It hurts....

This is un-related to salsa dancing but is worth writing about... My Pistons lost. To the Cavs of all teams. Not that they are bad. LeBron is amazing. They basically collapsed in this series and have let us fans down. They are always our hope. Them and the Redwings. They are the only ones who bring some sort of hope to the Detroit area since the Lions are so depressing. And now...we have nothing. Maybe the Tigers but the chances of them returning to the World Series again is slim. So we're left, yet again, without a champion in Detroit (or in our hearts since some of us live elsewhere). I still love the Pistons of course. Billups is my hero and a wonderful man and maybe they can come back next year with more determination and less whine.

Lazy Lazy...

I've been a lazy blogger. My apologies. I have been busy though. We finished our latest routine and it went over really big at the 2nd Annual DC Rueda Fiesta. Everyone loved it and we did a good job performing it. We've done it twice since then and it only gets better. I have found that I feel settled and happy dancing with my group and it is a relief. After years of feeling like I've been wandering around DC blind bumping into this group or that group, I have found a group of people that are fabulous and wonderful and fun and crazy. I have new women friends and that's the best. I love my guy friends - always will - and I'll always feel more comfortable around men. But having a group of women to hang with is new for me and I'm enjoying it.

I promise to be back soon....

Double Spins!

I need so much help on my footwork its not even funny! Help! That's all I have to say about that.

Performance Time!

Ocean Drive in Wheaton, Maryland will be the place for SAOCO's next performance. We'll be going on tonight around 9:30 - 10:00 p.m. I'm not nervous about the performance as it is just a rueda performance and stuff I have known for ages. I could get nervous about the men, since, some of them haven't quite got all the moves down but I won't because really - its just a dance. And its at a club. So I'll just have fun with it and smile and give 'em all my porn face!!! What's a porn face? Well, you have to show up and watch the performance to find out.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

I love practicing our new routine - what we have of it so far. I do miss social dancing a lot though. I hope I won't forget how to by the time I'm done with this routine. HA! Of course I won't. One of these weeks I'll take an extra night and get out somewhere and have some fun. I knew I'd have to sacrafice a few things to be in the group. And I'm willing to do it since I'm tough that way.

I bought shoes today. That's always exciting. I should have them on Saturday - I hope. They are shiny and pretty and I can't wait to wear them around the house and test them out. My only fear is that I'll be too tall in them for my partner. However, I am testing out my other shoes tonight to see if they'll be ok. If he can still lead me in my shoes, the ones I bought should be fine.

The performance is only 50 some days away....

So it begins....

We have started on our new choreography. Its pretty challenging but fun. I really like it. Its a bit fast but once the moves are learned, it really isn't that bad. We'll be debuting the routine on April 21st at the DC Rueda Fest. Hopefully I'll learn the routine well enough to be included in the performance since we do have more women than men - a total miracle!!! Being challenged is good though. It def makes me a better dancer and that's what I want. I'd really prefer to be in Vancouver, Canada on April 21st for the rueda fest going on there but maybe next year.

Style

I have decided to put more time into dancing with a group. Or at least trying. The styling is going to be difficult. It is one thing to raise hands at the same time or drape the arm at the same time but footwork can be difficult. I'm struggling with it. When you are used to doing your own footwork for 7 years trying to change in a week is hard. Hopefully I'll get it. None of us are doing it exactly the same and when it comes time to perform, that will be a problem. I've actually been practicing and think I'm finally getting it. It is easy to over-style too I think. Some women do that. They are moving all over. I think it has a time and place but in Cuban-style salsa, the women do not over-stylize. They are very minimal in their styling but still look good. Some might say boring (New York Style people). But I rather like it. Want to see some great Cuban-style dancing? Head on over to Mucho Swing and check out their videos and music section.

Action Shot

I wanted to share this photo of me dancing in Miami during the competition. I really like the photo - the action shot with the dress twirling and me wearing the hat. I enjoy seeing the photos since they don't show any mistakes. hahahah. I hope you enjoy this as well.

Yooooohooooo!!!

I'm back. I haven't blogged in awhile just because I really haven't had a lot to say. Especially about dancing. But I felt inspired today. Last week I went to the Barking Dog in Bethesda, Maryland. Normally, I don't enjoy going there. I rarely get asked to dance for some reason and find myself getting bored. The venue is great and I love the lack of smoking but sick of the egos roaming around. I went on this paticular night since a friend was performing with a different rueda group. In addition, they were having the first performance by a new all-women group. Generally, all-women or all-men groups bore me. Its a lot of shines and, for the women, dancing as sexy as possible without really showing any ability. It was different for this group. They were amazing. They really focused a lot on Afro-cuban styling and also danced as partners with everyone getting a chance to lead. And they didn't lead Micky Mouse moves. These were hard, arm-tangling moves. Impressive. They were feminine, sexy, smooth, and beautiful. A hard combination to realize in salsa I think. I hope all the women there were proud of these girls who decided to do something different.