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So what is Casino, and is Cuban Salsa the same thing?


Casino is the name of a popular Cuban partner dance. Characterized by the close, circular orientation of its dancers, intricate turn patterns (vueltas), its freedom and improvisational quality, and energy and fun, it is seen as part of the very social fabric in Cuba. Casino began its evolution in the 1950s at several of Cuba’s Recreational Societies, Social Clubs and Ballrooms (known also in Cuba as “Casinos”). Casino is a product of several pre existing and uniquely Cuban dances, notably Son in the earlier stages of its development and Rumba in its latter growth (but by no means limited to these two).

Over the years Casino has been danced to various genres of Cuban music, with the last 35 years danced predominantly (but by no means exclusively) to the Cuban musical genre of Timba, which itself is constantly developing. This is particularly true of the Havanan music and dance scene, although in the Eastern parts of the island Casineros dancing to Son are still a force to be reckoned with. This only goes to further highlight the breadth and depth of this incredible dance. (Cuban music will be the subject of a future post).

To recap, Casino is a Cuban dance, developed in Cuba from predominantly Cuban sources, danced by Cubans to Cuban music. Casino is not a “style” of anything, it is the dance itself, and of utmost importance to this article… Casino is not Cuban Salsa.

But isn’t it just a name? Isn’t it just semantics, I hear you cry? You say tomato and I say… etc. Well no. Because what’s generally packaged and sold as Cuban Salsa, in many cases has very little to do with Cuba (and in some cases not even that much to do with Salsa). At this juncture I must point out that I am using, as my reference, that which is commonly termed and marketed as Cuban Salsa here in the UK (although a very similar mechanism seems to be apparent in the USA). Interestingly, many European schools, especially those in Eastern Europe seem to have faired far better (this will also be looked at in an upcoming post).

There is most definitely an area of grey here as there are undoubtedly some clubs teaching Casino in the UK but who market it as Cuban Salsa – it’s easier, and Salsa is already in the population’s psyche, so more recognisable and promotable. But generally speaking, the activity that is, by and large, given the name Cuban Salsa in this country is an independent and entirely different entity from Casino.

So if Cuban Salsa is not Casino (and Casino is definitely Cuban), the next question that raises its head is “Is Cuban Salsa, Cuban?”

The short answer to this is no.

The longer answer? No, no, NO!

Ok, now I’ve had my bit of fun let’s see if we can start to get to the bottom of this.

It stands to reason that if we are to negate the “Cuban” as an accurate description in the two-word term Cuban Salsa, this just leaves us with “Salsa”. And this is precisely were we will start to find some of the answers.

What is Salsa?

The popular term “Salsa” was first coined and promoted in the 1970s by New York record company Fania to market the Latin inspired music (note music, not dance) popular with the large immigrant population of the time. These musical styles, including Cuban (which laid much of the early musical foundation), Puerto Rican, Dominican, Columbian and Venezuelan, were further mixed with Jazz, funk and American Swing - with the first “Salsa” bands being predominantly “Nuyorican” (New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent).

From this music sprang the Salsa dance craze. Not from Cuba, not from Latin America, but from New York City. As the majority of these new dancers were Puerto Rican (or of Puerto Rican decent), and adding the influence the 1950s American Mambo craze – popularized by Puerto Rican dancers in New York and not to be confused with the original Cuban Mambo, which is quite different – New York Salsa began to take shape. Salsa quickly spread to the west coast and took on a far more “showy” persona that came to be known as LA Salsa (cross-body). Another huge influence (especially, but not exclusively, to LA Salsa) is West Coast Swing, which outdates Salsa by several decades, and has its roots in the 1930s American dance of Lindy Hop. Indeed even today West Coast Swing bares many striking similarities to LA Salsa.

The key here is that Salsa and Casino come from two very different backgrounds, and most importantly are mechanically, and choreographically DIFFERENT dances.

So where does this all put “Cuban” Salsa?

Here in the UK, the Salsa boom of the 90’s led the way to the inevitable packaging and marketing of Salsa via the Salsa class. Suddenly Salsa was everywhere – note I say Salsa, not Casino. The fact is that most of the original teachers in the UK were Latinos (in London where the original Salsa scene first took root, many were Columbians). As the scene grew and began to spill over into the mainstream, a whole influx of New York and LA (cross-body) Salsa classes began to appear. And why wouldn’t they? New York and LA Salsa were the originals. It was where Salsa had all started.

Meanwhile, on the island of Cuba…

… things were taking a direction of their own. On the 26th December 1991, after nearly 30 years of comparative isolation, the collapse of the Soviet Union (along with its financial support) heralded a new era for Cuba. With many of its people literally starving, it left the Cuban government little choice than to start courting foreign money and open their pristine beaches to tourists (sadly to the severe detriment of the islands turtle population – but that’s another story). Suddenly you could hop on a direct flight from London to Cuba. People now heard the music, and saw the incredible dancing, and they came back home eager to learn the dances they had attempted on holiday.

Subsequently new clubs began to open across the country, instigated by both the genuine excitement of something new, and the marketing opportunity (seized by some enterprising Salsa teachers) to distinguish their classes from the many competing Salsa classes of the day. Unfortunately they were mostly unaware of the fundamental, rhythmical, musical and mechanical differences between their North American Salsa and Casino. Thus “Cuban Salsa” was born, a cobbled together hodgepodge of Cuban Casino moves (often erroneously) bolted on to a loose, preexisting Salsa framework.This was not what the Cubans themselves were dancing, but a largely European construct.

Now we understand a little more about the terms Casino and Cuban Salsa, the next important question to ask is, how do you know if the “Cuban” dance you are learning (or about to learn if new to the dance scene) is in fact Casino or Cuban Salsa? Especially since the term Cuban Salsa has become a generic, all-encompassing promotional term for today’s “Cuban” dance market.

Here in the UK there are more or less four primary types of social dance labeled “Cuban”. For easiness we can think of them as 4 levels.

On the top (Level 1) is Casino danced and taught by “bailarines” (trained dancers). This can be thought of as elite or professional level. Personally I like to avoid the term “professional.” Although many of the trained dancers (especially the ones you see at congresses, are professionals), not all trained dancers are.

Next (Level 2) is Casino danced and taught by “bailadores” – These are the untrained “social” dancers. Here untrained is not a derogatory term. Indeed, in Cuba many dancers with no formal training (bailadores) are extremely good dancers.

At Level 3 we have Cuban Salsa – loose salsa framework, super imposed with Cuban “looking” or “stylized” turn patterns.

And at Level 4 we have the type of Cuban Salsa taught only in the form of Rueda (in a circle).

The following 4 videos will help to illustrate this. They all show the same song being danced to, which leads for a more accurate comparison.

Let’s start with Level 2 of Casino as this is the most common form of social Casino.

You can see the great connection the two dancers (both Cuban) have. Small, precise steps, close physical orientation with each other, no weight shifting back steps (that’s right, back stepping IS NOT Cuban!), great timing, and awareness of the music – note how the interpretation of the dance changes around 1:38 when there is a subtle pick up in the music.

Next let’s look at the same song. This time the dancers are two trained (Level 1) “elite” dancers.

Quite obviously you can see much more complex footwork, especially from the male dancer. Note also the different level of body movement. These are both derived from rigorous dance academy training. In Cuban dance schools the student is required to learn many traditional and folkloric dances at a high level (note the transition to Rumba at 2:28, and the demonstration of Afro-Cuban Orishas at 3:15).

But the real importance here is that the same precise stepping, close physical orientation, absence of the dreaded back step, impeccable timing and awareness the music are again present (again at the subtle musical shift, around 1:23 on this video, note the change in musical interpretation). Like the first video, this is Casino, only in this case performed by two professional dancers.

Ok, now on to video (and Level) 3. Cuban Salsa.

This may be familiar and recognizable with some of you as the advanced level (this video tags itself as master level) you see in your own clubs. You can see none of pre stated accuracies of the previous 2 videos. And why would you? These dancers are doing as good a job as they can in attempting complex Casino patterns without the necessary Casino footwork or mechanics. Watch video 1 and 2 again, then come back to this one and you will see these are not the same dance. This is not Casino. This is Cuban Salsa, although a more accurate name would probably be “Cuban Styled Salsa".

The final video (Level 4) is the predominantly Rueda led level of Cuban Salsa. Again, for accuracy’s sake I feel the simple name “Rueda Salsa” really ought to be used for this level of class.

I’m not going to point out too many things here as I’m sure you can see the deterioration of dance as we reach this level – issues of timing, positioning, distance, the dreaded back step et al (although to be fair, the caller is actually dancing quite well).

It’s quite noticeable that the last 2 Cuban Salsa videos are not the same dance as the first two, they are not Casino. To be thoroughly clear, these forms of Cuban Salsa are not Cuban, they are stylistically Cubanised derivatives of North American Salsa.

Now let me make this perfectly clear. The key point I’m trying to put across here is not that This is right or That is wrong, just that it’s important that you know what it is that you are actually practicing, training, and spending your hard earned money on learning. As touched on a little earlier in this article, this is made harder by the fact that some Rueda salsa/Cuban salsa classes market themselves as Casino, or Casino style Salsa. And some Casino teachers use the term Cuban Salsa – easier to market and more recognizable. So do your research. It will probably be down to you as in many instances you won’t get wholly accurate information from your teachers and instructors. Mostly this is just down to a lack of awareness and knowledge. Occasionally however, it is part of a purposeful, and cleverly thought out and implemented, marketing ploy designed primarily to get “bums in classes” and cash from pockets. Buyer beware! Be clear about what you’re being sold.

By being clear on what it is you are doing, you will also give yourself a much more honest and realistic view of what you can expect from your dancing. Again I guide you to the above videos. If your class/instructors etc. look along the lines of the first two videos (bearing in mind these videos showcase very high standards), you’re learning Cuban dance, you’re learning Casino. If it looks along the lines of the last two videos, then you are doing either pure Rueda Salsa (Last video) or Cuban Styled Salsa.

If you love your Rueda Salsa class (yes, let’s refer to it as that from now on and hope that this description starts to stick), then do Rueda salsa. In fact, if the whole social aspect is the most important thing for you then this is by far the best thing. Because of the lower skill level, it is very inclusive. You don’t have to be able to dance, you don’t have to put much effort in, you can turn up when you want without fear of dropping behind etc. If you’re looking at starting a dance business this level of class is also the easiest to make money at running, and you can do so without having any dance training or background, and often with very little knowledge of the product.

Therefore, you can find these clubs in almost every town. Wherever you go, you’ll be able to drop into a class, or go to a social event and dance with many, many people all doing the same as you. If you train at the slightly higher level (Level 3 - again let’s start calling that Cuban Styled Salsa in hope that it sticks) then you’ll also have loads of clubs, social dancers and clubs to go to and have fun at. Even in Rueda Salsa classes, there are usually a couple of advanced students that will be dancing at something closer to your level. And the best bit, when you hit the dance floor you’ll be seen as dance Gods!

But if you want to dance like a Cuban, if you want to emulate those you see on Youtube and at congresses you need to find a Casino class (in a lot of cases the people you’ll see up on stage are professionally trained Cuban dancers. They are bailarines. When they dance, they dance Casino).

Just remember that Casino and Cuban Styled Salsa/Rueda Salsa are a different breed. They’re from a different family tree. They are a different dance. One will not magically transform into the other. Like Football and Rugby, they may have initial similarities (both played on a rectangular grass pitch with posts at each end, both involve 2 teams wearing shorts, numbered shirts, and studded boots, both are played with leather balls etc.) but playing one does not automatically lead to another. You can play football for 20 years but it’s not going to lead to you playing Rugby. To play Rugby you have to specifically learn to play Rugby. You get my point.

So be sure of what you are dancing, and that it is what you want it to be, and think it to be. If you are gong to join a class (or for that matter if you are already in a class) ask the teachers. Ask them where they studied, with whom they studied, what they studied. Find a class or club that will deliver what it is you’re seeking, and above all have fun, and dance, dance, dance.

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