Choosing a name and a logo for a new company is never a
straight forward endeavour. It is the first thing people will connect with when
joining a new school and any goodwill generated through the successful
operation of the business will become directly associated with both the name
and the logo in the long run.
While we might be teaching different styles of dances in the
future, our school is centred on Cuban salsa so it seemed natural to give it a
salsa related name. The only problem with that was the plethora of schools with
salsa in their title. It seemed like any name we could come up with already
existed somewhere and to add yet another school with a salsa based title to the
mix would make it nearly impossible to differentiate our teachings.
Eventually we came up with the name “Tiempo España
Dance Academy”
as it appealed to us in various ways:
-
“Tiempo España” is the name of a formation in Cuban
Salsa which uses the close-hold and is generally danced at the start of a song
both for dancing in pairs as well as in Rueda. This is one of our favourite
dance positions and as a result we teach more moves in the Tiempo España
position than any other school we have come across so far.
-
While the name “Tiempo España” is not grammatically
correct from a Spanish linguistic perspective, we like the way it looks and
sounds and it is generally easy to pronounce and remember even for people who
have no connection to the Spanish language. The name is not to be taken as a
Spanish expression but rather as a reference to the aforementioned dance
position called “Tiempo España” (we will elaborate in a later post why there
are grammatical inconsistencies between dance moves with Spanish names and the
Spanish language).
-
The origin of the name Tiempo España lies in the way
this dance move was introduced to Cuba.
Salsa has a very rich history
which has been influenced by many dances over various time periods. African and
European dance influences were the main contributors to the Casino dance that
emerged in Cuba in the 1950s. The close hold in dancing had been introduced to
Cuba by the European colonialists in the form of Waltz which they danced on the
island as early as 1814. There is evidence to suggest that it influenced the
way Guaracha was danced but the popularity of this close-hold increased significantly
with the development of Danzón in 1879 and its subsequent influence on Son and
Casino. While the term Tiempo España refers to the time of Spanish colonial control
that plagued the island when the close hold was introduced into Cuban dancing,
it is a somewhat misleading description as it is likely that the French rather
than the Spanish brought Waltz to Cuba, possibly as a result of the Haitian
revolution. Nevertheless, as the Spanish were the colonialists in power at the
time, most western cultural influences became linked to their control and therefore Tiempo España
can be understood as a general description of the new way of dancing which Cubans
discovered from the Western world i.e. the close hold form of dancing.
Cuban salsa can be danced
in close hold as well as open hold and Tiempo España has evolved to refer to the close
hold as opposed to “Guapea” based dancing which is Cuban salsa
danced in open hold.
Calling our school Tiempo España
Dance Academy not only reflects the fascinating history of Cuban salsa in our
company name but also draws a parallel to the idea of the European influence on
Cuban salsa juxtaposed with the popularity Cuban salsa now has in Europe which
has allowed us to open our dance school in the UK.
Our logo comprises of two dancers which perform
exibela, one of the main moves that are done in the Tiempo España formation, as
well as a clock face combined with the Spanish flag to symbolise “Tiempo” and
“España” respectively.
