Antipanico in Sacramento
With Sebastian Arce and Mariana Montes
September 31st - October 2nd, 2005
When I decided to take a couple of workshops during the Antipanico weekend in Sacramento I went to the website to check out the class schedule. After about 15 minutes I gave up and finally decided to just take all of them because I couldn't figure out exactly what any of the classes were about. I mean, what the heck is a "Sostenida"? Seriously.
So, I arrived in Sac very early Saturday morning and headed to the general area of the workshops. Found an internet cafe (my homes away from home) and settled down with a sandwich and latte to do some work and wait for the classes to start. In the middle of a bite I looked up to see Philipe and Rosa of San Francisco walk in. Hugs all around, and just as we settled back down to catch up Greg and Lira of Seattle arrived. Cool! I'd obviously stumbled into the right cafe. Also ran into John of SF, and eventually Mariana and Sebastian themselves came by. We had a quick happy reunion before it was time to go prepare for the classes. So great to see so many old friends!
Oh my god. The classes kicked my butt. Wayne Chen (Portland's representin'!) and I switched back and forth lead and follow for most of the first day, which was great because we'll be able to help each other remember all of the information. That's the idea anyway. There was a lot of information, and most of it was new to me. Mariana had fantastic things to say for the followers, and they both did a good job of breaking down a lot of foriegn concepts into managable pieces.
At the end of the last class I walked out into the hall and ran right into Homer. Woohoo! Got a group together for dinner at a Japanese place, then back for dancing! So many amazing dancers, but only for one night. Talk about setting yourself up for a Cinderella complex. I didn't sit down at all, had amazing dances until my legs gave out, and I still didn't have a chance to dance with everyone I wanted to. Sebastian and Mariana performed, which was inspiring to watch, and Sebastian (I swear the man does not sleep) dj-ed. It was a fun night.
Back to Dan's Swing/Tango commune house for sleep, and began with workshops again Sunday. I didn't think it was possible, but the Sunday classes were even more difficult and un-pronouncable than Saturday's. There were so many talented dancers there, though, that it was fun to work on the concepts with them. What a great weekend of classes! I will definately be keeping my eye out for Sebastian and Mariana's next trip to the States.
If you recognize an unnamed friend or yourself in any of these pictures let me know.
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