Steak night March 15, 2006
It's 2:40am on Thursday as I type these words. I started off my day rehearsing flamenco with Marsha Bonet aka Rosa la Huracana at the Alliance Dance Institute as usual on Wednesday at 10:00am. It was a very productive session where we just brainstormed rhythmic ideas. Later I got some lunch and returned to the studio for my weekly ballroom and latin dance lesson at 12:30pm.
I'm getting a basic intro to dances from foxtrot and waltz to salsa and cha-cha. Today Marsha showed me the basics for Argentine tango and swing. I'm having a lot of fun of course and making progress, but it's very challenging learning the various dance figures while working on keeping proper posture. I didn't realize I slouched as much as I do. Ugh! Oh well, it's a change for the better!
Funny thing is that a couple watched me as I was getting my lesson and at the time we were working on the basic Argentine tango step. The basic step is not that difficult and the music is so intoxicating that soon I was in the "tango mood" and it didn't take long for me to look and feel like I knew what I was doing. Actually Marsha was "back-leading" me so she was making me look good.
Later, when I was taking a break and walked around the mall to get some fresh air, the couple approached me and complimented me on my tango moves. Then they asked me how long I was taking classes and I told them, "Just three weeks so far." They were impressed and at first they weren't sure if they would take classes or not, but thanks to my rapid progress and testimonial about the studio and its teachers, I practically sold them on signing up, yay!
This is good for me to take dance classes other than for the obvious benefits of improving my social dancing in general. But it does also give me an idea of what goes on in a flamenco dance student's mind and body as they take class.
I had the night off from flamenco and I wanted to spend some quality time with some of my friends. So we planned a small dinner party for four on a night when all of us would be free. We enjoyed good food, wine, dessert and conversation...
One-inch thick broiled juicy steaks. Yummy! March 15, 2006 8:33pm
The radio was tuned to DC 101 pretty much the whole night although when I started talking about my dance lessons, the hosts put on some salsa. Musically speaking, It was a nice mini-vacation.
Roast, steak and broiled tomato and onion. March 15, 2006 8:38pm
My friend and I both brought bottles of red wine to the party as is customary. But our hosts had a more than adequate supply of their own. That's fine. Look at it this way: we're just stocking up for the next dinner party which we decided would be a seafood night.
Signature drink of the night: pisco sour. March 15, 2006 9:48pm
Dessert: fresh strawberries and creamy fruit-topped cake. March 15, 2006 10:27pm
Shoe cam shot as we rode down the elevator at the end of a satisfying evening in. March 16, 2006 12:46am
Today (Thursday) I have a school show with Carlton again but it'll be at 11:00am this time instead of 8:00am. Thank God. So I'll linger in bed a little bit longer and perhaps take a nap this afternoon to recover. Ugh...another week of catching up on sleep! At least I'm not driving a car...the worst that can happen is I'll doze off and miss my metro stop. :-)
« Las Tapas March 14, 2006 | Main | Thursday with Miguelito March 16, 2006 »