August 2008
Monthly Archive
Survey results
Posted by DJ-T on 15 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Kick Me !! (the poster)
Thanks to all of you who took the survey. This helps understand what people like from a dance night. Below are the results and comments.
As many of you know most or all the recurring Cuban dance nights have failed over the past 8 years due to lack of business (i.e., low attendance and/or low bar sales). Getting enough folks out on a regular basis (50-100+ depending on size of venue) seems to be a key factor to any successful dance night, because even the best venue and music is still boring if no one is there to dance with you.
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1. Your gender? |
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Response |
Response |
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Female |
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65.0% |
13 |
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Male |
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35.0% |
7 |
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2. Which type of dance night would you most likely attend on a regular basis? |
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Response |
Response |
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Weekly |
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15.0% |
3 |
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Monthly |
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25.0% |
5 |
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Either of the above |
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60.0% |
12 |
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3. Which of these nights works best for you to attend dancing? |
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Response |
Response |
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Friday |
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5.0% |
1 |
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Saturday |
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30.0% |
6 |
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Friday or Saturday |
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65.0% |
13 |
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None of the above |
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0.0% |
0 |
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4. What type of format do you prefer? |
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Response |
Response |
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DJ only |
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10.0% |
2 |
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Band only |
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0.0% |
0 |
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DJ and Band always |
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20.0% |
4 |
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DJ mostly with a Band sometimes |
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55.0% |
11 |
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No preference |
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15.0% |
3 |
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5. What type of music do you prefer? |
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Response |
Response |
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Timba only |
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5.0% |
1 |
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All Cuban dance genres |
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35.0% |
7 |
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Mostly Timba plus any Cuban, Salsa, Merengue, & Reggaeton |
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35.0% |
7 |
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Equal mix of Cuban, Salsa, Merengue, & Reggaeton |
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10.0% |
2 |
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Mostly Cuban plus some other Caribbean styles (Salsa, Merengue, Reggaeton, Dancehall, Reggae, Kompa, Zouk) |
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15.0% |
3 |
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6. What is most important about the venue for you? |
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Response |
Response |
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Location |
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5.0% |
1 |
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Adequate dance floor space |
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25.0% |
5 |
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Clean, non-sticky dance floor |
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10.0% |
2 |
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Style/decor of the venue |
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0.0% |
0 |
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All of the above |
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60.0% |
12 |
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7. Which of the following is most important to you when going out dancing? |
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Response |
Response |
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Having enough leads to dance with |
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40.0% |
8 |
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Having enough followers to dance with |
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5.0% |
1 |
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Good crowd of people in general |
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55.0% |
11 |
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8. What’s the most you’d be willing to pay for a DJ and a local Band? |
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Response |
Response |
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$5 |
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5.0% |
1 |
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$7 |
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5.0% |
1 |
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$8 |
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0.0% |
0 |
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$10 |
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55.0% |
11 |
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$12 |
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15.0% |
3 |
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$15 |
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20.0% |
4 |
Comments
5. What type of music do you prefer?
1. let’s employ some of the great musicians we have here!!
2. I love live Cuban music, so it’s great to get bands whenever possible–I think “always” is expecting a bit much, though.
3. of course it depends upon band!
4. I never go to the Triple door because of the live music. And many bands are not oriented toward dancers enough (Picoso for instance). However, I do like Supersones and Grupo Ashe. A good DJ can be amazing, better than any but the very best bands. Using more than one DJ in a night might be better too. 5. The Band plus DJ, gives great variety during the evening. It is preferred, but a band doesn’t always have to be paired up with the DJ.
5. What type of music do you prefer?
1. not crazy about hip hop if i’m out to salsa dance
2. Son and Cha Cha Cha are always appreciated!
3. son, cha cha cha – throw in a mix, definitely NOT all timba all the time
4. I’m a big fan of Dominican Merengue and Bachata so adding that would be icing on the cake.
6. What is most important about the venue for you?
1. place to park within short walking distance, and large enough dance floor not to loose any toes
2. Style of venue not as important as a good dance floor. A location with easy parking is appreciated.
3. The first three are important – style/decor is not important
4. location close second
5. I avoid concrete floors, or if the scen is really good I’ll only go for a little while. I won’t go too far (Ballard, Bellevue, and shoreline are out). Style is the least important, but almost anything goes–however a nice bathroom is an important feature. Also, clubs aren’t really all that great. Try some non-club options, where you BYOB if at all.
6. Time. Earlier is much preferred.
7. Primarily, Preferred wood floor, (not concrete, aka Nectar, or other hard surface) This is asking a lot, with the limited options out there, but for a dancer it is preferred. after that, friendliness of staff for me. after that, location, then style/decor of venue.
7. Which of the following is most important to you when going out dancing?
1. Plus good crowd of people. Perhaps emphasizing lessons for guys/leads beforehand.
2. non-snobby crowd of people to dance with — ambience that encourages people to be friendly and dance with people they haven’t met before
3. I love to dance afternoons rather than evenings. How about a Saturday afternoon practice???
8. What’s the most you’d be willing to pay for a DJ and a local Band?
1. $8 for DJ, $10 for local band $12 if they were a super good local band
2. I can pay $15 or more on occasion because I think musicians ought to be paid well. I couldn’t afford $15 on a weekly basis though, so $5-8 on a more regular basis, for DJ with no band, would get me out more often.
3. for band, esp. Ashe
4. totally depends. I’d pay 9-15 to see supersones or grupo ashe. I’d pay 30-50 to see a good out-of-town band (Osvaldo Chacon, Oscar, Fruko). I’d pay up to 10 (maybe 12) for a rockin DJ on a real dance floor.
5. Money is not important. A clean place to dance and EARLIER in the day. How about a afternoon pracitce??
6. also depends on the venue and band. but, this is a good MAX. range $10-15
Supersones on Fri Aug 15
Posted by bcrummins on 14 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Events
Friday, August 15th
3rd Place Books
Lake Forest Park
Join us for a night of Son Cubano at this all ages venue in Lake Forest Park. There is a big stage, an excellent sound system and a spacious dance floor!
Cover: Free
Time: 7:30-10:00
Join us tonight for CASINO ON CARDBOARD, Thurs, Aug 14, 7pm
Posted by georgia on 14 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Alki Beach Parties: Casino on Cardboard
Come join us tonight – Thurs, Aug 14th @ 7pm – for Casino on Cardboard: Alki Beach Party full of timba, rueda de casino, Cuban music, salsa suelta and more.
Detailed information can be found in the category to the right labeled “Alki Beach Parties: Casino on Cardboard.”
See you there. Georgia
Your feedback is needed, please take survey
Posted by DJ-T on 12 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Kick Me !! (the poster)
I’d like to get your feedback to help figure out the best format for a dance night.
Please take this survery before this Friday (noon). It’s only 8 quick questions (should only take 1-2 minutes). Click on the link below.
Survey responses are completely anonymous and no personal information is collected, so be as candid as you’d like with the responses. I’ll share the results when the survey ends.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=pnX1CHguA3F6mazlfy42_2bg_3d_3d
Thanks.
A few photos of Alki Beach 8/07/08
Posted by ryanandsidney on 11 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Alki Beach Parties: Casino on Cardboard, Photos
Casino on cardboard at Alki Beach was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. The sunset was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, the music and sound system were great, awesome dancing, great calling and really cool people! Woo Hoo! Can’t wait to come back!
We’ve added a few pictures to the gallery….
Thanks!
Sid and Ryan
Gracias, Seattle Casineros!
Posted by ryanandsidney on 11 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Instruction
Seattle Casineros!
Thank you so much for attending our workshops this past weekend. We enjoyed meeting you and dancing with you very much. Loved gliding across the smooth cardboard dance floor at Alki Beach and really enjoyed the awesome Seattle band Super Sones!
The dance community that you all have developed here is very special. A very warm and gracious family of super enthusiastic and talented folks. Thank you for welcoming us so openly.
We hope to return to Seattle again before the end of 2008. We’ll keep you posted. Please let us know what kind of classes or workshops you might be interested in attending so we can plan for our next visit.
If you would like to be on our Seattle mailing list or would just like to stay in touch you can reach us at ryanandsidney@gmail.com.
Thanks again for supporting the workshops and if you weren’t able to make it this time we hope to see you next time!
Huge thanks again to Jennifer and Ofer for hosting the workshops and for taking care of us in Seattle. We love you guys!!!
Thanks to Maritza for keeping the workshops running so smoothly. Loved your calling at the beach, Maritza. We know you are going to be calling “Matrix” and “Patada Complicada” next week!
Here is a review of everything that we covered over the weekend. Please let us know if we have forgotten anything or if you have any questions.
Hope to see you all again soon,
Sid and Ryan
SATURDAY AUGUST 9
2:00 Dancing with and Understanding Clave
We talked about how clave is the fundamental rhythm in salsa and its most significant roots — son and rumba.
We learned the son clave rhythm, and one way of marking that clave in your step. We covered the difference between 2-3 son clave and 3-2 son clave and how this difference would affect the way you dance. We learned the rumba clave rhythm and discussed the difference between son clave and rumba clave. We danced son time (on 2) and learned how to clap son clave along with the son step. We also saw how rumba clave doesn’t fit as well with the son step.
Below is one way to visualize the rhythms we played and the steps we used. You can see the numbered beats on top, and in between are “upbeats” — subdivisions of the beats.
1+2+3+4+ 5+6+7+8+
step “on 1″ L-R-L— R-L-R—
step “on 2″ –L-R-L- –R-L-R-
23 son clave –X-X— X–X–X-
23 clave step L-R-L— R–L–R-
32 son clave X–X–X- –X-X—
32 clave step L–R–L- R-L-R—
23 rumba clave –X-X— X–X—X
32 rumba clave X–X—X –X-X—
Class playlist
(Song, Artist, Album)
Havana City, Angel Bonne, Bonne & Bonne Co.
Dos Mujeres, Issac Delgado, Con Ganas
Hey You Loca, La Charanga Habanera, Hey, You, Loca!
Deja Que Roberto Te Toque, Issac Delgado, Otra Idea
Tú Me Dijiste Mentiras, Manolito y su Trabuco, Se Rompieron Los Termómetros
(Song, Artist, Album)
Havana City, Angel Bonne, Bonne & Bonne Co.
Dos Mujeres, Issac Delgado, Con Ganas
Hey You Loca, La Charanga Habanera, Hey, You, Loca!
Deja Que Roberto Te Toque, Issac Delgado, Otra Idea
Tú Me Dijiste Mentiras, Manolito y su Trabuco, Se Rompieron Los Termómetros
Workout playlist
Bla, bla, bla, La Charanga Habanera, El Charanguero Mayor
Dicen Que Amor – (Feat.Michel Maza), Charanga Forever, Somos Charangueros
Compositor Confundidio, Ibrahim Ferrer, Ay, Candela
Estoy Seco Y Me Quiero Mojar, Ibrahim Ferrer, Ay, Candela
Olvida La Pena, Tirso Duarte, Fin Del Juego
El Chino Chulo, Tirso Duarte, Fin Del Juego
El Abuso, NG La Banda, Oye Siiii..
Juégala, Pupy, Que Cosas Tiene La Vida
Other music recommendations
Son (Montuno) — anything by Arsenio Rodriguez
Rumba — anything by Los Muñequitos de Matanzas or Clave y Guaguancó
SUNDAY AUGUST 10
2:00 Dance on Whatever
Here’s roughly what we wrote on the board:
1+2+3+4+ 5+6+7+8+
step “on 1″ R-L-R— L-R-L—
step “on 2″ –R-L-R- –L-R-L-
step “on 3″ L—R-L- R—L-R-
bell tones B—B— B—B—
conga pattern –S—OO –X—OO (S is slap, O is open tone)
We showed you “demórate” — adding an extra pause to transition from 1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc.
We then did the opposite “apúrate” — taking out a pause to transition from 3 to 2, 2 to 1, etc.
We talked about how dancing on 1 or 3 is dancing with the bell, while on 2 is dancing against the bell (“contratiempo”).
We talked about how dancing on 2 is dancing with the conga, breaking on the slap and emphasizing the open tones.
We showed you how to transition from salsa (on 1) to son (on 2), and back from son to salsa.
3:00 Sid and Ryan’s Favorite moves
We covered “Setenta por debajo largo,” “Adios con Mambo,” and “Regístrala.”
4:00 Dancing the Rhythms of Salsa and Timba
Here’s roughly what we wrote on the board
1+2+3+4+ 5+6+7+8+
step “on 1″ R-L-R— L-R-L—
ponche ——– ——P-
ponche step –L-R— L-R-L-R-
bombo ——– —B—-
bombo step R-L-R— L-RL—-
pon.+bom. ——– —B–P-
pon.+bom.step –L-R— L-RL–R-
For ponche breaks, we listened to “Llorarás” by La Timba Loca and “Marina Quiere Bailar” by La Charanga Habanera. For bombo breaks, we listened to “Llego la Musica Cubana” by Manolito y su Trabuco and “Abre” by Orquesta Melodias del 40. Manolito y su Trabuco does bombo, followed by ponche breaks at the end of a new coro (chorus) — we listened to “En Este Juego.” For bombo+ponche, we listened to “Despues de Todo” by Los Van Van. At the end, we talked about contratiempo (another meaning) — dancing every beat and a half. An example of that was in “Riki Ricón” by La Charanga Habanera.
5:00 Sidney’s Salsa Workout
Sidney did an energetic warm up and then focused on torso and hip isolations. She showed some of the fundamental movement in rumba and broke down some of the African influence and body movement in Cuban popular dance.
Sidney did an energetic warm up and then focused on torso and hip isolations. She showed some of the fundamental movement in rumba and broke down some of the African influence and body movement in Cuban popular dance.
Workout playlist
Fresquecito.Com, Elio Revé y Su Charangón, Fresquecito
Mas Viejo Que Ayer, Mas Joven Orquesta Reve La Explosion Del Momento!
Verbo del amor, La Charanga Habanera, Hey, You, Loca!
Llora Como Yo Llore/Mi Magdalena, Sixto Lorente “El Indio”, La Rumba Soy Yo
Semma, Tirso Duarte, Timba Cubana
Respuesta A Maria, Clave Y , Rumba Que No Termina
El Asesino, Tirso Duarte, Fin Del Juego
3:00 Group moves for the rueda
We learned “setenta (70) con las manos” first. Then we did “enchufla y puente (bridge)”, and we built on that with “enchufla y puente al reves”.
4:00 Athletic and Dynamic Salsa, Casino, and Rueda
We started with “flojito” — where the follower pushes the leader away. Then we did “enchufla como esquipi.” We learned “una patada (kick)” and then “una patada complicada.” Finally we learned “The Matrix.”
5:00 Sidney’s Salsa Workout
Sid started with a very energetic warm-up. Then she showed us shoulder, torso, and hip isolations. She incorporated older Cuban popular dance styles such as son, mambo, and comparsa/conga. She also showed follower’s footwork and styling for many of the basic Miami and Cuban style turns (guapea, siete, pancake, vacila, vacilense los dos, dile que no, enchufla, exhibe).
Reminder: Sunday practice starts 5:30 pm
Posted by Kyra on 10 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Practice
Just for today, August 10, Sunday practice will be from 5:30 to 7:30. We meet at the Wallingford Steps, or under cover at Gasworks picnic area in case of rain (see top section of blog for directions). See you there at 5:30!
Video of the Week
Posted by Cat on 10 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Video
German rueda group, led by Cuban (Emilito – white pants):
Workshop Location Change – Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
Posted by Ofer on 08 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Events, Instruction
We have found a bigger and better location for the workshops – now we will now be able to accommodate everyone.
The new location is the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle.
Address: 4408 Delridge Way SW Seattle, WA 98106
Phone Number: 206.935.2999
http://youngstownarts.org
On Saturday we will be in the Movement Studio and on Sunday in the South Classroom.
Directions:
Youngstown is easily accessible by Metro bus:
Metro routes 120 and 125 stop directly in front of the building and connect to downtown in 10 minutes. Route 120 also connects south to Burien while 125 connects Youngstown with Capitol Hill when it switches to Route 11 as it goes through downtown and to South Seattle Community College as it heads to White Center.
Visit Metro Online or call Metro at 206.553.3300 for additional information.
Youngstown is just a short drive from downtown Seattle:
From Interstate 5 or State Route 99, take the West Seattle Bridge Exit. Take the Delridge Way SW (South Seattle Community College) Exit. Turn Left into the Youngstown Cultural Center parking lot just past SW Genesee Street at 4408 Delridge Way SW.
The Youngstown Cultural Arts Center offers free parking.
For a detailed map visit MapQuest.