Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, a popular dance known as Casino was marketed abroad as Cuban-style salsa or Salsa Cubana to distinguish it from other salsa styles when the name became popular in the 1970s. Dancing Casino is an expression of popular social culture in Cuba, and many Cubans consider Casino a part of their social and cultural activities centering on their popular music. The origins of the name ''Casino'' are ''casinos deportivos'', the dance halls where a lot of social dancing was done among the better-off, white Cubans during the mid-1950s and onward. Historically, Casino traces its roots as a

partner dance file:Tanzturnier 28.JPG, Ballroom dancers performing the tango. file:dance-At-Bougival.jpg, upPartner dance, ''Dance at Bougival'' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1883 Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of t ...

from Son Cubano, which was fused with partner figures and borrowed from Cuban Mambo, Cuban Cha Cha Cha, Rumba Guaguancó, and North American Jive. Similar to Son,

Danzón Danzón is the official genre and dance of Cuba.Urfé, Odilio 1965. ''El danzón''. La Habana. It is also an active musical form in USA and Puerto Rico. Written in time, the danzón is a slow, formal partner dance, requiring set footwork ...

and Cha Cha Cha, it is traditionally (though less often today) danced ''a contratiempo''. This means that, distinct from subsequent forms of salsa, no step is taken on the first and fifth beats in each clave pattern, and the fourth and eighth beats are emphasized. In this way, dancers contribute to the

polyrhythm Polyrhythm () is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rh ...

ic pattern of the music through their movements. Casino dance is closely intertwined with Afro-Cuban dance traditions. Many dancers include spontaneous or ad hoc fashion, though this is not a defining feature of the dance. Much like ''sonero'' (lead singer in Son and Salsa bands), they may quote or reference older songs. Casino dancers frequently improvise, integrating movements, gestures, and extended passages from Cuba's African heritage, including rumba and older popular dances such as Cha Cha Cha and Danzón.

Culture and geography

Culturally, Casino is performed as an interplay between genders, with an emphasis on feeling the music, known as ''sabor''. Much of the interplay of Casino style dancing is based on the broader Afro-Caribbean cultural context with emphasis on sexual interplay, teasing, and everyday experience. Geographically, in Latin America, Casino and its variants are danced in Cuba, the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. It is also popular in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and parts of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. In the 1950s, Miami became a spot for Cuban music and salsa dancing, thanks to waves of Cuban immigrants bringing their musical traditions like son, rumba, and cha-cha-cha, sparking a fiery dance culture we now call Miami Cuban-style salsa.

Styles of casino

As a partner dance (''Parejas'')

Casino is danced in three points which makes up a circular motion as partners face each other in intricate patterns of arms and body movement. This is distinctive from the North American Salsa styles which is danced in a slot (two points) and linear positions as taught by the North American and European dance studios. Casino has a number of basic steps. One of them, known as ''guapea'' (also known as ''pausa'' or ''swagger'') among other attested names, involves the leader

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

performing a more or less pronounced dragging of his left foot backward from a slightly advanced onset position. This is in stark contrast to the most common basic Salsa step, in which the lead steps forward with his left foot. Casino styling includes men being "

macho Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1940s and 1950s and its use more wi ...

" and women being femininely sexy, with major body and muscle isolations, through the influence of '' Rumba'' dancing. During the dance, dancers often break from each other during percussion solos and perform the ''despelote'', an advanced form of styling in which the male and female partner get physically close and tease each other without touching through the gyrating of hips and shoulders while performing muscle isolations. The major distinction of Casino Styling is that male partners have tendencies to show off (following Afro-Cuban Guaguancó influence), under the cultural guise of males having to attract attention and tease females. This is the major point of differences between Casino and Northern American forms of Salsa, which ascribe to the ballroom adage of "men are the picture frame while women are the picture."

As a solo dance (''Suelta'')

''Suelto'', dancing salsa without a partner, originates from stage singers and dancers who perform dance routines during orchestra and live performances. Dancing alone or in a group (usually with a male facing females on the dance floor), the movements are based on ''a-tiempo'' or ''contra-tiempo'', with intricate footwork and lively body movements.

Other forms of partner dancing

In the 1950s, Miami came alive with Cuban music and salsa dancing. It all started when waves of Cuban immigrants made Miami their new home after the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. They brought their incredible musical traditions, like son, rumba, and cha-cha-cha, sparking a fiery dance culture we now call Miami Cuban-style salsa. Other partner dancing styles include ''Trios'' or ''Quattros'', in which a lead dances with two or more partners in intricate patterns. There is also a Trios version in which two leads share a follow. Additionally, several couples can come together to dance choreographed moves with changes of partners, led by a caller and known as "rueda de casino". This last form is popular everywhere there is Cuban music. In the United States, many dance schools only offer rueda de casino and ignore completely the dance of casino. These schools often mistakenly identify the dance as "casino rueda" or "salsa rueda", both incorrect terms.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Sonycasino
- A well-researched blog on Cuban dance and music by Cuba-born Daybert Linares.
Salsayo
- a dictionary of Cuban Salsa moves Salsa