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Understanding
Casino
Julián Mejía
and the intricacies of Cuban Style Salsa
By
Laureano Ralon Facchina* |
| Julián Mejía
(right) with Duane Wrenn |
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| Julián
Mejía started dancing salsa at the age of 17.
When he moved from his home (Colombia) to Miami in
1995, he learned Casino with Ramani Nicola (Salsa
Casino Dance Studios) and Henry Herrera (Verdaderos
Reyes de la Salsa Dance Studios). During his time
in Miami, Julián traveled to La Habana
to learn more about Rumba and other AfroCuban dances.
In 1999, Julián
moved to Atlanta and under the name of SALSAtlanta,
started the only Casino school and performance group
in Georgia. More than 3,500 students have passed through
his classes in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia, and he
has contributed to spreading the Casino style in Atlanta
and worldwide by conducting workshops in different
cities around the United States. Julián
is also very active on the internet, spreading information
about salsa through his websites: SALSAtlanta.com,
SalsaSpaces.com,
and LatinCoolNOW.com.
He is also a co-founder
of SalsaPower.com
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1. What is “Rueda
de Casino” and how did the term originate?
Rueda de Casino is a spontaneous dance formation
that is done mostly by people who dance Cuban style salsa
(Casino). I am glad you ask that question because I have
noticed that people confuse the term “Rueda de Casino”
with “Casino” (Cuban style salsa). I guess we
named Cuban style salsa after the roulette at the casinos.
“Rueda de Casino” or “Rueda” is
a fun spontaneous social activity on the dance floor where
there are more than one couple involved and there is one
leader who tells the other participants what moves to execute.
Rueda is a dance formation that happens in an improvised
way. The male dancers move from girl to girl every time
the “caller of the Rueda” indicates it.
The dance originated in Cuba
as a social activity back in the 50’s. Some people
claim that the place where the Rueda originated was at “El
Casino Deportivo” in Havana. In Cuba it is called
just “Rueda”, instead of “Rueda de Casino”.
Outside of Cuba, we call it Rueda de Casino, because for
us, Casino is kind of different from Salsa, so we use the
term Casino to differentiate the Cuban style salsa from
the rest of the styles.
2. So let me get this
straight: “Rueda de Casino”, “Casino”
and Cuban Style salsa are completely different things then?
For now let's just say that “Cuban style
salsa” is called “Casino”. Casino is how
Cubans refer to the act of dancing what you call salsa,
and “Rueda de Casino” is dancing “salsa”
in a wheel where two or more couples interact and execute
the same patterns. In other words, the “Rueda de Casino”
is a dance formation Cubans invented. So, Casino is the
term that is used in Cuba to dance salsa. People in Cuba
started to dance to what we call “salsa” before
the music was named “Salsa”, and they referred
to it as Casino. The term “salsa” was used in
New York to refer to what we know as “música
bailable” – mostly Cuban and Afro-Cuban music
(son, mambo, chachachá, guaracha, changüi, etc.).
Cubans started referring to the dance as Casino, because
they used to dance to this music at the casinos and dance
halls in Havana.
3. How does the dynamic
between leader and follower differ in Cuban Style Salsa
compared to other styles of Salsa such as L.A. or N.Y.?
Good question. LA and NY style salsa are styles
created based on ballroom, where the motions occur in a
linear fashion. Both leader and follower dance in a slot,
stepping forward and back, while Casino and other street
styles of dance are far less linear. The interaction in
“linear styles” happens in most cases during
the initial lead to a pattern or a spin, while in Casino,
leader and follower are communicating at all times. The
leader in Casino is communicating with his partner during
the 8-bit counts of the musical bar. LA and NY the dancers
move in a more individual way, while in Casino, the girl
moves based on the lead.
4. Interesting. I saw
a few Rueda shows in the past and I’ve always been
wanting to know whether there’s a story behind the
“calls” – that is, the command to execute
a dance step. Are those calls standardized in Cuba and around
the world or do they vary from country to country? I’ve
been told that in some countries the calls have been translated
into other languages…
There's no “story” per se, but I can
tell you that there are moves that are named after actions
or situations. Also, callers can make up a move as they
call a Rueda. To answer the second question, moves and/or
calls vary specially from Cuba to Miami. For example: “La
Prima” (Cuba) – “Adios” (Miami);
“La Prima con la Hermana” (Cuba) – “Adios
con la Hermana” (Miami). Also, there are differences
in some moves between Cuba and Miami. “Setenta”
in Cuba is executed different than “Setenta”
in Miami. The main reason for this difference is that the
person who introduced Casino in Miami did it after being
out of practice for a few years. When he started teaching
Rueda, he never thought it would grow the way it did, and
he taught what he could remember. Some of the moves where
taught differently from what was being done in Cuba, and
once the seed was planted, Miami style started. Miami style
has a lot of influence from Hustle, actually, though I would
say 60% of the first six levels of Rueda de Casino are standard
around the world.
5. Could you please
elaborate on this last point: are “Casino” and
“Rueda de Casino” danced differently in Cuba
compared to, say, Miami or other North America cities?
I would say that dancing Salsa varies from country
to country, like the language. Spanish in Puerto Rico varies
in accent and slang from Colombia or Argentina. With Salsa
it’s the same thing. Specifically with Casino, yes,
there is a difference between the Casino taught in Miami
and the Casino danced in Cuba. Most of the European countries
dance the Cuban style. There are even differences within
Cuba. People from La Habana dance different than people
from Santiago de Cuba. That even happens in Colombia; the
way people dance salsa in Cali is completely different from
Barranquilla.
6. So, what’s
your impression of the Vancouver Salsa scene?
My first time in Vancouver was a year ago, for
the 3rd Annual “Cuba Baila” event.
I remember that people were very friendly and the style
was very Cuban; but I think I only saw 10% of what the city
has to offer. I understand that the Vancouver scene is very
diverse and you can find all the different styles at the
clubs. This time around I will be arriving two nights prior
to the event, so as to check out the local scene.
7. Where would you like
to see the Vancouver Salsa scene in the next five years?
I would like to see in Vancouver as well as in
Atlanta and everywhere else, that people listen to “Timba”
as much as commercial salsa. I think that the most important
thing, regardless of the style they dance, is that los bailadores
and bailarines learn to appreciate the music, today’s
and yesterday’s. I think if everybody accepts Cuban
salsa as well as New York, Colombian and Puerto Rican salsa,
you will see unity in the scene. I say this because in many
places there are lots of differences of styles; it happens
in Atlanta, and I am currently working with top ON2 instructors
there to do combined socials where we can bring all the
styles and types of salsa under one roof.
8. Sounds like an ambitious
project. We might need something like that in Vancouver,
actually. My next question for you is: what is Salsa all
about? Actually, let me rephrase my question to make it
more specific: In your view, what does it take to be a good
Casino dancer – what are some of the things you need
to attend to while dancing?
To me, personally, it is all about two things:
music and fun. I dance Casino because I enjoy it, and I
prefer to dance to timba and son because it’s the
music that moves me the most. A good dancer, whether it
be Casino or any style, to me, is the person who lets the
music move him/her from the inside, and makes his/her partner
look the best on the dance floor. If we want to be technical,
I would say, the best dancer is the one who has good timing
and communicates with the partner at the right time. The
best leader is one who sends the right signals at the right
time while keeping his lead soft and clear. A good follower
is one who, no matter how big or small, can move like a
feather and can understand the lead’s signals and
execute them at the right time. But the most important thing
to me is to keep it fun and love the music.
9. I see that the 4th
Annual International Rueda de Casino event is coming
up very soon, what can you tell me about this event?
Yes, it is happening on April 21st and 22nd and
I can tell you that I am very excited and very honored to
be one of the instructors and also one of the judges of
the 4th Annual Rueda competition. The event is organized
by Ramses Padilla, a very hard-working man who knows a lot
about event planning. This will be my second year at the
event. Last year was excellent! It is a small event compared
to other Salsa congresses, but there's quality people here.
It’s like a family reunion weekend, where all we do
is dance!
This year, Ramses is doing the
event inspired by the “Cuban Carnivals”. There
will be people attending from all over the United States,
as well as Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Some of the participants
are: CMV con Ritmo from Mexico, Duane Wrenn from Detroit,
Grupo America from Vancouver, Jorge Elizondo from the US,
Jose Carrion from Cuba, Latidos Productions from Canada,
Marcos Ravelo from Canada, Nelsy Martinez from the US, NWSS
from Canada, Puro Encendido from Seattle, Rumbanana from
Oregon, Salsa Moderna from Victoria, Yadira Monzon from
Cuba. There will be 2 Djs, DJ Cachete and DJ Salsomana.
There will be workshops on Salsa-Casino
and Rueda de Casino as well as workshops on Rumba, Son,
Chachachá and Rueda de Bachata. The workshops will
take place on Saturday and Sunday during the day at the
Scotia Bank Dance Centre, and the parties will be at the
Empire Landmark Hotel the nights of Saturday 21st and Sunday
22nd. I hope to see you there!
Find out more about
the Cuba Baila event and the 4th Annual International Rueda
de Casino competition at dancerueda.com
For information on Julián,
visit his websites: SALSAtlanta.com,
SalsaSpaces.com,
and LatinCoolNOW.com.
He is also a co-founder of SalsaPower.com
Julián can be contacted
at: julian@salsacasino.com
