Dear Gobo,

As you have probably noticed by now, I am trying out the hip hop class this month instead of the breaking class I took last month. Last week we learnt around 30 seconds worth of slick moves in an hour. Yesterday, my class pretty much forgot every step from last week (and of course the entire Fugazi patron crowd turned up to class mysteriously) so a crowd of us re-learnt it all with body and shoulder movements added to the footwork and then learnt 3 more seconds of extra moves.

So that brings it to a grand total of 33 seconds of hip hop learnt in over 60 minutes of sweating over intricate footwork, hip hop rhythm, staggered body movements, feet-ball change, swoops and runner's stances and whatnots. Seriously, hip hop is COMPLICATED! And rather hard on the vastus lateralis and the vastus intermedius muscles. I have never felt these two muscles as sore as they are today. It feels like I spent all day beating these two muscles with a rolling pin. I have no soreness anywhere else.



Another strange thing I noticed in class was that everyone else seems to be familiar with the songs that our teacher (Michael Burton) plays ALREADY! Don't ask me how. Either the bartenders at Fugazi are on the same wavelength as our teacher or maybe there is some secret music cabal where they memorize words to random hip hop songs.

Right. So I was going to make some observations about how hip hop is very different from breaking. The primary difference is, of course, the higher level of induced activity in the vastus lateralis of your dominant leg. You are welcome to validate this observation. Hip Hop footwork and body movements seem to be a lot more complicated and controlled in space and energy. While breaking gives an illusion of an out and out battle where you are using the music to show off the strength of various elements of your body, hip hop is more like using your body as a composite as a very gliding and sometimes subtle expression of the music itself. The problem is there is no "basic latin step" as in salsa, so it's proving somewhat difficult to feel the central pulse of the dance form...I can only hope that I get it by the time we reach the last 30 seconds of our incrementally complicated routine...

till the next dance-postcard,
TP.

I think if I had to choose the one meal that probably defines me the most, it has to be this:


The colourful and absolutely unexpected bhelpuri.

Come to think of it, it's not unlike (e:Paul)'s bowl-mania. The base is a spiced up version of crispy rice (like popcorn but made with rice). This is layered with raw onions, chopped coriander (cilantro), chopped sharp ripe tomatoes, boiled and spiced garbanzo beans, spiced fried or boiled potato cubes, freshly-squeezed lime juice, chopped hot green chillies and garlic, fried sev (crispy spiced noodles made of lentil/gram flour) and roughly smashed crisp "puri" (a fried flatbread made of either pastry flour or whole wheat, depending on who's made it...). Finally the whole mix is served with hot green mint and coriander chutney and a sweet/sour tamarind-jaggery sauce. Some high-end restaurant versions also have fried paneer in them. The possibilities are endless.

The result is often unexpected but always interesting and too delicious to put into words. If I were left on an island forever with a choice of one meal type, I would just choose the bhelpuri. You could change the proportion of just one ingredient and arrive at a perfectly unique bhelpuri. If you changed the proportion of more than one ingredient, you could pretty much change the entire dish in a flash and yet have an awesome meal. You could endlessly tweak everything to make it as light as a snack or as heavy as lunch or maybe sweet for a dessert or a breakfast. The possibilities are endless...

Why, thank you (e:paul).

An assorted case each of Valrhona, Pralus and Askinosie (Davao) unsweetened drinking chocolate and super dark eating chocolate bars from the same brands.

Or maybe add $150 more and get a super-heavy duty sewing machine (babylock or maybe one of the higher-end brands).

Or maybe a livingcolors lamp.

Or a case of true full-spectrum lamps.

Or take intensive private ballet lessons! :)

Now, could you please send the check to my address. Thanks.

Duele, duele como duele la vida, duele...



Or my alternative chorus
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I am on a new resolution of trying as many new activities as I possibly can within walking distance from home at reasonable times of the day. The thing is I find it hard to find information about classes and performance arts in Buffalo downtown in one place. Maybe there is some list out there but I haven't found it yet. It's almost the same as the downtown Buffalo grocery scene when I first came here. I know getting groceries is probably not a very good comparison to dance classes... but I am going to follow a similar approach and scope out things I am already into or want to do in the near future in downtown Buffalo.

Looking for: Newer physical ways to challenge my body.
Criteria (1): Walking distance within or around downtown Buffalo.
Criteria (2): Neighbourhood that is not creepy or uncomfortable around the time of the class/activity.

• The first on the list is of course Salsa by Sarah Hooper and Sean Ortiz. Thursdays. 6:30PM to 9:00PM, Configuration dance studio at the corner of Lexington and Ashland

I am in love with this class. I pretty much like everything about it. The teachers are the best, the most patient and probably the most talented you can ever hope to have. The music selection is amazing and very fresh (intermediate class). The studio is large, inspiring, covered in mirrors and filled with light. It just inspires you to dance. The floors are a bit sticky so dance shoes help a lot. The sound system is very interesting - because it separates channels and you can actually hear the percussion separately from the harmonies. Sometimes it helps you to dance better, but sometimes it can get confusing.

A tiny annoyance stems from the nature of the dance itself. It is, in the end, a partner oriented dance. So if your assigned partner is not the most positive of people, is not there to really learn the dance but for goodness-knows-what-purpose, is whiny/controlling or or doesn't get the concept of constructive criticism or is excessively self-obsessed and couldn't care less about whether you learn or not or is just an irritating combination of all of these, it can cast a shadow on the proceedings. Or you could end up with a partner who is so magical you feel like you are the best on the dance floor, it feels just right and you are floating on salsa wings. I have been incredibly lucky of late and classes have been nothing short of perfect but that doesn't mean I haven't experienced these annoying elements in the past and reconsidered the class.