For many rueda dancers, regular Rueda de Casino is the “only” way of dancing Rueda. Regular in the meaning that you form a circle/wheel consisting of couples.
For others this is the beginning. After some years of dancing rueda, you try out other structures and start experimenting with various combinations.
Most Rueda structures are relatively new devellopements. Rueda structures are used and taught to such an extent today that it is useful to have descriptions and video demonstrations of them.
Here you will find the Rueda structures that have been taught at the SalsaNor Rueda Congress over the years – since 2002. And a few more.
First of all, the basic structure of Rueda de Casino:
Then we have the social rueda structures where couples can join the rueda in the middle of a song:
- Rueda por fuera
- Rueda contratiempo
- Rueda con dos mujeres
- Ábaco
- Rueda en linea
- Rueda combo
- Rueda torno – updated in 2020
- Rueda espejo
- Rueda transvesti / Rueda sopresa
- Rueda switch / Rueda confusion
Some rueda structures need a fixed number of couples, and usually an even nuber of couples divided into two teams (primeros and segundos / cantantes and oyentes). They need a bit more controlled social setting, to avoid a single couple joining and destroying the structure:
- Rueda avenida
- Rueda contrario
- Rueda cruzada
- Rueda eco
- Rueda frente a frente
- Rueda llanta
- Rueda mixta
- Rueda mujeres contrario
- Rueda treból
- Rueda trio caliente
And finally some more recent Rueda structures that are still work-in-progress:
- Rueda celeidoscopio
- Rueda equis
- Rueda fractal
- Rueda treból infinita
A view from ABOVE
SalsaNor has started recording rueda structures with a new perspective, a view from ABOVE: rueda contrario | rueda mixta | rueda torno.
Social rueda structures
The focus of the Rueda Standard is social rueda dancing.
In a social setting dancers commonly enter a rueda in the middle of the song.
This is a killer for the rueda structures that require an even number of couples, like rueda cruzada, rueda llanta and rueda frente a frente.
All rueda dancers should respect an ongoing rueda, and watch the rueda a bit before considering to enter, to see if they are able to keep up. The various rueda strucutres makes this even more cruisial. If you enter a rueda, and then discover that this was not a rueda de casino after all, but a rueda espejo or rueda travesti, then you will probably be killing this rueda.
(Consider a lesson from Elvis Presley: Stop, look and listen, baby ..)
More about structures
For more details of the devellopement of the different Rueda structures see the history page.
In addition to various structures in rueda de casino, related dances may also be danced in a rueda/circle, like son, cha cha cha, bachata, etc.