Rueda de Casino

The Caltech Salsa Club was founded by enthusiasts of Cuban-style salsa, and the club still periodically organises Cuban workshops and events. Cuban-style classes and workshops tend to be organised when enough people express interest, and hence you are advised to contact us and join our rueda mailing list if you wish to learn this style of salsa.

For those people that find L.A. style ostentatious, Cuban-style offers a refreshingly fun way to enjoy salsa without emphasizing ballroom-derived technique and styling. Furthermore, Afro-Cuban beats are rhythmic and syncopated, and arguably appeal more to the younger generation than the classic orchestral-influenced salsa tracks of L.A. style. The catchy music, free-style, and fun nature of Cuban-style salsa appeals to a wide audience. For those interested in learning more about Afro-Cuban dance you should read the excellent article by Elisangela M. Medina located here in which the renown DJ Saoco is interviewed.

Rueda de casino is a salsa round-dance developed in Havana in the 1950s and early 1960s. Pairs of dancers form a circle, with dance moves called out by one person, a caller. Rueda is a dynamic social dance involving the frequent exchange of partners according to the commands of the caller. The caller also uses hand signals to signify a particular move.

Most club members get their Cuban salsa fix by frequenting social clubs such as King King on a Tuesday evening and Rueda in the Park on a Sunday. We often record the moves that we learn and upload the videos to our video gallery.

Please e-mail salsa@caltech.edu to register your interest.