Casino Rueda-Too Structured, No individuality?

[peachexploration]

I found this while surfing today. Nice short article. What do you think about critics comments in the last paragraph? So you think Casino Rueda is too structured? No individuality? Is there actual lead/follow technique being establish? Should Casino Rueda be something learned after basic techniques have been establish? What do you think?

The Rueda Experience...... by: Ana Botta

The song starts. There are 10 couples forming a perfect circle, with a very demanding instructor in the center. Suddenly a loud, powerful voice screams, "Pa’ el Medio!" (to the center!). The group reacts simultaneously, and suddenly all the couples are swaying in and out of the circle in perfect sync. The voice screams again "Pa’ Abajo!"(this one is harder to translate - but basically it means "to the basic"!), The group reacts again, this time dancing the basic Salsa step. In a flash, the voice says "Damela!" (give her to me!) and in perfect unison, everyone changes partners.

This is the beginning of a Rueda, the most exhilarating form of Salsa dancing (in my opinion, of course). Some people call it " Cuban Square Dancing", others simply call it "Casino". In reality it is both - "Casino" coming from the fact that it started in Cuba, at a club called "El Casino Deportivo" where some of the regulars developed a "structured" form of dancing Salsa. As the times progressed some additional influences (such as "disco") have affected the dance, however today’s Rueda’s are quite similar to those of 50 years ago. "Cuban Square Dancing" comes from the fact that it involves couples exchanging partners. But, if you’ve ever witnessed one, that is the only similarity!

On any given night you can see this intricate dance being practiced here in Miami at SalsaLovers Dance Studio. There are about 200 students in one room, all dancing Rueda. All of them hooked on Salsa. From the moment you take the first class, it seems that the music stirs something inside of you that is just simply uncontrollable. You just have to back a second time. From then on you find yourself attending every class possible! It requires a combination of skills – rhythm, athleticism, and most notably concentration, along with the ability to adapt to people’s different dancing styles. Even more addictive is Rueda, where you actually get to dance with different people all within the span of one song. You just can’t get enough!

I believe the resurgence of Salsa, and by extension, Rueda is due to a couple of reasons - 1) People are tired of going to clubs just to "get picked up". This type of behavior has gotten old, and everyone is starting to go out just to have a good time. They’ve discovered that through Salsa you can meet many different people who are all there for the same reason - to dance. 2) Dancing Salsa is a way of "connecting" with someone - physically and mentally. When you dance with a partner you both have to be in sync with each other - and this creates a bond. In Rueda, it extends to the entire group.

There are a few critics who say that Casino/Rueda is too structured, and that those who dance it have no individuality and all look the same. I believe that dancing comes from the soul, and that every single person who truly feels the music in them expresses it differently, even if they are doing the same steps. For anyone who has never tried dancing in a Rueda and decides to try it will have a very rewarding experience, and will definitely be back for more.

[Sagitta]

Rueda is very demanding. Knowing basic salsa technique should be a requirement IMO. It isn't as bad for the followers, if they know how to follow well, but as a ledaer I find it more difficult. There definitely ways to express your individuality, but you need to reacher a higher level of competence before it can be done well as compared to straight salsa.

[pepe]

So many times I read and heard comments about Rueda that shows complete misunderstanding of the dance.

Rueda is a dance in Formation, so talking about Individuality is complete nonsense for me. Even in partner dance if you chase too much your individuality it won’t work. Salsa like Love needs two people.

Rueda is not a style. Usually is Casino style. I saw dancers doing other stiles in formation and I wouldn’t call that Rueda de Casino just because they dance in formation (now some folks call that variation Salsa Rueda).
It is choreographed dance; there is no way you can dance it just by being a good dancer. Visual lead helps a little bit but you have to know the calls in formation. Because Cuban styles are so complex (even for some instructors), whole Rueda is thought as choreography (not just calls but all lead/follow staff).

Here is interesting part. I found that all dancers who complain about the “structure”(too much) and “individuality”(lacking) are actually bad with footwork, leading and timing (not just Cuban style). (sorry guys). They cannot keep up with calls because they are already overwhelmed with basic staff. On the top, their instructor teaches choreography so they miss all about connection and fun.

BTW, the article appears to market SalsaLovers. I found them far from Cuban Casino style, quite rigid (still nice). Add dips and spins to that and you get Salsa Rueda.

[pygmalion]

Hi Pepe! Welcome. :D

So what is salsa rueda, again? I never have been clear on all the definitions.

[Sagitta]

Welcome to df pepe!!

Rueda where I am is salsa in a circle, where a leader makes calls and teh group responds. I agree that a lot of times people don't know how to dance. That is why I find that good salsa dancers do well in rueda, and feel that people must have good technique. One get get away with poor technique in salsa, but once you are part of a large group one bad leader can throw the whole group off, and that is unfair to all the other out there.

I agree the partnership aspect is also important in salsa and even more important as one is also partnered with a group of people.

In terms of individuality I refer to the ability to add one's own touch. For instance, when "enchufle en centro con dos" is called and teh dancers are going into and out of the circle one can move ones' body differently from other people. When doing "dil que no" both the leader and follower have a free hand for a short while....However one's primary responsibility is to the circle, so those individual flourishes are only acceptable once you are competent in executing calls properly IMO.

[Salsero_AT]

So what is salsa rueda, again? I never have been clear on all the definitions
Rueda means that the couples dance in one circle together. Casino is the cuban salsa style. Some people say that they dance rueda when they mean that they dance casino. This is wrong. Rueda is the group dance, Casino is the salsa style.

[peachexploration]

....However one's primary responsibility is to the circle, so those individual flourishes are only acceptable once you are competent in executing calls properly IMO.

Welcome to the DF Pepe!

Yeah, also your individual flourishes often times become group flourishes depending on the instructor and region where you live. For example, when we do moves in Orlando like a "check & vuelta" or "backdrop", all followers hands will go up after they finish the turn at the end and before "dile que no". Synchronicity & rhythm are big players in rueda so you can't get away with being out of step or alot of improvisation for too long. That could contribute to dancers feeling somewhat structured in a sense but that's what makes it beautiful, challenging and fun. :D

[Tasek]

Yep, you do lose some individuality, as is to be expected in a group dance, however it's worth it in a good rueda where you get to connect not only to just one dance partner but to an entire group of people, albeit quite different than a partner connection it's great fun, not necessarily for an entire evening, but a rueda thrown in every now and then is fantastic.
And of course it's structured, since you can't dance as a group without structure, but within that structure you still get plenty of oppurtinities to add your own little touches.

Important to notice in a rueda is though that, like a chain, it's only as strong as it's weakest link, especially a poor leader can really take the energy out of a rueda so it is important that those participating all have a decent understanding of dancing and a good memory for the calls.

I also regularly call rueda's and that's a great challenge, adds a whole new dimension to your dancing;
whilst still dancing in the moment you already have to be thinking ahead to other calls,
you need to have an excellente memory for the calls: not just passive recollection,
you have to keep an eye on an entire group to judge how they're doing and what you can best do next,
your timing has to be perfect: when to make the calls, and you can't afford to get offbeat as the other people are watching you,
if the music gets loud or the group gets big, using your voice properly and breath control become very important to make sure everyone can hear you.

[pepe]

So what is salsa rueda, again?

Many people try to define everything in Salsa, name it and store on shelves I guess. The beauty of Salsa is in the variety that actually comes from lack of rules and definitions. So I really hate naming and defining everything, don’t take me to serious :)

Rueda de Casino - original one, from Cuba. It is quite simple with focus on fun and lot of silly moves. Exchange of partner quite emphasized (opposite to staying with one and performing long complicated figure). Technically some steps are very weird and unusual (more such steps than you can imagine and I have tapes recorded all around Cuba to proof).

Miami style Rueda, Casino Rueda, Rueda de Casino (well you instructor clams it is) - Well we dance Cuban with less shoulder and hip movement. We add some complicated moves and few renamed. That’s the style I saw all around Europe and North America. For me it is not really distinctive enough, looks just a little bit rigid (in body movement, structure, routines) but I want disagree. That is the most wide spread style I saw in Europe and N. Amer. I saw even Cuban instructors that dance such a way rather than Casino (I guess they learn after they left Cuba).

Salsa Rueda - Dancers around world starts adding more figures. Also tend to do spins, syncopated staff, dips...(all together very far from Casino style). Someone name it Salsa Rueda and I think deserves the new name. Some instructors can still confuse students calling that Casino and Cuban.

[pepe]

Thanks everyone for welcome. :)

Just to be clear, I don’t have a problem with someone being beginner and spoiling the wheel (well, I been there :) ) or flipping some syncopated move (tells me that the person follows muscle memory rather than watching the group but still forgivable if done occasionally). It is still fun, unless you take Rueda too seriously. It is just interesting that most complains comes from misunderstanding - usually a beginner dancer or those who don’t understand what the formation means.

But if you are in none of above and you still feel you need more individuality and freedom (what ever you mean) you are just in a wrong dance.

[brujo]

Casino is not rueda. Casino is not rueda. Casino is not rueda.

Casino is the term given to cuban salsa. With rueda being one of the variants of the style. Casino can be danced in couples, multiple partners, etc, just like salsa can. Take a look at the demo by salsa atlanta of a rueda at http://www.salsacasino.com/thegroup/index.html .

In my experience, people usually critisize casino for lack of structure, and casino rueda for having too much structure. They find issue with casino because it looks too 'free style', lacking the mirroring and slot structure of the LA/NY styles. But if you look deeper, you will see than when a cuban man and a cuban woman dance, they are playing with the footwork (like shines ) but are still connected, you will see that the man's shoulders move differently than that of the ballroom style dancer, and that the woman's hips, they are like a wave, constantly up and down as she travels.

The focus of a rueda is in teamwork. Imagine the energy of one couple dancing, and multiply this by three or five. The community effort allows for fun choreography such as la flor, where a group actually forms a flower with their arms, or levantala ( pa' el cielo ) where the leaders lock arms and lift the women in the interlocked arms.

I disagree that rueda kills individuality. Rather, individuality is expressed in how each person adds his or her own styling elements to the standard moves. Take a simple move called mata la cucaracha (sueno), where the people both do a basic and stomp on the ground on the fifth count. Some people I know will stomp with both feet, making sure the cucaracha is dead dead dead. Similarly, there are body waves, hand styling, half spins and other interesting twists that can be added to a rueda. As long as the people involved don't take it too seriously, rueda can be addictive, energetic and unique.

[peachexploration]

....The focus of a rueda is in teamwork.... .

Great point, Brujo. :D

[IsaacAltman]

I believe Rueda does not teach partnering skills. As a matter of fact, in our school almost every week we get singles and couples that come from the "Casino" schools to learn partnering skills that they feel they have not gotten learning Rueda. Even if you have learned good partnering skills in a particular style of Salsa, (lets say Casino), it must give way a bit when dancing Rueda as the calls are more important and the changing of partners inhibits those skills. That said, Rueda is a fun social dance, and a great way to meet people.

[peachexploration]

I believe Rueda does not teach partnering skills. As a matter of fact, in our school almost every week we get singles and couples that come from the "Casino" schools to learn partnering skills that they feel they have not gotten learning Rueda. Even if you have learned good partnering skills in a particular style of Salsa, (lets say Casino), it must give way a bit when dancing Rueda as the calls are more important and the changing of partners inhibits those skills. That said, Rueda is a fun social dance, and a great way to meet people.

This is very true. Seen it happen many times. I think rueda should be done after you've taken a few basic salsa classes that concentrates on your partnering skills as well. Yeah, from my own experience, I wouldn't reccomend it for a beginning salsa dancer.