This Week's Lesson... Swing, Cha Cha, Mambo, Tango, Fox Trot, Samba (and Rumba of course!)

Whew! It's amazing what you can cover in a single lesson!

We warmed up with a hustle... always good. We then moved to a nice paced East Coast... we worked on a new step for a second... if we don't work on it more I'll never follow the lead for it right. It's a little different than most of the steps I know, which means it will take me a second to get it. (I don't even remember it well enough to really explain it to you here.)

That over, we worked on Cha Cha, which I'm pleased to say worked out really well I think. RT informed me that it was good, but I need to work on getting my arms to match the rest of my body. I guess they look disjointed. THAT I have to work on because I really like the way my Cha Cha is shaping up over all. It's really becoming a favorite right up there with East Coast. I think teaching it that one time REALLY helped me get it. In fact, it had been so long since RT and I had done a Cha Cha that I almost started as if I was leading! Got a good Cha Cha in, I expressed some exasperation over some thing or other, and RT paid me a really nice compliment. He said "You know, you're better at dancing than you think you are." To which I kind of rolled my eyes, but definitely made note of the statement. I'm awful at taking compliments! However, RT only pays compliments when they're due, so I may react poorly, but I always take note!

We moved on to Mambo, which I always call Salsa... I didn't even pay attention if we were dancing On1 or On2, I just wanted to follow, which means we were likely On1... we worked on the box step, which I think I can follow. That finished, we went to the music machine and commenced in the great debate over what we should work on next. RT suggested Bolero, but I wanted to lean in a different direction, so I said that it had been a really long time since we'd worked on any smooth. RT picks Tango... well ok then way to get me back into smooth... pick one of the dances that I've always had issues with!

We really concentrated on my basic. Now I have to tell you, my footwork in smooth is AWFUL! Always has been, likely always will be... but I digress... We worked and drilled and it was nice to be the only ones on the floor for this. By the end of it, the Tango basic now feels completely different than what I thought it was before. More to work on at home... I'm back to the little steam engine that could... saying "I think I can, I think I can" until it actually happens. It's too bad that Tango takes so much space to practice, wait until the weather gets better, then I can have my outdoor space back... I don't know how long we worked on Tango, we definitely worked longer than any of the other dances tonight. It's terrible, I'm always very defiant when we drill like this, it's more out of habit than anything. I don't really mean it... and I end up taking a lot from those portions of my lessons. Then we worked on Fox Trot a little, again the last time I did this was for that lesson I taught, so my feet got confused for a second. I have to make sure we work on a touch of at LEAST Fox Trot in every lesson. I have to keep that up at least so I can follow it.

Then it was Samba, at RT's suggestion, of course. Once again, I REALLY need to work on this. Happily I think I remember the basic enough to practice at home now. So, yea! I'll get to use some of the Samba beats I have in my music collection.

Rumba time! I'm feeling pretty good about my Rumba, thank you very much! So we pretty much established that I can actually use my Cuban motion for good instead of evil. Now it's on to the shoulder blades...pushing the corresponding shoulder blade down with the appropriate hip etc... that has to be worked into the rest of it... This I think I may get before too long.

You know... after the Salsa Congress, teaching that one lesson, and my last few lessons with RT, I think I may actually be getting the hang of this whole dancing thing. Now I just have to hit my target weight and... yeah... life is going to be pretty dang good!

On Stands Now!

Hi All!

There it is! If you want to see or purchase a copy of the magazine that wrote about me this is what it looks like.

It is on stands today, and will continue to be there until 03-16/03-17!

(I'm on page 40-41!)

Let me know what you think!!!

Now As Seen In.... First Magazine!

Hi Everyone!

I'm pleased to inform you that the results of the photo shoot back in December are now about to be published! I have received an advanced copy of the First Magazine that will be on newsstands Monday February 25, 2008 (Issue date March 17, 2008). I'll be able to put an image of the cover up here on that date so you all know what to look for. This is a national publication and can be found in any store that sells periodical magazines (including the check out isle of your local grocery store)

A little review for you on how this all happened...
Back in August 2007 the magazine contacted be because they really liked what I was writing about here in this blog. After some communication back and forth, it was thought that I would be part of an ensemble of women who had begun to loose weight and improve their lives through dancing. It wasn't until much later that I was informed that their Editor in Chief found my story to be the most inspiring of any other, and instead of being part of an ensemble... this issue would contain a feature article with me as the subject! For which I am truly honored!

I have had my advance copy for a few days and I have to tell you its truly unbelievable! The article with my story is two pages, it contains one fairly large picture of me alone, one smaller picture of RT and I, and a smaller (thankfully) picture of me "before." I was fortunate enough to get a copy to RT so he could see it, (it's only right, he's mentioned in the article too). He seemed to really like it, which is important.

I have to tell you, I've probably read the article 100 times, and it still amazes me to see my "story" written in someone else’s hand. I also keep looking at the picture thinking "Yeah she looks like someone that resembles me." I'm pretty proud of it, and yet I don't think it's really sunk in yet... probably won't until I start seeing that green cover with Sara Evans on it in the grocery store next week!

Thanks to the team at First Magazine, and to Eric Klein the photographer, for making this all possible!

So I Think I Can Teach?

About two weeks ago, a friend and fellow dancer contacted me and asked if I might be interested in teaching a one-time-only beginner ballroom class as part of a charity event. At first I was immediately on board, then she mentioned that it was the same Saturday as the Salsa Congress. I'll admit I was torn, I really wanted to make the absolute most of the Congress, but the desire to see if I could actually teach ended up winning out. We agreed on a time, and I forwarded a list of dances I would want to cover, a little something from each aspect of Ballroom and Latin.

Immediately a challenge presented itself... who would lead? If I couldn't lead some basics then was I skilled enough in both dance and persuasion to get a gentleman to allow me to back lead them? Would that work? The answer is no, the only way I could REALLY teach is if I could understand the parts of follow AND lead. So all thoughts of what I was going to practice for my upcoming lessons were abandoned and I set forth on teaching myself how to lead some basic steps. I could very well have asked RT to help in my lesson, but I wanted to do this on my own. So first I practiced all the basics from a lead's perspective, it really didn't take long for me to get through the basic steps in a lot of the dances I know, but I needed a few steps in each dance to make the students feel really good about what they were doing.

My friend and I practiced for about an hour a few days before Saturday, and turns out because she's such a good dancer and follow I was able to lead in everything I wanted to teach! This was going to be great! I later found out that there was a possibility of 50 people arriving for this charity event, THAT made me a little nervous. I was not going to be able to pay individual attention to anyone if I had THAT many students! Oh dear! oh dear!... but on I practiced.

Class time came and I arrived fresh off of the Salsa Congress, so tired I could barelysee straight. A little caffeine and some good old ibuprofen took care of that! We practiced some more before my prospective students arrived, there really weren't that many about 14-16. I guess a lot of people had purchased tickets to support the cause, but didn't want to attend the dance. The organizers of the event had a DJ with a lot of music we could use. My friend had brought some music of her own and so we gave that to him as well. When class time began they handed me a microphone so I could introduce myself.... it went something like this:

"Hi everyone, thanks so much for coming! My name is Kat, and I have been taking ballroom dance lessons for over a year and a half, I am by no means an instructor... my personal claim to fame is that I've lost 110lbs by dancing. I'd like to share some of what I know with you...(friend leaning over my shoulder) Oh! this is [friend's name] a fellow dance student of mine, and she's agreed to be my assistant. Now everybody up! We're going to do a little Swing, a little Cha Cha, and some Fox Trot... we'll have you gliding across the floor in no time!"

I know...can it get much worse than that? I wasn't expecting to have to formally introduce myself! I had thought of a few words to say beforehand, but in the moment... that's what came out. It did however get everyone on their feet, so I must have said something right!


Everyone in the class was so receptive to what I was teaching! We would review the basic for the leads, the basic for the follows, my friend and I would dance along with the class slowly...then because we always had the appropriate music for whatever dance we were doing going we'd bring it up to time. Then we'd work on a turn, my friend and I would show it, and then we would go around to each couple individually and help them get through it. It was SOOOO MUCH FUN!

There was one husband/wife couple that really picked up on stuff fast! I was impressed. There was another married couple that really wanted to get it, but were having typical brand new dancer issues... after I lead the Mrs. and then showed the Mr. how to lead a little they really got it together, especially when we got to Fox Trot!

There were a few sets of ladies where one would lead, and I made sure they were up to speed on their particular roles as well. Everyone was so receptive to what I was showing them!

My favorite though was a boy about age 10-12 who was dancing with his mom. He was so cute! I helped them out on the single time Swing, and got them through a turn, then I asked him if I could dance with him. He didn't say anything, just looked up at me and nodded shyly. We got through some basic and then I asked "How about if we do a turn?" again he nodded with excitement in his eyes... so I back led myself while talking him through the turn. That planted the biggest smile on his face. THAT made it all worth it. He had the same excitement for the Cha Cha... I think that must have been his favorite. His mom was great too, she really wanted to learn! I was so happy to see people that were really interested in dancing!

I actually started laughing at myself towards the end because I had to say out loud to myself "Ok, I'm being the boy now." or "I'm the girl now" it was the only way I could get my feet to start the correct way (somehow the top part of the frame wasn't enough indication for me), and which ever student I was dancing with got a kick out of it too... :-)

I completely lost track of time, I think my friend and I actually taught for about an hour. Then socialized some, before it was time for me to get back to Salsa Congress. It's amazing how doing something you love can take the exhaustion and pain away. I couldn't feel my blisters, I wasn't tired, I could have shown that group of folks how to dance for days! Once in my car and trekking back to Congress reality set in, and I had to stop at the drug store for blister treatment and more caffeine...

A very special thanks to all my "students" from the UMC in Deerfield... you made that experience truly unforgettable for me, I look forward to seeing you all cutting rugs of your own very soon!

Salsa Weekend!

THE FOLLOWING IS A LONG POST!

This past Friday Saturday and Sunday my friend Capitan and I attended the Chicago International Salsa Congress at the Westin O'Hare. We made a blast of a weekend out of it! I'm going to try and break it down by day. Unfortunately there is WAY too much for me to tell you all about, so I'll hit my favorite class from each day, and then tell you about the evenings.

Friday:
Met up with Capitan, she and I headed out for Intermediate La Rueda, fun stuff! It was my favorite kind of class, the kind that covers a lot of what I know, but is just a tad beyond my own skill level so I really have to stretch to learn. I thought it very interesting that the instructor was from St. Louis MO, I just never pictured St. Louis as being a hot spot for La Rueda. We learned a few new steps including one called (in English) "Fished" where there is a spin and then at one point the lead takes their foot and hooks it around the follow's leg and I think there was another spin. I was just trying to not be scared by a lead possibly taking me out by hooking my knee! All turned out well though. We finished the hour by doing some fast paced actual Rueda. Which was very fun!

Ok so that was my favorite Friday class, but really I was just wanting to get to the evening already! The nice part about the Congress schedule is that there is a nice long break between daytime and evening activities, from about 4pm until about 8pm is time to unwind, and recharge for the night. At about 8pm we headed down for the evening showcase which is about an hour and a half of Salsa related dancing from couples up to groups of 10-16 dancers. I always enjoy seeing the true global nature of it all!

As Capitan and I sat down a man asked if the seat next to me was open, it was, and he sat down. He was striking up conversation with the people in front of us. At some point somebody had a question that I could answer about Congress, so I took the opportunity to jump into the conversation. I found out that this man came all the way from Vancouver BC Canada just to attend the Congress in Chicago! That's very brave and impressive! We chatted before the show started, Turns out we've been dancing for about the same amount of time but, while I have worked on several types of dances, he had exclusively worked on Salsa (and On1 too... my kind of lead!)

The show started and we enjoyed each and every dance, there was a couple from South Korea, a couple from Puerto Rico, and others from all over the US. There was a brief award ceremony for those that have made a strong impression in the salsa scene and in Latin Culture, followed by more routines. I really like to see how each groups choreography and costuming works with the music and theme they are going for. After the show, Capitan and I adjourned back to our room to prepare for the dancing.

At 11pm we descended into the lobby to find a buffet set up for those that needed sustenance, past that they had set up two bars for those that wanted libation, then walked into the Grand Ballroom which had been converted to a large dance floor (aprox 3,000 square feet) the stage that previously held dancers was now bursting with the sounds of Grupo Gale with Jerry Galante. There is just something about live music, and being able to dance to it. It's hard not to bop and sway when there are tunes like that filling the air. It was only a song or two before Capitan and I were both out on the floor with our respective leads. What I always manage to forget is the length of these songs... In ballroom we dance for maybe 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes... in a club or concert like setting the songs last sometimes up to 5 or 6 minutes, so when someone asks you to dance, you're really committed!

Our Canadian friend from the show asked me to dance, he said something about being curious about Salsa from a ballroom perspective, and I just reminded him that I'm an On1 kind of girl an we were off! It's funny, it seems these social Salseros have a set pattern of moves that they like, and they will lead their follows through the same set in different order (or in some cases sadly, the same order over and over) This guy had a few moves he clearly liked, but he was a really good lead. He then asked Capitan to dance and off they went! After that dance us girls had to run up and change our shoes, I sadly had already begun to develop some nasty blisters from one of my newer pairs of shoes, and Capitan had a feeling she wasn't going to last much longer in her official ballroom shoes. Back down we went for more dancing... a Cha Cha came on and my face lit up... then in turned out that our Canadian friend actually didn't know how to Cha Cha, so I took the opportunity to show him the basic, open breaks and chase turns... he was really excited to learn it, I was excited to teach it! After that I took a break (My senses very often get over loaded in club atmospheres like this, so I have to run out to re-group sometimes) I partook in a little wine (it's just like me to go for the alcohol when I should be grabbing for the water) went back in... got in a few more dances with some leads from classes earlier in the day... by about 1:15am we decided to call it a day and we crashed... It was the kind of sleep you only really get after a good day and night of fun!

Saturday:
Don't ask me why... I'll never be able to tell you... I woke up at 7:00am... thinking that I really wanted to be ready for the day I didn't allow myself to go back to sleep, instead I jumped in the shower and dressed all while Capitan was playing the snooze button game with her alarm. I headed downstairs to see how the rest of the Congress was fairing. Upon my return I confirmed with Capitan what our plan was and we were off for our first class at 9:30am.

Saturday actually had two really good classes for me of the 4 that were attended. The 9:30 class that was Turn Patterns On1. I still don't know how I feel about working on turn patterns so early in the day, but there I was. I liked this class a lot for a few reasons, first no shortage on leads, for rotation. Second, I ended up with a lead that was either very new to leading in turn patterns, or just had a slow learning curve. Which is fine with me, only I know as a follow I'm really not supposed to help my lead... but this guy really kind of needed it, so I tried as subtlety as I could to help him. Until another student, very clearly more advanced than both of us noticed our situation and spent a good majority of the lesson providing private instruction for this turn pattern. For which I was very thankful, even though this guy that was helping made sure to call me out for having bad follow habits, he was nice about it. Just something new for me to work on. However I can't deny that it was a good solid hour of instruction for me to value.

The other class that I really liked was titled "Wild and Crazy Turn Patterns On2" which really wasn't turn patterns so much as really crazy arm looping and then a couple of spins after the crazy arm looping. Trust me this arm looping was nuts, and the leads in this class were so good about it. We would get to a point where it was time to learn something new, and we'd all kind of freeze where we were at, with arms looped over heads, across bodies, behind backs...whatever. The leads were afraid of losing their spots, so they wouldn't let us go, but at the same time got really funny. One guy said he felt sorry we hadn't gone out for drinks first as he had his arm across my chest and I had one of mine around his neck. (Too bad, cuz he was really adorable!)

There was another move where the leads needed to switch hands, and to do so had to cock their heads to the side over the follow's hand, similar to the action when you cradle a phone between your ear and your shoulder. One guy would have a conversation with my hand "Hello? No, I can't make it, I'm a little tied up right now." every time he had to switch. That just made me laugh out loud! This class made me very happy that as a dancer I get to follow, I didn't really have to remember a whole lot, I just had to remember to let the lead take my arms where he wanted and when there was a whole lot of arm stuff, the basic is really just kind of marched in place. Again another solid hour of dancing! Although at this point the blisters of yesterday were turning into the pretty major problems of the day... and so began my regiment of ibuprofen... nothing was going to keep me down!

Classes over at 4:30 Capitan and I decided to take a small break from the Congress to take care of some things, I had a prior engagement that I will write about later... I arrived back at the hotel in enough time to freshen up for the dancing. My favorite band of Congress Sammy Garcia & Sabor de Puerto Rico! While on my break I did stop at a drug store to stock up on more ibuprofen and a few blister type treatment aids, oh and we must not forget the over load of caffeine! If it wasn't for that I wouldn't have made it much past 7:30 that night!
Another student friend of ours made it out on Saturday for some workshops and she joined us for the evening as well, I was so glad she was able to make it!

We walked in to a dance floor already buzzing, the room was already very warm from all the dancing people... I was tired and the pills hadn't kicked in yet... but the music was great! Unfortunately the band would always speak in Spanish between songs (great for the atmosphere, bad if you don't speak Spanish, which I don't) so I have no idea what the songs were called or anything. I made it through about 4 songs or so, before the combination of everything was getting to me, sensory overload was kicking in and I strolled out with my friends for a glass of wine.

Sadly the caffeine wasn't really helping, but I went back in, at some point I misplaced my friends, but I got a few dances in anyway. I ran into a couple of people that I don't see out and about much, we chatted for a minute... I found my girls ran upstairs with them (I was the keeper of the room key) to say goodnight to them...and to see if a quick freshen up would allow me to last any longer on the dance floor, ran back down... made it past the thresh hold of the door to the ballroom... I did a quick sweep for anyone I recognized... and it was at that very moment, when I thought I could maybe get one more dance in... that my legs and feet screamed at me in unison as if to say "What the hell are you thinking?" So back upstairs I went, once I had finally given in to the exhaustion... I was out the instant my head hit the pillow. I think it was close to 2am...

SUNDAY:
Oh the PAIN! That's what I woke up to on Sunday... aching all over, sharp pain in my feet...stupid shoes! This time I woke up at 7am but decided to make myself stay there for another hour or so... I also looked at the schedule and decided I HAD to make it to at least ONE class... although who knew if my legs were going to cooperate.

I just couldn't move fast enough for a 9:30 class so I opted for a 10:45 Cha Cha Cha skill level beginner/intermediate... hey I didn't have the brain power to actually try anything TOTALLY new... ok... so this class wasn't anything new for me... but I was still dancing in spite of it all... so I get credit for that. We went over basics, open break, and pivot turns... I could have done this in my sleep...which is good cuz I think I may have been... the first lead I got was fairly good, I think he was taking this class for the same reasons I was and I would have been happy to stay with him for the hour and just dance... the second lead I got, was I swear to you, impossible to follow! Ok, now he explained he'd never done Cha Cha before, so my patience was in place... but when he tried to put a "cha cha cha" into a pivot turn I disregarded all the advice about not helping my lead from yesterday... and suggested we try to do it another way...well he didn't like that at all, and stopped one of the instructors to ask how it should be done... Well what do you know? The way I was suggesting was actually the way they were teaching it!

Third lead, most entertaining of all... we did the "Turkish towel" step... this guy was obviously very Salsa proficient... pretty quick study on Cha Cha too... accept when they put the music on for us to practice the two of us would do the step and then he would throw some random Salsa shines into the mix... well ok then... he did actually get them to move with the beat fairly well... so I would basic, maybe throw in a turn...whatever... I was however very surprised that for as good at Salsa as he appeared to be, he had NEVER learned Cha Cha before! How do people live on just the one dance! Class over, and me cursing myself for not stretching before hand (is it possible to actually feel each and every chord of muscle as it decides to scream in protest?).... it was time for me to meet up with Capitan to plan the rest of our day.

Capitan wanted to go to an advanced class, with an instructor she liked from earlier in Congress, I was in no shape to be trying an advanced class, so I decided to come and watch... it was very good! The instructor really had his stuff together and had the partners rotating very regularly. I spent most of the class stretching which made a HUGE difference. After class we decided that there wasn't really any other classes we felt we HAD to attend so we officially called it a Congress and went our separate ways to prepare for our upcoming week.

Saddest part of all, by about 5pm that afternoon I wanted to go dancing... I didn't want to Salsa, but I would have done any one of the other dances I know... pain or no pain... You'd think that after dancing so much in such a concentrated amount of time I'd be ready for a break... but no... all it did was feed the addiction!

And so I close with the same line I had when I was finished with last year's Congress... Salsa? Sure! But only if it comes with chips!





(No worries, I'll be back to Salsa in no time at all, I just need a little break)

Last Week's Lesson, Rhythm all around.

Hi Everyone! Ok So much has happened since the last time I wrote, but things have to go in order... so I'll begin with a quick note about last week's lesson.

Last week, for the first time in a while RT and I were in the same kind of upbeat mood... This makes for really easy learning. I was once again sporting my newer style shoe, which is a jazz sandal of sorts (I don't dance in ballroom shoes ever, the way I distribute the weight on my feet makes it nearly impossible for me to dance in heels of any kind) to this point I've been in standard issue jazz shoes that are completely flat, these Jazz Sandals have a little 3/4" Cuban heel and let me tell you it makes a difference! It feels like I have to re-learn some of the basic stuff all over again. RT is calling these shoes my "Latin shoes" so we worked on Latin dances!

We opened with some Hustle, and then moved into Salsa, where RT is still trying to get me to learn about the Clave... it's getting better, but it still seems to be a little over my head. Then we moved to trying to get me to dance On2, which means in this case same Salsa basic, starting on the 2nd beat of the measure instead of on the first (On1). I didn't do too terribly. I was actually quite pleased with that.

Then we moved to Cha Cha, and the two of us were in such good moods, which means we were talking and I was joking, so we had a couple of "false starts" where we would begin, and then by the end of the first measure RT would say "Ok wait we're off time." and I would reply in my usual smart ass way "Hey, it's your fault, it's my job to follow." and we would immediately start again. It happens sometimes, no big deal... only takes a second to make the correction and move on.

We did in fact have a little Rumba time... only this time I actually got complimented by RT on my basic w/ Cuban motion! Holy Cow! It went something like "Hey that was really good, but now you should work on making and infinity sign with your lat muscles." I wanted to just tell him to stop and let me relish the fact that I got a compliment on my Rumba before we worked on the NEXT thing I'm going to be practicing forever, but I decided against it. Instead, I just made a mental note of the compliment, and asked details about exactly what type of figure eight/infinity sign I was supposed to be trying. I then told RT that he can't make me do anymore, I don't have any more sections of my body that can or will make an infinity sign for this dance.

Then it was on to a little more On2 Salsa (some people call that Mambo), and we finished up with a little of my East Coast Swing...

Salsa Congress is Coming!

Hi all! The week as arrived! Chicago International Salsa Congress kicks off on Thursday, with workshops beginning on Friday, continuing through Saturday, and finishing up on Sunday. The Capitan and I will be making a girls weekend out of it and have been looking forward to it for weeks!

Oh! I do believe I forgot to tell you, the same band I saw on Saturday of last year Sammy Garcia & Sabor de Puerto Rico will be playing again this year! I can't wait to test what I've learned on that dance floor!

I know of a few readers that will be stopping by… If you’re one of these people drop me an e-mail! StageKat@gmail.com We can exchange phone numbers and meet up for some of the workshops or even an early dinner before the evening dancing begins!

If you’re coming I suggest printing the schedule here and bring it with you.

Also, when you check in there will be a bit to do, so allow for time before that first workshop you want to attend.

Hope to see you there!

New Dimension to Dance: The Clave (Clah-VAY)

So as I mentioned earlier, this week's lesson began with my official introduction to the Clave. Which subsequently has sent me on a search for a greater understanding of this instrument and rhythm. Clave is Spanish, and in translation means "key". It is generally characterized in Afro-Cuban and music especially Son and Salsa and is heard by the use of Claves...which are small stick-like percussion instruments, that when struck produce a high pitched "click". The presence of the Clave can have varying patterns within a given type of music.

With strong ties to Havana beginning in the late seventeenth century, it is said that the instrument and rhythms were developed by the Cuban Creole culture as a way to enhance their music. While the Clave is predominantly Cuban for sure, some version of a Clave can also be found in traditional music of Spain, China, Japan, Africa, Indochina, Siam, Mexico, and the Polynesian Islands.

Below is the only decent video I could find, turns out this guy is a Cuban musician showing some different Clave rhythms.





While the Clave is an extremely important aspect of Cuban and Latin music, as a dancer you wouldn't want to dance ON the Clave beat exactly. That would put you out of time in the music, the dance would appear to be very disjointed and appear to be working against the song. There is a catch too, the Clave beat does not have to be (though generally is) represented by the Clave instrument. It can be represented through nearly any instrument in the band, but I'm told that once you know what to listen for in rhythm, the sound making it is less important. The Clave beat will determine for you when to act within the music as a dancer and that one should rely on it to keep time.

Clave patterns vary by dance, each Latin dance has Clave patterns...for the purpose of my research I'm attempting to focus on Salsa (although it appears On2/Mambo is more widely used in description.) Thus far I have read several articles from all over the globe, put out on the web to share opinions and facts intertwined, they all have lots of diagrams on what a Clave pattern looks like on paper, but that doesn't give me a real clear explanation of how to listen for it. What I will have to do is study a few of the .wav files I've found, and then sit back and listen to some Salsa in order to start picking up on it. Wish me luck!

Last Week's Lesson: My Official Introduction to The Clave

Last week's lesson was a little unusual, this time I was absolutely in the mood for a good ol' time. RT had more technical pursuits in mind. We started with a little Salsa, after a few measures RT asked me to clap on the 1st and 4th beats while maintaining the steps in Salsa, well this proved to be a bit of a stretch for me. See in Salsa, you move on the 1st thru 3rd beats, pause on 4, then start again with 1. Or, sometimes you'll see Salsa counted as 1, 2, 3, (pause 4) 5, 6, 7, (pause 8). So to actually write it out it looks like 1, 2, 3, ..., 5, 6, 7, ... Attempting to clap on the 1st beat, fine... ask me to again clap on the 4th when I'm paused is a bit like asking me to pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time. I simply can't do it without practice and a lot of thought. I nearly instantly became frustrated by my lack of ability to do this, and kept asking why he wanted me to attempt this seemingly silly practice. I was hoping that the "why" of it all would help me understand how to do it.

"Look it's the Clave, [as you learn Salsa], it's important that you know this." stated a mildly exasperated RT.

"Oh, ok... I've read about that." I replied... but unfortunately the brief period of study I had with the Clave (said Clah-VAY) was bit over my head at the time so I just filed the information away to be referenced later.

This will prompt a writing of what I understand the Clave to be in a later post, but for now... on with the lesson.

What I do know is that the Clave is a particular stick-like instrument used to accent particular beats in Afro-Cuban music. I never spent any time listening for it, or paying much attention to it at all... until this lesson. RT and I continued with my attempting to clap/step, clap/pause on the appropriate beats, to no avail. I was having a terrible time with it! Which is so tragic, considering the amount of time I've spent with music in my life. It was so bad at one point two of the studio employees that had been watching from the office behind me made their presence known by randomly clapping to either distract RT and I or worse. I turned... looked at them, turned to RT and simply stated "Oh no... now that we have an audience, game over, I'm not going to keep doing this." I then told myself that this week's homework was going to be studying the Clave, so even if I couldn't clap and step, or not step, at least I should be able to pick out the Clave rhythm next time RT and I meet.

Thankful that RT knows the difference between when I complain for the sake of complaining and when I really put my foot down about doing something, we moved to fine tune some of my positioning in cross body leads, something I picked up on much faster I think. Then we worked on my pivot turns, surprise of all surprises I anticipate those too...so we worked on that as well. In spite of the failed Clave bit, I was still happy to get my Salsa worked on. First part of the lesson complete we moved onto our next dance.

I have no idea how much advance planning goes into my lessons, whether RT decides as we work through our warm up dance what we're going to do next or it just dawns on him when we run to the music machine to pick out tunes. Either way I was all too pleased when, while at the music machine, RT suggested West Coast Swing.

Ah, West Coast, I know the way I currently know it is pretty much studio specific... I've seen WCS at other places and I barely recognize it. Someday I'll learn that too... For the time being I'm happy with the one I've got... now we just have to get my coaster step to the point where RT is happy with it too... and we'll be set. We worked on the coaster a lot, sadly I've worked on the coaster a lot at home too... and it hasn't translated to lessons yet. Ok, so that's two bits of homework... Figure out the Clave, and polish that coaster step.... Check.

I think we took a Rumba break, even if I don't mention it here, I'm pretty sure Rumba makes an appearance in EVERY lesson... This time I was pleased to get some Cuban motion in to see if I could maintain it with a new style of shoe I'm now attempting to sport around the studio. Ok... moving on...

East Coast Swing! Yippee Skippy! It wasn't long after we started the triple step, that I noticed RT watching the one way mirror by the office that had previously held the clappers that distracted us. You know... It's pretty rare that I pay attention to what's going around the studio during my lesson, unless RT is paying attention to something... I can tell the difference between his using the mirror to inspect steps and lines, and when he's watching someone inevitably watching back, in the span of a microsecond. A sign of us working together for too long I think.... Well I don't care who's paying attention to my ECS, I have way too much fun doing it to care if I screw up, and of course I did... on one of my favorite steps too... oh well... I asked that we do it again and it was a little better.
Also, I ALWAYS misread the lead for that sequence that opens with 4 steps back then a few taps/kicks/points..whatever they've evolved into... oh well... at least we make it back to the triple on time. I love that dance.

With that lesson was over, and I cruised out of there homework in head... how am I going to pull learning the Clave??

Last Week's Lesson: Cha Cha, Smooth Education, and Samba

Hi Everyone! I walked into last week's lesson, not really knowing which direction it was going to be taken. Unfortunately my attitude was off, and thus I didn't take as much from this lesson, dance wise, as I do from most. RT, as always, was very attentive to the difference in my mood, and after making sure I was ok, we began this week with a Cha Cha. I'm really pleased with the way my Cha Cha is beginning to shape up, it's sad that after a year and a half I only now feel like I'm starting to develop in some of these dances. It feels like I'm finally on the verge of being able to insert my own personality into them, rather than exclusively, rather desperately, trying to follow. I don't know if it's the fact that, as much as I would love to, I can't devote every moment to working on this craft, or that I've spread my limited available time over so many dances that I'm just not where I want to be in most of them...but Cha Cha, with the exception of a couple of steps, is really starting to move into the level of comfort that I have for East Coast Swing.

RT and I did work on the one step I never feel like I have, I commonly refer to it as the "spinnie" move, even when I'm told it's been done ok... it never feels right. Sometimes it just feels slightly better than horrific. I just have to hold on to the fact that I WILL get there, I will become comfortable with everything I pushed off because I wasn't confident enough to actually go for it. After many many tries, we gave Cha Cha a rest and moved onto some of the smooth we've been working on.

RT must be on a smooth kick, because in the last two weeks I've worked on Tango, Fox Trot and even Waltz, more than I have in ages! My confidence in smooth is rock bottom terrible. Smooth dances have always held this kind of elite status in my mind, not better than the Rhythm, but I envision the smooth dances as possessing all the qualities I don't have. Smooth is classy, graceful, elegant, proper, and strong. Strong, is really the only thing on THAT list that I feel I possess. I forever feel like the proverbial "bull in the china shop" when I'm dancing a smooth dance. Tango, being the most aggressive of the three smooth dances I know, is the one that I think I could excel at if I allow myself to get there. We worked on the two open fan steps, and RT even showed me the closed fan step, which is supposed to be nearly all action in the foot and the top line doesn't really move much. That's going to take some work. Oh, we worked on my version of the corte as well... hips forward, shoulders back, extended leg all the way back and I better keep that extended heel in, and not let it rotate out. Actually, I'm pretty sure I can do all that. We T-A-N-G-Oed around the floor a few times and it was time for our next dance...

We brushed over Fox Trot real quick, and I was informed that I shouldn't think of Fox Trot with all those adjectives I used above, no.. instead it's supposed to be the sexy dance in the smooth collection. Huh... well THAT'S different! I guess I'll have to let that sink in before I can actually approach Fox Trot with a saucy, sexy kind of attitude.

Next up... SAMBA... oh lordy! I was not in the right frame of mind for this on this night..but forward we move... around through the basic... RT must be determined to get me though this, I've never felt so much like a beginner dancer as I do when I try this! This lesson's detail was making sure I've got my hip brought up when I step forward, similar to that in the whip on West Coast Swing. SHEESH! I do think the forward and back basic is sinking in, we'll see... I'm not going to say anything, after all I didn't this time, and I bet RT has me work on it again next week.
We ended the lesson with the Samba, and with that, my mood had been lifted, as dance always does. More practice... I wonder if it's possible to wear through the linoleum floor in my kitchen? Time to put it to the test!