Rueda culture

RUEDA CULTURE

You need approximately 3 and a half eyes to dance rueda de casino:

• Keep one eye on the caller
  Sometimes a caller may call something else than what he dances. It could be a mistake, or he may have a different name on the figure than what you are used to. In any case, you should follow what the caller actually does rather than what he calls. (And you can ask him later, not during the dance.)
• Keep one eye on the circle
  Make sure to adjust your position constantly so that the rueda is forming a close to perfect circle. You should be able to easily touch the shoulder of the dancer next to you (la vecina/el vecino). The circle commonly expands more than it should, and sometimes you may have to run or take huge steps to get to the next partner in time. Try to avoid that by keeping the circle tight.
• Keep one eye on your partner
  Make sure to communicate and have fun with your partner, while you dance. Be generous with eye contact and smiles.
• Keep half an eye on the person behind you in the circle,
  The neighbour is referred to as ‘la vecina’ (the neighbour lady) or ‘el vecino’ (the neighbour man). Give him or her a smile as well, whenever possible.

THE REUDA LANGUAGE

Rueda calls and rueda figures are not so much about right and wrong, it’s rather about more or less common, Cuban, fun, original/modern, logical, funtional, and other aspects, that you’ll also recognize in a language. You will find local variations of rueda figures everywhere. For example, the figure “cero” (“zero”) is danced in several different ways in different cities/rueda groups.

This is actually the key motivation to devellop the Rueda standard – to solve language differences, at least for the most common figures and commands, so that it’s possible to dance together across different cities, countries and continents.

LEAD / FOLLOW

The figures in rueda are led by the leader the same way as in salsa (casino). There are a few exceptions in rueda, though. Some commands refer to the women, like “mujeres una bulla” (= women make some noise). Also, some of the formations and a few figures are done with only partly or no leading, like “patin para mujeres” or “mujeres derecha”.  Therefore, the followers need to pay attention to the commands, even though most of the figures are lead by the leaders.

Because rueda is a traditional Cuban dance, the terms mujeres (= women) and hombres (= men) are used when referring to followers and leaders.

CHANGING PARTNER

It is not strictly logical when to change partner and when not to change partner. It is easiest the partner change is called directly, like in “dame una” or “vacílala y dame”. However, quite a few commands include a partner change, like “patin” or “pelota”, and there is no general rule to decide in which ones you change. It has to be learned with each figure, and you get used to it rather quickly. (A tip is to keep an eye on the caller and see if he prepares for a partner change.)

“Enchufla” is one of the most basic rueda figures. Most rueda callers include a partner change in this figure, so it has the same meaning as “enchufla y dame”. But it is the same in rueda as it is in general, there are exeptions also to this.

DIRECTIONS

arriba = forward / up, abajo = backward / down

In closed position: arriba direction is counter clockwise direction in the circle, abajo is the opposite
Example: vamos arriba

In open position: arriba is clockwise direction in the circle, abajo is the opposite
Example: dame una arriba

Why is arriba not the same direction all the time..?
Remember that rueda is a traditional dance from a traditional culture.
Arriba is forward direction for the leader (traditionally the man) from basic position. Abajo is the opposite, i.e. backward direction for the leader from basic position. So when you change from closed to open position tha leader and follower switch places, and therefore the arriba / abajo directions change, as explained in the video for dile que no:

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Note that “dame una” has the same meaning as “dame una abajo”, it is just common to skip calling the default direction for convenience.

When everyone is facing the center or facing out of the circle (like “enchufla y al medio”) direction is given by derecha (= right) or izquierda (= left), rather than arriba / abajo.

EXAMPLES FROM RUEDA DANCING

Here are a couple of videos with useful tips from rueda de casino, how to get a rueda started, and what a social rueda de casino might look like with a Cuban caller.

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How to start a rueda:

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Social rueda de casino with a Cuban caller:

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