Orishas (Part 2)

While Orisha dancing was historically introduced to Cuba by black afro-cubans as a form of religious expression it is today seen as part of every-day life in Cuba. Thanks to the communist revolution it went through a process of secularisation. Nowadays it is therefore seen predominantly outside of its ritual context in isolation or as part of wider dance performances as well as mixed into Casino dancing. Orishas are today understood in Cuba as part of its cultural heritage and they are discussed and performed in schools and local dance groups as well as reaching more professional platforms such as Cuban TV-shows.

Many Orisha dances such as Yewa, Oba, Erinle and Osanyin are still predominantly used in their non-secular form today. However, often their specific dance steps to honour them have been lost or changed over time and generic steps are used in ritual dancing. By contrast the Orishas that have become a secular dance are predominantly marked by their incorporation into the syllabus of the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba. Specifically the following Orisha fall into this category: Obatala, Babalu, Aye Ogun, Oshun, Aganju Shola, Oshosi, Elegba, Yemaya, Oya and Shango.

While Orishas in their spiritual form are often accepted to be deities, in reality they are a more complex anthropomorphic entity connected to objects and power whose definition defies many scholars. Orishas in its religious context can be classified as “ara orun” which are primordial and therefore predate the creation of earth and mankind and “irunmole” which came after the creation of earth. Ara orun reside in heaven whereas irunmole are on and in the earth and were the first earth beings created. Orishas can also be deified ancestors who had such an impact that their descendants continue to uphold their memory. These ancestors become orishas via a metamorphosis such as petrification or ascension which is not seen as their death but rather as a transition into a higher being. Finally, orishas can be the most powerful spirits dwelling in natural forces and phenomena according to the Yoruba belief. These type of orishas mediate between humans and the controllable part of nature.

Cowbell (Part 1)

The cowbell is an integral part to Cuban music and is one of the easiest percussion instruments to learn how to play. For beginner salsa students it is often the key factor that lets them find the beat in the song as cowbell patterns are among the easiest rhythmic patterns to recognise in salsa songs provided they are clearly audible. Although some players like Tito Puente create more complex patterns by playing on several bells to create melodies and polyrhythms.

Cowbells are usually referred to as “campana” in Latin America although other names may also be found to describe them such as “cencerro”. Due to its simplicity there is rarely one band member designated to playing only the cowbell and in practice it is usually the bongo player playing the cowbell as well. In this situation the bongo player is often referred to as a “bongocerro” a portmanteau combining the words bongo and cencerro.

Cowbells are usually made out of steel, copper, brass or bronze and come with a wooden stick to strike them with. Cowbells are usually 10 – 20 centimetres long although they can be longer. In Cuba cowbells are often played individually but they can also be mounted to drum kits, timbales or any other percussive instruments. As such their sizes and models are often referred to by the percussive instrument they are attached to or the other instruments their player alternates them with i.e. “bongo bell”, timbale bell”.

Cowbells are hollow inside and closed off at the top while open at the bottom giving them the shape of a rounded pyramid. The opening at the bottom is usually called “the mouth” of the cowbell and is usually rectangular shaped. The widest face of a cowbell is usually called “the flat” and is the area that is usually hit by the beater.

While some artists can produce various sounds from cowbells, generally speaking three sounds are distinguished. a soft and dry sound produced by a stroke with the tip of the stick on the flat, a loud sound produced by the shaft of the stick hitting the flat and finally a stroke with the shaft on the edge of the mouth which is usually the loudest sound.

Confusion (Part 6)

It is the nature of occupying one role within dance that can quickly result in a certain type of tunnel vision where leaders and followers focus almost exclusively on themselves. This is not necessarily because they are selfish in terms of their personality or they want to show off their dancing skills but rather it is often the fact that the way they have learned to dance focuses on each role in isolation. I.e. attending almost any dance class for leaders usually amounts to something like “last week we learned move number 22 whereas this week we will learn move number 23” which quickly creates the perception for leaders that the more moves they do social dancing the better they are as leaders. Similarly, there is a sheer endless amount of “lady styling” classes and workshops which can certainly be a way to make any dance more challenging and aesthetic and is often something followers will approach with the same attitude as leaders looking for the next move they can learn. Maybe one of the most surprising discoveries that leaders make when starting to follow is that executing one move after another does in no way feel as good to followers as it seems and it certainly is not even half as impressive for them as leaders would like it to be. In fact a lot of the most impressive moves for leaders are actually quite boring from a followers perspective and often restricts them completely so that they can scarcely express themselves. Similarly, when followers start to lead, they discover quickly that over-styling can be a hindrance to leading which can become annoying rather than enhancing the dance. 

These are just two factors that very commonly get misjudged by leaders and followers alike but there are many more examples where the perception of what a role entails or how certain moves feel the other way around is completely different than the reality. No matter how considerate one may be as a dancer this difference in perception is almost impossible to resolve from the side-lines and the only way to truly understand how to dance better with somebody is by trying out their role even just for a short while. I personally remember how I used to think that many followers would get dizzy and find the dance less enjoyable if I made them do too many turns in succession so I avoided sequences involving Vueltas, Vacilalas and Coca Colas. When I started following I was horrified to find out that Tornillos, one of my favourite category of moves, was actually much worse in many ways to most followers not because they were spinning around themselves but because they were slowly spinning around me which prevented them from spotting. It is these type of discoveries that fundamentally changed my attitude and allowed me to become a much more considerate dancer and I truly believe that anyone trying out both roles in dancing will have a similar experience.

Pilón (Part 1)

A few weeks ago we introduced the basic steps of Pilón in our most advanced Cuban salsa class that we currently run in Leeds. Even though this dance form is often seen in Ruedas (i.e. Enchufla con Pilón) and many workshops contain elements of Pilón in their warm-ups it is rarely discussed and taught separately, and many dancers are confused on how this dance relates to Cuban salsa.

Like most Cuban dance forms, it is a standalone dance that can be learned, taught and danced independently of salsa. However, it has influenced salsa in a myriad of ways such that most non-Cubans only hear about it by trying to add new elements into the way they dance salsa. Pilón is not only a dance style but also a musical form which is often attributed to Pacho Alonso y sus Bocucos particularly following the success of their famous song "Rico Pilón". However, the first Pilon (“El Bajo KunKún) was created by Enrique Bonne. The dance and music were named after the town Pilón in the Granma province of Cuba.

Little is known around the origin of the dance but legend has it that it was born in the coffee or sugar plantations with the dance gestures simulating a mortar pounding coffee or crushing sugar cane. The name Pilón for the music and dance style is borrowed from the mortar which is to this day known as a Pilón in rural areas of Cuba. The dance originated in Cuba in the late 1950’s and contains some Iyesà dance elements. Pilón as a rhythm became very popular in Cuba around 1965 particularly in the carnivals of Santiago de Cuba and reached its peak in the late 1970s.

In Pilón as a dance there is one basic step which is confusingly sometimes itself referred to as Pilón. The dance is usually danced separately but can also be performed in a group of dancers so the concept of leader and follower is not quite the same as observed in Casino dancing for example and everyone will start their basic step on their right foot. However, dancers will still make connections with other dancers by eye contact and mirroring each other’s movements so this can still be perceived as a couple dance.

Confusion (Part 5)

When I suggest to students that they learn both leading and following, one of the most common comments I hear is that it confuses them to learn both roles. This is certainly a fair point and learning both roles at the same time may result in neither one of them being picked up correctly. The obvious confusion is the fact that leaders start on their right foot while followers start on their left foot. Additionally, many other aspects are equally difficult to reconcile such as the difference in pressure points or the fact that leaders are supposed to think of the next move while followers should not anticipate anything. This certainly makes it hard to learn both of these structures simultaneously and it can be highly confusing and maybe even counterproductive to learning certain moves. However, I have equally met many people to whom it was helpful to learn both roles at the same time and who found it much easier to differentiate between the different roles this way. Ultimately, it is completely up to the individual how and when they want to switch roles and the level system we have created at Tiempo España Dance Academy allows people to go back to the beginner’s class at any point and learn the opposite role. We do not pressure anyone into trying this out nor do we suggest the timeframe when this should be done but we simply recommend to everyone who comes to their first beginner’s class that they should try out both roles as part of their salsa journey.

While I understand that it may be confusing at first, having struggled with this myself for many months, I truly believe that any dancer hugely benefits from becoming proficient at dancing the role they normally do not occupy. For leaders, it is helpful to understand how it feels to be led by other people so that they can reassess their own signals, their pressure points, musicality etc. Similarly, for followers it is very helpful to understand how to lead moves to be able interpret signals better and follow them more easily or even support leaders in key moments such as tornillo’s etc. In other words, it increases the general awareness of both followers and leaders around the dance buying them some crucial time that they can use in any dance to perfect their respective moves.

Tiempo España Dance Academy News

It has been a while since we announced all the changes around our dance school so here is a long-needed update around everything we have done lately:

We still write our blog on a biweekly basis, publishing a new article every Friday at 7pm and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. However, we are taking a break from our very popular “Rueda Hand Signs” series which goes hand in hand with publishing a new video on Youtube when it normally comes out. This is to gather some additional material and spend some more time on theoretical concepts to enhance our level 5 and level 6 classes where we still need to introduce a lot of theoretical concepts so we will focus on some of these in the coming months. Our plan is to re-introduce this series again in the future and publish more advanced moves accordingly.

With the addition of our latest teacher we currently have 10 people teaching classes at our various locations which is the highest number of teachers we had to date despite unfortunately losing some teachers over the last few years. This increasingly allows us to give students higher quality classes as we can tailor them to their level and needs. Our teachers are increasingly experienced, and a number of teachers are now training for level 4 or even level 5 which will give us more opportunities for advanced classes in the future.

Thanks to an increasing number of students reaching level 6 we now have various dancers who are ready for performances which is a tremenduous achievement and we want to thank all our advanced dancers for their time, commitment and dedication to our school. The first performances we have scheduled will be a guest performance on 11th October at a Ceroc social at Ceroc St Chads in Leeds. We will have another performance straight afterwards on 12th October at the Leeds Dance Studio where we run all our Leeds classes for their 10 year anniversary show and as a result will not be running any of our normal Leeds Saturday classes that day. We are very excited to be part of these performances and are impressed with our students that they have reached such a high level of dancing. Keep your eyes on the event page of our website to find out furthere details if you would like to watch the shows.

Rueda Hand Signs (Part 33) Enchufla Con La Mano Derecha

Enchufla Con La Mano Derecha is essentially the exact same move as the normal standard Enchufla performed in almost every Rueda with the key difference being that the leaders switch their left hand to their right hand. On the surface this may not seem like a huge difference and most advanced dancers do not consider this a separate move but rather a small variation of standard Enchufla. However, especially for beginner students it is a key element to learn especially since Enchufla is one of the most fundamental and popular moves that forms part of many higher level moves and Rueda combinations so learning how to lead it with the left and the right hand is an essential skill for any aspiring salsa student.

Even though advanced dancers will hardly even realise whether they are using their left or their right hand to lead Enchufla, for most beginner students this feels entirely different and has some important features that need to be learned to execute this correctly. For instance, it is important to have switched the left to the right hand by beat 7 of the prior 8 count before Enchufla is executed for this to work well. I.e. the Enchufla signal itself should be given with the right hand. This is a huge difference when compared to for instance Pimienta Con La Mano Derecha which is another fundamental move that can be done with the right hand, however, here leaders will still give the signal with their left hand on beat 7 and only switch it to the right hand on beat 2 while the move is executed.

Moreover, while it is possible to go back into a left-handed Dile Que No, most leaders will finish the move with a right-handed Dile Que No so the correct hand hold for this move needs to be found by beat 7 as described in previous posts.

Since most dancers do not even consider this version of Enchufla to be a separate move there are not a lot of leaders who will lead Enchufla social dancing and it is extremely rare to find this being called in a Rueda. However, adding this element as well as similar right-handed moves makes Ruedas as well as social dancing more varied, interesting and more fun not to mention that for spectators the two versions do look very different.

The Rueda signal for Enchufla Con La Mano Derecha is the same as the left-handed version except for the fact that the cantante will use their right hand to signal the move.