Class #013
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Jo Kryulko, Bristol, UK - 01/03/2016
Good lesson today, as I felt I had a reasonable grasp of the turns. Jo.uad a useful tip on leading the back step too. Although it starts like the mambo, you make it clear by the second step, as you're pushing back again. Also, with the turn out, bring your hand across their body to indicate what you're going to do. On to the turn, which had three variations (no idea what the turn is called though):
Turn 1, Wrist Push
1. Start with normal mambo forward.
2. Usual tap
3. Now it changes. Step forward to the side, into a T. Let go with right hand.
4. Swivel right hand around to their wrist, push across.
5. Keep turning as they turn
6. Keep turning.
7. Return to start, ready to mambo
Turn 2, Right Hand Swoop
1. Start with normal mambo forward.
2. Usual tap
3. Step forward to the side, into a T. Swoop right hand down and across, still holding theirs.
4. Raise right arm through and high, continue turn.
5. Keep turning, careful to adjust if they are taller/shorter
6. Keep turning, backs passing
7. Return to start, ready to mambo
Turn 3, Left Hand Out
1. Start with normal mambo forward.
2. Usual tap
3. Step forward to the side, into a T. Bring left hand out and across, still holding theirs.
4. Raise left arm through and high, wait for them to turn.
5. Turn, careful to adjust if they are taller/shorter
6. Keep turning, backs passing
7. Return to start, ready to mambo
Jo said the curriculum restarts after next week, which is good. I'm looking forward to going through the whole thing and getting thorough notes this time. :)
Showing posts with label salsa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salsa. Show all posts
01 March 2016
23 February 2016
23/02/2016 - Salsa Souls at Riproar in Bristol | Left Turn
Class #012
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Jo Kryulko, Bristol, UK - 23/02/2016
Back to salsa, where again we were doing the left turn. Based on what my dance partner was saying last week, I'm trying to make sure I count out the steps in my head each time. It makes a HUGE difference. I no doubt look a bit weird focusing in the middle distance while counting, but I'm messing up the steps less often. On the left turn, I'm not totally certain how the end bit (where you step round to finish the spin) splits up by steps, but seemed to work when I was doing it.
Leader's Left Turn
1 Step left, slight turn to the right
2 Tap back
3 Step back on the left, slightly turned out
4 Pause? Or more stepping?
5 Step more
6 Keep stepping? Got a bit confused there
Leading the Follower's Left Turn
1 Step forward, normal mambo
2 Tap
3 Step back in line
4 Pause
5 Step back on right, pull on their arm with your right
6 Tap, Push their arm forward with your right, let go
7 They do their spin as you step back in line. Keep stepping?
And with two hands
1 Step forward, normal mambo
2 Tap
3 Step back in line
4 Pause
5 Step back on right, pull on their arm with your right
6 Tap, Push their arm forward with your right, raise your left arm high
7 They do their spin as you step back in line
1 Keep arm high while they spin
2 They keep turning
3 Do your step forward, as they complete
4-7 Step round
Straight back into mambo
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Jo Kryulko, Bristol, UK - 23/02/2016
Back to salsa, where again we were doing the left turn. Based on what my dance partner was saying last week, I'm trying to make sure I count out the steps in my head each time. It makes a HUGE difference. I no doubt look a bit weird focusing in the middle distance while counting, but I'm messing up the steps less often. On the left turn, I'm not totally certain how the end bit (where you step round to finish the spin) splits up by steps, but seemed to work when I was doing it.
Leader's Left Turn
1 Step left, slight turn to the right
2 Tap back
3 Step back on the left, slightly turned out
4 Pause? Or more stepping?
5 Step more
6 Keep stepping? Got a bit confused there
Leading the Follower's Left Turn
1 Step forward, normal mambo
2 Tap
3 Step back in line
4 Pause
5 Step back on right, pull on their arm with your right
6 Tap, Push their arm forward with your right, let go
7 They do their spin as you step back in line. Keep stepping?
And with two hands
1 Step forward, normal mambo
2 Tap
3 Step back in line
4 Pause
5 Step back on right, pull on their arm with your right
6 Tap, Push their arm forward with your right, raise your left arm high
7 They do their spin as you step back in line
1 Keep arm high while they spin
2 They keep turning
3 Do your step forward, as they complete
4-7 Step round
Straight back into mambo
16 February 2016
16/02/2016 - Salsa Souls at Riproar in Bristol | Left Turn
Class #011
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Jo Kryulko, Bristol, UK - 16/02/2016
At least I think it was left turn. The teacher has gotten into a habit of teaching one thing before the break which looks complex, then something else straightforward after the break: I'm not sure if one is the leader's version and the other the follower's? Anyway, the part I remember is that the lead does half a mambo (step forward, shift weight forward, then step back), before tugging gently with their right arm. They then raise their left arm as they step forward, while the follower turns.
Seemed simple enough, until I tried it during the 'free dance' bit at the end. That resulted in a blank stare while I held their arm in the air, so I clearly don't have the timing right for the leading stuff, as I'm not giving them enough warning before the turn. It would probably help if I thought more about the number as I step (the whole, '1, 2, 3, 4, 5' etc thing), rather than just thinking about it as forward and back. I'm also still not getting especially stuck in with the free dance stuff at the end: messing up steps doesn't help, but I'll have to start forcing myself or I'll never get any better. Just like with BJJ, I'm not forcing myself to jump in often enough. ;)
I did get in a bit of salsa on holiday, as the hotel activities team was really good (especially on Spanish lessons, pretty cool to get a good three hours worth during my stay). However, they did tend to throw in a bunch of other dances: the female teacher was especially keen on reggaeton. Good work out and I certainly slept well that night, but not overly relevant to salsa. But meh, all fun. First time I've danced with a bloke in salsa too, as there weren't many people during the hotel salsa classes. :)
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Jo Kryulko, Bristol, UK - 16/02/2016
At least I think it was left turn. The teacher has gotten into a habit of teaching one thing before the break which looks complex, then something else straightforward after the break: I'm not sure if one is the leader's version and the other the follower's? Anyway, the part I remember is that the lead does half a mambo (step forward, shift weight forward, then step back), before tugging gently with their right arm. They then raise their left arm as they step forward, while the follower turns.
Seemed simple enough, until I tried it during the 'free dance' bit at the end. That resulted in a blank stare while I held their arm in the air, so I clearly don't have the timing right for the leading stuff, as I'm not giving them enough warning before the turn. It would probably help if I thought more about the number as I step (the whole, '1, 2, 3, 4, 5' etc thing), rather than just thinking about it as forward and back. I'm also still not getting especially stuck in with the free dance stuff at the end: messing up steps doesn't help, but I'll have to start forcing myself or I'll never get any better. Just like with BJJ, I'm not forcing myself to jump in often enough. ;)
I did get in a bit of salsa on holiday, as the hotel activities team was really good (especially on Spanish lessons, pretty cool to get a good three hours worth during my stay). However, they did tend to throw in a bunch of other dances: the female teacher was especially keen on reggaeton. Good work out and I certainly slept well that night, but not overly relevant to salsa. But meh, all fun. First time I've danced with a bloke in salsa too, as there weren't many people during the hotel salsa classes. :)
02 February 2016
02/02/2016 - Salsa Souls at Riproar in Bristol | Half Turn
Class #010
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Jo Kryulko, Bristol, UK - 02/02/2016
We didn't make it last week, but wanted to make sure we got there tonight as we're likely to miss next week too. It's moved downstairs due to work going on: I think I prefer it downstairs. It isn't quite as noisy and I get a better view of the teacher's feet, which is really key to work out what she's demonstrating. Shame it has to move back upstairs, although downstairs does have the disadvantage of a cold draft whenever somebody opens the door.
After going through the usual warm-up (I tend to mostly ignore those, as it isn't salsa and my brain can only fit in so much ;D) and basic steps (mambo, going forwards and backwards; rumba, side to side; 't-step', stepping out and back; back step), it was time for the hard bit. Today, that was the half turn. Which I didn't get at all. It's fine when you see the teacher demonstrate, you follow, all good. But as soon as you try to do it with a partner, everything goes out the window. So that was meh.
The next part was much easier, completely forgetting about the half turn stuff. After a mambo, the leader lets go with their left hand, steps back and pushes forward with their right arm. That tells the follower to step back. The leader then pulls their arm to the side, to spin the follower in close. You can vary this, either going by the follower's hip, their shoulder, or grabbing both hands and swivelling them (possibly makes the turn easier, as you can control it all the way through).
The leader and follower are now next to each other, facing forward. The leader steps back on their right, the follower on their left. The leader then pushes their right arm forwards again, to spin the follower back out, then to finish the leader does a mambo. If I've remembered that right, which is a big if. I need to start getting back into the habit of doing videos to record myself so I don't forget, but I might wait until it gets quieter. If it ever gets quieter: classes are still really busy.
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Jo Kryulko, Bristol, UK - 02/02/2016
We didn't make it last week, but wanted to make sure we got there tonight as we're likely to miss next week too. It's moved downstairs due to work going on: I think I prefer it downstairs. It isn't quite as noisy and I get a better view of the teacher's feet, which is really key to work out what she's demonstrating. Shame it has to move back upstairs, although downstairs does have the disadvantage of a cold draft whenever somebody opens the door.
After going through the usual warm-up (I tend to mostly ignore those, as it isn't salsa and my brain can only fit in so much ;D) and basic steps (mambo, going forwards and backwards; rumba, side to side; 't-step', stepping out and back; back step), it was time for the hard bit. Today, that was the half turn. Which I didn't get at all. It's fine when you see the teacher demonstrate, you follow, all good. But as soon as you try to do it with a partner, everything goes out the window. So that was meh.
The next part was much easier, completely forgetting about the half turn stuff. After a mambo, the leader lets go with their left hand, steps back and pushes forward with their right arm. That tells the follower to step back. The leader then pulls their arm to the side, to spin the follower in close. You can vary this, either going by the follower's hip, their shoulder, or grabbing both hands and swivelling them (possibly makes the turn easier, as you can control it all the way through).
The leader and follower are now next to each other, facing forward. The leader steps back on their right, the follower on their left. The leader then pushes their right arm forwards again, to spin the follower back out, then to finish the leader does a mambo. If I've remembered that right, which is a big if. I need to start getting back into the habit of doing videos to record myself so I don't forget, but I might wait until it gets quieter. If it ever gets quieter: classes are still really busy.
19 January 2016
19/01/2016 - Salsa Souls at Riproar in Bristol | Cross Body Lead
Class #009
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Jo Kryulko, Bristol, UK - 19/01/2016
Tuesday is shaping up be the most fitness intensive day of my week. Starts off with an hour of kettlebells, then an hour of BJJ open mat, until finally two hours of salsa dancing. My knee was a bit sore after open mat, so I'll have to keep an eye on that. My neck too, so I'll try toning down the sparring for the rest of this week. I'll be in Verona for the Tamara de Lempicka show on Sunday anyway. Speaking of which, you should donate to the charity GrappleThon in support of One25! Tamara would. ;P
Also, now I know the teacher's name, my OCD need to record everything is satisfied. Yay! Anyway, tonight was mainly about the cross body lead. Jo had a good way teaching this: step on the train, step on the platform, turn. At least, I got that first bit, but couldn't see her feet on the second part. That's one of the downsides of a big, popular class: too many bodies in the way of the teachers' feet. ;)
Fortunately for me, my girlfriend is a lot more willing to ask than I am, so she brought Jo over during the free dancing bit at the end. That massively helped, as Jo went through the technique in detail, as well as a bunch of other refinements to what I'd been doing. First off - and this is pretty important, so I was lucky I got this corrected early - is how to lead your partner. When you've got that closer hold on them (which I'm sure has a name, but I don't know it yet: I have my hand on her shoulder blade under her arm, while she grips my other hand, curling her fingers over the back of my hand), make sure your shoulder-blade hand is in the middle of their shoulder blades. I'd been putting it too low, on the ribs.
With it between the shoulder blades, you can lead more effectively. It enables you to not only indicate side to side, but also back and forward. With your fingers in between their shoulder blades, the heel of your palm will be on their side. Use that to push back on them - gently! - to indicate when you want them to go backwards. Also, I was getting confused about leading on the basic back step, though when you realise it's pretty obvious. If they are going backwards, you need to push them backwards, not pull them towards you. I had been pulling towards me because when I step back, that's the direction I'm going. D'oh. :)
Previously with the cross-body lead, I had gone the wrong way. Every. Single. Time. Particularly when Jo picked me to demonstrate on, when I kept on going the wrong way even though she was correcting me. Clearly takes a lot to get that through my thick skull. So, assuming I am now remembering this properly, it goes like this (from that close grip):
• Rock forward on your left
• Step with your right, turning the foot perpendicular to your left
• Bring your left back in line with the right
• As you do that, steer your partner around to line up with you
• Rock sideways on your right
• Step your left back, at right angles
• Bring your partner back in line
I think? I am still not entirely sure, need to film myself doing this, like I did back in 2008 with the steps (e.g, this, from my first salsa class). The teachers are very keen for everybody to try and dance with somebody from the other class (the beginners join up with the intermediate/advanced for the free dancey bit at the end), but I'm not keen at the moment. I'm especially not keen if it's that close hold: if I get forced to dance with anyone other than my gf, I'll make sure if that's beach ball holding frame, so I can keep them safely at arms length. I've mentioned this before, but very weirdly given I've been doing Brazilian jiu jitsu for a decade, I hate being touched. Then again, if I've been able to get used to it in BJJ, should hopefully be able to do the same with salsa. :D
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Jo Kryulko, Bristol, UK - 19/01/2016
Tuesday is shaping up be the most fitness intensive day of my week. Starts off with an hour of kettlebells, then an hour of BJJ open mat, until finally two hours of salsa dancing. My knee was a bit sore after open mat, so I'll have to keep an eye on that. My neck too, so I'll try toning down the sparring for the rest of this week. I'll be in Verona for the Tamara de Lempicka show on Sunday anyway. Speaking of which, you should donate to the charity GrappleThon in support of One25! Tamara would. ;P
Also, now I know the teacher's name, my OCD need to record everything is satisfied. Yay! Anyway, tonight was mainly about the cross body lead. Jo had a good way teaching this: step on the train, step on the platform, turn. At least, I got that first bit, but couldn't see her feet on the second part. That's one of the downsides of a big, popular class: too many bodies in the way of the teachers' feet. ;)
Fortunately for me, my girlfriend is a lot more willing to ask than I am, so she brought Jo over during the free dancing bit at the end. That massively helped, as Jo went through the technique in detail, as well as a bunch of other refinements to what I'd been doing. First off - and this is pretty important, so I was lucky I got this corrected early - is how to lead your partner. When you've got that closer hold on them (which I'm sure has a name, but I don't know it yet: I have my hand on her shoulder blade under her arm, while she grips my other hand, curling her fingers over the back of my hand), make sure your shoulder-blade hand is in the middle of their shoulder blades. I'd been putting it too low, on the ribs.
With it between the shoulder blades, you can lead more effectively. It enables you to not only indicate side to side, but also back and forward. With your fingers in between their shoulder blades, the heel of your palm will be on their side. Use that to push back on them - gently! - to indicate when you want them to go backwards. Also, I was getting confused about leading on the basic back step, though when you realise it's pretty obvious. If they are going backwards, you need to push them backwards, not pull them towards you. I had been pulling towards me because when I step back, that's the direction I'm going. D'oh. :)
Previously with the cross-body lead, I had gone the wrong way. Every. Single. Time. Particularly when Jo picked me to demonstrate on, when I kept on going the wrong way even though she was correcting me. Clearly takes a lot to get that through my thick skull. So, assuming I am now remembering this properly, it goes like this (from that close grip):
• Rock forward on your left
• Step with your right, turning the foot perpendicular to your left
• Bring your left back in line with the right
• As you do that, steer your partner around to line up with you
• Rock sideways on your right
• Step your left back, at right angles
• Bring your partner back in line
I think? I am still not entirely sure, need to film myself doing this, like I did back in 2008 with the steps (e.g, this, from my first salsa class). The teachers are very keen for everybody to try and dance with somebody from the other class (the beginners join up with the intermediate/advanced for the free dancey bit at the end), but I'm not keen at the moment. I'm especially not keen if it's that close hold: if I get forced to dance with anyone other than my gf, I'll make sure if that's beach ball holding frame, so I can keep them safely at arms length. I've mentioned this before, but very weirdly given I've been doing Brazilian jiu jitsu for a decade, I hate being touched. Then again, if I've been able to get used to it in BJJ, should hopefully be able to do the same with salsa. :D
12 January 2016
12/01/2016 - Salsa Souls at Riproar in Bristol | Mambo & other basic steps
Class #008
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Bristol, UK - 12/01/2016
It has been almost eight years since I went to my first salsa class, back during my gf's MA at Warwick. I only lasted two months, going once a week. We decided to check out another salsa class today, over at the Riproar club in the centre of town (which handily has bike racks right outside). Head upstairs (past an almost 100% male wall of comics - exactly why we need people like Jane from What the Frock) and pay your £7.50 on the door (fairly reasonable for two hours of class and extra dancing time), then you sit around waiting until the class starts at 8pm. Good thing too as we thought it started at 19:45 and were late: that cushion of time was very useful! Map with street view embedded below, but be aware if you move that around, it might revert to May 2014 pictures. Back then, the building that now houses Riproar was Bella Pizza, in case you get confused. ;)
The guy who runs Salsa Souls is called Stellan. He led us through a warm-up which also functioned as an advert for another dance class he teaches, something called 'bachata'. I've got no interest in learning bachata, but it's a good idea to use the warm-up for marketing. Still, I'd rather warm-up with salsa moves, as it's confusing enough to try and learn techniques from one style without adding in others. But then I'm biased, as I use warm-ups in my BJJ class to intro the movements that will be used in the lesson. Also, I almost always only teach one BJJ technique and then drill it loads: that probably wouldn't work too well in a salsa setting.
Just like at Warwick in 2008, the group (and it was a massive group, most likely because it's January) was split into beginners and improvers. We stuck with the beginners, as I could most definitely do with a refresher (proved to be a wise decision, I've forgotten almost everything). I can't remember the teacher's name, but she seemed friendly and enthusiastic. Looking at the About Us page on the Salsa Souls website, I don't think it was the one female currently listed, Annabel. Then again, she did say she'd only started teaching recently, so perhaps she hasn't been added yet. She was very keen on her 'kiwis, beach ball, smile' metaphor, by which she meant imagine you have two kiwis under your arms (which you want to keep there, but not squash), while holding a beach ball and grinning. That's meant to teach you to hold a frame, seems like a good metaphor. I'm not keen on enforced smiling, but on the other hand, it makes perfect sense why that is encouraged so much. If your partner is glowering at you, especially as most of the beginners won't have met each other before, it's going to put you off. ;)
Looking back through my old salsa notes, I think I have done most of the steps before, though I only remembered a few of them. Having those notes also means I can copy and paste, though some of the steps I may have forgotten to add. E.g., the sideways one, where you step to the side, sway, then step back and sway. I think? Similarly there was a backstep, where as you'd expect you step back, shift your weight onto your heel, step your feet back in line, then same again on the other side.
The first step I clearly remembered was a mambo, which I can copy over from my old notes. In those I talked about a seven-beat rhythm, not something that came up in this class, but meh:
• Step forward on your left
• Lift your right heel and move your weight forward
• Bring your left foot back in line with your right
• Step back with your right
• Shift your weight back
• Bring your right foot back in line with your left
I also remembered the turning one, which I think the instructor called a 't step'. You step one leg out to the side and back, meaning that you've now turned your torso. Step back to feet in line, then repeat on the other side. Things got more complicated with the 'mans turn'. I remember having trouble with this back in 2008. The lady's turn doesn't involve much movement from the man, as you just drop your hand then raise it, waiting for your partner to spin around. The man's turn...meh, still not getting it this time round, but here's what I wrote at Warwick:
• Step your left forward and twist your left foot inwards, also turning your torso
• Continue the turn by angling your right foot and leg back
• Spin and return to the previous position
• Then mambo back as normal (step back, shift weight, bring feet back in line)
I didn't get the flare or Suzie Q either, though I think I have been shown them before. But meh, should be plenty of time to work those out over the next few lessons. I plan to give it another go next week, when hopefully it won't be quite as busy. As at Warwick, I still really dislike the gender split inherent in salsa, partly out of my feminist principles, partly from sheer laziness (I hate having to be the one making the decisions! Much rather be led). Then again, like Georgette said back in her 2008 comment:
So, if I could just convince my girlfriend to do the leading, I think I'd enjoy salsa a whole lot more. Oh, and if I didn't have to partner with anybody else, I'm not keen on that either (though I can understand the social side is important to salsa, I'd rather my gf was my only dance partner). A more general downside is that class finishes quite late, at 22:00, when the social dancing bit continues on for a while (optional, as class is over). Then again, in my case I don't have to get up early the next day and my gf doesn't mind, so no biggy. I'm being quite negative, but the class was well taught, the teacher was friendly and engaging and everybody seemed nice. Well worth another go, especially as it gets good reviews (which is why my gf picked it). They've got a Facebook page I need to remember to join too, given I do everything through Facebook these days.
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Bristol, UK - 12/01/2016
It has been almost eight years since I went to my first salsa class, back during my gf's MA at Warwick. I only lasted two months, going once a week. We decided to check out another salsa class today, over at the Riproar club in the centre of town (which handily has bike racks right outside). Head upstairs (past an almost 100% male wall of comics - exactly why we need people like Jane from What the Frock) and pay your £7.50 on the door (fairly reasonable for two hours of class and extra dancing time), then you sit around waiting until the class starts at 8pm. Good thing too as we thought it started at 19:45 and were late: that cushion of time was very useful! Map with street view embedded below, but be aware if you move that around, it might revert to May 2014 pictures. Back then, the building that now houses Riproar was Bella Pizza, in case you get confused. ;)
The guy who runs Salsa Souls is called Stellan. He led us through a warm-up which also functioned as an advert for another dance class he teaches, something called 'bachata'. I've got no interest in learning bachata, but it's a good idea to use the warm-up for marketing. Still, I'd rather warm-up with salsa moves, as it's confusing enough to try and learn techniques from one style without adding in others. But then I'm biased, as I use warm-ups in my BJJ class to intro the movements that will be used in the lesson. Also, I almost always only teach one BJJ technique and then drill it loads: that probably wouldn't work too well in a salsa setting.
Just like at Warwick in 2008, the group (and it was a massive group, most likely because it's January) was split into beginners and improvers. We stuck with the beginners, as I could most definitely do with a refresher (proved to be a wise decision, I've forgotten almost everything). I can't remember the teacher's name, but she seemed friendly and enthusiastic. Looking at the About Us page on the Salsa Souls website, I don't think it was the one female currently listed, Annabel. Then again, she did say she'd only started teaching recently, so perhaps she hasn't been added yet. She was very keen on her 'kiwis, beach ball, smile' metaphor, by which she meant imagine you have two kiwis under your arms (which you want to keep there, but not squash), while holding a beach ball and grinning. That's meant to teach you to hold a frame, seems like a good metaphor. I'm not keen on enforced smiling, but on the other hand, it makes perfect sense why that is encouraged so much. If your partner is glowering at you, especially as most of the beginners won't have met each other before, it's going to put you off. ;)
Looking back through my old salsa notes, I think I have done most of the steps before, though I only remembered a few of them. Having those notes also means I can copy and paste, though some of the steps I may have forgotten to add. E.g., the sideways one, where you step to the side, sway, then step back and sway. I think? Similarly there was a backstep, where as you'd expect you step back, shift your weight onto your heel, step your feet back in line, then same again on the other side.
The first step I clearly remembered was a mambo, which I can copy over from my old notes. In those I talked about a seven-beat rhythm, not something that came up in this class, but meh:
• Step forward on your left
• Lift your right heel and move your weight forward
• Bring your left foot back in line with your right
• Step back with your right
• Shift your weight back
• Bring your right foot back in line with your left
I also remembered the turning one, which I think the instructor called a 't step'. You step one leg out to the side and back, meaning that you've now turned your torso. Step back to feet in line, then repeat on the other side. Things got more complicated with the 'mans turn'. I remember having trouble with this back in 2008. The lady's turn doesn't involve much movement from the man, as you just drop your hand then raise it, waiting for your partner to spin around. The man's turn...meh, still not getting it this time round, but here's what I wrote at Warwick:
• Step your left forward and twist your left foot inwards, also turning your torso
• Continue the turn by angling your right foot and leg back
• Spin and return to the previous position
• Then mambo back as normal (step back, shift weight, bring feet back in line)
I didn't get the flare or Suzie Q either, though I think I have been shown them before. But meh, should be plenty of time to work those out over the next few lessons. I plan to give it another go next week, when hopefully it won't be quite as busy. As at Warwick, I still really dislike the gender split inherent in salsa, partly out of my feminist principles, partly from sheer laziness (I hate having to be the one making the decisions! Much rather be led). Then again, like Georgette said back in her 2008 comment:
It's so much like jiu jitsu, except there's only one leader. Yes, gay couples need to pick who leads and who follows. However-- the best salsa dancers are capable of leading and following no matter their gender, so when you're watching the pros, you'll sometimes see men following men or ladies leading ladies. :)
So, if I could just convince my girlfriend to do the leading, I think I'd enjoy salsa a whole lot more. Oh, and if I didn't have to partner with anybody else, I'm not keen on that either (though I can understand the social side is important to salsa, I'd rather my gf was my only dance partner). A more general downside is that class finishes quite late, at 22:00, when the social dancing bit continues on for a while (optional, as class is over). Then again, in my case I don't have to get up early the next day and my gf doesn't mind, so no biggy. I'm being quite negative, but the class was well taught, the teacher was friendly and engaging and everybody seemed nice. Well worth another go, especially as it gets good reviews (which is why my gf picked it). They've got a Facebook page I need to remember to join too, given I do everything through Facebook these days.
03 December 2008
02/12/2008 - Salsa
Class #7
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Billy, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 02/12/2008
Tonight we again went through the routine Billy has been building up for the latter part of this term. To recap: two mambos, cross-body lead, step back and swing the arm, man's turn switching arms, then back to two mambos. On the second mambo, slip your hands down so you change to a grip on both their hands instead of their hand and shoulder. Break (you both step back, then use the tension in your arms to swing back towards each other), spin them in towards you (still holding both their hands, bring your left hand across to your right), then on the five, six, seven count, move around in a semi-circle.
Next, spin them out to the side. Billy pointed here that once you get adept at salsa, you can do that in one motion, but for the moment, you should try and split it across the one, two, three count. A slight step out with your other foot, then nudging gently with your shoulder, bounce your partner into their spin. Bring them back in again (keeping your arm around hip level for ease), then pressing palm to palm, lean to the side: your partner will lean onto your other side.
Spin them out again, and then bring them back in. This is the first variation Billy made on the previous routine (or at least the one I'm used to: I wasn't there last week). As you spin them in, let go towards the end and guide them towards you with your arm. Continue their spinning motion, until you have a grip around their back with both hands. Make sure you can support their weight, then dip them, twisting to the side.
Come back up, so that they are now in front of you. Keep your hands on their hips, and do a basic mambo from their. Shift your arms back so that you're now holding their hands instead of their hips. Next, switch your grip, so that you are holding their opposite hand: also note your right hand should be above your left hand. I'm not quite sure how to get that grip switch, as there is supposed to be a flashy way of doing it (something about swinging your hand out and switching, but I wasn't able to follow the motion).
You can now do another nifty spin, which I had some problems with before I got it right. First, do another break as before, but this time with your hands in that diagonal hold. As you bring them in after the break, twirl them by pulling your left hand to the left. Then bring your right arm over their head, as they bring their left arm over yours. It's a little complex and easy to get entangled (I did repeatedly), but you should end up with an arm behind both your heads, holding a hand.
To finish, switch your right hand to grip their hand by their hip, release your other grips, spin them around to the left and do another dip. Move into a normal mambo, cross-body lead, step back and swing your arm, then finally push on their arm as you do an inward turn to complete the routine back in a mambo position. From here you can restart the whole thing (which is what I did with my girlfriend during the freestyle, to practice), or you finish with a bow or something instead of going back to the mambo hold.
As it was the last lesson of term, there were some christmas nibbles on hand, which was cool. Mince pies, like custard, are awesome hot or cold, and those little cocktail sausages are great too. Great way to see off salsa for this year, with a brief drink at Varsity afterwards. Now I just need to make sure I record myself and my gf practicing that routine in the kitchen so we don't forget!
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Billy, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 02/12/2008
Tonight we again went through the routine Billy has been building up for the latter part of this term. To recap: two mambos, cross-body lead, step back and swing the arm, man's turn switching arms, then back to two mambos. On the second mambo, slip your hands down so you change to a grip on both their hands instead of their hand and shoulder. Break (you both step back, then use the tension in your arms to swing back towards each other), spin them in towards you (still holding both their hands, bring your left hand across to your right), then on the five, six, seven count, move around in a semi-circle.
Next, spin them out to the side. Billy pointed here that once you get adept at salsa, you can do that in one motion, but for the moment, you should try and split it across the one, two, three count. A slight step out with your other foot, then nudging gently with your shoulder, bounce your partner into their spin. Bring them back in again (keeping your arm around hip level for ease), then pressing palm to palm, lean to the side: your partner will lean onto your other side.
Spin them out again, and then bring them back in. This is the first variation Billy made on the previous routine (or at least the one I'm used to: I wasn't there last week). As you spin them in, let go towards the end and guide them towards you with your arm. Continue their spinning motion, until you have a grip around their back with both hands. Make sure you can support their weight, then dip them, twisting to the side.
Come back up, so that they are now in front of you. Keep your hands on their hips, and do a basic mambo from their. Shift your arms back so that you're now holding their hands instead of their hips. Next, switch your grip, so that you are holding their opposite hand: also note your right hand should be above your left hand. I'm not quite sure how to get that grip switch, as there is supposed to be a flashy way of doing it (something about swinging your hand out and switching, but I wasn't able to follow the motion).
You can now do another nifty spin, which I had some problems with before I got it right. First, do another break as before, but this time with your hands in that diagonal hold. As you bring them in after the break, twirl them by pulling your left hand to the left. Then bring your right arm over their head, as they bring their left arm over yours. It's a little complex and easy to get entangled (I did repeatedly), but you should end up with an arm behind both your heads, holding a hand.
To finish, switch your right hand to grip their hand by their hip, release your other grips, spin them around to the left and do another dip. Move into a normal mambo, cross-body lead, step back and swing your arm, then finally push on their arm as you do an inward turn to complete the routine back in a mambo position. From here you can restart the whole thing (which is what I did with my girlfriend during the freestyle, to practice), or you finish with a bow or something instead of going back to the mambo hold.
As it was the last lesson of term, there were some christmas nibbles on hand, which was cool. Mince pies, like custard, are awesome hot or cold, and those little cocktail sausages are great too. Great way to see off salsa for this year, with a brief drink at Varsity afterwards. Now I just need to make sure I record myself and my gf practicing that routine in the kitchen so we don't forget!
18 November 2008
18/11/2008 - Salsa
Class #6
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Billy, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 18/11/2008
In terms of technique, this was exactly the same as last week, which is great. My main difficulty with the class up until now has been the rapid sequence of moves, so I for one was more than happy to keep going over the previous lesson's content. Billy went at a steady pace, breaking it down step-by-step.
Things of note were turning your hand after the cross-body lead, so that when your partner steps out to the side, you aren't twisting their arm. Instead, swivel your hand, meaning you're gripping underneath rather than to the side. Also, when you're spinning out your partner, nudge them with your shoulder to add momentum (though obviously don't ram them: just use it to set up the spin).
The room was rather cramped, as pretty much everyone has now moved up from the beginners to post-beginner. However, that's now getting jammed, because there is no intermediate class to move onto next: intermediate has been replaced by a choreography class. In effect, that means there's a small beginner class, a small choreography class, and a huge post-beginner class. Hopefully those splits will be rejigged at some point, as it was difficult to dance properly with the space constraints, especially when spinning out your partner.
After class, a group of us headed out to Brazil Night at the union, in what used to be Grumpy John's, now punningly called Tempo. Unlike the last social at Latin Night, there was a good turn-out, though not too much of a chance to chat (especially as its quite loud in there). Before the dancing got underway, there were a whole bunch of demonstrations, kicking off with some kind of dance step: no idea what, as I couldn't see through the mass of students.
Didn't need to see for the next one, as that was the Drumming Society, and then finally the Capoeira group. This seems to have got much more organised compared to when I tried it out six years ago, when the instructor only had two years experience. Now, he's been replaced by (I assume) a professional teacher who knows his stuff (though I could only see the odd flailing limb passing overhead from my limited vantage point).
Clearly I'd also managed to get tipsy by that point, as I was happily babbling about BJJ to him in the toilet, where the capoeira people were getting ready. I'd overheard him mention something about jiu-jitsu, but I think he's more into the MMA side of things (though he knew who I meant when I said Braulio).
The music wasn't salsa, but was enough to get in some dancing practice with my girlfriend, spinning her around the floor. I still need to work out how to signal what step I'm trying to do, because at the moment I'm just putting pressure on her arms, side and shoulders to indicate the next technique. Not very efficient, so hopefully we'll eventually either be taught what the proper system is, or work out something functional.
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Billy, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 18/11/2008
In terms of technique, this was exactly the same as last week, which is great. My main difficulty with the class up until now has been the rapid sequence of moves, so I for one was more than happy to keep going over the previous lesson's content. Billy went at a steady pace, breaking it down step-by-step.
Things of note were turning your hand after the cross-body lead, so that when your partner steps out to the side, you aren't twisting their arm. Instead, swivel your hand, meaning you're gripping underneath rather than to the side. Also, when you're spinning out your partner, nudge them with your shoulder to add momentum (though obviously don't ram them: just use it to set up the spin).
The room was rather cramped, as pretty much everyone has now moved up from the beginners to post-beginner. However, that's now getting jammed, because there is no intermediate class to move onto next: intermediate has been replaced by a choreography class. In effect, that means there's a small beginner class, a small choreography class, and a huge post-beginner class. Hopefully those splits will be rejigged at some point, as it was difficult to dance properly with the space constraints, especially when spinning out your partner.
After class, a group of us headed out to Brazil Night at the union, in what used to be Grumpy John's, now punningly called Tempo. Unlike the last social at Latin Night, there was a good turn-out, though not too much of a chance to chat (especially as its quite loud in there). Before the dancing got underway, there were a whole bunch of demonstrations, kicking off with some kind of dance step: no idea what, as I couldn't see through the mass of students.
Didn't need to see for the next one, as that was the Drumming Society, and then finally the Capoeira group. This seems to have got much more organised compared to when I tried it out six years ago, when the instructor only had two years experience. Now, he's been replaced by (I assume) a professional teacher who knows his stuff (though I could only see the odd flailing limb passing overhead from my limited vantage point).
Clearly I'd also managed to get tipsy by that point, as I was happily babbling about BJJ to him in the toilet, where the capoeira people were getting ready. I'd overheard him mention something about jiu-jitsu, but I think he's more into the MMA side of things (though he knew who I meant when I said Braulio).
The music wasn't salsa, but was enough to get in some dancing practice with my girlfriend, spinning her around the floor. I still need to work out how to signal what step I'm trying to do, because at the moment I'm just putting pressure on her arms, side and shoulders to indicate the next technique. Not very efficient, so hopefully we'll eventually either be taught what the proper system is, or work out something functional.
11 November 2008
11/11/2008 - Salsa
Class #5
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Billy, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 11/11/2008
Much easier to follow this week, probably due to the considerably increased class size (reading week presumably caused the drop-off last time). Numbers were almost even, though there were about three women that had to sit out and wait their turn.
Billy went through the basics again, but complicated things by adding in another step. For example, on the mambo we've been taught to go forward, raise the heel, step back, other foot back, raise again, then return. So, a count of one-two-three, five-six-seven. Billy added in the four and eight, so that it became tap, step forward, raise heel, step back, tap again, step back, raise and return. I'm assuming this is the difference Georgette mentioned to me a while ago about on1 and on2 salsa, but could be wrong.
The routine tonight built in a few funky spinny things, which I was pleased to actually be able to do this time round, as instruction was a bit more methodical. It was also nice to see one of the people I remember from my first beginner class, Camreen (Carmeen? Will have to double-check that), who has been off sick the last two times.
We start off with two mambos, as normal. You then go into a cross-body (step forward, then step around, making a gate with your arm for the woman to walk through), ending up side by side with arms outstretched. Step back on your left swinging the arm on one-two-three, then do a turn where you switch your gripping hand.
Straight from that, back into a mambo, but as you step back on five-six-seven, you bring your arms back so you're now holding both of each other's hands. You then both step back on your left, still holding hands, and using that grip, move close together.
That sets up the momentum to spin the woman. Bring your left arm across to swivel them in that direction, brining their back towards you, so they're now close to your body, slightly to the side. You both do a mambo back for one-two-three, then unwind their arms by swinging your right arm down: that will add some further momentum to help them spin out, sort of like they're a spinning top. With another motion of your arm, bringing it down and pulling back, return them to the starting position.
This time, however, you're going to put your palms together, then you step out to the side with your left and lean over. Finally, finish by unwinding them out in another spin.
Unlike last lesson, really felt like I learned something tonight: very cool to have a routine I can actually do now, even if its pretty straightforward. My gf and I did a bit of mamboing again at Top Banana on Monday (so entirely incongruous music), but should have a chance to dance to something a bit more suitable next week. Salsa is having a social at Brazil Night after the lesson on Tuesday, so that should be cool. There are supposed to be some capoeira people there too, so will be interesting to see if I randomly bump into any fellow BJJers in the process (particularly if there are a bunch of Brazilians around).
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Billy, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 11/11/2008
Much easier to follow this week, probably due to the considerably increased class size (reading week presumably caused the drop-off last time). Numbers were almost even, though there were about three women that had to sit out and wait their turn.
Billy went through the basics again, but complicated things by adding in another step. For example, on the mambo we've been taught to go forward, raise the heel, step back, other foot back, raise again, then return. So, a count of one-two-three, five-six-seven. Billy added in the four and eight, so that it became tap, step forward, raise heel, step back, tap again, step back, raise and return. I'm assuming this is the difference Georgette mentioned to me a while ago about on1 and on2 salsa, but could be wrong.
The routine tonight built in a few funky spinny things, which I was pleased to actually be able to do this time round, as instruction was a bit more methodical. It was also nice to see one of the people I remember from my first beginner class, Camreen (Carmeen? Will have to double-check that), who has been off sick the last two times.
We start off with two mambos, as normal. You then go into a cross-body (step forward, then step around, making a gate with your arm for the woman to walk through), ending up side by side with arms outstretched. Step back on your left swinging the arm on one-two-three, then do a turn where you switch your gripping hand.
Straight from that, back into a mambo, but as you step back on five-six-seven, you bring your arms back so you're now holding both of each other's hands. You then both step back on your left, still holding hands, and using that grip, move close together.
That sets up the momentum to spin the woman. Bring your left arm across to swivel them in that direction, brining their back towards you, so they're now close to your body, slightly to the side. You both do a mambo back for one-two-three, then unwind their arms by swinging your right arm down: that will add some further momentum to help them spin out, sort of like they're a spinning top. With another motion of your arm, bringing it down and pulling back, return them to the starting position.
This time, however, you're going to put your palms together, then you step out to the side with your left and lean over. Finally, finish by unwinding them out in another spin.
Unlike last lesson, really felt like I learned something tonight: very cool to have a routine I can actually do now, even if its pretty straightforward. My gf and I did a bit of mamboing again at Top Banana on Monday (so entirely incongruous music), but should have a chance to dance to something a bit more suitable next week. Salsa is having a social at Brazil Night after the lesson on Tuesday, so that should be cool. There are supposed to be some capoeira people there too, so will be interesting to see if I randomly bump into any fellow BJJers in the process (particularly if there are a bunch of Brazilians around).
04 November 2008
04/11/2008 - Salsa
Class #4
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Billy, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 04/11/2008
Big day today, with the US elections going on: my perspective on that is pretty straightforward, in that as long as Sarah Palin and her horrific perspective on women's rights (i.e., seems that wants to remove as many as she can) isn't anywhere near the seat of power, I'm happy. Would have been nice to see a woman who isn't nuts in contention (like Hillary), but having a black president would also be a huge step forward, as everyone is very aware (should be some good BBC documentaries on the progress of civil rights and the like if Obama gets in, thinking selfishly for a moment). There was supposed to be an election party going on at the union tonight, so I was hoping to pop along to that afterwards.
As to class, I'm still struggling to adapt to Billy's rapid style of teaching. That was compounded today by an even greater gender imbalance, with more men than women (about seven extra). Of course, that's still nothing compared to what the women had to put up with in the beginners class, so it makes for a refreshing change on that score.
Main things I got out of tonight's class was to do with the arms. We went through both a single spin and a double spin, which was fairly easy from the male perspective: all we did was pretty much stand there with our arm in the air, but making sure not to grip our partner's hand firmly. Instead, it should be left loose, so the women can swivel both her hand and body.
Billy also showed us a way of coming out of the spins, a bit reminiscent of the 'comb the hair' thing Alyssa showed us a few lessons ago. IIRC, if you are gripping their opposite hand, raise it up and behind your head, dropping your own hand down your shoulder, while they slip their hand off the other side. That can be done in sequence, but seems to be mainly useful as another way to get your hands back into the normal stance (one raised holding their hand, the other on their shoulder blade).
Billy's class unfortunately ran over a bit, which meant I had less time to practice in the freestyle (which so far has always proved the most beneficial part of the session), but I did at least manage to run through what we did today and last week with my gf. I also had some tips from James, a more advanced student, who showed me the proper way to do the cross-body turn where you end up side-by-side rather than facing each other.
Previously, I'd been getting confused, because I'd been stepping my left over my right and moving to the side. What I should have been doing instead, to do what I think Alyssa called the Cuban something-or-other, was to simply step forward towards my partner, then step and turn, so I ended up perpendicular to her. That meant I could use my arm as a gate for her to step through, then just step on the spot while she aligned herself next to me.
At long last, my gf and I managed to get in some drinks with the other dancers after class at the Varsity. Always great to socialise, though it’s a pity that there isn't going to be another social at Latin Night this weekend. Next event will be a trip to a salsa club in Coventry, I think, with another social at the upcoming Brazil Night. Not sure what that involves, but I wonder if there will be any BJJ people there? Kinda hard to tell, unless people randomly start shrimping across the dance-floor or something. :p
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Billy, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 04/11/2008
Big day today, with the US elections going on: my perspective on that is pretty straightforward, in that as long as Sarah Palin and her horrific perspective on women's rights (i.e., seems that wants to remove as many as she can) isn't anywhere near the seat of power, I'm happy. Would have been nice to see a woman who isn't nuts in contention (like Hillary), but having a black president would also be a huge step forward, as everyone is very aware (should be some good BBC documentaries on the progress of civil rights and the like if Obama gets in, thinking selfishly for a moment). There was supposed to be an election party going on at the union tonight, so I was hoping to pop along to that afterwards.
As to class, I'm still struggling to adapt to Billy's rapid style of teaching. That was compounded today by an even greater gender imbalance, with more men than women (about seven extra). Of course, that's still nothing compared to what the women had to put up with in the beginners class, so it makes for a refreshing change on that score.
Main things I got out of tonight's class was to do with the arms. We went through both a single spin and a double spin, which was fairly easy from the male perspective: all we did was pretty much stand there with our arm in the air, but making sure not to grip our partner's hand firmly. Instead, it should be left loose, so the women can swivel both her hand and body.
Billy also showed us a way of coming out of the spins, a bit reminiscent of the 'comb the hair' thing Alyssa showed us a few lessons ago. IIRC, if you are gripping their opposite hand, raise it up and behind your head, dropping your own hand down your shoulder, while they slip their hand off the other side. That can be done in sequence, but seems to be mainly useful as another way to get your hands back into the normal stance (one raised holding their hand, the other on their shoulder blade).
Billy's class unfortunately ran over a bit, which meant I had less time to practice in the freestyle (which so far has always proved the most beneficial part of the session), but I did at least manage to run through what we did today and last week with my gf. I also had some tips from James, a more advanced student, who showed me the proper way to do the cross-body turn where you end up side-by-side rather than facing each other.
Previously, I'd been getting confused, because I'd been stepping my left over my right and moving to the side. What I should have been doing instead, to do what I think Alyssa called the Cuban something-or-other, was to simply step forward towards my partner, then step and turn, so I ended up perpendicular to her. That meant I could use my arm as a gate for her to step through, then just step on the spot while she aligned herself next to me.
At long last, my gf and I managed to get in some drinks with the other dancers after class at the Varsity. Always great to socialise, though it’s a pity that there isn't going to be another social at Latin Night this weekend. Next event will be a trip to a salsa club in Coventry, I think, with another social at the upcoming Brazil Night. Not sure what that involves, but I wonder if there will be any BJJ people there? Kinda hard to tell, unless people randomly start shrimping across the dance-floor or something. :p
28 October 2008
28/10/2008 - Salsa
Class #3
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Billy, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 28/10/2008
Headed to the salsa social last Friday, which was a nice way to get to know some of the people at the club. My dancing left rather a lot to be desired (mostly consisting of wiggling around on my own, then briefly stepping on someone's feet when they asked if I wanted to dance), but the socialising was fun. Looking forward to getting my gf along to the next Latin Night: she was already booked up last Friday, unfortunately.
Tonight we were moving up to the post-beginners class, which was a little daunting. By this point, we're meant to have mastered the cross-body turn, which I'm still not too sure about, and even less confident on the man's turn. However, once you’ve done two beginners, you're supposed to know enough for the post-beginners, so I was hoping we'd be ok.
This also meant that we were being taught by a professional instructor rather than a fellow student, which again meant it was a bit more intimidating. Billy has a very different teaching style to Alyssa: as he kept mentioning, he likes to push people, so went straight in with a number of complex techniques. For those of us who had only been to two lessons of salsa before, this was somewhat bewildering, and I spent much of the lesson deeply confused. Still, hopefully that less gradual style will mean that I learn faster, though I'll be floundering for a while before I can get my head back above water.
From what I remember, there were three main techniques that I think I just about understood, with the help of my gf during the freestyle (which so far has always proved to be the most useful part of the lesson). First off, a dip (Billy mentioned something about a 'calypso turn', I think, but not sure):
• Mambo as normal for the first two beats (so, step forward, lift your rear foot
• Instead of stepping back on the third beat, step out to the side. As you do so, raise your hand and your partner's hand up high. They should now be close to you.
• Holding your partner high on their back, carefully lower them and twist, keeping your arm raised.
• Lift your partner back up. I'm not quite sure how the fifth, sixth and seventh beats match up: maybe dip, twist and lift?
The next two I can recall both emerge from a half-completed cross-body turn:
• Cross your left foot over your right
• Turn to the left, stepping around with your right foot
• Step your feet back into line.
Your partner, meanwhile, ends up in line with you. That confused me a little, as I wasn't sure if you are turning on the cross-body, or just stepping to the side. Either way, once you're there, we learned two options. First one:
• Having done the cross-body on steps 1, 2 and 3, mambo back for 5, 6, 7.
• As you do so, turn towards your partner, placing your other arm on the crook of her elbow.
• For the next count, you're going to push your partner away by pressing on her arm, spinning around after you do so.
That's where I again got confused, as I wasn't sure how to do the spin. Was it like a normal man's turn, or some particular sequence of steps? The next option from the cross-body was a bit simpler, as it was indeed basically just a man's turn after the cross-body, switching hands, then mamboing back.
We were also shown some kind of hand changing thing, which I didn't understand at all. Something about swinging your hand up, then somehow going from there to grabbing opposite hands and doing a spinny thing. All looked very impressive when the instructor did it, but I had trouble working out how to do it myself.
No video this time, as I was having enough difficulty getting any kind of handle on what we'd just done. Couldn't really do it solo either: next time, if I finally work out what I'm supposed to be doing with all those dance steps, I'll see if I can set up the mobile to record both my gf and I. If not, meh: I'll just have to do without video.
We headed off to the Varsity again afterwards, but once again, nobody else showed up. That could be because the class ends really late, though we were in the pub until about half ten (it has WiFi, and we both needed to get some emailing stuff done). We didn't wait until the very end of the freestyle, so next time – if I want to get some Varsity socialising in – will have to do so to see if people fancy a drink afterwards.
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Billy, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 28/10/2008
Headed to the salsa social last Friday, which was a nice way to get to know some of the people at the club. My dancing left rather a lot to be desired (mostly consisting of wiggling around on my own, then briefly stepping on someone's feet when they asked if I wanted to dance), but the socialising was fun. Looking forward to getting my gf along to the next Latin Night: she was already booked up last Friday, unfortunately.
Tonight we were moving up to the post-beginners class, which was a little daunting. By this point, we're meant to have mastered the cross-body turn, which I'm still not too sure about, and even less confident on the man's turn. However, once you’ve done two beginners, you're supposed to know enough for the post-beginners, so I was hoping we'd be ok.
This also meant that we were being taught by a professional instructor rather than a fellow student, which again meant it was a bit more intimidating. Billy has a very different teaching style to Alyssa: as he kept mentioning, he likes to push people, so went straight in with a number of complex techniques. For those of us who had only been to two lessons of salsa before, this was somewhat bewildering, and I spent much of the lesson deeply confused. Still, hopefully that less gradual style will mean that I learn faster, though I'll be floundering for a while before I can get my head back above water.
From what I remember, there were three main techniques that I think I just about understood, with the help of my gf during the freestyle (which so far has always proved to be the most useful part of the lesson). First off, a dip (Billy mentioned something about a 'calypso turn', I think, but not sure):
• Mambo as normal for the first two beats (so, step forward, lift your rear foot
• Instead of stepping back on the third beat, step out to the side. As you do so, raise your hand and your partner's hand up high. They should now be close to you.
• Holding your partner high on their back, carefully lower them and twist, keeping your arm raised.
• Lift your partner back up. I'm not quite sure how the fifth, sixth and seventh beats match up: maybe dip, twist and lift?
The next two I can recall both emerge from a half-completed cross-body turn:
• Cross your left foot over your right
• Turn to the left, stepping around with your right foot
• Step your feet back into line.
Your partner, meanwhile, ends up in line with you. That confused me a little, as I wasn't sure if you are turning on the cross-body, or just stepping to the side. Either way, once you're there, we learned two options. First one:
• Having done the cross-body on steps 1, 2 and 3, mambo back for 5, 6, 7.
• As you do so, turn towards your partner, placing your other arm on the crook of her elbow.
• For the next count, you're going to push your partner away by pressing on her arm, spinning around after you do so.
That's where I again got confused, as I wasn't sure how to do the spin. Was it like a normal man's turn, or some particular sequence of steps? The next option from the cross-body was a bit simpler, as it was indeed basically just a man's turn after the cross-body, switching hands, then mamboing back.
We were also shown some kind of hand changing thing, which I didn't understand at all. Something about swinging your hand up, then somehow going from there to grabbing opposite hands and doing a spinny thing. All looked very impressive when the instructor did it, but I had trouble working out how to do it myself.
No video this time, as I was having enough difficulty getting any kind of handle on what we'd just done. Couldn't really do it solo either: next time, if I finally work out what I'm supposed to be doing with all those dance steps, I'll see if I can set up the mobile to record both my gf and I. If not, meh: I'll just have to do without video.
We headed off to the Varsity again afterwards, but once again, nobody else showed up. That could be because the class ends really late, though we were in the pub until about half ten (it has WiFi, and we both needed to get some emailing stuff done). We didn't wait until the very end of the freestyle, so next time – if I want to get some Varsity socialising in – will have to do so to see if people fancy a drink afterwards.
21 October 2008
21/10/2008 - Salsa
Class #2
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Alyssa Davison, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 14/10/2008
My inner thigh (I think?) was still sore from all the half-guard on Sunday, but that didn't seem to matter for dancing. For the first time in years, popped out to Top B with my gf on Monday, which was very bizarre as its now in the 'Temporary Events Structure' thing that looms over you on the way to the Sports Centre. As my gf aptly described it when we first went in earlier this term, it looks very much like a glorified wedding marquee, with a dance floor surrounded by chairs and tables. Still, cheap drinks (thanks to the £2 entrance: another big change from when I last went!), and got a chance to try some salsa steps. Basic, but hey: nice to see we can get the simple stuff working.
Back to class tonight, sticking with the beginners. Alyssa and Mark went through the usual, with the mambo, sidestep, lady's turn and cross-body, but added in two new steps. The instruction also seemed a bit more methodical, as I found it easier to understand the cross-body and man's turn (previously, I think I'd been doing additional steps after getting confused).
The first new step was nice and simple, called a flare, although I was tending to go through it too quickly, I think:
• Step out with your left foot, turning so you're now facing sideways
• Raise your right foot
• Step your left foot back to the starting position
• Step out with your right foot, so standing sideways again, but other direction
• Raise your left foot
• Step your right foot back to the starting position
To go through the cross-body again:
• Cross your left foot past your right
• Bring your right foot around, so you're now turning towards your left
• Complete the turn to your left by bringing your feet back into line. At this point, you'll be perpendicular to your partner, your arm forming a 'gate' for her to walk through
• Step back with your right
• Step across with your left
• Bring your right foot into line: you should now be facing the opposite direction to when you started
Also, remember to keep your arm on your partner: I kept letting go in the freestyle bit after class, but got the hint after repeating prodding by my gf. While I think the cross-body is therefore getting better, I'm still having trouble with the man's turn:
• Step your left forward and twist your left foot inwards, also turning your torso
• Continue the turn by angling your right foot and leg back
• Spin and return to the previous position
• Then mambo back as normal (step back, shift weight, bring feet back in line)
The part I find difficult is spinning around quickly enough to come back into the starting position, while still keeping in time. I was being too slow on the turn, so that's something I'll need to work on: perhaps getting some more slippy shoes, like Georgette recommended in her last email, would help me too.
Alyssa then moved on to a more advanced version of the man's turn, where you start doing things with your arms:
• Do a normal mambo first, but as you step back on the count of 4-5-6, bring your hands down and back, so you're holding both of your partner's hands
• Start the man's turn as normal, stepping your left foot forward and twisting inwards. However, this time you're also going to switch your left hand to their opposite hand at the same time
• As you turn by angling your right foot and leg back, switch to their other hand, feeding it through past your back.
• Complete the turn, and as you do so, switch hands again. This should mean that you're gripping with your left hand. Bring your right hand on top, offering it to your partner for them to grip
That's the first part. You'll now mambo back (to complete the man's turn sequence), then go for a lady's turn on the next sequence. So, mambo forward, then do a ladies turn as normal, but still holding those hands, raising them over your partner's head. Finally, to untwist your arms and get back to the normal one hand and one shoulder position, you 'comb their hair' (I think that's what Alyssa called it). Fairly simple:
• Mambo forward as normal, bringing your hands up and over their head
• As you go back, bring your hands back, letting go as you do so
Its going to take a while to get the hang of that, though my gf and I tried it a few times during the freestyle. Mark and Alyssa also gave us some advice, which was handy: Alyssa advised us to now move on to the post-beginner class, but I'll miss their instruction. Less intimidating being taught by fellow students, not to mention that you're supposed to be comfortable with the cross-body to do the post-beginner. I think I've just about go it, but don't want to be holding people up: more home practice required, I think!
Like last week, got a video on my mobile to try and remember the steps, though couldn't do the arm thing solo. I didn't bother trying to keep in time to the music, as I had enough trouble with the steps themselves (with which there is still plenty wrong, as you can see: somehow only turned halfway on the cross-body). That's my gf's voice at the end, wondering quite why I was wiggling towards her:
I'll get another chance to dance this Friday, as there is the first proper salsa social, at Latin Night. Things kick off in the airport (which people now just refer to as Rootes Social Bar, from what I've heard) at 21:00, then heading out to Tempo (what used to be Grumpy John's, basically, but cut in half due to the union rebuild) at 22:00. Unfortunately my gf can't make it, but should hopefully be a chance for me to get to broaden our social circle.
I recognised a few people from last week, Sarah and I think Carmeen (or Camreen? Will have to check that next time I see her, unless I totally mixing up names), along with a couple of others whose names I didn't catch. They should hopefully be in the post-beginner with my gf and I next week: not sure how many fellow noobies will be at the social on Friday, but its easy to socialise when there's alcohol. :D
We headed off to Varsity again after class, but Mark mentioned that while the two more advanced classes (post-beginner and intermediate) do normally go there afterwards, they often finish later than the beginners. So, most likely they were around tonight and last week, we just didn't recognise them. Should be a bit more sociable next week, when we'll be stumbling through the post-beginner class ourselves.
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Alyssa Davison, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 14/10/2008
My inner thigh (I think?) was still sore from all the half-guard on Sunday, but that didn't seem to matter for dancing. For the first time in years, popped out to Top B with my gf on Monday, which was very bizarre as its now in the 'Temporary Events Structure' thing that looms over you on the way to the Sports Centre. As my gf aptly described it when we first went in earlier this term, it looks very much like a glorified wedding marquee, with a dance floor surrounded by chairs and tables. Still, cheap drinks (thanks to the £2 entrance: another big change from when I last went!), and got a chance to try some salsa steps. Basic, but hey: nice to see we can get the simple stuff working.
Back to class tonight, sticking with the beginners. Alyssa and Mark went through the usual, with the mambo, sidestep, lady's turn and cross-body, but added in two new steps. The instruction also seemed a bit more methodical, as I found it easier to understand the cross-body and man's turn (previously, I think I'd been doing additional steps after getting confused).
The first new step was nice and simple, called a flare, although I was tending to go through it too quickly, I think:
• Step out with your left foot, turning so you're now facing sideways
• Raise your right foot
• Step your left foot back to the starting position
• Step out with your right foot, so standing sideways again, but other direction
• Raise your left foot
• Step your right foot back to the starting position
To go through the cross-body again:
• Cross your left foot past your right
• Bring your right foot around, so you're now turning towards your left
• Complete the turn to your left by bringing your feet back into line. At this point, you'll be perpendicular to your partner, your arm forming a 'gate' for her to walk through
• Step back with your right
• Step across with your left
• Bring your right foot into line: you should now be facing the opposite direction to when you started
Also, remember to keep your arm on your partner: I kept letting go in the freestyle bit after class, but got the hint after repeating prodding by my gf. While I think the cross-body is therefore getting better, I'm still having trouble with the man's turn:
• Step your left forward and twist your left foot inwards, also turning your torso
• Continue the turn by angling your right foot and leg back
• Spin and return to the previous position
• Then mambo back as normal (step back, shift weight, bring feet back in line)
The part I find difficult is spinning around quickly enough to come back into the starting position, while still keeping in time. I was being too slow on the turn, so that's something I'll need to work on: perhaps getting some more slippy shoes, like Georgette recommended in her last email, would help me too.
Alyssa then moved on to a more advanced version of the man's turn, where you start doing things with your arms:
• Do a normal mambo first, but as you step back on the count of 4-5-6, bring your hands down and back, so you're holding both of your partner's hands
• Start the man's turn as normal, stepping your left foot forward and twisting inwards. However, this time you're also going to switch your left hand to their opposite hand at the same time
• As you turn by angling your right foot and leg back, switch to their other hand, feeding it through past your back.
• Complete the turn, and as you do so, switch hands again. This should mean that you're gripping with your left hand. Bring your right hand on top, offering it to your partner for them to grip
That's the first part. You'll now mambo back (to complete the man's turn sequence), then go for a lady's turn on the next sequence. So, mambo forward, then do a ladies turn as normal, but still holding those hands, raising them over your partner's head. Finally, to untwist your arms and get back to the normal one hand and one shoulder position, you 'comb their hair' (I think that's what Alyssa called it). Fairly simple:
• Mambo forward as normal, bringing your hands up and over their head
• As you go back, bring your hands back, letting go as you do so
Its going to take a while to get the hang of that, though my gf and I tried it a few times during the freestyle. Mark and Alyssa also gave us some advice, which was handy: Alyssa advised us to now move on to the post-beginner class, but I'll miss their instruction. Less intimidating being taught by fellow students, not to mention that you're supposed to be comfortable with the cross-body to do the post-beginner. I think I've just about go it, but don't want to be holding people up: more home practice required, I think!
Like last week, got a video on my mobile to try and remember the steps, though couldn't do the arm thing solo. I didn't bother trying to keep in time to the music, as I had enough trouble with the steps themselves (with which there is still plenty wrong, as you can see: somehow only turned halfway on the cross-body). That's my gf's voice at the end, wondering quite why I was wiggling towards her:
I'll get another chance to dance this Friday, as there is the first proper salsa social, at Latin Night. Things kick off in the airport (which people now just refer to as Rootes Social Bar, from what I've heard) at 21:00, then heading out to Tempo (what used to be Grumpy John's, basically, but cut in half due to the union rebuild) at 22:00. Unfortunately my gf can't make it, but should hopefully be a chance for me to get to broaden our social circle.
I recognised a few people from last week, Sarah and I think Carmeen (or Camreen? Will have to check that next time I see her, unless I totally mixing up names), along with a couple of others whose names I didn't catch. They should hopefully be in the post-beginner with my gf and I next week: not sure how many fellow noobies will be at the social on Friday, but its easy to socialise when there's alcohol. :D
We headed off to Varsity again after class, but Mark mentioned that while the two more advanced classes (post-beginner and intermediate) do normally go there afterwards, they often finish later than the beginners. So, most likely they were around tonight and last week, we just didn't recognise them. Should be a bit more sociable next week, when we'll be stumbling through the post-beginner class ourselves.
14 October 2008
14/10/2008 - Salsa
Class #1
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Alyssa Davison, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 14/10/2008
Bit of a change from the usual martial artsing, as tonight I went down with my girlfriend to the salsa dancing class here at Warwick Uni (seemed a fair exchange, as she was willing to go along to judo). If you couldn't give a flying armbar for anything non-BJJ and find it annoying having to scroll past the unrelated stuff, click the 'BJJ' category at the top of my blog (presuming you're reading this on the main blog – if not, go here). That will filter posts to just Brazilian jiu jitsu.
If you're still with me: took my gf and I a while to find where the Westwood Dance Studio was, given that despite both of us having spent years at Warwick, almost none of that has involved the Westwood campus. Eventually flagged down a passing cello case, the carrier of which said he was heading to the Music Centre (which apparently houses the Dance Studio). Turned out it didn't matter if we were slightly late, as things were still being set up.
There was a huge turn-out: so many that the instructors had to keep whistling in order to be heard above the loud murmuring horde of beginners. After a brief warm-up going through the basic steps (naturally most of us had no idea what they were, as the majority were new people), class was split in three: beginner, post-beginner and intermediate.
That still left a pretty massive group of beginners, but fortunately we did all (just about) fit into the 'Reinvention Centre' room (quite what the name refers to I don't know). After a quick introduction by Alyssa, who is both the president of Warwick Salsa and teacher for the beginners, the men were arranged in a big circle. Men are supposed to lead, so the steps are different depending on gender. I wonder how that works for gay couples? I'd guess they have to decide who is going to be the 'guy' and who is the 'girl', but would be interesting to know how many lesbian and gay salsa couples there are.
As I'd assume tends to be the case with dancing societies, there were significantly more women than men, so that meant that there was a queuing system in place for everyone to get a chance to dance. Well, by 'everyone' I mean the women: the blokes didn't have that problem. Hopefully the men won't drop off as the year progresses, or its going to be frustrating for the female dancers.
The first step was a mambo (is that capitalised?), which breaks down like this on a seven-beat rhythm (the fourth beat is a pause, if I understood correctly). This is from the male perspective, who always acts as the leader:
• Step forward on your left
• Lift your right heel and move your weight forward
• Bring your left foot back in line with your right
• Step back with your right
• Shift your weight back
• Bring your right foot back in line with your left
Once we'd gone through that and switched partners a few times (very regular, which made it nice and sociable), Alyssa added in sidestepping, which is the same as the mambo, just sideways. That was the simple part.
Things got more complicated with the turns. After the lady's turn (easy for the man, as we just stand there with our arm in the air, mamboing back while the woman spins), the blokes then had to do some work with the man's turn. I'm not quite sure I got this one down properly, but if I remember correctly:
• Step your left forward and twist your left foot inwards, also turning your torso
• Continue the turn by angling your right foot and leg back
• Spin and return to the previous position
• Then mambo back as normal (step back, shift weight, bring feet back in line)
The cross-body turn was even more confusing, particularly as I couldn't quite see the people demonstrating. However, I had a chance to practice it lots more later on, as there is an hour of 'freestyle' after class finishes, which proved very useful. The steps are:
• Cross your left foot past your right
• Bring your right foot around, so you're now turning towards your left
• Complete the turn to your left by bringing your feet back into line. At this point, you'll be perpendicular to your partner, your arm forming a 'gate' for her to walk through
• Step back with your right
• Step across with your left
• Bring your right foot into line: you should now be facing the opposite direction to when you started
It was a relief to get an hour to practice all that with my girlfriend, which helped a lot in getting the moves ingrained. It also meant I could get her to record my feet on my phone, in an effort to better remember the steps. If I manage to do that every session, the videos will also form a handy record of my progress, which should be fun to look back on. So, here's me after one lesson:
We were told that everyone would be meeting up at the Varsity bar for drinks at 21:00, so heading off for some boozing. Unfortunately, despite the enormous amount of dancers, only six of us actually showed up. I'm hoping next week there will be a better turnout, but it was nice to at least get to know those four others (Danni, Alex, Johnny and Matt). Looking forward to next week, where I should have more of a chance to apply Georgette's great advice, or possibly the week after when things get more advanced.
Warwick Salsa (Salsa), Alyssa Davison, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 14/10/2008
Bit of a change from the usual martial artsing, as tonight I went down with my girlfriend to the salsa dancing class here at Warwick Uni (seemed a fair exchange, as she was willing to go along to judo). If you couldn't give a flying armbar for anything non-BJJ and find it annoying having to scroll past the unrelated stuff, click the 'BJJ' category at the top of my blog (presuming you're reading this on the main blog – if not, go here). That will filter posts to just Brazilian jiu jitsu.
If you're still with me: took my gf and I a while to find where the Westwood Dance Studio was, given that despite both of us having spent years at Warwick, almost none of that has involved the Westwood campus. Eventually flagged down a passing cello case, the carrier of which said he was heading to the Music Centre (which apparently houses the Dance Studio). Turned out it didn't matter if we were slightly late, as things were still being set up.
There was a huge turn-out: so many that the instructors had to keep whistling in order to be heard above the loud murmuring horde of beginners. After a brief warm-up going through the basic steps (naturally most of us had no idea what they were, as the majority were new people), class was split in three: beginner, post-beginner and intermediate.
That still left a pretty massive group of beginners, but fortunately we did all (just about) fit into the 'Reinvention Centre' room (quite what the name refers to I don't know). After a quick introduction by Alyssa, who is both the president of Warwick Salsa and teacher for the beginners, the men were arranged in a big circle. Men are supposed to lead, so the steps are different depending on gender. I wonder how that works for gay couples? I'd guess they have to decide who is going to be the 'guy' and who is the 'girl', but would be interesting to know how many lesbian and gay salsa couples there are.
As I'd assume tends to be the case with dancing societies, there were significantly more women than men, so that meant that there was a queuing system in place for everyone to get a chance to dance. Well, by 'everyone' I mean the women: the blokes didn't have that problem. Hopefully the men won't drop off as the year progresses, or its going to be frustrating for the female dancers.
The first step was a mambo (is that capitalised?), which breaks down like this on a seven-beat rhythm (the fourth beat is a pause, if I understood correctly). This is from the male perspective, who always acts as the leader:
• Step forward on your left
• Lift your right heel and move your weight forward
• Bring your left foot back in line with your right
• Step back with your right
• Shift your weight back
• Bring your right foot back in line with your left
Once we'd gone through that and switched partners a few times (very regular, which made it nice and sociable), Alyssa added in sidestepping, which is the same as the mambo, just sideways. That was the simple part.
Things got more complicated with the turns. After the lady's turn (easy for the man, as we just stand there with our arm in the air, mamboing back while the woman spins), the blokes then had to do some work with the man's turn. I'm not quite sure I got this one down properly, but if I remember correctly:
• Step your left forward and twist your left foot inwards, also turning your torso
• Continue the turn by angling your right foot and leg back
• Spin and return to the previous position
• Then mambo back as normal (step back, shift weight, bring feet back in line)
The cross-body turn was even more confusing, particularly as I couldn't quite see the people demonstrating. However, I had a chance to practice it lots more later on, as there is an hour of 'freestyle' after class finishes, which proved very useful. The steps are:
• Cross your left foot past your right
• Bring your right foot around, so you're now turning towards your left
• Complete the turn to your left by bringing your feet back into line. At this point, you'll be perpendicular to your partner, your arm forming a 'gate' for her to walk through
• Step back with your right
• Step across with your left
• Bring your right foot into line: you should now be facing the opposite direction to when you started
It was a relief to get an hour to practice all that with my girlfriend, which helped a lot in getting the moves ingrained. It also meant I could get her to record my feet on my phone, in an effort to better remember the steps. If I manage to do that every session, the videos will also form a handy record of my progress, which should be fun to look back on. So, here's me after one lesson:
We were told that everyone would be meeting up at the Varsity bar for drinks at 21:00, so heading off for some boozing. Unfortunately, despite the enormous amount of dancers, only six of us actually showed up. I'm hoping next week there will be a better turnout, but it was nice to at least get to know those four others (Danni, Alex, Johnny and Matt). Looking forward to next week, where I should have more of a chance to apply Georgette's great advice, or possibly the week after when things get more advanced.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)