Anglia Salsa Rueda

Thank you very much to everyone who braved the elements to come to the class at Keir Hardie on Sunday 25th January 2009. Your energy, enthusiasm and support is very much appreciated. Warm thanks to everyone who came along again and a warm welcome to those who came along for the first time. We hope you all enjoyed the evening.

When calling a rueda, the caller is leading the leaders, telling them which move to lead next. The caller needs to allow enough time to announce the call, for people to hear and understand the call, and for the leaders to then go on and lead the move. The followers can also prepare for the move, particularly if it is one where they will be out of hold and need to perform without being led. However, the follower should always follow the leader, unless the follower is being put in harms way, even if the leader is getting the move wrong - if the leader makes a mistake, let the leader lead you out of it. The majority of the moves start on the '1', so the call needs to be made around the '3', '4', or '5'. Some moves start on the '5', so the call needs to be made around the '7', '8', or '1'. Initially it is easy to make the mistake of calling the move too late, typically around the time you are leading it yourself, and you also need to avoid calling the move too early.

The moves covered this week included:

arriba (up)
abajo (down)
un tarro (an affair)
enchufe (plug/connect)
enchufe doble (double plug/connect)
enchufe al medio (plug/connect, to the centre)
enchufe pa'arriba (plug/connect upstream)
cero (from al medio)(zero)
pelota (ball)
la cubanita (Cuban girl)
pimienta (pepper)
(la) cuchara (spoon)
exhíbela (show her off)
sácala (take her out)
vacílala (check her out)
vacílala dame una (check her out, give me one)
caramelo (sweet)
chocolate (chocolate)
caramelo y chocolate (sweet and chocolate)
adiós (a la prima) (goodbye (cousin))
adiós a la hermana (goodbye sister)
adiós a toda la familia (goodbye the whole family)
adiós con vuelta (goodbye with turn)
adiós pa' arriba (goodbye upstream)
dame pa'afuera (give me one on the outside)
fly
palmas (clapping)
dame/enchufe/adiós etc con gracia (graceful dame/enchufe/adiós etc)
dame dos (give me two)
dame una pa'arriba (give me one upstream)
lombriz (worm) / se quedó (stay)
ida (one-way journey)
la rosa (from al medio) (rose)
sombrero (hat)

When you see us out on the dance floor starting a rueda, you are welcome to join in, we'll try to call moves that you know, and don't forget, you can join in even if you don't have a partner to start with.

Even if you are not dancing in a rueda, you can practice many of the moves in your free dancing.

Any feedback, comments or suggestions are always welcome.

See you soon for more rueda fun!

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Thank you very much to everyone who came to the class at Keir Hardie on Sunday 18th January 2009 on a very busy weekend for salsa dancing. Your energy, enthusiasm and support is very much appreciated. Warm thanks to everyone who came along again and a warm welcome to those who came along for the first time. We hope you all enjoyed the evening.

The rueda syllabus and the rueda class levels are designed to develop skills in casino (Cuban salsa) style dancing and rueda moves, rueda etiquette and rueda technique. Apart from those new to salsa, who are taught separately the basics of salsa dancing to prepare for rueda, the class levels of rueda level 1, rueda level 2 and rueda level 3 refer to levels of rueda rather than levels of salsa dancing. It is no reflection on your level of salsa dancing to be in the rueda level 1 class - no matter how expert a salsa dancer you are, if you are new to rueda or still have to cover the moves that you are expected to know at rueda level 2, then the rueda level 1 class is where you will learn the most, it is the class which will be the most beneficial to you and where you will learn what will help you to progress faster in the long run. Similarly, the rueda level 2 class will build upon the rueda level 1 class to further develop the skills and knowledge that will be necessary and of great benefit at higher levels.

When dancing rueda, when something goes wrong, as it inevitably does, and a leader ends a move without a follower, the leader should look around the rueda, and if there is a follower available, the leader should cross the rueda to the follower. Hopefully the caller will have noticed the problem and will be allowing this to be resolved before resuming calling moves! The leader should cross the rueda in step and in time - keep dancing salsa. With a bit of luck, it might even look like this was meant to happen! ;)

In general, when something goes wrong in the rueda, relax, smile, stay calm, keep dancing and deal with the situation in a gentle and positive manner - don't charge around in a panic! If you have to take some good-natured laughter from the rest of the rueda - well, that's just the way it is! :)

The moves covered this week, in the various classes throughout the evening, were:

FROM THE RUEDA LEVEL 1 SYLLABUS

adentro y afuera (to the inside and to the outside)
arriba (up)
abajo (down)
un tarro (an affair)
dile que no (tell her no)
guapea (show off)
dame (una) (give me (one))
enchufe (plug/connect)
pimienta (pepper)
(la) cuchara (spoon)
exhíbela (show her off)
sácala (take her out)
vacílala (check her out)
caramelo (sweet)
chocolate (chocolate)
caramelo y chocolate (sweet and chocolate)
adiós (a la prima) (goodbye (cousin))

FROM THE RUEDA LEVEL 2 SYLLABUS

la cubanita (Cuban girl)
dame/enchufe/adiós etc con gracia (graceful dame/enchufe/adiós etc)
dame dos (give me two)
dame pa'afuera (give me one on the outside)
enchufe doble (double plug/connect)
enchufe con vuelta (plug/connect with turn)
pelota (ball)
enchufe al medio (plug/connect, to the centre)
cero (from al medio)(zero)
cero con gracia (graceful zero)
lombriz (worm) / se quedó (stay)
setenta simple (simple seventy)
vacílala dame una (check her out, give me one)

FROM THE RUEDA LEVEL 3 SYLLABUS

setenta (seventy)
sombrero con mambo (hat with Cuban mambo step)
sombrero con mambo complicado (hat with complicated Cuban mambo step)
treinta y tres (thirty three)
el dedo (the finger)
cadeneta (little chain) / se quedó (stay)
dame me gusta (give me I like her)
pasan las manos (pass the hands) / tranca (bar) / chicos también (guys also) / pa' lante (go forward)

When you see us out on the dance floor starting a rueda, you are welcome to join in, we'll try to call moves that you know, and don't forget, you can join in even if you don't have a partner to start with.

Even if you are not dancing in a rueda, you can practice many of the moves in your free dancing.

Any feedback, comments or suggestions are always welcome.

See you soon for more rueda fun!

Everybody is different, starting from varying levels and experience, with different attitudes to and speed of learning, but these are general guidelines.

It is much better to perform a simple move well, rather than perform a complicated move badly, and a rueda of well performed basic moves will look much better and be much more fun than a rueda of difficult moves marred by mistakes or poor execution or poor style.

The higher level moves usually incorporate the moves learnt in the earlier stages, with variations, extensions and combinations. If the foundation moves are not being performed correctly, naturally, effortlessly, with style and fun, then the higher level moves that are based on these foundations will be difficult or impossible to perform in a way that is enjoyable, fun and stylish.

Rueda is a formation dance, a team game, so even one person who is struggling badly with the moves will be making it difficult for everybody.

We would like people to try to be patient and persevere at each level until they really understand and can properly perform a significant number of the moves at that level before they expect to progress to the next level.

Practice makes perfect! Moves should be practiced as slowly as is necessary to get them right. If you can't do it slowly, you can't do it! When the moves are right, they can be gradually speeded up, making sure that they are being performed correctly at each speed before going any faster. If the moves aren't being performed correctly, you will only be practicing doing them wrong, and you will be getting good at doing them wrong, developing bad habits that will hinder you at a higher level and will be difficult to unlearn at a later stage.

Below are general guidelines to the required standards for each level. If you are not sure which level is appropriate for you, please talk to the instructors, and, in any case, please talk to the instructors before moving to a higher level.

This may all seem a little formal, but remember, rueda is a party dance! So, at every level, relax, smile, have fun, and enjoy the party!!

Rueda Level 1 Requirements

Competent salsa dancers, who are able to stay in step and lead or follow.

Rueda Level 2 Requirements

A minimum of at least one month's experience of dancing rueda.

In addition to the requirements for rueda level 1, mastery of arriba, abajo, un tarro, dile que no, guapea, dame, enchufe, caramelo, adiós, pimienta, cuchara, vacílala, exhíbela, sácala, plus familiarity with other moves at rueda level 1.

Rueda Level 3 Requirements

A minimum of at least three month's experience of dancing rueda.

In addition to the requirements for rueda level 2, mastery of adiós, enchufe, dame, pelota with variations such as al medio, con cero, con gracia, con vuelta, coca cola, pa'afuera, pa'arriba, no le llegues, quédate.

In addition, mastery of dame dos, ida, lombriz, pasan las manos, setenta simple, siete, sombrero, plus familiarity with other moves at rueda level 2.

See you soon for more rueda fun!

Thank you very much to everyone who came to the class at Keir Hardie on Sunday 11th January 2009. Warm thanks to everyone who came along again and a warm welcome to those who came along for the first time. We hope you all enjoyed the evening. It was great to see so many stay to dance a few ruedas at the end of the class - don't forget, you can join in even if you don't have a partner to start with.

Cuban style salsa is based on the partners, the leader and the follower, swapping places with each other, constantly moving around each other, with many of the turns being performed as travelling turns as you step around each other. Keep moving around your partner, but don't forget to relax and have fun.

The leaders are responsible for controlling the shape and size of the rueda, so keep an eye on the gaps between you and your neighbours and make adjustments as appropriate. To make the rueda smaller, move in towards the centre, and to make the rueda larger, move out away from the centre.

The moves covered again this week were:

adentro y afuera (to the inside and to the outside)
arriba (up)
abajo (down)
un tarro (an affair)
dile que no (tell her no)
guapea (show off)
dame (una) (give me (one))
dame dos (give me two)
enchufe (plug/connect)
enchufe doble (double plug/connect)
pimienta (pepper)
(la) cuchara (spoon)
exhíbela (show her off)
fly

Moves introduced this week were:

caramelo (sweet)
chocolate (chocolate)
croqueta (croquette)
la cubanita (Cuban girl)
sácala (take her out)

Even if you are not dancing in a rueda, you can practice many of the moves in your free dancing.

See you soon for more rueda fun!

Thank you very much to everyone who came to the new class at Keir Hardie on Sunday 4th January 2009. Your support is very much appreciated, and we hope you enjoyed the evening as much as we did, and we hope to see you at the class next week and on the dance floor in the meantime.

Quite a number of moves were introduced to those new to rueda, but don't worry, we will be going over these moves many times as they are the foundation moves that are the building blocks of many more advanced moves, and they will soon become second nature to you.

Many of the moves can be incorporated into your normal salsa free dancing, and this is a good way to practice and remember them.

Cuban style salsa is based on the partners, the leader and the follower, swapping places with each other, constantly moving around each other, with many of the turns being performed as travelling turns as you step around each other. We are also keen for people to get used to taking part in the rueda even if you don't have a partner to start with so that everyone can join in.

The moves covered this week were (with the best translation, hopefully not too hilariously wrong, that this non-native-Cuban-Spanish speaker can manage):

adentro y afuera (to the inside and to the outside)
arriba (up)
abajo (down)
un tarro (an affair)
dile que no (tell her no)
guapea (show off)
dame (una) (give me (one))
dame dos (give me two)
dame al medio (give me one, to the centre)
enchufe (plug/connect)
enchufe doble (double plug/connect)
enchufe pa'arriba
enchufe doble pa'arriba
enchufe al medio (plug/connect, to the centre)
cero (from al medio) (zero)
adiós (goodbye)
pimienta (pepper)
(la) cuchara (spoon)
vacílala (check her out)
vacílala dame una (check her out, give me one)
vacílala con cero (check her out with zero)
exhíbela (show her off)
fly
setenta (seventy)
sombrero (hat)
sombrero con mambo (hat with Cuban mambo step)
sombrero con mambo complicado (hat with complicated Cuban mambo step)
treinta y tres (thirty three)

The strict relevance of the name to the move varies. It may be a direct instruction, or an implication, or slang, or innuendo, or a joke, or just a label that happens to be attached to a move. So, you just have to learn to associate the name to the move, and with practice this soon becomes a good way to remember moves and to learn new moves.

See you soon for some rueda fun!

Rueda classes start this Sunday, 4th January, at 7:30pm, at Keir Hardie Hall, 9 St Gregory's Alley, Norwich NR2 1ER.

Beginners/Improvers Rueda at 7:30pm, Improvers/Intermediates Rueda at 8:30pm, and dancing from 9:30pm to 10:30pm.

£5/£4(concessions) for the whole evening, £2 dancing from 9.30pm.

Take a look at the syllabus to see the moves taught at each level, but in any case, all levels are welcome at 7:30pm to join in, dust off the cobwebs and refresh familiar moves.

There is no need to come with a partner as everyone will join in the rueda, with or without partners, and then partners will change with the rueda moves.

Come along and learn the joy of dancing Cuban-style salsa, meet new and old friends and work on your fitness while having great fun!

We hope to see you there.