Son Cubano (Part 2)

Son Cubano is a descendant from various Cuban musical styles that appeared in the mountainous region of the Oriente Province such as Kiribá, Regina and Changüí which is itself a descendant of Nengón.

Nengón is therefore sometimes seen as the grandfather of son and together with the Changüí is considered one of the prototypes of Son, sometimes referred to as proto-sones or primeval sones as musicologist Danilo Orozco describes them. These styles were developed by Guajiros (Cuban peasants) of predominantly Bantu origin although other rumbitas from different geographical Cuban areas such as Sucu-Sucu from Isla de Pinos are also considered proto-sones in terms of the musical characteristics they share with the style that eventually emerged as Son Cubano. Ultimately, there continues to be widespread disagreement around which particular music styles influenced Son Cubano directly due to the lack of documentation. Even though it is one of the most widespread and important forms of Latin music it is one of the least studied forms according to musicologist Cristóbal Díaz.

The transition into son was marked by aspects such as instrumentation which consisted of clave, maracas and guitar in early forms of the music. Over time, tres, bongos, guiro and bass (such as marímbula, botijo, serrucho, contrabajo and bajo) were added to the mix. The composition of band members changed from early trios and cuartetos to a sexteto in the 1920s through the influence of a band first called Cuarteto Oriental which expanded from maracas (Felipe Neri Cabrera), botija (Guillermo Castillo), claves (Gerardo Martínez) and tres (director Ricardo Martínez). With the addition of band members Antonio Bacallao and Óscar Sotolongo the band re-established themselves under the name Sexteto Típico Oriental adding guitar and bongos into the band. Ricardo Martínez was later replaced by Carlos Godínez at which point the band renamed itself as Sexteto Habanero which went on to popularise its sextet configuration of instruments to the point where their model is now seen as the classical format of the son sexteto. In 1927 a cornet player (Enrique Hernández) was added to the band who was eventually replaced by a trumpet player (Félix Chappottín) bringing the band into the modern septet form and changing the name of the band to Septeto Habanero.
The septeto format using the sexteto Son composition and a cornet or trumpet player was a common feature in Son Cubano in the 1920s and 1930s but later these were replaced by even larger bands called “conjuntos” which added piano, more percussion instruments and trumpets.

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

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?

1. It’s very easy to learn yet looks so impressive when executed, even after just a few lessons.
2. 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!
3. 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!
4. The earthy rhythms of the music synchronise us like a secret glue.
5. 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).
6. You don’t have to be glamorous and graceful, clowns are allowed.
7. 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.

All of this has been possible because Ben and Aimi are such fantastic and natural teachers. Their no-frills teaching style is friendly, clear, non-judgmental and FUN. This is reflected in the general atmosphere in the classes. Over the last couple of years our little Cuban Salsa family has grown, with new dancers every week. Everyone is friendly and welcoming, and we have enjoyed many fun Cuban nights out together. I’ve been a level 1 and 2 teacher for nearly a year now and have found the experience of teaching a rewarding challenge – plus a shiny Teacher’s Certificate is way cooler than an A-minus. I also continue to attend the higher-level classes as a student, because you can never have too much Cuban salsa.

Rumba (Part 7)

Amidst the confusion surrounding the term Rumba in the 20th century one person who did try to clarify the concept by codifying Rumba based on what he witnessed on his travels to Cuba was professional dancer and dance teacher Pierre Jean Phillipe Zurcher-Margolle. He was born in France and studied engineering in Zurich but after losing sight in one eye he moved to England where he eventually became a professional ballroom dancer at the end of World War I. While he started off with other dances such as Argentine Tango he witnessed a demonstration of what the western world considered Rumba according to the American model in 1932 at which point he began to learn and soon teach this dance accordingly. He visited Cuba for the first time in 1947 and was surprised to find out that Cubans danced differently to what he had been taught and one of the first comments he received was that he was dancing out of time. He was cognizant of the fact that the dance he knew as rumba was not actually called rumba in Cuba but did seem to think that it was exactly the same as Son Cubano and was surprised by the differences. He actually remarked “The Ballroom Rumba in Cuba is known as the “Son”.” upon his arrival but when he could not reconcile all aspects he immediately began taking lessons while in Cuba and danced as much as he could writing down his observations upon his return to London.

Until Fidel Castro rose to power, he travelled to Cuba 2 more times in 1951 and 1953 and his observations led to the development of other dances in the western world such as ballroom cha-cha-chá picking up on some important differences between music and dance in Cuba that had previously been lumped into the category rumba. One of his biggest contributions was his observation of contratiempo in Cuba which led to ballroom rumba and cha-cha-chá starting on the “2” beat.

However pure his intentions, when Pierre set the groundwork for much of what international Rumba has become today after his first Cuba journey he had in essence just been on a 3-week Cuba holiday. While he certainly tried to re-introduce authenticity into ballroom rumba and did a lot of work to codify it, it is preposterous to believe he would have become an expert at Son Cubano after only a few lessons within a 3-week period in a dance that takes even talented Cubans, who grow up surrounded by the culture that defines Son, a lifetime to master. I.e. it would be similar to a dance teacher travelling to Cuba today and learning Casino for 3 weeks and then canonising a dance system based on this experience for the Western world. No matter how good this dance teacher would be the system would fail to capture the entirety of Casino. And in fact one of the elements that was removed in the codification of “Rumba” was improvisation which is the backbone of most Cuban dances.

Rueda Hand Signs (Part 24) El Nudo Del DJ

This is by far the most complicated move we have published and analysed on our blog to date. It is one of the level 7 moves from the Tiempo España Dance Academy syllabus and is one of the longest moves we have taught in class so far comprising 9 eight counts. The move literally translates to “the DJ’s knot” and it is a typical Nudo move in the sense that there are a lot of complex arm movements in quick succession creating a visual effect that is both fascinating and confusing for spectators. It takes a lot of practice and skill to execute this move smoothly and to make it look easy despite its apparent complexity.

Like most nudo moves, the steps are actually fairly simple for both the leaders and the followers so it is the series of alardes, juego de manos and in general the complex arm movements that make this move so difficult to learn and follow and look appealing visually. While it is certainly a very advanced move, it depends on the style of the dancer as to whether this type of move is preferred to easier looking moves. Many advanced leaders will prefer giving the follower time to express herself while executing simpler moves but with advanced styling and body movement as discussed in the “Salsa Nudos” post on this blog.

El Nudo Del DJ is a move that contains some rather unusual elements which are not easy to pick up for followers who have never seen this move broken down. Probably the most unique section of the move that is rarely seen in other turns and combination is during the 5th eight count of the move. Here the leader turns to the left while making the follower turn to the right at the same time but by keeping their left hand low and their right hand high they achieve a back to back position with the hands crossed over in front of the leader which looks impressive when juxtaposed with the other elements of this move.

The hand sign for El Nudo Del DJ is the hand sign for knot (index and middle fingers are crossed over pointing upwards) followed by the hand sign for DJ which is the whole, open and free hand making a forward and backward motion like a DJ would do when scratching.

To see a video of the move El Nudo Del DJ as well as the hand sign, please click on: https://youtu.be/3w5_J-J1MmA

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

My first experience of dancing was when I was about 8 years old and I started having Ballroom dance lessons. I mainly started because my Nanna and Grandad went ballroom dancing twice a week and it encouraged me to give it a go with my sister. I had lessons for almost eight years before I stopped to concentrate more on my school work.

Following this I didn’t dance again until about two and a half years ago. When my friends Ben and Aimi decided to leave their day jobs to set up their own Cuban Salsa dance school I was impressed, but did think they were slightly crazy! As a good friend should, I thought I should support them in their new venture so went along to their first few classes, not really expecting to enjoy it that much. Well, as I said, two and a half years later I am still here! Turns out I enjoy it a little more than expected…!

I can’t tell you what it is about Cuban Salsa that makes it so addictive, I think it’s a combination of the music, the people and the ‘don’t take yourself too seriously’ atmosphere. The classes are always filled with laughter and the whole ethos of the school revolves around enjoying the dance. Aimi and Ben are committed to ensuring the history of the moves and the authenticity of the dance is preserved, whilst at the same time keeping the dance up to date and enjoyable for anyone no matter what your age, ability or day job is!

I have enjoyed every minute of my own salsa story, from those first few ‘here to support a friend’ classes, to now teaching my own classes. So, if Salsa is something you have thought about, no matter how briefly, why not give it a go…. just one class…. what’s the worst that could happen?!? And who knows where it may lead you!

Rueda Formations (Part 1)

Ruedas are often used as a fun warm-up for salsa parties even in the cross-body scene before starting a social event or a more advanced class. As it is a way to break the ice and for people to get to know each other it is often a vehicle to include everyone onto the dance floor which is a very nice idea with one major drawback: Ruedas at social events are overly simplistic and paint a false picture of the dance. I have met dancers who genuinely believed that the dance Rueda de Casino consists solely of the basic step and some very simple moves like Enchufla, Sombrero and Fly as every time they had been to an event, that was all they had been taught.

In reality, Rueda de Casino has thousands of moves and combinations that make it a very complex and immensely beautiful dance when studied and mastered at a higher level. One of the aspects, for instance, that is often overlooked is the concept of Rueda formations. Traditionally there are five structural formations that can be used to build a Rueda that feels complete in the sense that it has a defined and marked start and end point and is varied in the types of moves that are executed. These are in turn.

• La Entrada
• Tiempo España
• Casino
• Para el Medio
• El Fin

The formations la entrada (the entrance) and el fin (the end) start and end a Rueda respectively. They do not have to be included every time but help to give an overall sense of completeness and are certainly included in most shows and performances for aesthetic effects. Strictly speaking moves specific to the la Entrada formation should never be executed at any other point than the beginning of the Rueda and similarly the “el fin” formation should finish the dance although some schools have started mixing certain moves that would normally end the dance such as Sientala into the Casino formation.

Therefore, once we have gone from la Entrada into another formation we can never go back to la Entrada and similarly, once we have started the el Fin formation we cannot go back to any other formation. However, the other three formations are interchangeable i.e. we can go from Casino into Para El Medio or Tiempo España, we can go from Para El Medio into Tiempo España or Casino etc.

Community Projects

Our not for profit organisation Tiempo España Dance Academy C.I.C is now over a year old and we are very happy with its development. We met a lot of new interesting and helpful people through the set-up and running of this company and have been able to provide Cuban salsa classes to a part of the community that would not have been able to enjoy this hobby otherwise which is exactly what we were trying to achieve. It has been particularly nice to see parents bring their kids along to class in our weekly Monk Fryston daytime class which runs every Wednesday from 10.30-11.30am at Monk Fryston and Hillam Community Centre.

Our Monk Fryston classes were the first project we started with our C.I.C which were initially subsidised by the Western CEF as part of a 6 week course and subsequently converted into a regular daytime class that is open to new beginners every week. We are very excited to announce that we have received further funding to offer another 6 week course at the same location for everyone who is interested at a reduced rate of £3 for adults and £2 for students and people < 20 years old per each session. The full details of this course are as follows:

Monk Fryston – 6 week Cuban salsa beginner course at Monk Fryston community centre starting on 28th Feb from 10:30am to 11:30am.

In addition to the above we will be running further projects in villages and towns within the Western CEF to provide people who do not have the means to go to our evening classes in bigger cities a regional alternative to join us. The upcoming projects we have received funding for are as follows:

Sherburn – 6 week Cuban salsa beginner course at Eversley Park Centre starting on Monday 12th Feb from 11am to 12pm.

Burton Salmon – 6 week Cuban salsa beginner course in at Burton Salmon village hall starting on Wednesday 14th of March from 9am to 10am.

To get a place on any of the above courses, just send us an email to tiempoespanadancecic@hotmail.com. We are excited about the upcoming projects and are looking for further opportunities to provide people in our community with a chance to learn and dance Cuban salsa.