dance guide

Casino, as locals in Cuba call the dance – "Salsa" primarily exists as something to eat or as "el baile de las hoteles" for tourists – gradually evolved as a couples dance from the mid-1950s onwards out of the Rueda de Casino, which had originally emerged from Cuban Son. (The various Salsa styles, also Salsa Cubana, on the other hand, only developed in the 1970s in the United States as a combination of ballroom and Latin (especially Puerto Rican) influences and was then exported to the rest of the world from there.

Particularly characteristic of Casino are the circular basic step (guapea) as well as the dancers both dancing around the partner, with the main accent of the steps directed forward (in walking direction). With this, Casino provides a clear contrast to the linear step patterns of the Salsa styles developed outside Cuba from the 1970s.

In recent years – especially with timba music – also longer open sequences (without hand contact) have appeared in Casino, usually using Reggaeton, Rumba or Afro styling fitting to the music.

Rueda de Casino developed as a circular dance in the recreation centers and dance halls of Havana in the 1950s. The couples dance in a circle and simultaneously execute turns (figures) called by a "cantante", frequently switching dance partners among each other. Rueda de Casino thus is a couples dance in circle formation.

Including the popular dances and music of the time, especially Son and Chachachá, so-called Ruedas (dance circles) were formed in which the partners danced turns (figures) in unison together and dynamically and creatively switched dance partners. This new dance phenomenon first appeared as a conceptionally new dance style primarily at El Club Casino Deportivo. People therefore increasingly prompted each other to form a circle and dance "like at the Casino". The name stuck, and by and by the prompt turned into, "Come, let's dance Casino." When people began to dance Casino in couples also outside of the Rueda is not confirmed; nobody can remember that exactly.

Dancing, and Latin American dancing in particular, does not only consist of a sequence of successfully reeled-off turns (figures), but also involves skillfully moving your body in sync with the music. What Cuban children are already raised with in this regard, we usually need to acquire with considerable effort through later training.

Starting from isolation exercises for individual body parts such as shoulders, hips, chest or torso, the goal are harmoniously coordinated movements of the various body parts in sync with basic steps, step sequences and the music; precise arm movements and skillful turns that increase one's own body awareness, thus enriching the dancing and also making it look good.

Example video: Yusimi Moya Rodriguez

Both as autonomous dance and also as important element of the popular Cuban dance style Salsaton, Reggaeton - in its Cuban version usually called Cubaton or Reparto - is widespread in Cuba and particularly popular with the younger generation. The music has its roots in Reggae, Dancehall, Hip Hop and other Latin American rhythms. Cuban artists subsequently mixed the original Reggaeton with Cuban music genres such as Timba, developing the unique and typically Cuban sound of Reparto or Cubaton.

Example video: Inga Fominykh

Rumba originally designates a social gathering with accompanying music. As a combination of dance, singing and percussion it originated in the 19th century in the black neighborhoods of the Cuban ports of Havana and Matanzas, but it was also practiced at the sugar cane plantations. It is a purely secular genre, whose percussion accompaniment and melodic phrasing are nurtured from African roots.

There are three traditional genres in Rumba, which vary in tempo, the clave used, and the dance itself.

In Yambú, the two dancers imitate elderly people or an elderly man with a young woman. In contrast to Guaguancó, in this oldest form of Rumba, "En el yambú no se vacuna“ ("in Yambú there is no vaccinating/injecting").

In the similarly pantomimic Guaguancó, the male and female represent rooster and hen, with the male - flapping his wings or scuffing the dust - making advances on the female, who protects herself with her skirt, a cloth or by simply turning away. The dance culminates in the male "vaccinating" the female ("vacunao") with corresponding movement of the pelvis or other body parts.

In the noticeably faster, sometimes also acrobatic Columbia in 6/8 time, which is influenced by other Afrocuban dances, instead of man and woman the (originally male, in modern times also female) solo dancer and the player of the quinto enter into dialogue with each other. Here the dancer shows off himself/herself (and his virility, or his/her precision and power).

Video: Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba 2016

Due to the colonial history of Cuba, the African traditions on the island have survived to this day and continued developing. The body and its movements create a connection from the human to the spiritual world, making dance and music important means of Afrocuban culture and its rituals.

As the religion of the Yorubá (originally from Nigeria) is the most common on Cuba, the dances of its deities (orishas) also are the most popular Afrocuban dances. Each orisha has its own rhythm, moves and energy corresponding to the character of the respective deity.

The dances from the Congo include Yuka, Makuta and Palo – which are very fast and high-energy by comparison. In addition, Arará, Abakuá or Conga are further examples of the wide range of Afrocuban dances.

Video: Interpretation of the orisha “Oyá” by Yusimi Moya Rodriguez

Son Cubano – in Cuba considered the "mother of all rhythms" – is the precursor to Casino, Salsa, Timba, etc. Both as autonomous dance and by contributing various of its elements to couples dance or Ruede de Casino, Son enriches Cuban music and dance culture. From a European perspective, it is danced "on 2" or "contratiempo", i.e. the steps are danced on 2-3-4 and 6-7-8, with the accent always on the last of the three steps.

Particularly eye-catching in the traditional version of Son is the elegant attire of the dancers, who are floating across the dance floor noticeably more gracefully and also chivalrously than in Casino.

Video: Yoannis Tamayo at Casa de la Trova (Santiago de Cuba) 2009