dance was good enough that she would not mind me asking her another time. Another good follower I like to dance to old-sounding song made a comment, "Perfect ending." I was too slow to make a reply along the lines of "Only because you made it possible." The song this time was a version of Picadillo (Fania All-Stars maybe?). The girl I danced with for the last song asked me where I was from. Hmm. I think I was talking a lot more than usual while dancing tonight with caveat that most of the conversations were not initiated by me.
There was a performance by the Leon Rose Project - three guys - Leon, Inaki and a third guy. The song used was Man's World (Ray Santiago). The sound volume for this song was fabulous compared to most of the songs used for the social.
Everything but the kitchen sink
April 20, 2007
Cyrille made the dinner reservation at the Varsity Restaurant for six by early afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised after having given him hard time about it last night. I wasn't sure who the sixth person was until I got to the restaurant though. People in attendance by order of arrival were me, Cyrille, Natalie, Zern, Euvian and Mimi.
Predominant topic dealt with boyfriends and girlfriends - past, present, prospective, ours, others. I suppose it's a very expansive topic. David, Sylvia and Sergio were all talked about of course. More memorable adjectives used included seasonal, topless and peacock. I was also told that it's commonplace for a person to get divorced and married 5-6 times in Cuba (although this seems to say more about liberal divorce laws and other peculiarities of Cuba more than about the topic of philandering Latin men stereotype preceding this talk).
We did not leave the restaurant until nearly 10:30. When I arrived, Vishal was playing songs like Micaela, Me Libere and La Vida Es Un Carnaval. When I finally took over, Vishal talked about it being Johnny's birthday and not slowing things by playing Cha Cha, etc.
Playlist (very short)
Cubanoson - Cubanoson
La Lucha (feat. Shanny) - La Excelencia
Pegaso - Isidro Infante
Mujeres De Mayari - Cubanoson
Caballero Y Dama - Celia Cruz & Willie Chirino
La Pantera Mambo - La 33
break - Johnny's birthday dance done to Merecumbe by Johnny Colon
Nadie Se Salva De La Rumba - Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, Adalberto Santiago
Llore - Hector Lavoe
Indestructible - Ray Barretto (1) (-4%)
break involving two Merengue
Mambo Diablo - Tito Puente (2)
(1) This was a request made by Cyrille. Euvian and Mimi were gone by this time - I had not expected them to come tonight, especially Mimi.
(2) This was enough for Vishal to pull the plug. He talked about DJing for 10 minutes or so, and I did not press to return.
Total - 10 Salsa. Nothing new.
I never got a chance to dance with Mimi or Euvian. I probably danced <10 Salsa - nothing serious nor light. I had some trouble with leading (or more accurately stopping) multiple spins. My favorite dance was to a surprise Cha Cha Vishal put on later Louise - she was on time (On2) and did not seem bored. All things considered, Salsa songs Vishal put on were sometimes fine if almost invariably a bit overplayed (e.g. Caballo Viejo, Brujeria, Contigo, a cover version of Vamonos Pal Monte, Mi Tierra, Cali Pachanguero).
It was a rather ho hum kind of evening until near the end. For some reason the corner (with better working AC) by the DJ booth stayed very lively while the rest of the floor died a slow death. I think it was a birthday party heavily populated by Spaniards. Cyrille, Zern and I (lingering for no real reason other than maybe dreading the prospect of looking out-of-place at Ballare tomorrow night) decided to join this crowd for bunch of group dancing - including Macarena. Starting with Reggaeton, Vishal took everything-but-kitchen sink approach to DJing. It was different. It was raucous. It was silly. It was sorta fun.
Cyrille made the dinner reservation at the Varsity Restaurant for six by early afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised after having given him hard time about it last night. I wasn't sure who the sixth person was until I got to the restaurant though. People in attendance by order of arrival were me, Cyrille, Natalie, Zern, Euvian and Mimi.
Predominant topic dealt with boyfriends and girlfriends - past, present, prospective, ours, others. I suppose it's a very expansive topic. David, Sylvia and Sergio were all talked about of course. More memorable adjectives used included seasonal, topless and peacock. I was also told that it's commonplace for a person to get divorced and married 5-6 times in Cuba (although this seems to say more about liberal divorce laws and other peculiarities of Cuba more than about the topic of philandering Latin men stereotype preceding this talk).
We did not leave the restaurant until nearly 10:30. When I arrived, Vishal was playing songs like Micaela, Me Libere and La Vida Es Un Carnaval. When I finally took over, Vishal talked about it being Johnny's birthday and not slowing things by playing Cha Cha, etc.
Playlist (very short)
Cubanoson - Cubanoson
La Lucha (feat. Shanny) - La Excelencia
Pegaso - Isidro Infante
Mujeres De Mayari - Cubanoson
Caballero Y Dama - Celia Cruz & Willie Chirino
La Pantera Mambo - La 33
break - Johnny's birthday dance done to Merecumbe by Johnny Colon
Nadie Se Salva De La Rumba - Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, Adalberto Santiago
Llore - Hector Lavoe
Indestructible - Ray Barretto (1) (-4%)
break involving two Merengue
Mambo Diablo - Tito Puente (2)
(1) This was a request made by Cyrille. Euvian and Mimi were gone by this time - I had not expected them to come tonight, especially Mimi.
(2) This was enough for Vishal to pull the plug. He talked about DJing for 10 minutes or so, and I did not press to return.
Total - 10 Salsa. Nothing new.
I never got a chance to dance with Mimi or Euvian. I probably danced <10 Salsa - nothing serious nor light. I had some trouble with leading (or more accurately stopping) multiple spins. My favorite dance was to a surprise Cha Cha Vishal put on later Louise - she was on time (On2) and did not seem bored. All things considered, Salsa songs Vishal put on were sometimes fine if almost invariably a bit overplayed (e.g. Caballo Viejo, Brujeria, Contigo, a cover version of Vamonos Pal Monte, Mi Tierra, Cali Pachanguero).
It was a rather ho hum kind of evening until near the end. For some reason the corner (with better working AC) by the DJ booth stayed very lively while the rest of the floor died a slow death. I think it was a birthday party heavily populated by Spaniards. Cyrille, Zern and I (lingering for no real reason other than maybe dreading the prospect of looking out-of-place at Ballare tomorrow night) decided to join this crowd for bunch of group dancing - including Macarena. Starting with Reggaeton, Vishal took everything-but-kitchen sink approach to DJing. It was different. It was raucous. It was silly. It was sorta fun.
Going Cobo
April 19, 2007
I wonder if I should try Ballroom dancing again - as a change of pace.
I am a little bored listening to Salsa music. I suppose it does not help that there have been no new music added to my collection in about a month. One of the last CDs I received had a manufacturing error - the case and the CD said Tito Rodriguez, but the content was some Columbian band with heavy dose of accordion. Even with new CDs, I get tired of listening to it fairly quickly - maybe a dozen or few dozen listening in a course of 2-4 weeks. I am resorting to listening to old music again - opera, Brandenburg Concertos, etc. I will also give Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk a try.
I think I still am improving in Salsa dancing - On1 as well as On2. I am not sure if this does anything for me outside the Salsa world as it once did. I am not sure if I am very motivated to improve though. Old motivations like "I want to get better so I could dance with this person or that person" no longer exist. There is no one new I am dying to dance with On2 either.
I suspect that there is not a great deal of things I can learn from drop-in classes or workshops - at least not On1. I doubt going to London would make much difference. I am also fairly sure I will be proven wrong.
Plethora of factors led me to reach Club Salsa much earlier than usual. I spent extra time practicing On2 steps before Sally et al arrived.
Intermediate/Advanced with Sally and Chris
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold - Copa start with leader overtaking and R hand ending on follower's back on 3 - leader is facing opposite direction by 5 and doing a hook step on 5 while leading follower forward (the direction she came from - essentially retracing her movement from 1,2,3 on 5,6,7) and moving out of the way to his left on 6 before getting back in front of follower on 7 with L-R over leader's L shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 bring L-R straight down on 1 and switch to R-R underneath (I used footwork technique suggested by Mario - see comment below - L foot behind R foot on 1 while bringing L-R down, R foot in place on 2 and L foot back to normal spot on 3 as L-R is switched between 2 and 3) - lead follower to a stationary clockwise turn (double turn was used for the class)
[comment: I recall doing a simpler version of this move with Mario and Susana last year with a simple Copa for the follower for the first 1,2,3,5,6,7 with leader turning 1/2 clockwise at the end to get to the same position to start the next 1,2,3 more or less the same way except with a movement to the left to get to open cross body position in order to lead a free traveling turn for follower for the finish]
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL start with R-R draped over follower's head on 1 - make L-L connection in front and lead follower to 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn - leader ends with ~3/4 counterclockwise turn keeping L-L high
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to another full counterclockwise turn (I believe her turn starts on 2) with leader turning a further 3/4 after leading this turn to get to CBL position again - lead follower to a traveling 1/2 clockwise turn for finish
[comment: I find leading any turn for follower during 1,2,3 On1 problematic - there never is enough opportunity to practice this sort of thing during social dancing anywhere. This one should be doable without needing or wanting a strong lead and thus might be worth trying out a few times in Cambridge even though it's difficult to foresee it working with most people.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 start with L-L and establish R-R fairly early and lead follower into a 1/2 counterclockwise turn on the spot into crucifix position on 1,2,3 - lead follower to R side on 5 (her footwork would be L foot crossing over R foot in front) then lead follower into a 1/2 counterclockwise turn to end facing the direction she started with (but now positioned slightly to L from her perspective) - leader has turned 1/4 to 1/2 clockwise while leading the second turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower straight back on 1,2,3 with L-L ending under leader's L arm but keeping the connection as well - step forward on 5 to lead follower forward and lead follower into traveling counterclockwise turn like normal CBL finish with leader turning full counterclockwise
Natalie made a surprise appearance towards the end of the first class and thus provided me and Cyrille with a fun challenge of bringing her up to date on the material in a very short amount of time.
After a brief footwork exercise On2, Cyrille, Zern and I headed to Sauce for a drink (plus cheesy chips for Zern). William joined us later as did Euvian and Mimi returning from some aerobic class or exercise they had been doing all week long. It felt great to see most of the gang again.
I started off dancing tonight with Mimi. First On1, then a couple of times On2 later in the evening and a confused one near the end (she thought we were doing On2 while I was doing On1 - quite awkward). I really should stick with On2 with Mimi most of the time. I think it gets better more I do it, and the second dance is usually better than the first. I thought I spotted Zern trying On2 at one point also.
I rather liked the way my dance to Mundy Baja went. There were other pretty good ones too. Some of the dances were influenced by having watched a Milton Cobo earlier in the day.
Agnes showed up, but I only danced with her once.
Once I get used to leading many multiple turns for a few dances, going back to leading only single turns is difficult. By the end of the evening, I moved to triples and quadruples. I think I did a triple myself once fairly well. I am not sure if I liked this very much.
Ivan says he will be ready with his baby in 9 months - maybe 6 months. This is a deliberate misquote.
Quote of the day makes a return - "I kissed a boy in the mouth once."
Oh. Hayden played the part of follower for the class - not sure about his motivation - not that it matters. I suppose he was okay as a follower, but he probably would need a lot more practice than he's likely to get if he wants to become a good follower (as opposed to playing follower to become a better lead). I wonder how good Lee is - he looks good but looking good isn't everything.
I wonder if I should try Ballroom dancing again - as a change of pace.
I am a little bored listening to Salsa music. I suppose it does not help that there have been no new music added to my collection in about a month. One of the last CDs I received had a manufacturing error - the case and the CD said Tito Rodriguez, but the content was some Columbian band with heavy dose of accordion. Even with new CDs, I get tired of listening to it fairly quickly - maybe a dozen or few dozen listening in a course of 2-4 weeks. I am resorting to listening to old music again - opera, Brandenburg Concertos, etc. I will also give Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk a try.
I think I still am improving in Salsa dancing - On1 as well as On2. I am not sure if this does anything for me outside the Salsa world as it once did. I am not sure if I am very motivated to improve though. Old motivations like "I want to get better so I could dance with this person or that person" no longer exist. There is no one new I am dying to dance with On2 either.
I suspect that there is not a great deal of things I can learn from drop-in classes or workshops - at least not On1. I doubt going to London would make much difference. I am also fairly sure I will be proven wrong.
Plethora of factors led me to reach Club Salsa much earlier than usual. I spent extra time practicing On2 steps before Sally et al arrived.
Intermediate/Advanced with Sally and Chris
1,2,3,5,6,7 L-R hold - Copa start with leader overtaking and R hand ending on follower's back on 3 - leader is facing opposite direction by 5 and doing a hook step on 5 while leading follower forward (the direction she came from - essentially retracing her movement from 1,2,3 on 5,6,7) and moving out of the way to his left on 6 before getting back in front of follower on 7 with L-R over leader's L shoulder
1,2,3,5,6,7 bring L-R straight down on 1 and switch to R-R underneath (I used footwork technique suggested by Mario - see comment below - L foot behind R foot on 1 while bringing L-R down, R foot in place on 2 and L foot back to normal spot on 3 as L-R is switched between 2 and 3) - lead follower to a stationary clockwise turn (double turn was used for the class)
[comment: I recall doing a simpler version of this move with Mario and Susana last year with a simple Copa for the follower for the first 1,2,3,5,6,7 with leader turning 1/2 clockwise at the end to get to the same position to start the next 1,2,3 more or less the same way except with a movement to the left to get to open cross body position in order to lead a free traveling turn for follower for the finish]
1,2,3,5,6,7 CBL start with R-R draped over follower's head on 1 - make L-L connection in front and lead follower to 1 1/2 traveling counterclockwise turn - leader ends with ~3/4 counterclockwise turn keeping L-L high
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower to another full counterclockwise turn (I believe her turn starts on 2) with leader turning a further 3/4 after leading this turn to get to CBL position again - lead follower to a traveling 1/2 clockwise turn for finish
[comment: I find leading any turn for follower during 1,2,3 On1 problematic - there never is enough opportunity to practice this sort of thing during social dancing anywhere. This one should be doable without needing or wanting a strong lead and thus might be worth trying out a few times in Cambridge even though it's difficult to foresee it working with most people.]
1,2,3,5,6,7 start with L-L and establish R-R fairly early and lead follower into a 1/2 counterclockwise turn on the spot into crucifix position on 1,2,3 - lead follower to R side on 5 (her footwork would be L foot crossing over R foot in front) then lead follower into a 1/2 counterclockwise turn to end facing the direction she started with (but now positioned slightly to L from her perspective) - leader has turned 1/4 to 1/2 clockwise while leading the second turn
1,2,3,5,6,7 lead follower straight back on 1,2,3 with L-L ending under leader's L arm but keeping the connection as well - step forward on 5 to lead follower forward and lead follower into traveling counterclockwise turn like normal CBL finish with leader turning full counterclockwise
Natalie made a surprise appearance towards the end of the first class and thus provided me and Cyrille with a fun challenge of bringing her up to date on the material in a very short amount of time.
After a brief footwork exercise On2, Cyrille, Zern and I headed to Sauce for a drink (plus cheesy chips for Zern). William joined us later as did Euvian and Mimi returning from some aerobic class or exercise they had been doing all week long. It felt great to see most of the gang again.
I started off dancing tonight with Mimi. First On1, then a couple of times On2 later in the evening and a confused one near the end (she thought we were doing On2 while I was doing On1 - quite awkward). I really should stick with On2 with Mimi most of the time. I think it gets better more I do it, and the second dance is usually better than the first. I thought I spotted Zern trying On2 at one point also.
I rather liked the way my dance to Mundy Baja went. There were other pretty good ones too. Some of the dances were influenced by having watched a Milton Cobo earlier in the day.
Agnes showed up, but I only danced with her once.
Once I get used to leading many multiple turns for a few dances, going back to leading only single turns is difficult. By the end of the evening, I moved to triples and quadruples. I think I did a triple myself once fairly well. I am not sure if I liked this very much.
Ivan says he will be ready with his baby in 9 months - maybe 6 months. This is a deliberate misquote.
Quote of the day makes a return - "I kissed a boy in the mouth once."
Oh. Hayden played the part of follower for the class - not sure about his motivation - not that it matters. I suppose he was okay as a follower, but he probably would need a lot more practice than he's likely to get if he wants to become a good follower (as opposed to playing follower to become a better lead). I wonder how good Lee is - he looks good but looking good isn't everything.
drifting aimlessly
April 16, 2007
By the time I arrived, the classes were finished. I am guessing that the classes are as crowded as ever although the number of people social dancing was down to less than 30 people.
I saw Vishal and Danie for the first time since Madrid. They went away to attend a wedding in some island and were gone since Thursday afternoon.
Probably because I was there, the music became more Mambo-heavy towards the end. Songs like La Palomilla, La Llave, Pancho Cristal were heard in succession.
It is an ever changing crowd. After 3 months, one could be considered a veteran. After 2 years, I feel like an old-timer. Would people with more than 5 years experience be considered fossils?
On a completely unrelated topic, nitrogen boils at -195.8 degrees Celsius.
By the time I arrived, the classes were finished. I am guessing that the classes are as crowded as ever although the number of people social dancing was down to less than 30 people.
I saw Vishal and Danie for the first time since Madrid. They went away to attend a wedding in some island and were gone since Thursday afternoon.
Probably because I was there, the music became more Mambo-heavy towards the end. Songs like La Palomilla, La Llave, Pancho Cristal were heard in succession.
It is an ever changing crowd. After 3 months, one could be considered a veteran. After 2 years, I feel like an old-timer. Would people with more than 5 years experience be considered fossils?
On a completely unrelated topic, nitrogen boils at -195.8 degrees Celsius.
If it weren't for this or that
April 15, 2007
I feel ineffective. I have issues with schedules - and time in general. No longer is there a non-stop train between Cambridge and London on Sundays. Journey for SOS is now less convenient for both inbound and outbound journey.
My old self would have had no problem making the 6:28 train to Kings Cross. My new and hopefully temporary self could not make the 6:58 train. Because I did not feel like waiting for the 7:28 (and also because I did not have any books to ready on the train having accidentally left them at work), I drove to Tavistock Place instead. Perhaps I would prefer to drive more now given the changes in the train schedule, but doing so when going alone does not seem very kosher.
I had to make a detour to a bank machine because I did not have enough money for entry. I should have done it at the Cambridge train station.
I did not have any timepiece with me. All the clocks in Mary Ward Hall showed wrong time. I had no idea when I danced my last dance that it was the last dance of the evening. I probably missed some regular partners because of my ignorance.
There was fairly large number of Cambridge regulars - Mark, Sally, Nicola, Johnny, Serap, Laura. Maybe that's not very many. I thought I glimpsed Ed briefly too. Others present included Vera, Imi, Simon, Roger, Pablo, Sean, Marianne. No Tracy - that's rare.
It was exceedingly warm. I don't think they had the full complement of fans. It was difficult. Standing still was a chore. Dancing Cha Cha (the only time On2) was surprisingly exhausting. Essentially every dance was graded lower than it normally would have been because the conditions were so inhospitable. Even when the dance worked very well, it was too exhausting to be or act happy about it because I felt like going off to a cooler spot and breathe. I think most people there felt the same way. To think that I almost brought my overcoat with me...
The speaker system sounded very weak today. The volume was turned way down. It made for another challenge.
Music was a bit on a bland side earlier and surprisingly familiar later. Caballo Viejo was an entry as were a couple of Vishal classics. Mark Dimond's Los Rumberos was played - three times in less than 10 days! Japan Mambo might have been played - if not something that sounded a bit like it gave me the easiest and most pleasant dance. My partner liked the way I led. It might have been a good opportunity to socialize, but my mind was too preoccupied with the temperature and with breathing.
Other than the oppressive heat and humidity inside, wimpy sound, confusion about time and lost opportunity for socializing (other than to complain about the exhausting conditions), it was a great night out.
I feel ineffective. I have issues with schedules - and time in general. No longer is there a non-stop train between Cambridge and London on Sundays. Journey for SOS is now less convenient for both inbound and outbound journey.
My old self would have had no problem making the 6:28 train to Kings Cross. My new and hopefully temporary self could not make the 6:58 train. Because I did not feel like waiting for the 7:28 (and also because I did not have any books to ready on the train having accidentally left them at work), I drove to Tavistock Place instead. Perhaps I would prefer to drive more now given the changes in the train schedule, but doing so when going alone does not seem very kosher.
I had to make a detour to a bank machine because I did not have enough money for entry. I should have done it at the Cambridge train station.
I did not have any timepiece with me. All the clocks in Mary Ward Hall showed wrong time. I had no idea when I danced my last dance that it was the last dance of the evening. I probably missed some regular partners because of my ignorance.
There was fairly large number of Cambridge regulars - Mark, Sally, Nicola, Johnny, Serap, Laura. Maybe that's not very many. I thought I glimpsed Ed briefly too. Others present included Vera, Imi, Simon, Roger, Pablo, Sean, Marianne. No Tracy - that's rare.
It was exceedingly warm. I don't think they had the full complement of fans. It was difficult. Standing still was a chore. Dancing Cha Cha (the only time On2) was surprisingly exhausting. Essentially every dance was graded lower than it normally would have been because the conditions were so inhospitable. Even when the dance worked very well, it was too exhausting to be or act happy about it because I felt like going off to a cooler spot and breathe. I think most people there felt the same way. To think that I almost brought my overcoat with me...
The speaker system sounded very weak today. The volume was turned way down. It made for another challenge.
Music was a bit on a bland side earlier and surprisingly familiar later. Caballo Viejo was an entry as were a couple of Vishal classics. Mark Dimond's Los Rumberos was played - three times in less than 10 days! Japan Mambo might have been played - if not something that sounded a bit like it gave me the easiest and most pleasant dance. My partner liked the way I led. It might have been a good opportunity to socialize, but my mind was too preoccupied with the temperature and with breathing.
Other than the oppressive heat and humidity inside, wimpy sound, confusion about time and lost opportunity for socializing (other than to complain about the exhausting conditions), it was a great night out.
Difficulties with air conditioning
April 13, 2007
Vishal had said that he asked Shila to DJ in case I wasn't back. Shila did not show up for quite some time. I'm not sure what the fix would have been - probably have Johnny/Serap/Abit DJ for a while?
As the social hour was about to start, I was mostly concerned about finding out how to get the air conditioning turned on. This turned out quite problematic. I thought I turned it on, but not necessarily with full ventilation. Abit seemed to know more about it, but I think all he did was to turn the fan on. When I looked a bit later, the air conditioning unit was turned off somehow. I tried to turn it on again. Later on, there was more meddling done by others, but when I looked again the setting looked wrong. I tried to fix it again, but it never became satisfactory. The main floor was quite sticky for much of the evening - not good.
Playlist
Playa No More - Crystal Sierra (1)
Mandali - Africando (2)
Lluvia - Eddie Santiago
Desnudate Mujer - Frankie Ruiz (3)
A El - Oscar D'Leon (4)
Hong Kong Mambo - Tito Puente (5)
La Muerte - El Gran Combo (6)
Lindo Yambu - Cheo Feliciano (7)
Adelante Siempre Voy - Ray Barretto (8)
Ave Maria Lola - Roberto Torres (9)
Ritmo Pa Borinquen - Grupo Latin Vibe
Cubanoson - Cubanoson
Mi Charanga - SonSublime (10)
Asia Mood - Tito Puente (11)
El Preso - Fruko and Sus Tesos (12)
Un Apretoncito - Toke D Keda
Senora - Domenic Marte
Nadie Se Salva De La Rumba - Celia Cruz/Ray Barretto/Adalberto Santiago (13)
Cali Pachanguero - Grupo Niche (14)*
El Pito - Isidro Infante
Montuno Street - Azabache*
break (15)
Juana Pena - Willie Colon (& Hector Lavoe) (16)
Se Me Fue - El Gran Combo
Avisale A Mi Contrario - Roberto Roena Y Su Apollo Sound
Lluvia - Willie Rosario
Nadie Como Ella - Marc Anthony (17)
El Tema Del Apollo - Eddie Palmieri (18)*
Plastico - Willie Colon & Ruben Blades (19)
Agua Limpia Todo - Tito Puente
Dime Que Quieres - El Gran Combo (20)
La Lucha (featuring Shanny) - La Excelencia (21)
Ran Kan Kan - Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland version) (22)
break (23)
Tu Son - Oscar D'Leon
Guaguanco Del Gran Combo - El Gran Combo
Esas Lagrimas - Gilberto Santa Rosa (24)
La Llave - Grupo Latin Vibe (25)
La-La-La - Direct Latin Influence (26)
Luna Negra - Rey Ruiz (27)
El Cantante - Hector Lavoe (28)
(1) With Vishal gone, I thought I could play this as something of a warm-up track without having it be played again later in the evening. Wrong. Shila played it again during my first break.
(2) The only reason I used this is because it's slow. I don't think many people like it though.
(3) I played this one in part because Mike was there - for old time's sake.
(4) This is not going too well. Not horrible but terribly uninteresting.
(5) A little better now.
(6) It got Johnny and Serap more inspired.
(7) Getting colder.
(8) Colder.
(9) Warmer, but it doesn't really help me.
(10) It was okay for a while, but it's going downhill again.
(11) I might as well have a dance. I asked Pauline.
(12) Someone requested this song. I had Shila cue it up.
(13) This probably was decent start to get back to Salsa.
(14) This wasn't. It was a request from some Latino - probably Columbian. How is it that it's popular when Vishal plays it but not when I play it? There seem to be a lot of never-before-seen Latinos tonight. They want Merengue, etc.
(15) I had Shila play a couple of Merengue. He started with Suavemente and followed it up with something new. He also played 4-6 Salsa. Some of the things he played tonight included Mi Tierra and Playa No More. I think I danced with Andrea at some point and also with the girl of "the goofy couple" as an exercise in adjusting to different style or looks. I thought it was fun and amusing, and I may not have been alone in thinking so.
(16) Another request. Latino visitors enjoyed it. Some regulars did not. I personally think it's a fine song. Plenty of songs at SOS/BritSalsafest/Madrid Simposium were as challenging to dance to. I guess it depends on whether you want a kind of song where you could do anything you like as opposed to a song that forces you do adjust your moves, etc.
(17) There was a request for Marc Anthony. I guess it happens.
(18) I wanted a big change of pace.
(19) There was a request for Ruben Blades too. I wanted to add an amusement factor too. Again the Latinos in the club seemed to enjoy it.
(20) Another request! What's with so many requests tonight? The request was for El Gran Combo. I asked any song in particular? He said Brujeria. That's okay. Any other suggestions? He can't seem to think of any names and says something newer. Okay. This one is only about 6-7 years old unlike Brujeria, which could be from 20-30 years or more ago.
(21) Let's try something even newer. No, maybe not. It didn't work so well.
(22) I had Shila cue up some Merengue again. I don't remember if I danced to this - maybe with Serap by the stairs.
(23) A shorter set by Shila.
(24) The murmuring from some of the Latinos was that all the music was "old." How about something newer - like Gilberto Santa Rosa? Gilberto Santa Rosa is new?
(25) I thought I would follow a 90's Gilberto Santa Rosa with a song from 00's - not that most would know. I danced with Pauline again at some point and it might have been to this song. I'm pretty sure I had at least 7 dances with at least 6 people tonight.
(26) Another one from 2005.
(27) I think by new, they meant Salsa Romantica, which is the old new. New new probably sounds old, which is by intention if not really successful in sounding truly old.
(28) Last song. Both Pauline and Andrea are still there (Andrea with a bouquet of flowers from her boss), but both are too tired. I danced with a girl who might have been getting a private lesson from Johnny this evening.
Total 39 songs. 2 Bachata. 1 new Cha Cha. 36 Salsa including 2 new. I felt that it was a very unsatisfying set. I don't think poor floor conditions helped with the atmosphere.
Mark and Jane were something of surprise shows - more so given no one else from the team was there [note: I had forgotten about Thomas]. Cambridge feels quite empty.
Vishal had said that he asked Shila to DJ in case I wasn't back. Shila did not show up for quite some time. I'm not sure what the fix would have been - probably have Johnny/Serap/Abit DJ for a while?
As the social hour was about to start, I was mostly concerned about finding out how to get the air conditioning turned on. This turned out quite problematic. I thought I turned it on, but not necessarily with full ventilation. Abit seemed to know more about it, but I think all he did was to turn the fan on. When I looked a bit later, the air conditioning unit was turned off somehow. I tried to turn it on again. Later on, there was more meddling done by others, but when I looked again the setting looked wrong. I tried to fix it again, but it never became satisfactory. The main floor was quite sticky for much of the evening - not good.
Playlist
Playa No More - Crystal Sierra (1)
Mandali - Africando (2)
Lluvia - Eddie Santiago
Desnudate Mujer - Frankie Ruiz (3)
A El - Oscar D'Leon (4)
Hong Kong Mambo - Tito Puente (5)
La Muerte - El Gran Combo (6)
Lindo Yambu - Cheo Feliciano (7)
Adelante Siempre Voy - Ray Barretto (8)
Ave Maria Lola - Roberto Torres (9)
Ritmo Pa Borinquen - Grupo Latin Vibe
Cubanoson - Cubanoson
Mi Charanga - SonSublime (10)
Asia Mood - Tito Puente (11)
El Preso - Fruko and Sus Tesos (12)
Un Apretoncito - Toke D Keda
Senora - Domenic Marte
Nadie Se Salva De La Rumba - Celia Cruz/Ray Barretto/Adalberto Santiago (13)
Cali Pachanguero - Grupo Niche (14)*
El Pito - Isidro Infante
Montuno Street - Azabache*
break (15)
Juana Pena - Willie Colon (& Hector Lavoe) (16)
Se Me Fue - El Gran Combo
Avisale A Mi Contrario - Roberto Roena Y Su Apollo Sound
Lluvia - Willie Rosario
Nadie Como Ella - Marc Anthony (17)
El Tema Del Apollo - Eddie Palmieri (18)*
Plastico - Willie Colon & Ruben Blades (19)
Agua Limpia Todo - Tito Puente
Dime Que Quieres - El Gran Combo (20)
La Lucha (featuring Shanny) - La Excelencia (21)
Ran Kan Kan - Tito Puente (Mambo Birdland version) (22)
break (23)
Tu Son - Oscar D'Leon
Guaguanco Del Gran Combo - El Gran Combo
Esas Lagrimas - Gilberto Santa Rosa (24)
La Llave - Grupo Latin Vibe (25)
La-La-La - Direct Latin Influence (26)
Luna Negra - Rey Ruiz (27)
El Cantante - Hector Lavoe (28)
(1) With Vishal gone, I thought I could play this as something of a warm-up track without having it be played again later in the evening. Wrong. Shila played it again during my first break.
(2) The only reason I used this is because it's slow. I don't think many people like it though.
(3) I played this one in part because Mike was there - for old time's sake.
(4) This is not going too well. Not horrible but terribly uninteresting.
(5) A little better now.
(6) It got Johnny and Serap more inspired.
(7) Getting colder.
(8) Colder.
(9) Warmer, but it doesn't really help me.
(10) It was okay for a while, but it's going downhill again.
(11) I might as well have a dance. I asked Pauline.
(12) Someone requested this song. I had Shila cue it up.
(13) This probably was decent start to get back to Salsa.
(14) This wasn't. It was a request from some Latino - probably Columbian. How is it that it's popular when Vishal plays it but not when I play it? There seem to be a lot of never-before-seen Latinos tonight. They want Merengue, etc.
(15) I had Shila play a couple of Merengue. He started with Suavemente and followed it up with something new. He also played 4-6 Salsa. Some of the things he played tonight included Mi Tierra and Playa No More. I think I danced with Andrea at some point and also with the girl of "the goofy couple" as an exercise in adjusting to different style or looks. I thought it was fun and amusing, and I may not have been alone in thinking so.
(16) Another request. Latino visitors enjoyed it. Some regulars did not. I personally think it's a fine song. Plenty of songs at SOS/BritSalsafest/Madrid Simposium were as challenging to dance to. I guess it depends on whether you want a kind of song where you could do anything you like as opposed to a song that forces you do adjust your moves, etc.
(17) There was a request for Marc Anthony. I guess it happens.
(18) I wanted a big change of pace.
(19) There was a request for Ruben Blades too. I wanted to add an amusement factor too. Again the Latinos in the club seemed to enjoy it.
(20) Another request! What's with so many requests tonight? The request was for El Gran Combo. I asked any song in particular? He said Brujeria. That's okay. Any other suggestions? He can't seem to think of any names and says something newer. Okay. This one is only about 6-7 years old unlike Brujeria, which could be from 20-30 years or more ago.
(21) Let's try something even newer. No, maybe not. It didn't work so well.
(22) I had Shila cue up some Merengue again. I don't remember if I danced to this - maybe with Serap by the stairs.
(23) A shorter set by Shila.
(24) The murmuring from some of the Latinos was that all the music was "old." How about something newer - like Gilberto Santa Rosa? Gilberto Santa Rosa is new?
(25) I thought I would follow a 90's Gilberto Santa Rosa with a song from 00's - not that most would know. I danced with Pauline again at some point and it might have been to this song. I'm pretty sure I had at least 7 dances with at least 6 people tonight.
(26) Another one from 2005.
(27) I think by new, they meant Salsa Romantica, which is the old new. New new probably sounds old, which is by intention if not really successful in sounding truly old.
(28) Last song. Both Pauline and Andrea are still there (Andrea with a bouquet of flowers from her boss), but both are too tired. I danced with a girl who might have been getting a private lesson from Johnny this evening.
Total 39 songs. 2 Bachata. 1 new Cha Cha. 36 Salsa including 2 new. I felt that it was a very unsatisfying set. I don't think poor floor conditions helped with the atmosphere.
Mark and Jane were something of surprise shows - more so given no one else from the team was there [note: I had forgotten about Thomas]. Cambridge feels quite empty.
Homecoming
April 12, 2007
Sorting through writings and photographs from Spain took way too long so I did not bother with the class this evening.
It was a rather quiet evening. Ivan was a surprise no show. Sergio is gone of course, but Cyrille and Mimi were there. Zern was there as well - I guess he's mostly healed now - quick recovery!
I had over dozen dances and seemed to be in reasonable form. Maybe Madrid was a better practice than I expected.
One thing, which surprised me was to see how light the followers in Cambridge are compared to most followers I danced with in Madrid.
I also managed a few practice dances On2, including once to a Cha Cha. It worked out surprisingly well given that I had no practice in nearly 2 weeks. Also worth noting was that when I went back to dancing On1 after Cha Cha (with Caroline to La Llave), I struggled mightily with my footwork.
Madrid photographs (nothing Salsa - whittled down to 422 images) are up if you know where to find them and if you are interested.
Sorting through writings and photographs from Spain took way too long so I did not bother with the class this evening.
It was a rather quiet evening. Ivan was a surprise no show. Sergio is gone of course, but Cyrille and Mimi were there. Zern was there as well - I guess he's mostly healed now - quick recovery!
I had over dozen dances and seemed to be in reasonable form. Maybe Madrid was a better practice than I expected.
One thing, which surprised me was to see how light the followers in Cambridge are compared to most followers I danced with in Madrid.
I also managed a few practice dances On2, including once to a Cha Cha. It worked out surprisingly well given that I had no practice in nearly 2 weeks. Also worth noting was that when I went back to dancing On1 after Cha Cha (with Caroline to La Llave), I struggled mightily with my footwork.
Madrid photographs (nothing Salsa - whittled down to 422 images) are up if you know where to find them and if you are interested.
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