WHAT IS SALSA DE CASINO RUEDA?

During the 1950s, a dance craze called Casino Rueda became popular in Cuba. It began in El Casino Deportivo, a Havana social club. The name "casino" comes from the social club where the dance began. "Rueda" means wheel or circle. It is a type of salsa dancing done by a group in a circle, with partners being passed around. This wildly popular dance was done everywhere in Cuba---in the streets, in parking lots, in clubs, in homes.

The moves to this dance are numerous and can be very complex. The dance is done by two or more couples who do the moves in synchrony. A member of the circle calls the moves for everyone to execute. Each move has a name and most have hand signals since it is hard to hear in noisy nightclubs. Moves can be called in quick succession, and along with frequent partner exchanges, this creates a very dynamic and exciting atmosphere for everyone involved.

The group nature of the dance is unique and makes it quite social. A group consciousness develops to make the rueda work well---with everyone watching the leader for the calls. Dancers have to open up their sphere of awareness far beyond what is necessary for ordinary partner dancing. Whether you are dancing or watching, it is thrilling when a rueda circle works well and flows smoothly!!

This festive dance was brought to Miami by Cuban immigrants and took hold there in the l970s and l980s. From Miami, it spread first to major U.S. metropolitan centers with large Hispanic populations and eventually to other cities as well. The movie "Dance with Me" has a segment of rueda dancing which helped poplularize the dance in this country.

Rueda can be done to any salsa music. It is best danced to music with a driving beat and no rhythm breaks. (Latin music often changes rhythm throughout one song, unlike American music.) The timing of the dance is "quick, quick, slow"----exactly the same as salsa. The "slow" beat is twice as long as the "quicks." Hence there are 4 beats to a measure and the dancer steps on 3 of them.

Note that salsa dancers can step on beats 1, 2 and 3 or on beats 2, 3, and 4. The former pattern is called "dancing on 1" and the latter is called "dancing on 2," assuming that the first step is the rock step. Most Cubans dance on two, and some American dancers prefer the more relaxed feeling that dancing on two creates. However, some dancers prefer to dance on one since that is more consistent with an American approach to music, and the first beat is easier to find. Dancing on two is a little more musically difficult. Rueda in this country is generally danced on one. To the reader, this difference--which beat the dance pattern starts on---may seem like a small matter. But to serious "on 1" or "on 2" dancers, it is the stuff of endless discussion and debate!!

Salsa Rueda is related to the ballroom dance mambo. Mambo is always danced "on two" and the moves are sharper. In mambo, you hold still on beat one. In salsa you continue to glide through the beat even when you are not taking a step. This creates a more fluid, undulating feeling to salsa---like an ocean wave.

Source: Wikipedia, Salsa Linea