Dance: BachAmor Bachata night at Resonant Head 5/11/2024

 Resonant Head is a small (250+ capacity) music live house/event venue at South OKC (400 SW 25th st). 

The venue is well-booked for concerts. It seems they have concerts coming almost every (or every other) night.

A Latin (Salsa/Bachata/Kizomba) party was held there on 5/11/2024. I was curious about the place (never been there), so I went.

There was an elevated stage area, a "mosh pit" floor area where people can dance, a Bar, a DJ booth, and a recessed seating area. 

Not too big, but a neat, nice venue.

[The "Resonant Head" venue. Photos are from their website]

The DJ was Angel from Adelante, and the people seemed to be the same people coming to Adelante party (OU students and former students, I'd say). There were 50-70 people dancing, I think.

The dance was fun. Most people there got basics for Latin social. The "mosh pit" had a good hardwood floor to dance.

I tried out the stage area to dance as well. The stage floor might be of a painted concrete (?) and was a little sticky, but fair for dancers. Glad I brought my shoes with leather sole, instead of suede sole.

About 10 days ago I went to Groovy's, a night club, with my friends' invitation. The place was like Disco of sort, people dance solo to 80's-2000's songs (Vanilla Ice and Shakira, anyone?). Not much of dance skills are required, to be honest. But certainly a fun place.

Latin parties are for partner dances, but for "fun" social dance. Mostly for dancers wanting to have fun for themselves. 

They are mostly beginner-intermediates. Yet, it is fun and amusing to meet someone "energy flow-sensitive".

Community dances infused with contest or show culture would be more technical (something like West Coast Swing, Argentine Tango, or Ballroom).

For these technical dances, dancers' mindsets start to differentiate. Social dancers dancing for fun, or entertainer-dancers who aim at appealing dance (e.g., appealing to judges for contest, appealing to audience for dance as a sport or an art).

There was a recent occasion that made me think about the mindsets. I'd write about it later.

Dance: Gotta be easier on my knees (=Work on better usage, use braces and icing, and take supplements.)

 This past month was somewhat eventful. 

Although I did not go to San Diego for American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting this year, in OKC we had two symposium (geroscience, web of life). There were two two-day online webinar courses. I was finishing up writing two manuscripts. Oh, my.

I have been attending dance parties on weekends as well. I am fine while dancing. But I am making changes in how I treat my knees.

For a couple of months, it went like this.

 (a) On weekend I dance for a couple of nights, 3-4 hours/night. Enjoying it.

 (b) But afterwards, my knees hurt. Not with full on swelling or anything, but a nuisance. 

 (c) I give them some rest for a few days. 

 (d) The pain goes.

 (e) I can dance for the next weekend. 

 (f)  Back to (a).

Obviously, this is not a great cycle. I got to change my way of using my knees.

The cause is simple; strain to ligaments/tendons by overuse.

My body usage for dancing is based on two dances; (1) Argentine Tango (plant on axis and pivot) and (2) West Coast Swing (walk, for which weight shift to the other weight-carrying leg in the end of given two counts, and triple step, for which you stay on the same weight-carrying leg).

Argentine Tango is the dance I practice more. AT is more technical dance and requires fine balancing and controlled pivoting on my axis leg. 

When you want to take a step, a key is how you shift your own body weight. One way to do it efficiently is to relax knee and use the body weight to "fall" toward the direction I want to go.

The fall-based "walk" is an efficient body usage and is used by many athletes (esp. basketball, soccer, martial artists).

But the thing is, if you relax your knee and fall to wrong (or suboptimal) direction for too many times, it can give strain to tendons and ligaments in the knee.

Unlike muscles that are easily gotten tired, tendons and ligaments are connective tissues and transmit mechanical force through them without much complaints. But with overuse or with stretching to suboptimal direction, they can take microinjury, inflame, and hurt.

My knee sending warning pain is likely because my preparation for pivot is insufficient. With the diagnosis, I am working on adding extra caution to position my foot correctly for cleaner pivot on my forefoot, so that I do not strain my knee while pivoting.

Another likely cause is (hate to admit but) my knees are getting old and can take less strain than before. I got to be easier on my knees.

In addition to work on the usage, I bought a few knee braces and testing which ones work well for dancing or for extra support. Also bought gel ice packs for icing after dancing or walk/jog.

 

Read controversy on supplements, but I picked up a bottle of Glucosamine and Chondroitin anyway. 

I have to use my body to dance. Got to be kind to my body, so that it can serve me well.

 

Dance: Tulsa Spring Swing 2024. What exactly is dance as entertainment?

 My knee was okay, so I drove to Tulsa last Saturday (3/30) for Tulsa Spring Swing, a regional West Coast Swing dance event finally coming back from covid break.

The Saturday night session had Newcomer Strictly Swing, Pro Am routines, All Star Jack & Jill, Invitational Jack & Jill, and Jeanne's Jackpot Jack & Jill (funtest). As customary to WCS events, in-between each contest session was social dances. After all the contests, late night social dance followed until 4AM.

It was very nice to see my old WCS friends and also meet new people.

[End of late night social dance at 4AM of Easter Sunday. Lovable idiots and the DJ]

There are dances for entertainment, mostly by highly-skilled professionals. Think Broadway shows, Dance Sport (competitive Ballroom dance at a high level), Stage Argentine Tango, and dance companies for Ballet or Contemporary.

Then there are other community dances including WCS, Lindy Hop, Party Latins (Salsa, Bachata, Zouk, Kizomba etc), recreational Ballroom dance, Tango dancers at milonga, Country Western, and so on. Each of the community dances may have competitions or larger scale (regional/national/international) events. 

Some of the dancers in the community dances are really good. But whether the "good dancers" achieve refinements in their dance at entertainer-dancer level, thus show broader appeal, depends on each of the dancers' aim, ability, technique, skills, and environment (and luck, too).

What I was reminded of while watching the Tulsa Spring Swing event and competitions was that, dance as entertainment is not necessarily by dance ability, techniques, skills or overall appeal alone. 

You don't have to be at the level of Broadway dancers to be entertaining to the audience there. 

I am not saying that the dancers are not good. On the contrary, as WCS is a technical dance, event-attending WCS dancers are far better (or know what they are doing much better) than, say, average people in local social party.

It shows in many levels, especially in body usage and knowledge in the dance. Whether they are initiated for "show dance" (or competitions) also change the game.

Dancing a technical dance with better-skilled dancers is a very different kind of fun from dancing with "passionate but crude" dancers (which is also fun, or more precisely, interesting or amusing). 

I enjoyed watching the event and had good laughs. I had fun in social dances. I was entertained. I appreciate it.

Community dances are returning after years of covid hiatus. So are events, entertainment and fun.

Dance: notable upcoming dance events in March-April 2024 (Tulsa Spring Swing, Argentine Tango Jack&Jill, OK Dance Rush)

 Just like the title says, there are dance events lining up in March-April in OKC (+Tulsa, Dallas).

3/29-3/31  Tulsa Spring Swing

This is a West Coast Swing event on Easter weekend, coming back from covid hiatus. An WSDC registry event, which should be good for point-hungry WCS competitors as well as spectators who want to be entertained by more interesting WCS dancers.

https://www.facebook.com/events/371505728876575

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Tulsa, Warren place

4/5-4/7  2nd Annual Argentine Tango Jack & Jill competition, milongas and workshops

They had this event last year on 6/2-4/2023. This year it is earlier by 2 months. A little friendlier to nice dresses and suits. Early June was quite hot already last year.

My understanding, from watching this event last year, is that for men he has to be a solid lead first and foremost and then also should look elegant or effortless. For women, she has to be able to add to the dance and has some appeal in her dance. For both, overall as a couple the dance should look together. 

I was under impression that unlike for professional contests, for this contest "interests and appeal" are more "nice to have" than necessity. After all, it is not competition for professionals, who are supposed to be at a level of entertainer-dancers, not recreational dancers. 

Well, I may be asking too much for Jack & Jill. It is a difficult format after all.

But it was fun to watch. 

With milongas and workshops, it will be a fun event with broader appeal.

https://www.facebook.com/events/7583104275072932

Studio 22, Dallas

4/11-4/14  Oklahoma Dance Rush

This is mainly a Country Western and Ballroom event (plus some West Coast Swing). It is a part of national Country Western dance circuit. Most contests are pro-am format. There were a few pretty good dancers last year.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2804537786378197

Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown Medical Center

That said, I strained my knee last week and still nursing it. Last night I checked my recovery. It was okay, but I better be careful. 

I am hoping to fully recover soon and be able to attend the above events all.

Life: collecting cards. (More precisely, getting some paperwork done after getting US citizenship)

 

At the naturalization ceremony (2/13), we received instructions on what to do next.

  (1) apply for and get passport (for ID).

  (2) visit Social Security Office to update status.

  (3) Voter registration.

So I just did those. Took about 5 weeks.

 (I) applied for passport on 2/15 ($165). For the application I needed to give them the Naturalization certificate (which was mailed back on 3/11). There was a time window that I could not do other paperwork until I got either passport or the certificate.

Received passport on 3/8. I did not ask for expedited processing, so getting passport in 4 weeks and one day was not bad. They originally estimated 6-8 week processing time.

 (II) With passport in my hands, I visited Social Security Office on 3/12 to get SSN card after status update. Took about 30 minutes (25min wait, 5min at the window). I got SSN card in 6 days on 3/18 (today). Not bad at all.

 (III) Since I have my passport, I used it to renew my Drivers License with Real ID update (3/18 today, $77 for 8 years). Real ID will be handy to fly or to visit federal government facilities. At the same time, voter registration was done.

I should be getting the Real ID DL and voter registration card soon. All so legally with some fees.

Small things here and there. Collecting cards. 

[Real ID-compliant Drivers License (example from Oklahoma.gov website)]

Dance: Adelante Latin dance social 3/2/2024; weekly milonga starting in OKC

 Adelante dance studio has been in Moore and based in Old School building.

A local landmark, the Old School building literally was a school building. Originally built in 1899 and rebuilt in 1928 after a fire. There is a theater inside, and the room housed many Latin social dance parties.

There were Argentine Tango classes and milongas in the building in 2022-2023. That helped to rebuild Argentine Tango community after covid.

[Old School Building, Moore, OK]

 Early 2024, this building was sold to new management. For this past a few months, Adelante has been searching for a new place (that they've found, they said).

To my knowledge, the Latin social party on 3/2/2024 was the last party at the building. Indeed, some of the interior items in the corridor had been removed, and it looked like the building is going through a renovation already.

Party is not necessarily about place, but about people who gather. 

As Moore is close to Norman, where University of Oklahoma main campus locates and younger students are, monthly Adelante social parties attracted many newcomer dancers.

I hope the party goes on well after their moving.

Speaking of party, OKC is going to have extra milonga on 2nd and 4th Fridays at idance.

Idance/Hazel has been hosting 1st and 3rd Friday milonga. Starting March, Richard's group is going to host the 2nd and 4th Friday milonga.

As Gustavo's group at Adelante has gone to a hiatus due to the studio moving, their milonga is out for a while. But it will be nice to have more milonga overall.

We'll see how it works out.

This past Friday milonga (3/1/2024), we had people from Tulsa after many years. Tulsa Tango community too shrank during covid, but there have been some who kept Tango going. Glad to have them.

Life: "Today I am an American", US citizenship Oath ceremony, 02/13/2024

 This morning, I attended an Oath ceremony and became an American citizen.

As Japan does not allow dual citizenship, I had been holding off this decision, remaining as a permanent resident (green card holder). 

But it was about time. As I planed ahead, options to go back to Japan had faded in my mind.

I filed N400, application for naturalization, and paid total $725 fee to USCIS on November 21, 2023. 

Received notice to wave biometrics by using data from green card application, then on early December, received notice of Interview schedule. 

After preparation with YouTube videos and 100 civics questions for citizenship, Interview was on January 19, 2024, which I passed. 

This morning, I was among 39 newly minted US citizens from 19 countries, from (alphabetically) Argentina to Zimbabwe, at the USCIS OKC office.

The director's speech mentioned different backgrounds, skills, training and perspectives that we bring, and they are to make this country better.

Nice.

[For sentiment's sake, I wore a suit that my father had it made at a tailor when I was 18. Thanks to my weight reduction last year, the suit still fits me perfectly.]

Dance: two axes for follower, three axes for leader, in Argentine Tango dancing (technique note)

 Notion of axis (plural axes) and use of it/them is essential in dancing Argentine Tango.

For follower, she uses right or left axes. As clean weight transfer (from one axis to another) is critical to this dance, especially for follower, I usually tell beginning follower to have two good axes first.

For the lead, yes, clean weight transfer is also critical. So he should have two axes (right and left).

In addition, he can use center/spine axis that runs along his spine, with his weight distributed in between both feet/legs. Think upside-down Y-shaped structure.

When he uses the center/spine axis, it is not for mobility but for stability and support. When he uses both feet/legs to stand strong, he has much better stability, and can give her much stronger support as well as solid guide post for her moves.

As his major role in Tango dancing is to support her dance, his use of central/spine axis makes sense as an important part of this dance.

Hence, he needs to learn how to use these three axes as a leader.

[screenshots from YouTube "German Cornejo's IMMORTAL TANGO: "A Los Amigos" (German Cornejo & Gisela Galeassi)". Very cool Stage Tango performance. A favorite to watch]

What happens if she uses center/spine axis? She tends to be stable (predictably. and will be heavy), weight transfer is not clean (a major issue), and would move smaller (if she is not freeing up non-axis leg, she cannot move from where she stands). Tango becomes poorly done Kizomba of sorts. 

That is why she should not (at least initially) use center/spine axis as a follow, but to focus on using two axes (right or left).

Followers are often told to "be light on your feet". It is the same thing. Either right or left, don't get stuck in between.

There are exceptions, of course, such as times the lead wants her to stand stably on both legs so that he can show off his gancho or kick through the space between her legs. 

Similar moves can be done in transition, but in this case he is "placing her on the spot". You can observe and tell when he is "placing her" (or not).

You can watch Tango from this standpoint; How dancers are using their axes.

Life: covid recovery, arctic front, earthquake (MLK Jr holiday weekend 2024)

 I had covid in mid-late December and was in bed for 12 days. It was incredibly exhausting experience.

My body kicked the virus in 12 days. But afterwards, I was still sleeping 8-12 hours straight at night, probably still fixing something. I'd say it was damage recovery time that was needed for additional 2 weeks.

Last weekend I was out for Tango, then the next day for Salsa/party Latins. I was cautious and going easy on myself, as it was after some bed-ridden time and break. 

For Tango, I needed to check on my balance, but was fine for social dancing. My body was moving well for Salsa, which was a nice surprise.

This weekend, I was again out for dancing. I felt I recovered. 

I don't know how much these senolytics and mitochondrial function supplements helped, but results were what I can be thankful for.

Incidentally, an arctic front is visiting here. Outside is currently 5F (-15C). Tonight would be 2F (-16C). This near record-cold weather would last for next 2-3 days.

Need to watch out for frozen pipes. Reminding me of why I was not searching for a job in cold places.

Also incidentally, we had noticeable earthquakes 2 days earlier, biggest one was M4.4. 

Had the earthquakes been bigger, enough to cause house and building breakdowns (similar to what we saw recently in Noto peninsula in Japan), this arctic weather would have been a true disaster.

Assuming another earthquake is not coming, we were lucky.

This MLK Jr holiday weekend is going to be cold, "stay at home" weekend.

Life: Supplements for Covid recovery. Will see if they help.

I am doing okay with recovering from covid. My sense of smell is back. But still feel tired sometimes.

If this was a video game, my life gauge would be at 50-60% range as of today. 

I lost 10lb in a week during active infection, but gained back 6lb so far.

I'll start going dance parties, though. 50-60% is a big progress from red zone (below 20%) right after I got out of bed around Christmas (10 days ago). I'll test my body out, slowly, without pushing hard yet.

To facilitate my recovery, I am using some supplements.

Following is an email I sent to my colleague, who also got covid and wanted to know what kind of supplements I am using.

"Hi, xxxx,.

There are 7-25% (or more) of former covid patients who get “long covid”. They have some symptoms (brain fog, fatigue, etc) even after 3-12 months. There are many hypotheses for the cause(s). We can test some supplements that can work on the possible causes and see if they help our own recovery.


(a) A hypothesis states that increased senescent cells generated during active infection are causing long covid. For that, we can try senolytics.


Fisetin, quercetin, and apigenin, are ones we can buy easily from Amazon. Some supplements are sold as combined senolytics.



(b) Another hypothesis concerns mitochondrial damage and lowered energy generation, not unlike chemo/radiotherapy after-effects. Possibly relevant to fatigue.


Co-Q10, acetyl-L-carnitine, alpha-lipoic acid, PQQ, and NAD+ supplements are said to help mitochondrial function or regeneration. Fasting is also said to aid mitochondrial recovery.



(c) Others that may help.

Taurine, Fish oil, green tea, ginseng, and “Tonic”-type Traditional Chinese medicine (Shi Quan Da Bu pian 十全大补片, Bi Zhong Yi Qi pian 补中益气片). These Chinese medicine are used in Japan to aid reducing sickness during cancer therapies.


Pick some that you like. Some supplements come as combination. If you want I can send product links.


Hope this helps. "

So now I have a collection of supplements. I'll keep using the supplements until I use up the bottles (about 1 month supply), and will see if they worked or not.

Since it is impossible to set up appropriate controls, it is not a proper scientific experiment. But I don't want to wait for someone to run proper clinical trials either.

Besides, I don't think they do harm anyways (unless over-dosing). In the case, either they work, or they don't work. Nothing will be lost. Only gain if they work.

Most things in life are N=1 experiment. Got to live with it.

Note: I don't sell these supplements nor know who sells. No conflicts of interest. Test them at your own risk.