Rueda Hand Signs (Part 26) Parte El Brazo (Con La Mano Izquierda)

Like so many moves in our level 2 classes this is one of the most fundamental moves that absolutely need to be mastered by students before they move on to higher level classes as it is an elementary move that is underlying various more advanced moves. Strictly speaking, Parte El Brazo is the element that the move Enchufla is based on, however, internationally the move Enchufla is much more well-known and common especially in Ruedas while many schools will not teach Parte El Brazo as a separate move. There is therefore often a misconception that Parte El Brazo is based on Enchufla rather than the other way round but in reality Parte El Brazo is a much simpler move that consists of only one 8-count the footwork of which can be directly applied to Enchufla with only a small adjustment at the end where dancers meet each other instead of passing each other.

Parte El Brazo literally translates to “part of the arm” and comes from the fact that contrary to Enchufla leaders will keep their left hand as low as possible which results in the followers bending their right forearm behind their back instead of turning underneath the leader’s arm. The follower’s forearm is being bent behind their back in a very distinctive way during the move such that instead of the whole arm moving, it is mainly the movement of their forearm which is “part of their arm” that gives the move its visual focus and therefore its name.

By default this move is usually executed by the leader holding the follower’s right hand with their left hand but the full name Parte El Brazo Con La Mano Izquierda can be called to distinguish this move from the right-handed variation.

Parte El Brazo can designate a lot of different moves depending on the region and the Rueda group as it is one of the moves that have evolved and developed differently in many locations. In some dance schools Parte El Brazo refers to a longer combination of Enchuflas similar to the moves El Uno or El Dos. In some dance schools the name is actually associated with entirely unrelated moves such as Toca La T. However, at Tiempo España Dance Academy the move is always executed exactly as shown in the below video.

For Parte El Brazo Con La Mano Izquierda the caller takes the index finger of the right hand and points to the left forearm, swiping up and down to signal that it is only part of the arm instead of the whole arm that we are using.

To see a video of the move Parte El Brazo Con La Mano Izquierda as well as the hand sign, please click on: https://youtu.be/5_3kyvy7Fno

Cultural Partner: Cactus

Since we started teaching Cuban salsa it has been our aim to not just give people a collection of different moves but rather provide a comprehensive course that introduces students to all aspects of the dance. We feel that aspects such as history and culture are as important to Cuban salsa as learning how to lead and follow as it makes the dance more meaningful and gives dancers an idea as to why moves are executed in a certain way. However, even our most interested students quickly discover that while there is a lot of information on Cuban salsa, most of the literature is in Spanish so for people who do not speak this language there is a limit to how much they can find out on the subject. Similarly, most song lyrics of salsa songs are Spanish so for people who want to dance to the meaning of a song this language is key. Adding to this the fact that a lot of our beginner students struggle with the Spanish move names more than the move itself, it is natural for most Cuban salsa dancers to eventually want to learn the Spanish language.

To make it easier and cheaper for our students to master this language and apply it in the salsa context we have partnered up with a number of language schools in the area where we teach. Cactus is the biggest school we have partnered up with which provides language classes all over the UK including Leeds. Since most of our students live around Leeds we do believe that this partnership provides a great opportunity for people who come to our classes to learn more about the language. It will give people a chance to sign up for evening classes together with some of their friends they made in salsa which will make it an even more enjoyable experience.

Cactus is the leading provider for language courses in the UK offering evening classes as well as language holidays in various locations. Through the partnership with our school they are giving Tiempo España Dance Academy students a 20% discount for any of their 10 week evening language courses in Leeds. Similarly, Cactus students will only have to pay the student price when buying an 8-week pass for our classes so we hope a number of our students will benefit from this collaboration. If you would like to find out further information you can visit the Cactus homepage at https://www.languagecoursesuk.co.uk. If you would like to receive the discount for the language course, please speak to Aimi or myself in class.

Hi, my name is Sarah and I'm a salsaholic...

Dancing was something I had always secretly longed to do. Growing up I was conscientious but shy, so even though I learnt to play the piano well and reached a good standard in tennis and netball, I lacked the extraversion to express myself as a dancer. In my late-teens and early twenties, being less shy but still somewhat self-conscious, I found dancing at parties and clubs a source of acute awkwardness, and actively avoided it. There was a large part of me that desperately wanted to move, but I just didn’t know how.
Reaching my mid-twenties, I knew I had to find a way to combat this. So, when a near-simultaneous change of career and end of a relationship left me wanting to gain confidence and make new friends, I had the perfect incentive for learning to dance.

My mum and dad had been practising ballroom dancing for a few years, but that wasn’t what I was after. I wanted something livelier, something freer, something to help me come out of my shell. Latin dancing had to be the way to go. Turning to internet, I came across the Tiempo Espana website. I remember being reassured to see that there was no need to bring a partner, no heels necessary and classes were on a drop-in basis, meaning that I wouldn’t have to commit to a course I potentially wouldn’t enjoy. Beyond that, I can’t really say why I chose to start with Tiempo Espana, but I can give you plenty of reasons why I stayed!

As my decision was spur of the moment, I hadn’t given too much thought as to what to expect. This was probably a good thing, as I could easily have been intimidated out of it by the thought of being in a close ballroom hold with someone I didn’t know. If I’d done my research, I would have found that Cuban Salsa is classed as a street dance and although some moves require a closed hold, a large part of it is danced semi-open (i.e. hands are connected but there is more space between couples) or even completely apart. The other thing I hadn’t realised was that the focus is not on performance (although performances of Cuban Salsa certainly can be and are done). Instead the focus is on learning the moves and skills to be able to dance socially.

My misconceptions erased, I took to the dance well and found it to be an instant addiction. I was so thrilled that I was finally learning to dance that soon I started going to classes as often as three times a week. I was humbled and grateful for how quickly I was included into our ‘salsa family’ and delighted to find a passion that has become such a large part of my life.
Though it’s been a relatively short time since I began Cuban Salsa, being able to identify as a dancer has brought me so much confidence and joy. (As it happens, I still don’t know how to dance to non-salsa music, but I’m pleased to say that at least some of the awkwardness has abated!) Teaching is a new adventure too and one I intend to pursue happily and whole-heartedly.

To close, if I may offer one piece of advice to someone thinking about learning to dance, it would be this: don’t delay your dance journey waiting for an incentive. There is no better incentive than simply wanting to dance.

Rumba (Part 8)

As discussed in the previous post of this series, what Monsieur Pierre brought back from Cuba may have been closer to Son Cubano rather than Rumba but certainly was not exactly like it and instead of introducing Son to Europeans he ended up modifying American Rumba to make it closer to Son as well as elements from other Cuban dances, something he called “The Cuban System”. In fact some writers agree that what Pierre learned in Cuba predominantly was actually Mambo instead of Son contributing further to the mix of dances that came together to form the Rumba of the Western world.

This system caught on eventually to become the basis for International Rumba today but not before it was modified many times again to make it more Westernised such as mixing it with movements from ballet. What is more lamentable is the fact that to distinguish it from American Rumba the description “Cuban System Rumba” became shortened to “Cuban Rumba” such that once again people were dancing a completely westernised and modified version of Son under the name of Rumba but believing they were dancing exactly the same way as the Cubans did since they were dancing “Cuban Rumba” instead of “American Rumba”. This terminology is one of the most confusing aspect of this dance even today as many people continue to believe that Rumba refers to Ballroom Rumba while Cuban Rumba is the version of this that Pierre initiated as opposed to American Rumba, that is, both the terms Rumba and Cuban Rumba have become associated with dances which in its current form have little in common with any of the dances from Cuba least of which the original Rumba dances. In effect what Pierre tried to achieve by his research trips, while certainly being invaluable in creating documentations around pre-revolutionary Cuban dances and being instrumental in shaping the Latin ballroom dances, had in fact the opposite effect he desired in the long term: Instead of bringing Western people closer to the Cuban model, the dance evolved in such a drastic manner that it is hard to see similarities to the Cuban dances from which it was derived and what remains is the description “Cuban” and “Rumba” which distracts from Cuban tradition and culture and the original Rumba complex to the point where people are more oblivious than ever to what it is they are dancing and where the dance comes from.

It is believed that on one occassion Pierre had the chance to witness Guaguancó in Cuba, one of the actual Rumba dances, to which he remarked that the dance is “so super-rhythmic that it is quite beyond the reach of any European dancer”.