Elements of the Salsa Song

There is more to a song than just the underlying 4/4 time and finding the 1/2/3 depending on what beat one breaks on. There is the 2/3 or 3/2 clave, the cowbell, conga, maracas, piano, timbales, bass, bongos, guiro. In addition an instrument can play different rhythms. The more you can understand the song elements the better your dancing can get and one neat little tool that can help one understand more of these different elements is the SalsaBeatMachine. Check it out for yourself and see whether it can help you.

Whole wheat bread

Ingredients:2 2/3 cup wheat four, 1/3 cup gluten, 2 tsp brown sugar, 2 slightly heaped tsp yeast, 1/3 tsp salt, 5 tsp oil, water as needed

Warm up some water in a bowl, and add 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp wheat gluten, 1 tsp wheat flour. Dip finger to make sure water is luke warm. Add yeast. Let sit until the surface is covered with reacted yeast and bubbles. It usually takes couple minutes. Add this mixture to remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl. Knead, adding water as necessary until all the flour is incorporated and dough stops being sticky. Add 5 tsp oil and then knead until oil in incorporated. Total time from adding liquid to dry ingredients to final dough is usually under 30 minutes.
Cover bowl and put in luke warm oven (I heat oven for a minute or two) to rise. After an hour take out, put in oiled baking pans (you can make little more than a loaf or buns) and put back in oven to rise for 45 minutes. Remove, preheat oven to 350, then bake for 25 minutes.

Khichdi

This rice and lentil dish is an easy way to make a nutritious healthy and delicious one pot meal. This is even easier than the traditional khichdi, if you can imagine such a thing.

Ingredients: 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup lentils (any of your choice from masoor, moong, French, mung....), 1/4 tsp salt, pinches of whatever spices you like (tumeric, garam masala, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamon), 1/2 an onion and 1/2 a tomato, 3 cups water.

Wash rice and lentils well, then add three cups of water. Add the spices, cut tomato and onion. Cook until the water is boiling, stir and then cover pot and let simmer until all the water is absorbed. It usually takes about 35/40 minutes of simmering. Sometimes I have added veggies as well when I turn down the heat and let it simmer.

How much time you need to cook will vary on the rice and lentil you use and type of stove you have. I always cook with brown rice which takes longer. Using white rice and red lentils will result in a shorter cooking time.

The locavarian foodie

A locavarian is one who supports the idea of living local: buying locally grown produce and other local products; frequenting mom and pop shops/stores and restaurants so that the money spent has a greater probability of circulating in the local area. In trying to live a more fulfilling healthier life I've discovered that being a food locavarian makes sense. Who wouldn't be attracted to the fragrance of freshly ground flour, or vibrant flavorful veggies/fruit freshly picked that morning? However, with a premium usually placed on local and organic products often it is cheaper to buy from a supermarket chain, or even fill oneself with a burger at McDonalds. Yet, it always isn't so. Bulk items such as rice, beans and flour, vegetables/fruit in season are comparable or in some cases even cheaper. And when prepackaged items go on sale the organic product may be even cheaper than what you can get at your typical chain supermarket.

Take the case of wheat bread, comparing loaves of equivalent cost.

Wheat bread made at home: freshly ground organic wheat flour and wheat gluten, oil, sugar, water, salt, yeast

Typical store bread: enriched wheat flour (unbleached flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, floic acid, riboflavin), water,sugar. Plus contains 2% or less of soybean oil, yeast, wheat gluten emulsifiers(DATEM, soy lecithin,DATEM...), corn grits....

It is a no-brainer. Who wishes to put the crap of the store bought bread in their bodies when there is a viable alternative?

Take the time to compare prices and you may be surprised. Moving to becoming a locovarian may be easier than you think with the additional benefits of being healthier and feeling good supporting the local economy.

Born to dance - why we really don't have two left feet

Today while browsing the internet I found out researchers have determined that we may have born to dance. An article at Science Daily reports that in a study of babies ranging from 5 months to two years it was discovered that the young ones have a "predisposition to move rhythmically in response to music." The babies are simply following the beat, not the melody or some other component of the music, but it does make a valid point. We all have the innate ability to move to the music, to follow the beat. You may think you have and always will two left feet, but you can learn to follow the beat.

So what is the difference between a baby and us? A baby does not have the cultural and societal trappings that can encumber us. He/she approaches the music with an open mind and moves instinctually, intuitively. This is why I suggest to people who want to learn to dance to play the music in the background while doing your everyday tasks:driving, cooking, cleaning, folding laundry, homework... Let the mind absorb the rhythms of the music at its own pace, and the body will in its own time start moving to it. Eventually when it comes to actual partner dancing trust in your mind and body and you will be able to move to the beat. And it works. Take it from someone who followed and still follows his own advice.

As a dance newbie I couldn't find the right beat to start moving, and had problems keeping the beat. And even today when I have lapses where I just can't seem to move right to a song I do the following: I take a deep breath, stop thinking, and let my body respond to the music.

I wanna be like you

The song, "I wanna be like you" is a classic. No matter what we do, and in spite of how much we have in common, each one of us is still unique and different from others. Makes for an interesting life.

Dance Musicality

I admire those people who do ballroom competitions and so accurately portray the character of the dance, and song. Their technical ability to match their emotional connection to that of the song, no matter what is going on personally in their lives, is great. We often say they exhibit great musicality, yet I still find something is missing. There seems something robotic, artificial about this.

Well, wikipedia defines musicality as “fitting a dance to the music being played, with the goal of relating the dance to the music's rhythm, melody, and mood. Dancers usually step on the beats of the music, and may vary the size of their movements with the volume of the music. This is especially true in choreography, where dancers plan a routine of dance moves, sometimes with a specific song in mind. This is also a key characteristic of improvised...dancing.”

We can then look at Jack and Jill competitions in West Coast swing where two people are randomly paired up and dance to a song that is chosen for them. Or on the social dance floor a great technical dancer with a good repertoire of moves who can use this to improvise to a song he/she has not heard before. Great musicality, with improvisation, yet I submit still something missing.

What I have been describing previously is “technical musicality”. The missing element can easily be seen by observing those who do not know how to dance technically, yet appeal to your eye as you watch them dancing. They have that something extra: personal emotional interpretation.

In an earlier post “FUN-KEY or FUNKY! What is your dance style?I briefly touched upon musicality. I talked of developing one’s own dance style through hearing something in the song (instrument sound, singer’s voice...) and playing with it. In following an instrument, for instance, one is matching the rhythmic structure of the song - technical musicality. Still, by letting one’s personal emotional interpretation - what is inside - determine what elements of rhythm to play with and how to play with the elements, one is superimposing the personal/inner on the technical/outer, fusing the two - alpha and the omega. There may be an evening when I am ecstatic, life is great. Here all dances will be tinged with something from that joyful element. Another night I might be unhappy/sad and again the same will apply. I think that is what makes social dancing so great.

Note the emphasis on “personal” emotional interpretation in dance musicality, and not just emotional connection. One can say that bachata is romantic and the song is sad and so one’s emotional connection should match that. That is not driven by you, but dictated by the dance style and song. To be personally involved requires that the sad song for romantic bachata sparks something in you that you use in your dancing - not necessarily sad feelings. And it works! In doing so one finds a flow to the music to follow.

This past Friday I was watching a couple do swing at the jazz night at the Oasis dance club. I enjoyed seeing them move, yet they were not following musical structure technically as others were. I asked Phil, and he said, “The music is too fast for me, and so I listen to the music until I find something that matches me. I find it and follow.” Here dance musicality, my definition of musicality, is “that personal emotional interpretation of the music to some type of flow.”

Two definitions of dance musicality - which one will you follow?

The KISS Principle: the OASIS dj and more

A smooth sensual bachata song starts out and half way through the song the mood abruptly does a 180 shift change; given a hard edge to it, courtesy of mixing by the dj. One song, you might say, but this was one of the better examples typical of the night - diametrically opposite songs/rhythms being mixed together to make a “mish mash” with no coherent whole. It was yesterday night as someone was filling in at the last minute for the usual dj. He would have done better to just play songs from beginning to end rather than trying to go “all fancy” - Keep It Simple Stupid - the KISS principle. Jumping the gun serves no one well. The dj may have thought he was having fun, but I can tell you he is not going to get many more repeat gigs this way.

The KISS principle also applies to dancing; keeping it simple and working on the fundamentals is important no matter how advanced you become. You see master dancers moving and doing all those complex moves and it is tempting to copy the moves so that you can move like them. After all you have learned the basics already. But, what you often do not realize is that complicated moves rely on strong basics, just like how a well-built house rests on its’ foundations. Doing a spaghetti combination is not the same as doing the combination the way it should be done. Strip away the distracting nature of complex moves and you see it clearly. Observe wonderful dancers just doing the salsa basic with a newbie: deceptively simple elegance. The great dancers are not powering their partners through the basic and other movements. Instead they are using their hard-earned knowledge of physics learnt through years of working on the fundamentals of lead and follow. This is the foundation on which their dancing is based upon. What sort of dance foundation is yours? That is why the more I learn the less that I know, as I realize how much more there is to learn than what I already know.

Take my salsa journey as an example. I quickly thought I really knew the salsa basic, and jumped to doing/learning combinations, and then I discovered that I still couldn’t lead everyone. There definitely was something more to doing the same basic with everyone, in lead and follow. Working on that I eventually learned to lead even the salsa newbie who has never taken a lesson before. My salsa basic was even stronger smoother cleaner.

While on that journey of learning to lead people of all levels I started being asked by others to show them the basic. How do you explain the basic, breaking it down in a fashion to get the person doing the best possible footwork in a short time? What difference does it make when you vary the weight shifts, stepping a fraction early, or holding foot positions until the last possible moment? How does the feeling differ with stepping on every beat vs quick,quick,slow - which is easier to learn? How do you lead it? Or follow? How do you communicate to your partner what the next movement is using just the right amount of connection, no more no less? I experimented in order not to make any mistakes when sharing what I knew. In the process of learning to share, another permutation deepening understanding, giving a more confident basico.

While on my dance journey today and tomorrow I will still be working on keeping things simple, and working on my fundamentals of lead and follow.

Pa'lante - Dance as an Inclusive Community

It is human nature to want to build relationships, to belong, and it seems that partner dance is a natural vehicle for that since to dance one must ask someone else, and share a small space of time together while physically connected. Yet, not all is as simple as it seems.

There are many dance styles, and from my experience as a dancer of several years the sense of community often depends on three factors: personalities of people that participate, the dance style, and money. Often to fully participate in the dance community one must know something of the dance style and that can be a significant barrier. While in contra there is no such obstacle as people can jump into a simple called dance without knowing anything, on the other extreme there is Argentine Tango where the partners upper chests are in contact. Firstly, one must accept that the required upper chest contact is “non-sexual”, and subsequently eliminate all superfluous body motion to leave only the body signals that one wants to pass onto ones partner.

Then there is the looming omnipresent issue of the “green stuff”. Often dance studios/clubs create communities, but those who belong and learn are those who can afford the fees to participate. In addition there is the critical role played by the personalities of those who are part of the community. It is easy for people to form groups/cliques of shared background that an outsider may not have, so it is critical to have people who are open and welcoming to all. If people are not open to dancing with “strangers” or those not as technically skilled, how will communities form and grow?

When one can eliminate the barrier of knowing the dance, and fuse that with friendly welcoming people it creates a truly open dance community; a group that can achieve radical transformative action. One such community that has done that with salsa is Pa’lante.

“¡Pa’lante!,” is the short form for the Spanish “para adelante” and means moving forward. The Pa’lante community was started by Michael Ristorucci and friends who believed that the creative arts was the ideal vehicle for working on issues of social and environmental justice, creating a more holistic world in the process. As a recent member I have found that it truly is an open community that grows by being welcoming to everyone: those who do not know anything about dance, to those who are at performance level. Even the annual fee is not a barrier for those who cannot afford it as other arrangements are made! In practices people help those who need assistance, and often more technically advanced members will assist in classes. In addition to classes and workshops centered around dance Pa’lante has reached out to the local community. It has raised funds for low income families who cannot afford the fees to belong to a Community Shared Agriculture produce program, and also has promulgated the issue of fracture gas drilling in Central New York. A community that I am proud to be a member of, even though just newly part of it.

I’m sure that there are other great dance communities and if you know of any I would love it if you shared them with me.

FUN-KEY or FUNKY! What is your dance style?

"You put your nose in,
You put your nose out;
You put your nose in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!”

The hokey-pokey tune aka chicken dance

Yesterday evening Eva told me, “I like your FUNKY style! I need to dance with you lots more, I need to learn.” Fun-key - the key is attitude - fun with a little extra added on the end, fun with an accent. That is why I started out with the chicken dance. There is a time and place to be serious, such as when taking a test or following someone teaching a dance move, but never forget to make space for fun. If I was given the opportunity to share one thing about dance it would be having fun. When you have fun you switch off that analytical, intellectualizing, logical brain and open yourself to the emotional, the creative, the inspirational - all those endorphins, those feel good hormones.

It is through having fun that I organically developed my “funky” dance style and you can do the same too. Though yours does not have to be funky if you don’t wish it to. I remember as a beginner knowing a few moves and the basic and feeling that there was so much more in the music. One easy thing I had fun doing to express the music was to play with my feet. While going back and forth in the linear style salsa dance slot I let my legs/feet follow one instrument and then another superimposed on the basic footwork. First the drums, then the cowbell. The trumpet, and in some songs the flute. Once my lower body got moving the upper wanted to follow, and it progressed from there. I first learnt how to do this before I knew many moves. Note that what you are doing can be felt by your partner, so you are sharing how you are feeling the music, your musicality. Don’t worry about what I just said. If you are having fun it is hard for your partner to have a bad time.

Naturally I have given a simplified explanation. When I was having fun as a dance newbie I did not have a clue which instrument I was following in a song. I just picked a particular sound that I liked and followed it for as long as I was enjoying it. If I got bored switched to another, or if I couldn’t find any sound that I wanted to play with I just stuck to doing only the basic footwork. Don’t make having fun a chore. The point is pick something that you like as you are more likely to play/have fun with it than be serious. For example, maybe the lyrics of a song resonate with you, or perhaps the emotional variation of the singers.

From having fun while physically connected to a partner it is easy to transition to having fun doing shines - dancing solo. In some dances I will separate from my partner and both of us will do shines, responding to what the other is doing. (You don't necessarily have to be just by yourself when doing shines.) I'll leave you with an inspirational clip of Eddie Torres, a famous salsero, having fun. I will explore shines in more detail another day.

Hearing Protection - Ear Plugs when dancing

I enjoy the entire range of musical range from very loud to whisper quiet with volume being used for emotional expression. On the other hand most clubs and dances have their volume dials cranked to the max and stuck there! Mama was right -turn down those dials. Or the next best thing - ear plugs.

I am one of the few people who wear ear plugs consistently when dancing. It is one of those things that I just do not understand. I guess it is one of those "uncool" things or perhaps people are turned off by the cheap foam ear plugs that one can buy at pharmacies and home improvement stores - 50 for $5.00! If you know why you or your friends don't wear ear plugs please let me know. I am interested in finding out. You can read about why hearing protection is important here and below is how I came to wear the ear plugs that I wear today.

After I started dancing and going out on a regular basis I discovered a change in my perception of my surroundings after a dance, followed by an achy head and even a slight ringing the next day. I immediately went and got foam ear plugs. They worked, like stuffing toilet paper in your ears, BUT the music was muffled. It was distorted! Then I started researching other options. There were the expensive $150-200 custom ear plugs that musicians wear, but way too pricey for my budget and for the average dancer who does not even consider ear protection. Then I found a good compromise - $10-15 high fidelity ear plugs that reduce music volume across the entire spectrum, while not breaking the bank. These are reusable. After every dance night I clean them with warm water and they are good as new for the next evening. I must warn you that some people notice the ends sticking out, but for the price and saving your ears they are worth every penny.

Black bean xacuti curry

There is no excuse not to make quick and delicious home cooked meals nowadays. And it's very easy to make different dishes with the plethora of readymade spice mixes available. Today afternoon my spice was xacuti powder. I fried a cut onion, added a cut tomato, ginger garlic paste, pepper, a little salt and xacuti spice. Added black beans last and simmered. Dish in a nutshell!

Don't like xacuti, or interested in other flavors? Use a different readymade mix and you can get a different dish. For example one, you can make cooking even easier, use an Italian tomato sauce instead of cutting a tomato and get an Italian flavored dish.

Tales from the Wildfire Lounge

Wednesdays the band Djug Django plays from 6-9pm at the Wildfire Lounge. From 6-7:30 they play, they take a half an hour break, then they play until about 9pm, opening up the last hour to open mike where they accompany anyone who wants to sing. (Not many places where one can get an opportunity like that.) Anyway after 9pm there is dj'd swing music so I was staying on...and I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find one of the band members, Mike. He said, "It was great to see you again out there. I always enjoy seeing you dance." That made my night. I dance for me, and for the person whom I am dancing with, but it is a cherry on the top when the band also gets enjoyment from the people for whom they are playing for.

So back to the dj'd dance. Second song of the night and I asked this old lady to dance. And she seemed reluctant and even when she agreed she said, "Are you sure you want to dance with me? I'm old enough to be your grandmother..." As we talked I found out that she seemed to think that I hadn't asked her to dance ever since her birthday a couple weeks ago. It had affected her pretty badly. I always make a point of not excluding people, and in fact including everyone my dance card so I was perplexed. I am pretty sure I have asked her almost if not every week. However, from now on I've got something to watch out for. It is a small thing to remember, a small courtesy for something that I enjoy anyway. And this cautionary tale serves as a reminder how the smallest action one takes can mean a lot more to someone else, so don't take care only with the actions that are important to you but with all that you do.