Rueda Hand Signs (Part 4) Dile Que No (Con La Mano Izquierda)

“Dile Que No” literally means “tell him no” and it is one of the most fundamental moves in Cuban salsa. The name of the move describes the fact that the follower effectively dances from the right hand side of the leader to his left hand side so it is as if she was to say “no, I do not want to dance with you anymore”. This is contrasted by a move called “Dile Que Si” meaning “tell him yes” which will be described in a later post.

Cuban salsa is structured in such a way that at the end of most moves the follower will end up at the right hand side of the leader so a Dile Que No is necessary to get back into the basic Casino position. As this is such a fundamental part of most moves, Dile Que No is implied rather than called most of the time. I.e. when the move Sombrero is called then at the end of the move everyone will do a Dile Que No without this being called specifically. However, contrary to Paso Casino, which is never called, there are actually situations where it is necessary to call Dile Que No in a Rueda. For instance, when changing from the Tiempo España formation into the Casino formation the caller can say Dile Que No or alternatively Se Fue which will be discussed in a later post.
When dancers switch partners in a Rueda they effectively do a Dile Que No to the next person in the circle, a move that is known as Dame and has already been described in a previous post.

It is therefore easy to see that Dile Que No is the second most frequent set of steps executed in most Cuban salsa dances after Casino and therefore suffers from the same problems. I.e. as every dance school around the world which teaches Cuban salsa has to teach this move, it is one of the moves that has a lot of variations internationally. Moreover, it is often incorrectly described as “Cross-body lead” in many regions where Cross-body salsa is popular, resulting in the leader and follower doing a set of steps that are closer to say LA style salsa than Casino. This is made worse by the plethora of instructional videos freely available online which incorporate some of these common mistakes i.e. leader and follower not being aligned correctly at the start of the move by not facing in the same direction, follower taking a shortcut to get to the other side of the leader by stepping across in a line rather than going forward first and then changing directions etc.

Since contrary to Paso Casino, Dile Que No is not always implied, there is indeed a hand sign for Dile Que No even though it is rarely used. Di Le Que No Con La Mano Izquierda involves the cantante pointing the index finger of their left hand in the air and then moving it from side to side as if to say “no” to a child. Like some of the previously discussed moves, the side to side motion is usually executed twice for emphasis but this will change from caller to caller. Ultimately, the amount of times the finger is moved from one side to the other by the caller has no significance in terms of how the move is executed.

To see a video of the move Dile Que No as well as the hand sign, please click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr9TLld31gQ&list=UUu_MbF5v5N-PNPm_9WCrefA&index=1.

Salsa Leeches (Part 3)

Due to the popularity of salsa as a dance form, an ever increasing number of less and less related dances are being thrown into the salsa pool as the trend continues to run from one fad to another.

Many dance styles have come and gone trying to jump on the salsa bandwagon and some of them have indeed become quite popular on their own. While debates around which type of dances should be included in certain dance evenings have existed since the beginning of mixed parties, at the point where even such unrelated dance forms as salsa and Kizomba are being bundled together it is important to at the very least be aware of the exaggerations if not blatant lies that marketers use to paint everything with the same brush.

These particular dance styles are in fact so far removed in terms of historical, geographical, cultural, musical, rhythmical etc. experience that they have next to nothing in common other than both styles being a category of dance, i.e. people moving to music, such that it seems the constant marketing lies are the only factor that keeps them together. This, however, creates serious misconceptions with respect to student expectations and their dance training in both salsa and Kizomba alike, a side effect that is equally annoying for dancers of both styles. It is therefore very important to at least be aware of the false information out there so that students can choose to pursue their dance training for the right reasons and talk to others about their passion without repeating misleading slogans they have read on a banner:

1. Kizomba is related to salsa and hence it makes sense for it to be played in a salsa night. This is by far the biggest lie of them all. Kizomba is as far removed from salsa as you can possibly get. Son which is the root of all forms of salsa originated in Cuba whereas Kizomba originated in Africa. While it is true that a lot of Cuban dances that influenced salsa have their roots in Africa such as Rumba, these are elements of the dance and in no way make salsa on their own. It is only through the history and culture of Cuba that African and European influences blended to form Son so for people to say that both Kizomba and salsa contain elements whose roots are in Africa is like saying an orange and a television are both made from atoms so they should be classified as the same category of objects. I.e. if we go back this far in history and only look at specific elements then we can relate pretty much any dance to another. Even if we acknowledge the African roots communality to some degree, then it is important to distinguish between the various African influences that contributed to both dances. I.e. Afro-Cuban rhythms have their roots primarily in Congo as it was mainly Congolese slaves that were brought to Cuba whereas the main influences shaping Kizomba came from Angola. This among other factors results in the modern version of these dances being completely different in every possible way. There is next to no historical link between the two: the cultures surrounding the dances are completely different; salsa is fast and dynamic while Kizomba is slow and sensual; the rhythms of these styles are entirely different … the list goes on.

2. Kizomba and salsa are both Latin dances so it is fine to play the two in the same night as long as it gets designated “Latin dance night”. This is similar nonsense but harder to catch. Kizomba feels Latin to some people and has been compared to Tango in the past. However, as discussed in point one it is entirely African in terms of its origin and has no relation to Latin dances whatsoever other than coincidental similarities.

3. Kizomba is needed at salsa events to cool off from the fast and dynamic salsa songs. This is already the argument that was used when Bachata entered the salsa market. Some people may indeed enjoy such a cooling-off period so I can let this argument count to some degree if we are talking about a sequence such as 4 salsa songs 1 Bachata song, 5 salsa songs, 1 Kizomba song etc. However, I have never met anyone who needs 2 Bachata songs to cool off from 1 salsa song and then 3 Kizomba songs to cool off from the 2 Bachata songs. I.e. it is the split that makes all the difference.
   Secondly, since Bachata has already been shoved under the salsa umbrella, why do we now suddenly need Kizomba in addition to Bachata? If there was indeed a need for an even slower style than Bachata at a salsa event for cool-off periods, then Kizomba would simply replace Bachata at such events for this purpose. However, adding Kizomba into the mix with an equal weight to salsa and Bachata really cannot be justified by this argument. In addition, I know few serious salsa dancers who actually do need this artificial break. In fact, most people I know can dance all night without a break given the chance and they would love the opportunity to do so.
   Thirdly, if people do want a break then what is stopping them from simply taking a break while another salsa song is being played? I used to love the chance to sit and watch other people and maybe pick up a few ideas just by watching the dancers perform, however, I cannot remember the last time I did not desperately try to dance every time I heard a salsa song out of fear I would not get the chance again for the next half an hour.
   Finally, if we really do need slow songs every now and then that break up the salsa energy then why not just play a slow salsa song or a dance style that is actually closely related to salsa but achieves the same effect i.e. Son?

More on this to follow in part 4 of the series.

Clave (Part 2) – Common Types of Clave

Clave consists of two measures being diametrically opposed which gives the pattern a sense of polarity. The repetition of these measures creates a pulse as the pattern alternates from one polarity to the other. This pulse provides the skeleton of a song which synchronises the other instruments and the dancers.

Traditionally, this rhythm was produced exclusively by the use of claves, however, in modern times other percussion instruments may be used to produce the clave rhythm. This being said, in Cuba, music continues to be heavily influenced by the sound of actual claves rather than alternative percussion instruments.

The two main clave patterns used in Cuban music are known as son clave and rumba clave. These names are somewhat misleading as both patterns are used in rumba. The son clave was first used in the rumba genres Yambú and Guaguancó before it was used as the basis for Son Cubano. Even more confusing is the fact that guaguancó clave is sometimes used in son music as well so son clave is neither unique to son music, nor does son music make exclusive use of the son clave. This has to do with the fact that son is heavily influenced by Afro-Cuban music traditions, therefore allowing for some overlap. Nonetheless, the clave pattern most often used in son music is son clave which is what has given the name to this rhythmic pattern.

Since son clave is also the main clave used in salsa music it has often been called salsa clave. However, this is technically incorrect and merely reflects a general level of ignorance, particular in recent years, of the fact that son is the origin of all types of salsa and the rhythmic pattern used in popular salsa songs has existed for much longer than salsa itself. In fact, even the name son clave is a fairly recent definition when confronted with the various archaisms that described this 5-note rhythm pattern over its long history across the world. Examples include a manuscript called Kitāb al-Adwār written in Baghdad in the middle of the Thirteenth Century by Safi al-Din al-Urmawi which refers to son clave as “al-thaqil al-awwal”. Since this is to date the earliest written record of clave it is sometimes used as the basis for the theory that son clave is the oldest form of clave.

In Ghana the son clave is usually called the kpanlogo bell pattern reflecting its use as a key pattern in kpanlogo music and rock musicians refer to it as the Bo Diddley beat. Toussaint calls it “The Rhythm that Conquered the World” which is a fitting name given that today the son clave has been designated the most popular rhythm on the planet.