The Left Whisk and Review

In the seminar today, we started out by reviewing. Unfortunately, we spent most of our time reviewing, and we only had about ten minutes for the Left Whisk. We spent twenty, but we technically only had ten. I will dissect everything we did in the seminar in parts, beginning with the general body position, moving on to our review for the Hover, Hover with Developé, and Eros to Right and Left.

General Position

We used four steps to get into our dance position:

1. Touch the hands (man’s left to lady’s right)
2. Contact in the body (right front to right front) and settle the legs (so the man and lady’s hips are at equal height)
3. Lady extends out
4. Frame is finally placed, as icing on the top

Review of the Hover and Hover with Developé

First I’d like to remind everyone to pay special attention to the rise and fall, as they are very important for leading the two figures; also, there is a difference between the two figures. The man needs to be able to lead the lady’s developé with his rise and fall. For dissection of the rise and fall, please see the post on specifically the Hover and Hover with Developé at http://blog2.emotionsdancesport.com/2010/11/22/week-1-hover--hover-with-developé.aspx. In order to finish the move, the man has to extend as well as the lady, though not as much as the lady will. For his extension, the man will use a tilting head position and finish looking out and up over the lady. Please see the post on Head Extensions at http://blog2.emotionsdancesport.com/2011/01/03/disambiguation-of-head-extensions.aspx for a disambiguation of the tilting technique. If the man wishes to keep it as the Hover, he will remain on a raised position until count 6, at which point he will step out and lower. To lead the Developé, the man will lower on count 4, at which point the lady will extend her leg. The man will rise once more on count 5, while the lady lowers her leg to an extended point, and they will exit together on count 6. The lady must remember to keep her body stretched upwards as she kicks her leg, and to extend from her bra-strap up.

Review of the Eros to Right and Left

For a full explanation of the Eros to Right and Left, please see the post located at http://blog2.emotionsdancesport.com/2010/11/28/week-2-eros-line-to-the-left-and-right.aspx. Firstly, remember that the entry into the Eros Line to Left is the same as the Hover, though the man will rise slightly faster and send his hips forward to the lady in order to lead the Eros versus the Hover. The man must support the lady with his hips, and the lady must remember to keep her hips forward though the leg will be lifted behind her in a back attitude position.

The Left Whisk

We left the Hover Family finally and ventured into the Whisk Family, which includes the three steps: The Left Whisk, The Left Hinge, and The Right Hinge. The first step in this series of Line Moves is, obviously, the Left Whisk. It will be noted that the entry into the Left Whisk (and, consequently, the Left Hinge) is exactly the same as for a Hover or Eros Line to Left, while the entry into the Right Hinge would be the same as for the Eros Line to Right. Below is an example amalgamation into and out of the Left Whisk:

Natural Spin Turn

456 of Reverse Turn

Fallaway Reverse and Slip Pivot

Double Reverse Overspin

Left Whisk

Standing Spin

Open Impetus

Chassé from Promenade

The man will lead the Left Whisk by lowering into counts 2 & 3 and giving a sharp rotation in the upper body to the left. Meanwhile, the man must remember to keep his standing foot facing toward the wall, or approximately a quarter of a turn to the right of the upper body. As a result of his lowering and sharp rotation, the lady will cross her left leg behind and place her weight on the left foot just underneath her left shoulder. The right foot will swing across in front of the left leg, but the lady should be sure to keep the tip of her toe on the floor. The lady will extend her head over her left shoulder, while stretching her left side toward the man. Meanwhile, the man will extend his head slightly to the right in order to look up and over the lady, employing the technique of the head tilt. He will also cross his right foot behind his left with slight weight in the ball of the right foot, though 90% of his weight should remain in the left. A very important thing to remember is the connection in the hip, which is a responsibility of both partners. If either partner retracts their hips, there is a distinct possibility of the partnership ending up on the floor. Also, ladies, a word to the wise: if you lose your balance, let go. You will land on the floor, but if you pull on the man, you will still land on the floor; only this time, the man will land on top of you.

A beautiful picter, albeit small (sorry for the low quality) of World Champions Arunas Bizokas and Katusha Demidova dancing a Left Whisk:

December 19^th, 2010

Three words can describe my feelings: Leipzig is beautiful! I truly loved the city. It was so unlike all the other European cities we’ve been to; first of all, it was clean; and secondly, everything was refreshed, if not rebuilt, at least kept up. And beneath the veil of winter, Leipzig was even more beautiful. The entire scene was like a fairytale.

We were up late the night before, because of the Showdance competition. For specifics of the competition, go to blog2.emotionsdancesport.com ; so we ended up sleeping in until about noon. By 1:00 or so we were headed out of the hotel. We had to walk to the Glass Hall, or Messegelände, as it was called in German, through foot-high snow that, though it hadn't snowed since

A view from the inside of the Messegelande in Leipzig

we’d arrived in Leipzig, was still powder fresh. At Messegelände, there was a tram that we could hop on that took us straight into the city centre. We were told by one of the couples from USA that there were two Starbucks cafes in Leipzig city centre, and since neither of us had eaten anything, I was determined to find it. Well, we only walked a block into the city centre before I saw the first Starbucks. For pictures and more information, go to starbuckproject.wordpress.com ; we ran inside and grabbed a coffee and a couple of pastries. It was especially nice because my toes were freezing. We pulled out our map and planned our route.

The city centre was much smaller than we expected. We skipped down the street with the aim of finding the Christmas Market, but the market found us instead. Or rather, the sound of music found us. We could hear bells, drums and bagpipes, so we resolutely followed the lively sound of music to a little square packed with people on all sides. It was so difficult to find a way through! But the music was very loud here, so we knew we had found the source of the music. Simeon could see better than me; I, of course, had to squirm my way to the front so I could get a good view. But what a view it was! There were four men in the centre of the crowd; two

The group of medieval musicians

had bagpipes, two had huge drums strapped to their chests. They were all wearing Medieval style garb, and one had the pointy Medieval shoes called poulaines or crackows. (Thanks to all those years of studying everything about the 15^th century, I knew what they are called and even how they are made.) The music was great. They had a couple of girls in normal clothes on the side, selling CDs of their music. Since we had some cash on us (we made sure we had cash for Leipzig shopping), we decided to buy a CD. She asked us which one we wanted, since there were two; we couldn’t decide, so we bought them both!

As we walked on, we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of the Christmas market, and without even trying! The whole market smelled so good! There were portable stands set up with freshly made food, and these meat-filled pasties that reminded Simeon of a Bulgarian food called Принцеси (Princessi) were tempting Simeon at every step. Then we saw people carrying around freshly made waffles filled with some sort of cream; and everywhere we looked people were eating wieners and drinking mead or gluhwein. In another small square, there was a trio of men dressed in Russian garb. One was playing what looked like a massive guitar that was propped on the ground, and the other three were singing and dancing to it. We were so cold, so we stopped by a stand to order some gluhwein, since we were told that to get the real German Christmas experience, we need to drink gluhwein. Obviously I had never ordered it. We were walking around all day

Don't know about this gluhwein....

wondering how the people serving the gluhwein expected to get their cups back, since the customers buy the gluhwein in ceramic cups and take them to tables that are set up in an almost haphazard arrangement anywhere in the square. When I went to go order the gluhwein, I figured it out: the gluhwein itself cost us €2.50, but the cup cost us €3, which equals €5.50 total. When you return the cup to the stand, you get your €3 back! With that figured out, we paid for our gluhwein and found an empty table to drink it at. While I paid for the gluhwein, Simeon availed himself on one of those Принцеси. You should have seen Simeon’s face when we bit into that pasty! He was in absolute Heaven. The gluhwein, meanwhile, was very warming. Basically, gluhwein is heated, mulled wine. Mulled, in case you don’t know, means spiced. I really enjoyed it, but Simeon was a bit unsure. He really doesn’t like alcohol in general that much; hard alcohol is not tasty to him at all, and he only drinks red wine because he knows it’s good for him; in the end, if he’s going to enjoy some alcohol, it’s going to be beer, and not very much of it at that. The gluhwein was really not to his like, but I enjoyed it!

When we took a look at the ceramic cup, it had the name of the Christmas market with “Leipzig” and “2010″ etched into the clay. We decided, since it had the city name and the year etched into it, to keep the cup. We had paid for it, after all!

As we were wandering, we came across a stand crowded with glass pieces. They were beautiful! Some of them were wind chimes

The glass wind chimes

made of glass balls with aluminum wings fluttering inside. We had to get something here, because it was just so beautiful. So we bought a glass peacock with a real peacock feather as its tail; the peacock was nestled on a hook that allows us to fasten it to our Christmas tree, which we thought was perfect. Now we have two memories of our trip to Leipzig. On the side of the stand, attached to it, was a little booth just wide enough for a man’s body and a six-inch shelf all around. A young man, maybe twenty years old (my guess), was sitting in the booth all bundled up, and there were sticks of colored glass and tiny flames burning on the tabletop in front of him. As we watched, he heated and melted the glass in the flame, then grabbed it with a stick and, before our eyes, created a glass airplane.

Soon we needed to go to the bathroom, so we opened up our map and searched for a public toilet. We found one on the map right next to a big church. What we discovered was that the church had a public bathroom in the old cellar, and they asked for a couple of euro donation. Of course we left them a donation, and when I came out of the bathroom, back up the stairs, and outside to the church’s courtyard, I noticed a big statue. Lo and behold! We had accidentally found the very church where Johann Sebastian Bach composed most of his music! The area was rather deserted and we wanted to get back to the busy areas, so we saw a gate into yet another market. This one had a bunch of little scenes set up, much like Nativity scenes here, except that these scenes were from famous fairy tales. There was a scene from “The Princess and the Pea” (which Simeon has never heard of!!!!), and another from

The Princess and the Pea

“Hansel and Gretel”. At the end of this market was a tiny train with little kids on it; I wanted Simeon to go on it, but he suddenly got nervous. I took a picture of the little train, anyway.

We found our ways to the shopping district and went into a shoe shop. Simeon had been bothering me about my shoes for a long time. He was convinced that I had broken my boots because I walk on the insides of my feet. We looked around and luckily the shop as having a sale, so I found a really nice pair of black suede boots with a 2 ½ inch heel, very comfortable for every day stuff, for about €25. I’d say it’s a good deal! But the shop had an added bonus: it was warm! And our feet were cold! We were in the shop just long enough to get feeling back into our toes.

By the time we left the shop it was getting dark outside, which meant it was also getting considerably colder, and my feet were sore from walking all day, so we started to make our ways back home. We retraced our steps, stopping by to get those waffles filled with cream. I also bought another gluhwein; Simeon was surprised I wanted another one, but my way of thinking was that it might be years before I drink gluhwein again, so I might as well enjoy a second one! That’s when we found the second Starbucks in the city centre, which you can also read about on starbuckproject.wordpress.com

All in all, it was a great day. Leipzig is a beautiful city, the people are so nice, and the food is amazing. My experience in Germany was altogether a positive one.

I’m sure many of you are wondering how the competition went. In a word: egh. Not terrible, not great, nor any other adjective deserving a spot on the blog post. Just egh. 

I was not too impressed with the organization of this competition. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t know exactly who made these calls, but originally we had a quarter-final scheduled for the Rising Star; however, when we showed up, there were only twelve of us. That didn’t seem to stop the organizers from running it as a 12-couple quarter-final, which is ridiculous because a semi-final is supposed to be 12 couples! Well, they didn’t cut any couples. So they ran a 12-couple quarter, gave us no more than a 5-dance to rest, then ran a 12-couple semi. So basically, we just danced a semi-final twice. What really sucked was that our “quarter-final” was pretty good, while our “semi-final” sucked. We are not at the point in our dancing where we are very consistent with the feel, and we know that we stuck in a lot of traffic during our semi-final. Also, I think I pulled something in my thigh, or at least strained it, because after the Waltz in the semi, my thigh was burning. We didn’t make the final, which I was pretty upset about. We could’ve definitely been in that final. There were couples in that final who we’ve beaten before; and I think if they hadn’t run the original semi as a quarter, we probably would’ve made it. In other words, if our first semi had counted towards the final instead of the second semi, I feel we would’ve been in there. It was very frustrating. On top of it, we were not very centered with each other in our second semi, so it felt terrible, and we were at each other’s throats afterwards. We were fighting the car, but Simeon had to stop by the mall and buy some more groceries on our way back to the hotel, so by the time he returned to the car, he was calmer. And, as anyone who knows Simeon knows, if he is calm, then life is calm. When we got back to the hotel, I took a long bath to try to relax my leg and back, update the blog, and went to bed early.

Last night for the Open we had a similar situation as the earlier night. In the program, we were scheduled to dance a 1^st round, but we only had 23 or so couples. They still ran it as a first round, and cut three or four couples only. Then they ran a 19 couple quarter-final. On the plus side, it meant the floor was pretty wide open for the quarter. They split the comp into two heats, with ten couples in the first heat and nine couples in the second heat. We were in the second heat. So, unfortunately for us, were Domen Krapez & Monica Negro and Warren & Kristi Boyce. They couldn’t possibly even out the playing field at all!

That’s alright, though. We didn’t make the semi-final, and although we were a little disappointed, we certainly weren’t upset. The semi-final was of very high caliber, and there was admittedly no one in that semi that we have beaten before. Furthermore, all the couples around our level, the couples that we normally battle with for positions, didn’t make the semi either, so it’s fair. Completely fair. Doesn’t mean we wouldn’t have liked to be in there, though.

xoxoxo Kora

We are finally in Paris! Well, to be honest, we’re actually to the east of Paris, in a region called Marne du Vallée, in a little village named Jossigny. When we found and drove into the village, I have to say I was charmed. I normally don’t get charmed. The last time I was charmed was in the Lake District, in a little village called Grasmere which is where William Wordsworth was born and buried. Before that was Melnik, a town in Southern Bulgaria.

But Jossigny really is charming. The road into the village technically has two lanes, but the right-hand lane is also used for parking, so you can really only drive in the left-hand lane, which is of course the right-hand lane if you’re going the other way. All of the houses are brick and plaster, with the bare vines of ivy crawling up the walls, plaster fences at waist height surrounding gardens with rose fences against them. Little apple trees and peach trees, missing all their foliage, block the view of the surrounding farmland.

We came upon our hotel rather quickly. I think most people would find this hotel charming. It’s called l’Hotel Cheval Blanc, and it has a tiny little reception about two feet below street level, which makes me wonder how old the building actually is, since it’s common knowledge that streets grow up throughout the years. There’s some sort of calculation I’ve heard of before, but I can’t remember.

The lounge is very chic, with leopard fabric covering the walls, the tables are espresso wood, all the sofas of cream fabric. I think the restaurant is a famous one. I seem to remember hearing about it from somewhere, and the chef seems to be quite celebrated. The food is very expensive, so unfortunately for us, we will have to keep to the pizzeria around the corner.

The first thing I saw in the room was a magazine for TV, which an advertisement on the front cover for the showing of L’Age de Glace Trois, Les Temps de Dinosaurs, which is translated to, of course, “Ice-Age 3, Time of the Dinosaurs”. Simeon and I had a nice laugh about that one, because it’s hard to imagine our favorite characters (mine, of course, has to be Scrat) as being in L’Age de Glace. I don’t know, it just sounds funny to me.

We took a very long nap when we got here, and even though we set the alarm, I think we pressed the snooze button every ten minutes for about two hours. I know some of our friends can relate to that. But it felt great not having to do anything, just to lie in bed and doze. We haven’t had that freedom for a long time. Then Simeon went out to find a store, because we were dying of thirst, and I started doing all of the comp stuff – tanning, cleaning my dress, etc and etc. I think I’ve been watching NCIS in French for a good three hours now.

Tomorrow we dance the Rising Stars Ballroom at 6:30. I doubt we’ll have time to drive around and see anything. Maybe on Sunday we’ll be able to, since we don’t dance the open until 9:00. But the competition is held at Disneyland, at the Hotel New York in the convention center. It should be a lot of fun. I’ve never been to Disneyland Paris, and although we won’t go on any of the rides, I’m thinking I’d like to get into Disney Village and do some shopping if I can. Not that I’m looking for much, but I’ll see something to bring back for any of my students, or my parents, or my brother. You never know! And of course, I am still looking for an affordable cloche hat. I bought one in the States about three weeks ago and was expecting it to arrive in time for this trip, but it came on Monday (we left on Sunday; I was rather perturbed). At Heathrow Airport this morning, in the Tie Rack shop, I found a very nice cloche that I considered buying, but for £30? I don’t know if I can justify that. I mean, two of those hats equal a dance lesson (almost). I’ll buy one for £20 or €30 or less, that’s my budget, and I really hope I can find one. There’s snow on the ground here, and snow on the ground in London, and I’m betting on it being at least cold enough for snow in Leipzig, and my ears are only warm if my hair is down! Wish me luck, I’ll keep everyone updated on my hat quest!

We’re watching French pop music videos now. There’s a group of three young kids, Justin Beiber age, that put a song together called “Be Wiz’ U”. Simeon and I could not stop laughing. This is over the top. Not only do they have to take a song that is mostly in French and title it in slang English, but they even wrote the slang English in a French accent! Oh… my… God!!!!! Really??? They couldn’t just call it “Be With U” or even, ála Eboniks, “Be Wid U”, and just blame the “z” on their accent. Oh no, they decided to title it with the accent built in! Wow. There’s a Waltz song at our studio that is beautiful, except for the fact that a Japanese girl sings it. Nothing against the Japanese, and she has a beautiful voice. But obviously whoever wrote the lyrics also doesn’t understand English very well. The lyrics themselves have a Japanese accent, never mind the singer: “Here comes the night/ So kiss for goodbye.” Kiss me for goodbye? Don’t cry, soon I’ll “be wiz u”.

Impulse Ballroom Adult Level 3 Standard
Silver Waltz Choreography

Month of November, 2010

This is the choreography that we used for the Monday night, Level 3 Adult Standard Class at the Impulse Ballroom. Check back at our website, there should be a video posted of this soon.

Silver Level Amalgamation
Natural Spin Turn
Turning Lock ending in Promenade Position
Chasse from PP
123 Natural Turn
Open Impetus
Cross Chasse
Outside Spin
123 Natural Turn
Back Whisk
Weave from PP ending in PP
Wing
123 Reverse Turn
Reverse Corte

In the class, we did two different endings to the routine. Originally coming out of the Reverse Corte, we danced a Closed Impetus with Reverse Pivot. My original idea was to teach a reverse turning section before looping it to somewhere on the first side. However, because of last week's snow and ensuing class cancellation, I was forced to forego the reverse turning section. Therefore, we deleted the Closed Impetus with Reverse Pivot from the amalgamation and danced instead an Outside Change, which allowed us to loop directly back into the Natural Spin Turn at the beginning of the combination. As a side note, the Back Whisk is underlined because it is danced into the corner of the long side, and all the steps from the Weave from PP on are across the short side. The Outside Change, therefore, is used to dance out of the corner of the short side and back onto the long side again.

For links to a description of the Newcomer level steps, please see below:
Natural Spin Turn:
http://www.emotionsdancesport.com/waltz/natural_spin_turn.htm
Chasse From Promenade:
http://www.emotionsdancesport.com/waltz/chasse_from_pp.htm
123 Natural Turn (including 456 Natural Turn):
http://www.emotionsdancesport.com/waltz/natural_turn.htm
123 Reverse Turn (including 456 Reverse Turn):
http://www.emotionsdancesport.com/waltz/reverse_turn.htm

Please do not hesitate to post a comment or send me an email if you have any questions.

Kora