Dance: How do you teach WCS to a beginning follower in 3 minutes?

I went to a social dance party last weekend. There were visiting salsa professionals in the party. Dancing with them reminded me that it had been a while since I danced with real salsa dancers (read: serious and well-trained dancers whose main dance is salsa) last time.

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The title question is not a joke or anything. The situation happens all the time in a social party. There is a party, and she doesn't know WCS. She is willing to learn. Now what?


Frankly, I hate to see some guy "teaching" some made-up random dance or choreographing his own moves that no one else can follow. I'd say, leaders, you got to teach solid basics she can use. If you teach salsa basic steps to her, she can have fun afterwards with other guys with the universal basic steps all night long. Why can't WCS be like that?

Anyone can be a beginner if she has never done the particular dance before. She can be a great salsa dancer/performer/teacher, yet she can still be a beginner for WCS.


So here is how usually I teach her in 3 minutes.

"Listen to this song. Do you like this song? Good. Now, listen to the downbeat. 1-2-3-4-5-6.....You are supposed to step with the down beats. Okay?"

"WCS is a slotted dance, meaning you travel on a straight line, from here to there"

"I'll teach you 6 count basics first. Stand on your left leg. That's your ready position."

"Now, the basic steps are 1-2, triple step, triple step. 1-2 is walk two steps straight forward."

"When I pull your hand, you start 1-2,then triple, triple, traveling on the straight line from here to there (the other end of the slot)."

[so I am teaching the basic 6 count sidepass or underarm pass. I'd dance only the basics for a while, making sure it feels right. Usually two-hands connection works better.]

Then I'd add some other details, like;

"You keep looking at your partner, and your chest is facing to your partner"

"I lead you with this hand connection. I'll keep my hand steady so you can follow it. You keep it steady, too."

"It's a "swing" dance. Do you know what swing is? That one in the park. Remember the motion. You start slow, then fast, and slow, you swiiieeeeeeng. You'd feel the slow-fast-slow flow of motion in this dance."

[This is "swing"]

"Last triple 5-6 is usually called anchoring triple."


If she has quick feet, add spins in 3-4. If she is a well-trained dancer, I can keep her spinning for 3-4-5-6-7-8-...for a little challenge.


Probably this much takes about 3 minutes. The song would be over.



I need to use or teach compression to teach push steps. She may not have good arm frame, and it's going to take a little more explanation, so usually I don't teach push steps in the first 3 minutes.

If she is ready, I could go on to add more 6 count variations, like tuck in turn.

Or, (if she is ready) I'd just use 8 count basic whip with some stretchy exaggeration in the contrast in "1-2" and "3-and-4", and tell her that there are two basic count patterns and steps; 6-count basics and 8-count basics. 

If she is ready for all this, then I'd say that you can take the patterns apart, and recombine them to make it more improvisational.


Overall, I'd just teach basic 6 count, sidepass and underarm pass in the first 3 minutes. I'll focus on making the dance comfortable and done correctly. 

Correctly done WCS basics feel smooth, flowing and comfortable. I can have fun and a good time just doing nice basics. I don't mind teaching. Don't be shy and give WCS a try.



I guess this entry is technical enough already. This entry is for consideration for fellow WCS leaders who's got a willing partner who wants to try WCS for the first time.

Science: AACR2015

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2015 Annual meeting was held from 4/18/2015 to 4/22/2015 in Philadelphia.


This year's trend? I'd say, stead rise of immunotherapy-related presentations, and further integration of cancer genomics and molecular typing into precision medicine. Blood-based noninvasive diagnostics (fancy name: liquid biopsy) was also notable.

Cancer is not a single entity. Cancer is hundreds of diseases. At last, instead of taking one size-fits-all approach, we started looking at the differences in cancers in molecular levels, and designing medicine according to the cancer's profile.

As a matter of fact, we knew that some medicine work well on some people but not as well on other people. We began to understand the molecular basis for the event.

A good example is breast cancer. "ER-positive, Her2-positive, triple-negative", these are important typing and the course of treatment is determined according to the molecular typing. The researchers would fine tune it further, and more effective treatment will be established. 


The notion of cancer stem cells seems to have been integrated in many cancer research fields already, and somewhat has lost its novelty. It's a good thing.


Cancer prevention, a field that I am involved in now, is gradually incorporating immunoprevention approach as well. With a progress, cancer immunoprevention may become a standard part of treatments for cancer (or pre-cancer or post-cancer). 


I gave a talk about Chromosome Instability (a biological phenomenon integrated in the development of 80-90% of colon cancer) and its impact on colon. Simply put, our study identified targets to distinguish colonic cells with Chromosome Instability that are likely to develop to cancer, and the results are particularly important in developing agents for colon cancer prevention as well as agents for therapy.

(04/20/2015 Mini-Symposium talk)

The AACR annual meeting is a big meeting and so much was going on. There are many ways to enjoy a big meeting. Going to check out a presentation by a famous scientist. Talk with colleagues who investigate similar subjects. Listen to a presentation by smooth and fast talking postdoc, then listen to a presentation by a "Thought leader"-type big name professor who speaks much slower and enjoy the difference. Get the feel for this year's trend and predict the next year. All are valid ways to have fun. 

It was a good opportunity to think about how my work should develop as well. Science does not exist in vacuum. There is a community and interactions. The meeting was quite stimulating.

Dance: Examples of Showy Stuff that you don’t (or cannot) use in regular milonga

I am slowly working on the next Tango book, (putative title) "Beginning Stage Argentine Tango" on weekends. Currently I keep adding some chapter manuscripts.

The scope is similar to the first book, "to provide practical working knowledge for dancing Argentine Tango ON STAGE". Main target readers are the people who are interested in dancing Tango on stage for their special occasions such as wedding, anniversary (or any party or on street for fun or for show). 

People who watch something and fantasize, and people who actually do it, often see and think entirely differently. This book should help providing what the doers see and how they think. That should lead to better appreciation of the art.

Much of the writing should be applicable to other partner dance on stage, like wedding waltz or swing/salsa/ballroom dance contest. 

Following is a part of the manuscript-draft. I'll edit, refine, and add photos to the draft later. Then it will make a chapter. This entry is a bit of backstage preview.

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"Examples of Showy Stuff that you don’t (or cannot) use in regular milonga"

Stage Tango is highly adoptive dance and can accommodate various elements. As long as “you keep it as Tango” (meaning, not overdoing in incorporating exotic elements and using them only as spice), it should be fine. There is a thin line between “acceptable” and “overdoing”, though, and you should consider it. Whether you are overdoing it or not is eventually determined by the knowledgeable viewers.

 As Stage Tango is a different game from social/Salon Tango danced in milonga, you have an option to dismiss some rules in milonga. Not all Stage Tango moves should strictly follow rules in milonga. For example, you can disregard the line of dance rule when only one couple is present on stage.

Also, as of 2015, even in a contest setting, Tango judging is rather unstructured and subjective, and restrictions (what you can and cannot do) are not as finely defined as in some of other dances in contest situation. Numbers of lifts or drops are not limited by contest rules for example, and in most cases your imagination is the limit in creating your stage dance.

Hope these examples help you to widen imagination in your own Tango choreography or to appreciate the art of Stage Tango by recognizing the elements.

Elements as a stage art

Acting and storytelling
Use of historical reference

Use of narration, projected subtitle, short film insertion

Use of props, costumes, backgrounds and stage lighting

Music alteration and editing

Use of a live band/orchestra with or without a singer

Group dance and group choreography/formation

Stage modification (e.g. use of limited space [dancing on a chair or a table])

Beautifully done basic moves throughout the dance (very important)

Three-dimensional moves

Lifts (e.g. simple [toss-up]-lift, rotational lift, hook-lift, stand-up lift)
[Definition of a Lift in the Dance Sport Rule Book: “any movement during which one of the athletes has both feet off the floor at the same time with the assistance of their partner and either both feet are higher than knee level or are off the floor for more than two beats of music.”]

Leans (e.g. straight lean, side-by-side lean)

Dips

Drops

Advanced Tango moves

Expanded leg use (simple Kicks, complex kicks combined with other elements, leg entanglements, leg wrap)

Elaborate embellishments and styling

Complex Sacadas

Various Spins (roll-in roll-out, multiple spins-straight, multiple spins-rotational, multiple spins-in place)

Alternative frames and positioning (e.g. shadow position)

Alternative (non-embrace) arm connection (e.g. hemlock, one-arm, no-arm)

Dance speed manipulation (e.g. quick moves and slow moves, dramatic picture pauses)

Use of unusual physical characteristics (e.g. extreme flexibility)

Use of dance elements from other dances (occasionally used in progressive Tango)

From Ballet, contemporary

From other partner dances (e.g. ballroom, salsa, swing, zouk, bachata, kizomba, contact-flow)

From gymnastics, cheer-leading, circus-style aerial “Tango”

Note: There are dances that merge well with Tango, and there are dances that don’t. Mixing American Tango with the (Argentine) Tango can lead to an identity crisis of the dance and confusing presentation. Hip Hop has very little in common with Tango. Tread with caution in incorporating other dance elements.

Unconventional coupling

male-male, female-female, child-child, differently-sized, different ages, etc

Lead-follow swapping during the dance

Trio, tandem

partner swapping among 2+ couples

"Dramatic picture pause"

Dance: Tulsa Spring Swing 2015 and Partner Connections in dances

Last Saturday (4/4/2015) I went to Tulsa Spring Swing event, watched contests, met and danced with friends until late night (5am). I got to do this more often.

I happened to have a couple of Tango with alternative (WCS) music. It was fun (thanks!)

Switching dances reminded me of the big difference in connections in the two very different dances.

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[To begin with, I'll define the word "connection" in a narrow sense here; "physical connection to get the partner dance work in the mechanistic sense". Please temporarily disregard other aspects of the word "connection", such as psychological connection, sense of camaraderie, history between the partners, and all other fuzzy feelings often talked in Tango.]

Tango connection is through upper body, usually through chest (heart). The leader uses his chest to specify her axis, shift her axis (walking), and cue her axis rotation. Since he connects her with a large part of body (chest-torso), he has a great deal of control. If the connection is made well, the two bodies merge and move as one.

In contrast, for WCS, the main connection point is two fingers. With the small area, he sends her cues for her motions, supports momentum and weight. He can still have her body, but the feel is much more on sensing direction of momentum and "energy". There are many other contact points, like forearm, upperarm, palm, even foot or leg,...but most of the time, it's a part of his limbs and not a part of his torso. That way, both dancers can move freely.

Here is an idea. Tango uses legs to make the dance look fancier. How about importing the idea to WCS? A direction WCS can evolve is to widen the use of his (and her) limbs as the lead-follow connection point. Some WCS competitors already use underleg spins and other leg-based lead to spice up their routine. Maybe you can try fancier leg-based lead-follow in WCS. Why not? Any takers?

If no takers, maybe I should try it myself in another late night dances. I am a scientist, and I experiment. That way, it's less boring, more fun, and perhaps I can be among few who do something unusual and fancy before most others.

4/4/2015