HCD Swing Jam: A Belated Dance Review

Sorry this is so late folks!  I've been trying to catch up on everything and I kept forgetting to write this review up!  Now that I'm stuck home with a slight cold, I have no excuse.

Mario Robau's Weekend Workshop At The Polish Home: A Dance Review

This weekend was a busy one!  Because of the Durham Fair, I had to choose when I would try out Mario Robau's weekend workshop.  Friday or Saturday?  I chose Friday so I could review the West Coast Swing Dance at the same time.

West Coast Swing Dance Social At The Polish Home: A Dance Review

So last night I went to a dance social that I swear to God I haven't been to in over 10 years!  I must have been 15 or so when I was last there, but I recognized the building as soon as I pulled into the parking lot.  It was the Polish Home in Windsor Locks, and the dance was Ken Mercik's West Coast Swing Night.

My Dance Weekend Part III: MalaLECHE in New York City

Part Three!

My weekend is almost over!  After partying at my husband’s parent’s place, my brother and I began our tango adventure.  And what a crazy adventure that was!  Some parts of it were so random that I have to divide it into 4 stories:

1. “The Tale Of ‘I Forgot My Pants’”

2. “A Harrowing Ride Through New York City With A View Of Someone’s Butt” (I’m sure you’re wondering about this one!)

3. “Milonga-ing The Night Away: A Review Of MalaLECHE”

4. “What Do You Mean We Have To Wait?! A Review Of How Comfortable The Street Is Outside The Train Station”

If you just want the review, just scroll down until you see the title of the third story.

So, Story One: 

“The Tale Of ‘I Forgot My Pants”

I should mention right off the bat that I’m not much of an adventurer, but my brother is.  Nate prefers to own a Jeep rather than a practical sedan, and he will hang out with just about anyone.  Like last month, when he was in a car accident, he and the women who hit him ended up in the ER with minor injuries.  They got to talking and ended up going to a pizza restaurant afterwards with some of Nate’s friends who came to pick him up.

So now that I have this story set up, apparently I lingered a bit too long when I said good-bye to my in-laws, and we ended up at the New Haven train station with only 5 minutes to purchase tickets and board the train.  Of course, the computer messages at each track weren’t working, so as we were sprinting through the underground tunnel, we had to guess which track to take.  We were joined in our guesswork by a young woman who was desperately searching for the same train.

We guessed wrong.  We found ourselves off by one platform, watching as our train started off without us.

So now we had an hour to kill.  Being the introverted little bookworm that I am, I was all for just sitting on a bench and reading, but Nate had this idea in his head of going to a nearby bar and having a quick drink.  He turns to the young lady who was supposed to be on the same train, and asks her if she wanted to join us.  She was all for it!  She also offered to give us a ride.  Being the cautious woman that I am, I’m feeling a little hesitant about the whole thing, but I go along with the idea.  Nate suggests a bar, the woman is game. 

Then the woman tells us she’s waiting for her ride.  Her roommate is picking us up.  Now I have the pilot episode of Criminal Minds running through my head (why am I watching this show again when it just freaks me out? Why?!) and I’m wondering if we're going to be killed by some careless driving or a serial killer and we'll never see our families again.  But the woman looks normal and smart (turns out she’s a Yale graduate student), so I go with my first impressions on this one.

front door of Firehouse 12

The roommate arrives at the train station with us having only 45 minutes left before the next train (the roommate turned out to be a normal, safe-looking woman, by the way, not some crazy person).  We head over to the bar, but since it turns out to have a cover charge, we end up going to the Firehouse 12 bar a block down.  Nate and the 2 ladies each get a shot of fire whiskey, I chose to stay alcohol-free since drinking made me drowsy.  15 seconds later, we have to go because we have only 20 minutes left until the next train (that was short!). 

Halfway back to the station, Nate realizes that he forgot his pants at the bar (I should probably mention that Nate had a pair of pants on a hanger for the Milonga, and that's what he left at the bar.  Why he brought the pants into the bar instead of leaving them in the car, I don’t know).  So Roommate had to turn the car around and drive back to the bar so he can get his pants, and then race back to the train station, where we finally managed to board the train with a few minutes to spare.  We now have a funny story to share (“remember when we took that guy to the bar for a quick shot and then he forgot his pants?”) and Nate made a new friend.

The train turned out to be a party train full of loud people, so none of us could nap (I’m glad I chose not to drink, otherwise I would have been drowsy and irritable).  I listened to my audiobook on my CD player, while Nate chatted with his new Yale friend about the last time they actually saw CD players.  We arrived in New York at 10:45 p.m., and it was pouring rain, which leads me to my next story:

“A Harrowing Ride Through New York City With A View Of Someone’s Butt”

So, it’s pouring rain, and it’s windy, and it looks like it would be a miserable walk to the dance studio, so Nate suggests we get a cab, and I agree.  But everyone is trying to get a cab, so the only thing Nate’s accomplishing is getting wet in the rain, and the only cab that stopped in front of the station was an unmarked black car that clearly wasn’t a taxi cab, just someone looking to make some cash.

Just then one of those bicycle taxis pulled up in front of us and asked us if we wanted a ride.  Nate asked the cyclist if he could take us to 8^th avenue, and the guy responds, “I just came from there.  I can get you there!  4 dollars a minute.” Pricey, but Nate and I were intrigued.  I mean, how often do you get to say that you rode in a pedicab, and neither of us have ever done it before, so we decided it was worth the extra expense, hopped into the little seat, and we were off!

A pedicab

That trip turned out to be one of the most terrifying yet entertaining rides I’ve ever been on.  We got an excellent, leisurely look at New York, but at the same time we ended up feeling every bump and rut in the road, and some of those cars came in a little too close for comfort!  I kept thinking that maybe I should have signed up for that life insurance after all, since it kept looking like I might die within the next few seconds.

At one point, the cyclist turns around and asks us, “Do you mind if I go fast?”  Nate’s response: “sure!”  My response (with some hesitation): “sure?”  We discovered that going fast meant coasting downhill with no brakes.  The guy just stood up on his pedals and let gravity speed us down.  Nate and I were freaking out yet enjoying it the whole time.  I kept recalling that bikes don’t brake well in the rain, so naturally I was wondering whether I should call Dave and just tell him that I love him.  At least we got an excellent view of the cyclist’s butt with his little spandex shorts (hence the story title. Now you get it)

The cyclist didn’t try to scam us, fortunately.  He took us to where we needed to go, via the shortest route possible, so the whole trip took us only 12 minutes ($48).  I have to say, this guy was able to pull 290 pounds worth of human through New York within 12 minutes, with some uphill, and with us not being his first customers of the night.  That man has some serious muscle!  No wonder his butt looked so nice!  :P

Us in the pedicab

 

So now we have finally arrived at the Milonga, which finally brings me to my review:

“Milonga-ing The Night Away: A Review Of MalaLECHE”

What Is It?

A monthly Milonga in New York City, takes place every 1^st Saturday, ends at around 3 a.m.

 Where Is It?

At a studio called You Should Be Dancing Dance, on 412 8th ave, on the 4th floor (between 30th and 31st st).  Don’t take the elevator, apparently it’s really slow.

Why Is It Good?

This is a good place for experienced tango dancers to socialize, with many excellent dancers, and two separate rooms for dancing; one for the more traditional tango songs, the other for alternative songs (a more Nuevo style).

Adam and Ciko, the hosts

This dance reminded me of the Nocturne Milonga I attended some months back; it even had some of the same dancers as Nocturne.  And Nocturne was fun!

This event was affordable (only $12), and the music was good too, with good songs for both the tandas and cortinas (a tanda is set of 3 to 5 songs, with a musical pause, or “Cortina” in between).  I like the setup of tandas: they give you at least 8 minutes of dancing with one partner, so you get a chance to create a good dancing relationship with said partner.

I was feeling pretty good for the first couple of hours; I felt like I was responding well to my partners, particularly with some of the harder movements, and the leaders I danced with seemed genuinely pleased with my ability to follow.  And I danced with some good dancers too!  It was turning out to be a great night.  

I wish I could say I felt good for the rest of the night however.  After the performance by the guest teachers, something changed.  Maybe the exhaustion from the events of the past 30 hours was finally catching up to me, or my hungry stomach was affecting my physical energy, or maybe it was a combination of the two, but my dance confidence started to diminish with each tanda I did.  

When I lead at a dance, and I notice that my partner’s not following my steps well, I revert back to my more basic moves, and that night at MalaLECHE I could feel my leaders do exactly that with me.  They kept repeating the simpler moves, and every time they tried something harder, I would screw up.  My confidence was completely shattered with the last tanda I did.  I correctly guessed that he was a teacher based on how he kept correcting me.  Not only did he stop doing complex moves and did just the basics, he also silently but discernably corrected my close embrace multiple times.  He made his movements painfully slow and obvious.  Suffice it to say that I failed miserably, and I felt so awful about my ability to dance tango that after that tanda I decided to call it a night and wait out the next hour-and-a-half while Nate finished dancing.  Remember how I said unsolicited teaching can ruin a person’s night?  Well, here’s a perfect example of how it ruined mine.

The rest of the Milonga was a lot of fun to watch.  There were quite a number of beautiful dancers, and some of the moves looked outrageously awesome.  This really is a good place to go for some excellent Argentine Tango, and my experiences earlier that night can prove that.  The people are nice, and the environment in general reflects the culture of tango.

I will warn those who are interested in going however.  This is not an event for tango beginners.  I would recommend this to intermediate and advanced dancers only.  And this dance goes on until 3 a.m., so if you have a tendency to end your night at 11 p.m., this is not the dance for you.  Finally, the dancers at this event prefer close embrace; from the very first song, I was in extremely close contact with complete strangers, and when I say close, I mean my head was plastered up against his, and my whole torso was pressed against his side.  I personally enjoy close embrace since it makes following easier to do, but I used to be one of those people who didn't feel comfortable with it at all.  So, be warned, close embrace is expected at milongas such as these.  Otherwise, have fun!

By 3 a.m., Nate and I were both starving so we headed out for some food at a diner Nate went to before, which leads me to my final story:

“What Do You Mean We Have To Wait?! A Review Of How Comfortable The Street Is Outside The Train Station”

So we walked to the diner, which was about 20 minutes away.  The streets were getting pretty quiet, for New York anyway, and the rain had stopped long ago.  The diner was one of those 24-hour ones with a bar; we thought it would be kind of cool to eat breakfast and have a drink as well while we waited for the first available train.  Well, unfortunately, they had stopped serving alcoholic beverages, so having an old-fashioned was out of the question, but the breakfast was still pretty darn good.  And we had a nice comfortable chat with the manager, so that was fun.

At 4 a.m. we left the diner and headed over to Grand Central Train Station.  We figured we’d head in and chill out on a bench until our train arrived.  It wasn’t until we actually got there at 4:30 a.m. that we discovered an unpleasant truth: the train station is closed from 2 a.m. to 5:30 a.m., most likely as a deterrent for the homeless, but darned inconvenient for everyone else.  Because we were tired, stiff, and sore from all that dancing, we discovered another unpleasant truth; there are no benches on 42^nd street.   

Nate and I walked for a few more minutes, trying to find something other than the nasty sidewalk to sit on, and we finally chose a short, yet wide, stone wall lining some steps in front of a closed café across the street from the station entrance (I wish we could have gone into the café, but that would have been too good to be true).  We sat down, placed our bags on our laps, and rested our heads on top.  We managed to doze on and off, despite the noise and the chill.  By the time the doors opened at 5:15, we were cold, pooped, and in complete sympathy with the poor homeless people who have to sleep outside (they really need to put some benches out there).  Suffice it to say, we were relieved when we finally got on that train.  And we were not alone in that regard either.  Everyone looked cold and tired, and all were passed out in their seats on the train, including Nate and myself.  We almost missed getting off at our stop, we were so zonked, but once we were up and heading out into the daylight, we strangely felt quite refreshed.  Nate dropped me off at home at 8:15 a.m. and I’ve been at home resting and writing reviews ever since.

So, thus ends my weekend of dancing.  I’m sure if anyone missed me at Sunday’s dance classes, they would understand why I chose to stay home.  I was so physically spent that any more dancing would have been too much. 

This upcoming weekend is probably going to be just as busy, although I’m probably going to stay in Connecticut this time. 

Happy dancing everyone!

Lisa Spiro

For more on MalaLECHE, click here to visit their website.

A Weekend Of Dancing Part II: Just Waltzing Along

Time for Part II of my weekend of dancing!  The second event I attended on this busy weekend was Ari Levitt’s Waltz Workshop, hosted by Hartford Community Dance/Mostly Waltz

Waltz Workshop With Ari Levitt

What Was It?

A one-time morning workshop with Ari Levitt, consisting of two 75-minute lessons, where the focus was cross-step waltz.

Where Was It?

At the Temple Beth Torah Synagogue in Wethersfield

Why Was It Good?

Fun, yet simple moves that were taught in a friendly, easygoing, and comprehensive manner.

So, Saturday morning I woke up feeling sleep-deprived and a little sore from last night’s escapade (have you read about that yet? Click here if you didn’t).  But I was stoked for this morning’s workshop.  I hadn’t done a workshop in years, and I was really looking forward to this one.  I love learning from my mother, but it is sometimes refreshing to learn from someone else every once in a while.  From a teacher’s perspective, it keeps you open-minded about how a person should dance, and it can give you some new ideas to teach to your students, be it new steps or a new way of explaining things.  The night before, Ari Levitt gave me the impression that he was a good teacher, and I am always looking for new patterns to experiment with.

Ari Levitt (ad for another workshop)

The first lesson was called “FUN New Waltz Variations With A FUNky Twist”.  Essentially, it was a beginner/intermediate class on what Ari called Cross-step waltz.  This was a new term for me.  My mom always called it “fast waltz”, but apparently it’s commonly known as cross-step.  He also mentioned that there are four types of waltzes: slow, Viennese, cross-step, and rotary (see? I already learned something new!). 

Ari had a nice style of teaching.  It was very easygoing; he focused more on an active practice than on detailed explanations, and he was very kind in his corrections.  The moves themselves were familiar, but different, and I wouldn’t have considered them particularly easy for beginners, yet somehow Ari was able to explain the footwork and movements accurately, while at the same time making it feel easy and effortless.  Sure, not everyone could do it perfectly, but all the followers I danced with were able to manage the patterns with little trouble.  As a leader, I didn’t feel like I frequently had to “drive a truck,” as Ari put it.

The second class was just as good.  It was a little harder, but not by much, and Ari worked off of the steps he had used earlier, so that by the end of the workshop we had this nice long routine with numerous variations. 

I really liked the steps he taught: like I said, they were familiar but the style was different.  Ari had some leading techniques that I normally would never encourage, such as breaking your frame to lead the twinkle, or having the leaders’ hand on top when doing a step in an open position.  Most of my private students can tell you that I actually discourage these techniques because they can be easily abused.  But when Levitt demonstrated them in relation to the steps, I admit that the leading did make sense, and when I applied them to my dancing, they worked really well.  It didn’t matter who was my partner, I was able to lead them anyway, and lead them well.  I guess for cross-step/fast waltz, a change in technique is okay, so long as you don’t apply it to slow or Viennese waltz, and so long as you aren’t rough about it.  I should mention that Ari reinforced the idea that you shouldn’t be rough or extreme in your leading, in order to ensure that the leaders wouldn’t be excessive.  To the leaders he said, “Sometimes you need to ‘drive a truck’, but a lot of the time you only need to drive ‘a little sports car’.  For a truck, you need a bigger movement, but for a little sports car you only need a little movement”.  And to the followers: “Follows, your goal is to be a little sports car!”  Cute.

Overall, I really enjoyed the workshop.  It was loads of fun, and for me, extremely interesting and educational.  I’m looking forward to applying some of these steps to my classes, and I wish I could have taken his Swing workshop that happened later that day.  Unfortunately, there was too much going on Saturday and I had to choose my husband’s graduation party over the workshop.  Ah well, I’ll do it next year, when Ari comes back to Connecticut!  Or maybe I’ll look for his workshops in other states!

By the way, I had a great time at Dave’s graduation party as well.  His mom will go all out for a party!  I left at 7pm with my brother to go on a little milonga adventure (more on that in Part III!)

For more details on Ari Levitt, click here for his webpage.

For more details on Hartford Community Dance, click here for their website.

A Weekend of Dance Reviews! Part I: Swing Time In West Hartford

Oh my!  What a weekend this was!  I packed my schedule with loads of dancing for the past two days.  Workshops, dances, and a crazy milonga night!  I have a lot to rave about, so I've divided my reviews into three parts, one for each event.

So, let’s start at the beginning for Part I.  My weekend started with the First Friday Swing Dance, one of my favorite dances in Connecticut.

HCD's First Friday Swing Dance

What Is It? 

A monthly swing dance

Where Is It?

The West Hartford Town Hall

Why Is It Good?

It has a great live band every month and the crowd is always large, friendly and very diverse.  It’s a great dance for beginners too!

Eight To The Bar

This month, the featured band was Eight To The Bar, one of my all-time favorite swing bands, so of course I just had to go!  I arrived early so I could take the beginner class.  Of course, I’m not a beginner student, but I figured that if I want to review this dance properly, I should try to attend all of it.  I was also curious about the guest teacher, Ari Levitt, and his teaching style, especially since I was going to take his Waltz workshop the next morning (more on that later, check out Part II).

Ari Levitt did a great job with the beginner lesson; he kept things simple and friendly.  And the crowd was getting pretty big and chaotic, too, so, considering that aspect, he did a pretty good job with crowd control.

Of course, once the band started the event was in full swing (pun intended!).  The dance floor is always crowded when the band plays, so while that may lead to the occasional collision or toe-treading accident, the floor is lively and entertaining, no matter who you’re dancing with.  By the way, when I say crowded, I mean the floor is full!  And mind you, this is an enormous floor!  I think one of the reasons I love this dance so much is because of the number of people who attend.  It’s always more than 90 people (90 people is a bad day for this event).  Some months back, the room reached maximum capacity, and there were at least a dozen people outside waiting for admittance!  A good large crowd like, along with some awesome live music, creates such a positively charged atmosphere, that you can’t help but be in a bouncy mood yourself!

 

Huuuge floor!

During the band’s first break, there’s always the usual announcements, followed by the Shim Sham line dance, a long-standing event tradition that has never been broken.  We shim-shammers are picky about the song they play, too.  Too slow or too fast and we will revolt!  This month they used one of the old stand-by versions of the Tuxedo Junction song, so the line dance went along smoothly (if you’re curious about learning the shim sham, check out the Swing Jam dance at the American Legion Hall at the end of the month!)  We also got a little treat in addition to the Shim Sham.  Ari Levitt led us in what’s called a Swing Jam.  Basically the crowd forms a circle with space in the middle for Ari and his partner to do a little swing.  Ari selects a dancer at random and dances with her for a short period, then another follower volunteers to jump in and take her place, without stopping the dance.  Ari managed to dance with several women within the one song, including yours truly!  I must say, he is an excellent lead; he is one of those guys who does his absolute best to show the follower off to her fullest advantage, so even the most beginner of students can look and feel amazing when dancing with him.  I loved the funky moves he put me through.  He even surprised me with a small aerial lift!  One second, my feet were swaying on the ground, the next second they were flying up in the air!  I have no clue how he did it, although I suspect that a hip toss was involved somehow, and he made it feel like the most natural thing to do.  He is truly an excellent dancer!  No wonder he is requested to come back every year!

Ari Levitt

I mentioned earlier that this is a beginner-friendly dance.  I stand by the statement whole-heartedly.  This dance is the perfect mixture of beginner, intermediate, and advanced dancers, and the people who come here are very friendly and welcoming.  The unspoken rule of this event is to dance with a whole bunch of different people, so beginner students will often get a chance to dance on the dance floor.  This dance is also a good lesson in practicing good floorcraft, since you must pay attention to your surroundings as well as to your partner, and I’m saying this both as a leader and as a follower.  Overall, this swing dance generally creates a very positive experience for beginner students, and we are constantly recommending it at Hartford Ballroom.

  

I have one word of warning about this dance.  Well, two, actually.  First, be prepared to get stepped on or bumped into.  No matter how careful you are, it’s bound to happen on such a packed floor.  The best thing to do is to smile and apologize, even if it wasn’t your fault, and just keep dancing.  That way your experience stays positive, and no one gets offended and upset.

Secondly, while the people here are generally very nice, there are a small few who think they know all and try to give you corrections or advice.  I call this unsolicited teaching, and I’m very against it.  Unsolicited teaching can make the receiver feel inadequate and even humiliated, and often times the advice is inaccurate or inappropriate for the situation at hand.  A couple of times, I have been a victim of unsolicited teaching, and it’s not pleasant.  So my advice is this: if someone tries to correct you on your technique, just smile and nod, and end the conversation as soon as possible.  Don’t take the advice to heart.  If it bothers you, ask your teacher about what the person said.  And if you feel inclined to correct someone on their technique, don’t do it!  Trust me, you don’t fully understand that dancers’ abilities, and you could very easily ruin their night.  If there was a more complex pattern that you tried to do but it didn’t work, and you feel endeavored to explain what you were trying to do, please do so quickly (30 seconds tops) and try to explain it without blaming the partner.

With all that being said, this is such a fun dance to go to!  I went home with sore feet but still very content.  I highly recommend this event, especially during the months when either Roger Ceresi or Eight To The Bar is playing (they are both my favorites).  This is great for East and West Coast Swing, and the occasional Foxtrot, or other social dance.  It happens on the First Friday of the month, and it’s provided by Hartford Community Dance.

For more event details, click here for HCD’s webpage.

For more on Ari Levitt, click here for his website.

For more on Eight To The Bar, click here for their website.