Confusion (Part 1)

Confusion is probably my favourite aspect of Cuban salsa and it is central to the way Aimi and I run our dance school. It is something that entirely changes the dynamics of dancing and separates Cuban salsa from any other form of partner dance I have learned. It is something that can catch you completely by surprise when social dancing and make the dance so much more interesting. It fundamentally changes the relationships between leaders and followers and makes performances even more exciting as spectators no longer understand who is leading whom. Additionally, it makes dancers significantly better in their original roles as well as becoming more respectful to their partners as they learn how it feels to be in their partner’s shoes.

The idea of confusion is that leaders and followers switch places such that the leader becomes the follower and vice versa. This can be done for the duration of an entire dance or even more interestingly, the roles can be switched multiple times within one single dance.

There are many variations in the way this move is done and various schools know this move under different names but the fundamental idea is always centred around leaders and followers switching roles which adds a component to Cuban salsa that is unheard of in more conservative dance forms.

Whichever method is ultimately chosen for leaders and followers to switch places, there are two distinct structures that can be seen within the schools where confusion is taught: Some schools teach this move in such a way that the leader initiates and leads confusion until the point where they become the follower themselves. Other schools will insist on the fact that it should be the followers that decides on when Confusion is executed such that the leader loses control 4 beats earlier than in method 1. While on the surface this may not seem like a big difference, the implications are significant. At Tiempo España Dance Academy we have adapted the second method as we believe this to be the key in making this move meaningful both in terms of the dance itself as well as the culture it fosters. This will be outlined in greater detail throughout the rest of this blog series.