Sunday 5/30/04:
It’s now a couple of weeks since the end of the LA congress, and coverage of the shows might be less interesting as you’ve probably read about them elsewhere, (not to mention less fresh in my mind). Let me point out the ones I most enjoyed before sharing how I finally found dance satisfaction the last night, and closing with some general comments about the congress / suggestions for next year.
My favorite Sunday groups/shows were Liz Lira & Salomon Rivera (LA), Salsa Racing (Miami), Evolucion Dance Company (San Francisco), Yesenia & Danny (NY/NJ), ET & Nadia (NY), Ava Apple & Dave Paris (San Francisco & NY), Eddie & Maria Torres (NY), and Alex D Silva (LA).
I was looking forward to Sunday’s live music lineup of Orquesta De La Luz and El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico. I’ve never seen Orquesta De La Luz live and was excited about that being a fan of their music. I have to say I was a little disappointed by their set. Their lead singer (or someone) was talking too much between songs and people were milling around more than usual. The sound also didn’t carry enough to the outdoor dance area where I was mostly (no fault of their’s and more about this in the comments and suggestions postscript). El Gran Combo didn’t disappoint, and again it was a shame that you couldn’t hear them better in the outdoor dance area.
The congress on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday had been disappointing on the personal social dancing level. I did have a few good dances, typically with people I already knew. More common were physical and temperamental collisions on the dance floor (with the partner or with others). Most common were rejections of the cruel variety.
On Sunday, I approached women with the direct question “do you dance on2?”. The change in response was nothing short of magical. I pretty much danced as often as I had energy for and met numerous capable dancers from Australia, California, Georgia, and Texas. Starting out with “do you dance on2?” is corny, snooty, not in character, and I wouldn’t use it in Boston (where it’ll perpetuate a prevalent stereotype of on2-snobbishness), but at the LA congress it worked like a charm. I got very few “no-s” (interesting given it’s LA, and perhaps due to my mostly being at the outdoor dance area which had a cluster of East coast dancers – though not the ones I was asking) and the ones I did get were cordial and not dismissive. As for the many “yes-s”, none were disappointing, oh yes!
Here’s why I think the question worked. The ladies that only dance on1 (or anything other than 2), said so and we left it at that. I suppose the question communicated that I could at least dance and wasn’t the latest incarnation of their worst dance experiences. Also their “no” was respectful because no one dismisses dancing on2 any more (what a change from LA four years ago). On my end, the “no” didn’t land as a rejection on impact (was actually a relief) and in some instances the question started a conversation (one said she was hoping to dance on2 by next year and we agreed to meet again in LA). For the ladies learning to dance on2 this was an opportunity they were eager to take advantage of. For the “on2 princesses”, the question put them at ease that the dance with a stranger wasn’t going to end up in a “when is this song going to end” experience.
Finally, no regrets for being in SalsaLand instead of Jimmy Anton’s this weekend.
I had a plane to catch and avoiding the line for the shuttle bus to the hotel meant leaving before the end of the night. I headed out as the traditional closing song with its ritual wormhole was starting. At the airport and in continuance of the night’s good fortune, a friend was departing to New York from an adjacent gate. We passed the wait comparing congress experiences. Lucky for her, she was heading home for just four days before flying the following weekend to Paris for the congress there.
[Next: Postscript]