6th salsa class: Lima, 2009-12-07

The 6th salsa class had the core members gathered: Juan-Carlos and Melanie, Robert and Gissela, and Eidi & I.

By now we're getting into a routine, things are feeling more familiar. After four classes, of short sequences, in the fifth class we'll put those four sequences together and dance the whole sequence from class 1 to 4.

In today's footwork, we showed how to do a left turn, a simple, slow turn which uses an entire beat. You just step through the entire turn, there's no spinning on the foot at any point. In general, the footwork is looking very good!

We repeated last week's sequence:

1) Cross Body Lead,
2) Right turns for leader/follower,
3) La Copa,
4) Sombrero.

It took some time to polish the details, and it really does make a big difference if you practice at home between classes or not! :)

Worth mentioning the detail of how to lead Sombrero - if you lead it right, it will be obvious to the follower to which side she should turn, by blocking her with your left hand on her hip, so her own arm, in front of her body, forces her to turn to the right. We also mentioned the estetics of the Sombrero, that the arms first rise, then fall, like a fan opening up.

Then, we got into the new sequence for the day, a continuation of the previous one:

5) Cross Body Lead, Arc Walk
6) Remolino
7) Follower's Right Turn, double hold
8) La Cruz

Breaking each step down into some detail:

5) Cross Body Lead, Arc Walk: A cross body lead, but the leader raises his hand so the follower walks beneath it, which makes her half-turn to the right instead of the left on 7. It is important that the leader guides the follower with his right hand on 5, so she knows to move straight forward. Like any other cross body lead without turns, this move looks best if the follower does her half-turn on 7, not earlier. For some ladies' styling, the follower can put her free left hand on her hip while walking beneath the arc.
6) Remolino: Starts with an Open Break, then the lead steps forward and puts his right arm on the follower's back, arm above her shoulder, like a wing. Then the two step a full turn to the right on 5-6-7, walking around a common center of gravity. The most difficult thing here was how to step for the lead: The right foot walks "inside" the left foot on 7.
7) Follower's Right Turn, double hold: Basic step on 1-2-3, then a simple follower's right turn on 5-6-7, with both hands held. Ends into a double-crossed hold, left hand above right hand. This is just a preparation for the next move, really. It helps to use the thumb as a leader to maintain the grip in the turn.
8) La Cruz (also known as Jesu Cristo): Today's most difficult move. Gets its name from the pose on 3, where the partners stand back to back with arms outstretched like a cross. The follower's steps are actually identical to those of La Copa, but the armwork is quite different. Begins on 1 with an Open Break. On 2, the leader must pull with his left hand on the follower's right hand so she understands that she should move into a La Copa position. The leader steps forward with his right foot, facing left (back to back with the follower). The leader raises the hands which are still coupled. On 3, the arms are lowered, one to each side, forming "La Cruz". The arms should not be fully extended. Then on 5, the leader "tosses" the follower's right hand backwards, while the leader's right hand is still holding her and indicating the direction of her half-turn. This tells her to return to the spot she came from. On 6, the leader's right hand releases her, completely letting go. On 7, both make a half-turn to face each other, without any contact. The most difficult thing here is that 1-2-3 goes very fast - the pull on 2 must be obvious, and it is very important to put the weight of the leader's left foot on 3. And here, just like in Sombrero, the esthetics we're looking for is that the arms rise (though not very high) on 2, and fall down and out like a fan on 3. The trick is to make it look slow even though it's quite fast.

The first three didn't present any real problems, but the fourth one will require some work. We'll repeat the 5-8 moves in the next class, but do remember to practice! Taking a video is an excellent way to help the memory.

That was all we did in this class. Come back for more next Sunday, and don't forget to practice!