I've Been Tango'd

Maybe you've been watching Strictly Come Dancing this season?
Maybe you saw it last week with the contestants tackling the Argentine Tango?
Well, that's me, that is!
Okay, not exactly me but I have for the last three months, been applying myself to learning the art that is Argentine Tango.
I'd done a couple of taster Tango classes at 12th Night Congresses etc but it had never really captured my imagination. The closest I got to feeling inspired was watching Bill Newby and Ruth Gellar dance a demonstration at last January's 12th Night and to be fair, I was gobsmacked. So dramatic. So elegant. So I would NEVER be able to do that. I kinf of thought that one day I might start learning but never really got around to fitting it into my already busy life.
Then at the Latin XCes Bradford All Dayer in September things took a turn for the unexpected. I was there for the day in my capacity as salsa teacher, and dipping into classes where they were short of leaders, before teaching Dips with Trisha later in the afternoon. Bill and Ruth were there, running Tango taster classes but frankly I had no interest at all. Having done taster classes before with another teacher (Pedro) I'd decided that yeah, maybe I'd take it up properly one day, but really didn't want to do any more tasters. However, having successfully managed to avoid Bill and Ruth's first class, I was dragged kicking and screaming into their second by one of my own salsa students (turncoat!) and to my surprise, really, REALLY enjoyed it. Bill and Ruth are so far ahead of Pedro in teaching ability and inspiration and before I knew what I was doing, I was going through some Tango motions and even feeling a little dramatic and elegant myself. Flippin' eck, I thought, if Bill can get me doing this in just an hour, imagine what he could get me doing in an hour every week....

So that was it. Bill is based in Sheffield, which coincidentally is where I'm based with my day job, so it's not too inconvenient to pop along on a Tuesday evening after Fat Club (see a previous post). So pop along I have, every week for the last two and half months, subject to other, salsa earning commitments. I'm still only just beginning my journey but it's a really interesting one, replete with paralells to the salsa journey I started five years ago. Because I've already trodden the path, so to speak, I've a head start not only in the lead/follow dynamic, but also in an awareness of where I am in terms of my level and understanding of the dance. I stumble around the dance floor during drills and partnerwork, relishing the moment and watching others who are more comfortable than me. I can still remember occasions in my early salsa life where I'd look at other people that seemed so comfortable in the dance and wonder when I'd be like that, and now it's the same with Tango, only more so because I'm more aware of the journey itself.

I can still remember the first time in salsa when I actually felt like I was dancing. In fact there were two times that really spring to mind, one in class (probably about my fourth class), three weeks in and one after class when I was just starting to find my feet with freestyle salsa, about two months later.

On Tuesday of this week, I felt the same way. After weeks of drilling and practice, I actually danced Tango this week. Really danced. Nothing fancy, you understand, mostly walking and sidesteps with a few ochos thrown in for good measure, but I was dancing nevertheless. The thing that really came through and made it for me was the connection with my partner throughout the dance. We'd just been doing some ocho work together and Bill stuck some music on and left us to it for a track. Liz snaked her arm around my neck and leaned in close. Much closer that I was used to, but suddenly, the closeness made sense of all the "Lead with the shoulders, not the arms" that Bill has been repeating over the last few weeks. I'm not saying there were no mistakes, but for that track, Liz and I danced, for the large part of it, as one. It was beautiful, and was a taste, I believe, of so much more yet to come.

Eat The Elephant

Did you ever have something you knew you should do but for one reason or another just didn't get started? And then, later, when you knew you still, really should to it, it was bigger now and scarier? And later still, it's grown into this REALLY BIG THING that's so massive you just don't know what to do with it, it's so gigantically huge?
If this doesn't strike a chord then you're probably one of those folk that just do stuff when they're supposed to. I'm not. Well, sometimes I'm not, but sometimes things get away from me.
Planning lessons, doing tax returns, filing business accounts, decorating the house, and updating my blog are all things that have seemed to grow out of all proportion.
I see it's over two months since I last updated my blog, and as I've mentioned before, it's my intention to keep it much more up to date than this. Especially as so much has happened, salsa wise and life wise since my last entry.But then because so much has happened, it's like - where do I start?
I've actually written at least three blog entries, but never got around to posting them, and then re-reading them, they seemed out of date, and not worth posting. So like I say - where to start?

There's an old adage; The longest journey starts with a single step.
there's another one; If you need to eat an elephant, then do it one bite at a time.
So this is my step. My first bite, in an attempt to eat this elephant (white elephant?) that my blog seems to have become. None of which yet really tells you, the reader, anything at all.

Well... In a nutshell, since I last wrote, Trisha and I are expecting again. currently about 15 weeks and due towards the end of May 2008. We are absolutely thrilled, though Trisha has been suffering with sickness and nausea that no amount of ginger beer seems to be able to fix. Don't know yet whether it's a boy or a girl but we'll probably find out if we can. We did with Luca and were glad to know. Because we knew he was a boy, we were able to give him a name and relate to him better whilst he was still in the womb. What can I say - it works for us. I'm sometimes quietly amused when people suggest that you shouldn't find out in advance because then it'll be a surprise. I reckon it's not going to be that much of a surprise as the options are somewhat limited. I mean, it's either going to be a boy or a girl. It's not going to be an elephant. That really would be a surprise. And not just for us either.

Not long after we found we were expecting we were off to teach at Salsa Headway at Pontins Pakefield for a weekend. Trisha and I have always been in awe of the Pontins events and even though this was a smaller, low key affair, aimed mainly at beginners and improvers, we felt honoured to be invited to teach there. My mum and dad came along too to babysit with Luca whilst we were teaching, and during the parties. This was great as my mum and dad live about 150 miles away from us in Wales so they don't get to see Luca (or us) as often as we'd like. Watching him getting to know them a little (and vice versa) was lovely. Luca seemed to pick up on the fact that my dad was struggling a bit health wise and seemed to be a little more gentle around him. Maybe we were imagining it, but I like to think not. Teaching-wise, the weekend went really well - we got excellent feedback from both dancers and organisers so we were really chuffed.

A month later saw me jetting off to Guernsey for a weekend, this time by myself, to teach at a weekender there organised by Heidi Almonte. This turned out to be completely manic, partly because I got about 9 hours sleep over the course of three days, and partly because I ended up teaching 5 hours privates into 24 hours, alongside my group class schedule, which was already stretched due to another teacher's ill health. You know what - I loved it! I was really pleased to get more brilliant feedback (it's all gone straight to my head, of course) and I've already been invited back for a weekend in March next year so I'm really looking forward to that.

And now it's nearly Christmas! I suppose I'd better do some shopping...

There. That wasn't so bad, was it. I didn't get into quite the detail I might have liked but it'll do to be going on with. I really, really will endeavour to update more frequently. Honest I will.
And remember - if you read this - drop me a line and let me know - just so I know I'm not alone...
Until next time, Deej

My Dad's Got a PC!

My mum and dad have bought a PC. They've never had a computer before but decided that the time has come when they are starting to feel left behind in this current, digital age and they want to catch up. There are so many “dot-com” adverts around, on television, on billboards, on buses etc, that they were beginning to feel at a disadvantage, particularly when for holidays or car insurance for example, there’s often the celebrated “10% discount if you buy online” to reckon with. For ages Mum and Dad fought the trend to dive into the digital pond, having heard stories of bank fraud, phone jacking, identity theft and such, but finally they succumbed and came home one day with a spanking new laptop and printer.

My dad is nothing if not thorough and he made sure he read up thoroughly on broadband connections but unfortunately being a complete novice in this particular arena, none of it made much sense to him. Even his old friend British Telecom seemed to be talking in Greek; Norton monthly wireless hub with wi-fi and home hub security and hub phone. What does it all mean? Even the payment plan made no sense. Half price for three months billed as credit on your first bill? What’s that all about?

Undeterred, with help from my brother and myself, he waded through the jargon and decided to bite the bullet and go the whole hog (I’ve always loved mixing metaphors) ordering BT’s top line connection, including a man who comes and sets it all up for you. The thought of Dad trying to set it all up himself having no prior knowledge filled all of us with dread so this seemed like the best option.

I’d just got home from shopping on the Sunday afternoon when the phone call came.

“Help!” was the cry, “I think I’ve broken it!”Following a fruitless hour and a half on the phone, trying to visualise what he was seeing without a great deal of success and no nearer to a solution, I told him to hang on whilst I popped round. Unfortunately, as I live in York and Dad lives on the other side of the Welsh border, popping round means two and a half hours each way. I don’t mind, he is my Dad after all, and as I argued when he objected to me driving all that way, I often drive further for work, so I’m kind of used to it. In the event I was really glad I did, as I never would have sorted it over the phone. By the time I left, Dad could get into his emails again so all was to the good.

Last weekend, Mum and Dad visited us in York and partway through the afternoon, Dad sheepishly admitted he was still having problems. He’d got the laptop in his boot – could I have a look? He’d bought a Bluetooth dongle in order to transfer pictures from his phone to the PC, but hadn’t been able to install it as the drivers supplied were for Windows XP. My brother had downloaded drivers from the manufacturer’s website for him, but he was still struggling to make it work.I really feel for him. I like to think I’m reasonably computer literate (my day job is in I.T.) but having now struggled with Vista myself even just to achieve basic things, I dread to think what it must be like for anyone coming to it with no prior experince of computing at all. There’s so much information on the screen at any time, it’s near impossible for a newcomer to understand which bits of it are important or indeed relevant, and which aren’t.

Following further problems with his BT email facility – it just doesn’t appear to be compatible with his PC – I’ve spent two lunchtimes on the phone to him this week (one of these spent learning that MSN Hotmail just repeatedly killed his browser!) resulting in setting up a GoogleMail account and coaching him in its use. This now appears to be working. Which is nice. I’ve always admired my dad’s persistence but more so now than ever as I know he’s been tempted to throw “that damn computer” out of the window on several occasions and is currently putting a great deal more into it than he’s getting out. But he sticks at it, just like I’ve seen him do with everything else in life (did I mention, he once made me a car) and refuses to be beaten. His tenacity is slowly paying off - in the last couple fo days I've arranged for him to receive "Vista For Dummies" (Amazon's great isn't it?) and with its help he's been able to save some attached pictures of Luca that I've sent him. He's ahead of me in a way as I've only just tonight figured out how to post pictures on this here blog thingy. Maybe one day Dad’ll find his way in here. If he does he’ll find a warm welcome waiting…

"Hi Dad! ‘Kettle’s on, you just sit down and put your feet up and I'll be right there..."

Dance Off

I enjoyed tonight. My back's knackered but I still enjoyed it. I went out dancing, but only danced about 10 dances total in three hours! And most of those were in the first half hour.
Basically I did my back catching Luca from falling through a climbing frame just over a week ago and it's not been right since.
We taught in Newcastle last Friday and after wincing my way through the lesson (I think I just about managed it without anyone noticing) I didn't dance at all. It was still fun watching, though. I do like to see people enjoying their dancing. And Trisha reported that during the course of the evening, several leads put into practice the turn pattern we'd taught in class. Which was nice.

My back seemed to improve through the week though today it's taken a turn for the worse again. Friends have now started telling me I need to go and see a chiropractor. Sounds a bit scary to me - I'll see how it is after the weekend.

There was a class tonight at the Engine Shed, taught by Rotherham salsa teachers Ian Proctor and Margaret Chapman. I didn't take part but enjoyed doing a Len Goodman (my friend Sylvia played Arlene Philips) from the sidelines. The class was billed as an intermediate/advanced but unfortunately at one point Ian found himself having to teach the concept of "Touch & Go" turns. If you're reading this from a non-salsa point of view, then you'll have no idea what I'm talking about, but if you're an intermediate level (or above) salsa dancer then you ought to know exactly what I mean. I say ought to, but of course, levels change between different teachers, different clubs, different towns, etc and one of the hardest jobs for a guest teacher is setting the level for a class filled with people they don't know from Adam. We seem to be able to get it spot on at Newcastle every time but when we taught at the Engine Shed in February we pitched it far too high and prepared a turn pattern replete with at least four "non-orthodox" moves many wouldn't have seen before, in a routine that was simply too long. to be honest, when we ran the same lesson past our own intermediate class at Wetherby the following week, we struggled to get through it, though admittedly we were adding a fair amount of detail.
Since then we've honed the way we approach guest teaching, and in fact teaching in general, trying to give the dancers something they can use, either in routine or in technique, that's concise enough for them to be able to remember (and use) more than 5 minutes after the class has finished. We don't always get it right (except for Newcastle, of course) but we're trying, and I believe we're improving.
Maybe my back will improve soon, too...?

A Funny Thing Happened To Me

I had a salsa first tonight. Not the first time I've danced salsa, obviously, as any regular readers (are there any regular readers? Haven't heard from Gary and Jan in a while) will know. I've danced On2 (ET2) before many times as well as I mentioned a couple of months ago but until tonight, I'd never danced On2 by accident...
It happened like this...
I was over to Gillian and Martin Heaton's Salsa Fix bash again in Horwich (www.salsafix.com), with friends Phil and Kate who help out at our clubnights. From when we arrived I had a great time, first dancing with a few familiar faces (are you STILL nervous, Jackie?) then moving on through some unknown ones. After dancing with Gillian she pointed out a friend of hers and told me I must go and dance with her. So a few records later I sought out Vanessa and asked her for a dance. Walking out onto the floor I began to question my timing as the music was distinctly jazzy, plinky, plonky Mambo stuff. Turned out to be a salsa jazz version of "My Favourite Things". Anyway - it was definitely "On2" music and for a fleeting moment I wondered about asking Vanessa if she danced On2 before deciding that I wanted nothing to do with all that On2 malarky tonight as it wasn't a training exercise - I was just there to enjoy myself. So off we pop On1 and then before you can say supercallyfrajilisticexpiallydocious (oops, sorry, wrong musical) I suddenly found myself dancing On2, having swapped without realising it! Seems it was in me all along and just needed the right music to bring it out! Fortunately Vanessa could dance perfectly well On2 too and we had a lovely dance.
Thanks once again to Gillian and Martin for organising the do, and thanks to all the ladies (and Steve) that danced with me and helped make my evening a real pleasure.

Chunli Wu

I don't spend all my time thinking about salsa.
No, really it's true. I mean ok, I spend a lot of time thinking about salsa but there's other stuff too.

Stuff like our little boy Luca, now nearly 18 months old (where the heck did that go!?!).
Luca is an absolute joy - don't get me wrong, he has his tantrums and is by no means sweetness and light the whole time, but he's awakened a part of me that I never knew existed and I find myself almost bursting with it sometimes. Trisha and I make no attempt to disguise the fact that one of the reasons we teach salsa (besides the fact that we love it) is that it's an extra source of revenue which means Trisha can stay at home and be a full time mum, giving Luca all the care and attention he needs. We're not what we'd call well off - we're really stuggling to save up to buy our own place - but we're not on the breadline either and it's pretty certain that Luca is going to get everything he needs, if not necessarily everything he wants. When occasionally he's poorly it tears my heart more than I would have ever thought possible. He's had a couple of bouts of croop over the last few months and Trisha and I have struggled to hold back the tears, nursing him whilst he struggles for breath. This got me thinking...

When Luca has croop, we can use a steroid inhaler, and we can put the kettle on to increase humidity and we can give him water or diluted juice so he doesn't get dehydrated. Parents the world over feel the same love for their children as we do for Luca, so how would it be then, if we didn't have access to medicines and steroid inhalers, if we had no electricity to boil a kettle, no juice and water that had to be brought up from a well and wasn't actually safe to drink? There are families that are living in these conditions and worse, and knowing the anguish I feel when Luca's not well, I can only begin to imagine what it must be like for the parents who haven't even got the means to feed their children, let alone give them medicine when they need it.

I haven't got a lot of spare cash - in fact I'm technically more skint than I've been for years - I'm earning about half what I did four years ago, and now am providing for a family of three, not just for myself. But I'm not starving and neither is my family. I've got safe, clean water to drink and so has my family. Luca will always be well clothed appropriately for the weather, and his mum makes certain there are no shortage of toys for him to play with. In time he'll go to school, where suitably qualified teachers will give him a good education.

So I decided to make a difference. Not a big difference, but a difference just the same.
I remembered from a donating to Action Aid a few years ago that they run child sponsorship schemes and got in touch to find out more about it.
Suffice to say, that in a poverty stricken region of Western China a ten year old girl called Chunli Wu should now maybe get safe water to drink and maybe even medicine if she falls ill. The small donation I'm making each month will help her and the community around her build something of a better future for Chunli Wu and her family and friends. Whilst I get a lump in my throat and start to fill up with tears when I think of the parents who can only watch their children starve as they themselves do likewise, I feel good to know that for one little Chinese girl called Chunli Wu and those around her, I'm making a difference.

This for me is a very personal thing and I certainly didn't feel this way before Luca arrived, but if you're interested in maybe helping another child, or another community that doesn't have the same benefits as you, then you can find Action Aid at http://www.actionaid.org.uk/ - No pressure, like I say, it's a personal thing.

It's been a while (sorry)

So, what’s happening? It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’m a bit disappointed with myself about this. When I first opened the blog it was my intention to write something every week, or every couple of weeks, at least. But it’s been nearly a month since my last entry. Shame on me.
As I teach salsa, I did wonder for a while about publishing a description of what I’ve taught this week, but;
A) Any description of a move is subject to a lot of descriptions that no one but me is likely to understand, and
B) Readers would soon realise I just teach the same stuff over and over!
So I decided against it. Come to my classes instead, if you want to see what I’m teaching currently.
You can catch me away from my own clubnights too, as we do guest quite often for other promoters, as regular readers will know. We were up in Newcastle again last month and back there again next week (Friday 29th June), which reminds me, we must think of something to teach.
David and Margaret, who run Salsa Amor at the Black Swan in Newcastle each Friday, told us when they invited us up last time that we were welcome to bring our own club members with us and I’m pleased to say that a good few of them braved the bank holiday weekend traffic on the A1 and made the journey. One couple were so enthusiastic they arranged a hotel so they could stop over. Thanks to Laura too, who came in the car with Trisha and I, and kept me awake on the drive home whilst Trisha was snoring in the back seat.
Laura joined me again the following week when we, along with Phil from the Strictly Salsa team, made a trip over the Pennines to dance at Horwich RMI at Gillian Heaton’s “Salsa Fix” event (www.salsafix.co.uk). I’d only conversed with Gillian (or Jambo) via the internet (www.salsaforums.com) previously but she’d raved about her Salsa Fix parties with such enthusiasm that we decided we had to check it out for ourselves. Passports in order, we crossed the hills and weren’t disappointed. We received a very warm welcome and had a brilliant night’s dancing to some top music, with some lovely partners. Nice dance floor too. Best fun of the night for me had to be when Phil and I took turns swapping Gillian between us for a dance. At one point I was leading her through a multiple, circular travelling turn when Phil took over the lead and seamlessly switched leaders mid turn. Nice (how did he do that?!). There were lots of other nice dancers there too – including teachers Paris, Brigitte and Franklyn.
I didn’t recognise Brigitte at first; I saw a girl across the dancefloor with lots of hair and pink flowery dress, dancing with Paris and decided to ask her for a dance. Having asked her a little while later, it wasn’t until we’d been together a few seconds that I realised I knew who she was.
Later on I got a scare for a minute when a couple approached me and the guy started shouting at me and waving his arms around frantically! Resisting the urge to turn and run away, I eventually heard him over the music (he was standing in front of a speaker, so this wasn’t easy) and learnt that the couple are in fact readers of this very blog. Not only that, but the only people who, to date at least) have left a comment for me.
Hiya Gary and Jan – how’re ya doing?
It was good to meet you again and encouraging for me that could remember the lesson Trisha and I taught at the Bradford All-Dayer. Incidentally, I learnt yesterday that the next Bradford All-Dayer is to be held on Saturday 22nd September. We’ve been asked to teach again and we’re looking forward to it already.
Trisha and I managed to get out dancing together last weekend! It doesn’t happen often as we already call on our baby sitter twice every week so we can teach together, and then once or twice a month when we do guest teaching spots we have to draft in the parents to cover for us so we have to be careful not to overuse the goodwill of those concerned. My mum and dad are joining us in Pakefield in October for the whole weekend, bless ‘em, and Trisha’s mum seems for ever to be traipsing back and forth on the A64 from Scarby.
However we managed to get out on sunday evening and had a good night at Encuentro Latino’s “Montuno Lounge” event, held at the Gallery night club in York. Taking a cue from the salsa scene in New York, these events are early evening, 6-10pm, giving dancers a chance to get a good few hours dancing and still get to bed at a reasonable hour to get up for work on Monday morning. As Encuentro Latino teach exclusively On2 (ET2) most there were On2 dancers, giving Trisha and I an opportunity to hone our own On2 skills (which in my case, need honing). We can dance On2 ok, but we’re nowhere near as familiar and as comfortable as we are On1 so it was nice to get the opportunity with some seasoned "On2-ers". I danced with a few ladies who offered me the On1 option but until the end of the night, when Trisha and I finally rebelled and went Cuban, it was pretty much On2 all the way. I even had another dance following Steve Carter – what a guy! Though we were both wearing white shirts and were described afterwards as “Two Polar bears in a wrestling match” !!! Thanks to Lossie and Gareth of www.encuentrolatino.co.uk and well done to Sue, Sally and Rita who all made the plunge from our own Strictly Salsa.

I did have the intention of posting some pics this time. Sorry – I’ve failed again, however if you can see some from own clubnights at www.strictlysalsa.co.uk/pics or from Gillian’s Salsa Fix party, go to the www.salsafix.co.uk site and click on the “To view all the photos from the night” link.Last time we went to Newcastle, I took my camera but was so absorbed in the dancing I forgot to use it. Maybe next time…