Week One

We have a great group of dancers in class. Some of you have been dancing for many years, and some of you are relatively new. Thank you for being Good Dancers – matching your dancing to your partner’s skills.

This week was mostly so that everyone could begin working from a common starting point as far as dance skills are concerned.

You did the Cross Body Lead (CBL) with both an Inside Turn (hand across the face) and an Outside Turn (hand away from the face) for the Follow. Remember, a CBL is a special way to change places in two measures of music.

Follows, using the CBL, you worked on turning with precision, speed, and power. Leads, you worked on leading your partner to turn at exactly the right time.

Finally, you were doing a Chase Turn. This is a done with a Visual Lead (no physical connection between the Lead and Follow). Both partners get to be the turning person. The turning person begins turning on the forward-moving part of the basic.

Next week, you will cover the Split Left Turn and start doing the Cha Cha.

Week Two

This week was all about adding variety to your Salsa using relatively small set of tools – the Cross Body Lead (CBL), the Chase Turn, and the Split Left Turn.

The CBL, of course, is a specific way to change places over the course of two measures of music (six weight changes, the same as a basic). The first three weight changes of a CBL are always the same. The “moves” happen in the second three weight changes. You did hand-across-the-face (inside) turns and hand-away-from-the-face (outside) turns for the follow.

Switching to the Chase Turn (the first version of it you worked on), the turn takes place during the measure of music that would otherwise be the forward-moving part of the basic. (You turn after stepping forward with your Left foot, leaving your Right foot in place like you are holding down a $100 bill with your big toe.)

Following every such turn is the backward-moving part of the basic (the back break or back-basic). The Lead and Follow parts are the same (the foot positions, the direction of rotation – clockwise, etc). They are just done at at alternating times – one person is turning while the other is doing a back-basic. This is justlike in a “regular” basic – one person does the forward-basic while the other person does the back-basic. The turn in the Chase Turn takes the place (occurs during the same measure of music) of the forward-basic.

The Split Left Turn (the second variety of chase turn) is similar to but not the same as the Chase Turn. During the Chase Turn, the turn is completely accomplished during the measure of music that would otherwise be the forward-moving part of the basic.

In the Split Left Turn, the turn is accomplished starting at the end of the measure of music that would otherwise be the forward-basic, and completed during the measure of music that would otherwise be the back-basic. The direction of rotation is different as well – counter-clockwise (left).

It start with a forward break (or forward check) on the Left foot. After replacing your weight to your Right foot, rotate 180 degrees on the right foot. That is the second Quick syllable of QQS. Then, take a tiny step forward on your Left foot on the Slow. This completes the measure of music that would otherwise be the forward-basic. The turning person’s back will be toward his/her partner.

Now, step forward with the Right foot and rotate 180 degrees, leaving your Left foot where it was (like you are holding down a $100 bill with your left foot), finally brining your feet together with your weight on your Right foot on the Slow syllable of the QQS. You end facing your partner again (unless they, too are turning). This completes the measure of music that would otherwise be the back-basic. You are ready, then, to do another forward-basic (or anything else that could happen during a forward basic.

Two couples demonstrated the Chase Turn and Split Left Turn, showing how one type of turn could be done following the other, or how one person in the couple could be doing one type of turn while the other person was doing the other type of turn.

Cha Cha
We switched gears into Cha Cha. I was drawing a bit of a history of the Cha Cha movement and relating it to Salsa/Mambo. At one point in the evolution of Cha Cha, it was called the Triple Mambo. Cha Cha is danced to slower music than Mambo/Salsa, so there was more time for dancers to do more weight changes.

I started everyone with a preparation step to the side on the “One” count of the measure, followed by a break (either forward or backward, depending on the foot that is free – more in a bit), followed by a replace, followed by “Cha Cha” or “Four And”. When starting on the “One” count like this, the rhythm for Cha Cha is Slow-Slow-Slow-Quick-Quick (SSSQQ), or “One Two Three Four And”, or “Quarter Note, Quarter Note, Quarter Note, Eighth Note, Eighth Note”.

That rhythm then repeats on the “other side” – ie, if your “One” count was to the Right the first time, it will to the Left the next time.

Tiny Steps are Important! It’s hard to do five weight changes in one measure of music unless your steps are very small.

Cha Cha Always Breaks On Two! Anyone telling you any different is just doing sloppy Cha Cha. A Break, in a general sense, is a movement goes in one direction, abruptly stops, then goes back in the direction you started. For instance, the Salsa/Mambo basic consists of a Forward Break and a Back Break.

The Cha Cha basic also has a Forward Break and a Back Break, and those breaks (as well as other kinds of breaks that you will soon learn), happen on the second beat of the measure (ie, the “Two” count, as in Cha Cha Always Breaks On Two).

In the Cha Cha basic, just as in the Salsa/Mambo basic, the Forward Break happens on the Left foot, and the Back Break happens on the Right Foot. Above in this Class Note where I described the timing of the Cha Cha basic, I said the the preparation step to the side on the “One” count is followed by a Break (either forward or backward depending on the foot you have free).

If your Left foot is free after the preparation step, you do a Forward Break on the Two count. If your Right foot is free after the preparation step, you do a Back Break on the Two count. It is just as common for the dancers to start with the preparation step to the Leads Right as it is to start with the preparation step to the Leads Left. There is no one “correct” way – both are correct.

It is important in the Cha Cha basic, however, to do Forward Breaks with the Left foot and Back Breaks with the Right foot, and that Cha Cha Always Breaks On Two. I cannot be emphatic enough about that fact.

As an exercise to finish class, I presented Outside Partner Breaks. In ballroom dance, the term Outside Partner means landing with your weight next to your partner (vs in front of your partner or directly toward your partner). Doing Outside Partner Breaks involves being able to lead/perceive/produc small amounts of rotation in the whole body.

In Outside Partner Breaks, it is common for Leads to rotate and then step forward on both sides of the pattern, while Follows rotate and step backward. Yes, this does mean that the Lead’s Left foot and Right foot will both break forward (on alternating sides of the pattern), and that the Follow’s Right foot and Left foot will both break backward (at times that correspond to the Lead stepping forward). This is different than the basic. This is okay and perfectly acceptable. More will come of that in future classes.

Finally, I have posed a Comment, below, about Ina’s Solo Recital and Carolyn’s Salsa Party. I hope everyone can make it to one or both!

Week Three

In Salsa, you worked on making your Cross Body Leads (CBLs) small, tight, and flashy. To do this, Leads must be careful to keep all steps very small, and to control how much your elbow moves.

Follows must also keep all steps very small, and to take as many forward steps as possible. Starting with the right foot like the backward part of a basic, your foot positions are: back, replace, forward, forward, forward, turn-and-land-with-your-feet-together-with-your-weight-on-your-left-foot.

We needed this in order to do the Tornado Turn. Start with a handshake hand hold. The second measure of the CBL is where all the “moves” take place. The Follows are lead to turn counter-clockwise (inside turn) with the Lead’s hand never getting higher than the Follow’s shoulder (ie, not an under-arm-turn).

The Leads must move to where the follows will be at the end of their turn. Thus, it was important to make your CBL’s tight and accurate – Leads, you need to know where your partner will end up, because you need to be going there while the Follow is turning.

Follows, it was important to use small steps and not to try to travel your turns, otherwise the Leads will not be able to move fast enough to catch up with you.

Cha Cha
You finished class by reviewing the Cha Cha basic and timing (see last week’s class notes). You also learned Forward Locks and Backward Locks, focusing on how to place your feet during the locking part of the pattern – ie, one foot immediately behind the other, turned out at 90-degrees with the back heel very high off the floor.

No class next week. However, consider attending on of our Workshops held during the same time as our regular classes.

Week Four

I am really excited to see how well everyone is doing in class. I enjoy how much everyone gets into their dancing!

This week I posed a pair of questions… “What makes someone a good Lead?” and “What makes someone a good dancer?” We started to discuss what makes someone a good Lead – hearing from the Follows first. Follows definitely are in the best position to have an opinion about the topic!

Timing was a very important answer. To lead well, Leads must have good timing. Good, clear, readable, sensible timing. This usually means making sure the S-L-O-W syllable of any pattern is actually done slowly enough to stay in time with music. Many Leads rush the timing of the music, making their dancing disconnected from the music it is supposed to represent, and making their leading that much more – uh – questionable.

We revisited the Chase Turn and the Split Left Turn. Both of these moves are done without physical contact with your partner. This should make Leads and Follows both more aware of how their movements fit with each other and with the music, as well as encouraging the Leads to move clearly in order to lead clearly.

We spent most of the rest of our class time on Cha Cha, always starting with a preparation step on the “One” count of the music to the Lead’s left/Follow’s right, then a break on the “Two” count of the music. Cha Cha always breaks on Two.

You did the Basic step, which you can think of as moving sideways (or along the East-West line across an imaginary map). You also did Forward Locks and Back Locks, which move forwards/backwards (or along the North-South line on an imaginary map).

When doing forward and back locks, you can imagine dancing on a wooden plank that is laying flat on the ground. It is maybe ~5 feet long. The back break (on your right foot) will land with the right heel at the edge of the plank. After that, all other movements are forward until you take your forward break (on your left foot). Then, you start going backward again with back locks.

Cha Cha is an excellent dance for showing playfulness, power, and personality. In the weeks that remain, we will work on moves that you can do in Salsa, Cha Cha, and Rumba.

Wisconsin State
Next week is the Wisconsin State Dancesport Championships – the biggest competition in the Midwest (next to the Ohio Star Ball). It happens April 14-18 (Wed/Sun) at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.

Sarah and I are recruiting spectators to watch the daytime events on Saturday, 17 April 2010. See Session 6 – Saturday Matinee. The Saturday daytime events are exclusively amateur events (dance students dancing with each other) and pro/am events (dance students dancing with their teachers).

You will see multiple skill levels (from new dancer through Open Gold) in International Standard in the morning and International Latin in the Afternoon.

See Tickets for prices – Saturday day is $20/person, and is good from ~8am to ~4pm (when the amateur events are finished).

The ballroom is then emptied so it can be set up for the evening banquet and professional competitive events. Saturday night is almost entirely sold out – standing room only tickets are available for $35/person. Still, it is worth it!

Ballroom dance competitions are a sensory experience that words and pictures cannot do adequate justice. The are very exciting events!

Week Five

This week in Salsa, we revisited the Tornado Turn, working particularly on fluidly linking the various parts of that move together.

We spent most of the time in class on Cha Cha. You did Cross Over Breaks followed by Walk Around Turns for both the Lead and the Follow. Remember, Cha Cha always breaks on two. All of your moves in Cha Cha happen on the two-count, including the Cross Over Breaks and Walk Around Turns.

Next week, more Cha Cha, plus Bolero!

Consider enrolling in Sarah’s Swing 101 meeting immediately before our class. Sarah is offering a discount for all participants of our class! Visit the link and contact Sarah to find out how much.

Week Six

In addition to reviewing the Cross Over Break and the Opening Break and Under Arm Turn, this week I introduce the Bolero. Bolero is a slow-tempo dance that is often described as romantic and passionate. It uses the same fundamental shape on the floor as both Salsa and Cha Cha, a shape I occasionally refer to as a Zig-Zag. On the right-most side of the shape, you step forward with your left foot (forward break), and on the left-most side of the shape, you step backward with your right foot (back break).

• The break in Salsa (that we have been working on) is on One (the first beat).
• The break in Cha Cha is always on Two.
• The break in Bolero is on Three.

Bolero is counted as Slow-Quick-Quick (the break is the Quick-Quick).

We quickly went through how to do the Opening Break and UAT as well as Cross Over Breaks (and dual UAT) in Bolero.

Next week, we will work on “Two Moves in Three Dances”.

Week Seven

This week was all about taking moves from one dance and applying them to a new dance. Our Two Moves are Opening Break and UAT and Cross Over Breaks.

First, we refined the Bolero (since I presented it very quickly last week). Bolero is a unique Latin (Rhythm) dance in that while it utilizes the same Zig-Zag shape as other Cuban-orgin dances, it also uses Rise and Fall like Waltz does.

When the knee on your supporting leg is bent (demi-plie), it is possible to reach further with the non-weight-bearing leg. Similarly, when you are on your toes of your supporting leg (releve), you can not reach as far with the non-weight-bearing leg.

This Rise and Fall gives Bolero and interesting and unique look. It also challenges your balance and muscle control. Dancing slowly (and well) is often more challenging that dancing quickly (and well). However, if you are able to dance slowly and purposefully, your fast dances will become that much more free and expressive – you will no longer be hindered by the speed.

We spent the majority of class time working on how each of the two moves fits into Salsa, Cha Cha, and Bolero. Then, you split into pairs for working on your choice of dance, incorporating the two moves.

At the end of class, the willing pairs demonstrated their approximately one minute of dancing to the rest of the class. I think many people in class were able to discern something not only about the “moves” but about what makes dancing fun to do or fun to watch!

Remember, next week Thursday, 06 may 2010 is our class outing to the Cardinal Bar for Salsa night!