What is Cuban style salsa?
Cuban salsa has a very free approach to body movement and footwork. Turn patterns tend to involve retaining hold of both hands and tying each other up into complicated tangles which then get unwound. Cuban salsa is described as either Casino – danced in couples, or Rueda de Casino (wheel of salsa) danced by multiple couples in a circle, whilst swapping partners! When dancing “rueda” one person will “call” the moves which are then executed by all members of the wheel. Cubans tend to retain a strong African influence in their dancing. Casino is generally danced with a slight bend in both legs whilst leaning forwards with protruding bottoms! There is a lot of movement in both bodies and arms in Casino. Cubans sometimes tap on the fourth beat – and sometimes they don’t. The man may tap whilst the woman simply pauses or the man may even keep his feet stationary whilst the woman dances around him. For a romantic comedy featuring both Casino and Rueda de Casino, see Cheyanne and Vanessa Willi
