I discovered Cuban Salsa quite by chance one bored Saturday evening two years ago.
I’ve been a dancer for most of my life, but mostly in solo styles such as classical Indian dance and creative dance in childhood, with a bit of jazz and Middle-Eastern bellydance in my twenties. As an undergraduate in the USA, I studied Cuban & Haitian traditional dance for one semester. My favourite dances were those of the Cuban Orishas (Yoruba spirits). I loved the rhythms, the storytelling, the mythology and the movements. I didn’t know Cuban partner dancing in the form of salsa/casino existed. This might be because my dance professor was pretty humourless (Evidence: I lost some points clowning around during group choreographies and she gave me an A-minus).
I always thought Latin partner-dancing looked really glamorous and so I gave Argentine tango and New-York style salsa a go a few times during and after university. It certainly looked pretty, but I wasn’t sure I was having fun (did I mention I’m a clown?). I wanted the freedom to play games with a partner, to swap roles freely and to be able to laugh while dancing.
About three years ago I injured my spine after a fall, which left me unable to sit for prolonged periods. Gone were the nights out dining with friends, sitting at the cinema, going on road-trips. Ever the “my-glass-is-half-full-(of-rum-so-could-you-top-me-up-please)” optimist, I started looking into things ‘Naba (my husband) and I could do together for fun that didn’t involve sitting down too long. I saw an advert for Cuban Salsa right here in Leeds, and immediately suggested we try it together…and we’ve never looked back.
What is it that I love about Cuban salsa?
- It’s very easy to learn yet looks so impressive when executed, even after just a few lessons.
- You are not confined to a role defined by your gender – yes, a lot of women tend to follow and men tend to lead, but there are a number of moves where roles are swapped, and sneaky ways of doing so as well (e.g. Confusión, one of my favourite moves to unleash on an unsuspecting leader when social dancing). It doesn’t matter how old you are either!
- If there are enough of us in a rueda (wheel of dancer pairs), we can create the most amazing shapes and formations together. It’s an exercise in teamwork, concentration, and multi-tasking. Sometimes it ends up looking like a round of Twister, but that’s the fun!
- The earthy rhythms of the music synchronise us like a secret glue.
- The Spanish names of the moves are fun to learn and often cheeky (but sometimes hard to remember – so there are entertaining hand signals for them too).
- You don’t have to be glamorous and graceful, clowns are allowed.
- Finally, for me it’s an escape – when I’m a Cuban salsa dancer, it’s all I need to be. I can forget my injury, I can erase a bad week and I can forget the stresses of modern living.
