‘Por fuera’ means ‘to the outside’. The name refers to the fact that in rueda por fuera you face out of the circle instead of to the center. Partner change is also done facing out of the circle. Except for that, this structure is quite like a regular rueda de casino. Most rueda figures may be danced por fuera, but some figures work better than others.
The best suited figures are the ones where you face the other dancers at some point, like these:
- la familia
- el cero
- vacílala con giro
- festival de pelota con vuelta
When you try this structure for the first time, the main challenge is to get used to change partner facing out of the circle. Doing this one step at a time, you will probably get used to it rather quickly.
TRANSITIONS
In a regular rueda de casino it is possible to make a transition to rueda por fuera, and another transition back to regular rueda de casino. This is most commonly done in open position.
Open position
- por fuera
is the command to enter rueda por fuera from basic position (guapea). The figure is a simple turn that ends with a dile que no in por fuera mode. - adentro
is the command to exit rueda por fuera and going back to regular rueda de casino. This figure is similar to por fuera, but now it turns the wheel from outside to inside.
Closed position
In closed position rueda por fuera is less of a change because the partners are facing each other rather than the center (or out of the circle). In fact you hardly noticed that you dance rueda por fuera, because it is only a change of direction. Therefore it is seldom referred to as rueda por fuera.
These commands will transit to rueda por fuera in closed position:
- se viró
- cambia pareja
And from rueda por fuera in closed position you may go directly to rueda por fuera in open position using the command dile que no por fuera.
How to get started?
- Form a rueda with four or more couples. (It is easiest with a 5-7 couples).
- Start by calling core figures without partner change, focusing on doing dile que no outward.
- Continue by adding simple partner changes like dame una and enchufla.
- Add som more complex figures.
- And when you think you have cracked it, try enchufla y arriba to test yourself.
Why dance rueda por fuera?
Rueda de casino is a social dance where everyone in the circle dances together, and they are facing each another. Rueda por fuera is not a replacement for rueda de casino.
It is more something like an interresting challenge, where the rules have changed a bit, and you can see if you are able to do the rueda figures given these new rules.
However, in rueda por fuera you turn away from each other, and loose a bit of the social aspect. You might also have a bit more trouble actually hearing the commands. Therefore most callers only enter rueda por fuera as a variation, for a handful of figures, before they return to regular rueda de casino.
A fun variation is two circles – one rueda inside another rueda, with the inner one dancing rueda por fuera, and the outer one dancing rueda de casino. This enables interaction between the two wheels, and now the figures mentioned above might be the best suited, figures like amistad, croqueta y aspirina, etc.
This is also a nice opportunity for rueda dancers on different levels to dance together, with the beginners in the outer rueda and the more advanced rueda dancers in the inner circle, dancing rueda por fuera. This way it will be more of an even challenge for everyone, and a fresh variation for most rueda dancers.
Rueda por fuera is also a nice way to include an audience when performing, making it easiere to communicate with the audience.
Dancing rueda por fuera socially
The lower video to the right shows an example of dancing rueda por fuera including transitions between rueda de casino and rueda por fuera in open position.
Using rueda por fuera socially normally starts with a regular rueda de casino. During the song there might be a transition to rueda por fuera, with a few commands, before the caller makes a transition back to regular rueda de casino.
When facing out of the circle, some of the rueda figures might feel a little strange, because you lack the eye contact and connection to the others in the rueda.
Example of figures that are not recommended in rueda por fuera:
- patin
- a lo cortico
- cadena
- croqueta y aspirina
- amistad
- enchufla y al medio
- una media
- mujeres al centro