Rueda Hand Signs (Part 32) El Uno

El Uno (meaning “The One”) is one of the many Cuban salsa moves that are named after a number. While there are many such moves that have no deeper meaning and are simply given their name sequentially, due to a lack of a better description, el uno is one of the few numbered moves whose name is more meaningful. In isolation this may not seem obvious but it is apparent particularly when comparing this move to another move referred to as “El Dos”. In El Uno we spend one entire 8-count in Parte El Brazo Con Dos Manos whereas in El Dos the same sequence is performed for 2 8-counts (as well as switching the position of leaders and followers). It is therefore the duration of Parte El Brazo Con Dos Manos, which is the key element of these two moves, that is responsible for the name.

El Uno starts by a Parte El Brazo Con La Mano Derecha for the first 3 steps at which point the leader picks up the follower’s left hand with their own left hand before going back to the original position. Keeping both hands, the leader does an Enchufla amd brings their right hand over the follower’s head while at the same time keeping their left hand low to finish the move by bringing both hands over both heads similarly to the end of Sombrero.

In terms of footwork El Uno is effectively an Enchufla Doble Y Quedate. It is therefore important that the steps are executed as such and no shortcuts are taken. In fact, one of the most common mistakes with this move is that dancers often do not turn properly to face each other when holding both hands in Parte El Brazo Con Dos Manos but the more they turn the better this move looks and feels and it is easier to maintain eye contact.

The hand sign for El Uno consists of the leader pointing their index finger upwards to signal the number one.

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.

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

My name is John and I'm a salsaholic! I came to dancing pretty late in life but I've enjoyed every moment of it.

My first encounter with dancing was cross-body salsa but although I was fine during classes and picked up the routines quickly, I didn't get to grips with freestyle and so for me it fell by the wayside.

I've spent the last 10 years involved with Ceroc, including crewing for them in Leeds and competing at national level over the last four years or so.

I discovered Tiempo España Dance Academy by chance as there was a class held at one of my Ceroc venues. I went to my first Cuban Salsa class with a completely open mind without any preconceptions.

Well, what I could not have been prepared for was the very detailed instruction I received from Ben and Aimi. It felt quite alien at first as each step was broken down into constituent parts and gradually put back together again, first in partner hold and then in rueda. After the first class I was unsure if this was for me but I decided to stick with it and to see what the next few weeks would bring!

I wasn’t disappointed! After the second week, I got into the routine of breaking down the moves and recognising the Spanish names and was surprised by how many moves I'd actually learnt! After a few weeks I decided that my next step was the Leeds venue where there would be people much more experienced than myself!

It was great! There was no pressure and everyone was so friendly. I was soon progressing through Level 2 to Level 3 thanks to Ben and Aimi sneaking more advanced moves into my classes without me really noticing! I felt comfortable in Level 3 and confident I could cope with the moves and keep up pretty well with everyone else in rueda.

However, I was now hungry for more and so eventually plucked up the courage to leap into Level 4, hoping that my previous experience would stand me in good stead for more advanced moves. Well, thankfully I knew most of the Level 3 moves called in Level 4 but wow, the L4 moves were a challenge! However, once I'd mastered a few of the moves and I knew I could pull them off, it felt fantastic in rueda!!

I then progressed to Confusion (role reversal) and subsequently to levels 5 and 6. Now that is serious stuff, but so much fun and I've since trained to teach up to Level 2/3 which I enjoy so much! So this is how an average rueda went for me as I was learning:


The music starts #

Straight into basic step (I'm quite comfortable at this point) The first Dame (that's fine too).

The next three moves are pretty basic so no problem there (firmly lodged in muscle memory).

The next half a dozen moves or so I've done loads before so okay so far).

Uh oh, this next one we haven't done for a while and I have 3 beats to remember the move (Yes, I've got it – nice one!)

No time to relax, here’s another move we haven't done in a few weeks (quick, dig deep, remember the start and you’ve got it. Yes, that’s the one)!

Okay, this next one’s tricky! I know I've done it before but can't remember the start – 2 beats left to remember it ! (I take a chance on a sombrero start and keep one eye on the Cantante...... bingo, I’ve got it).

Not quite so lucky on the next move – I have no idea! (I just blag it and as long as I finish on the right beat I'm okay - I'm not the only one who's gone wrong this time so maybe no one noticed! You can't win ‘em all!)


And so it continues throughout the track, forcing you to stay alert and focused every second! The result is that everyday cares just fade away because you have no time to bring them to mind. For that few minutes there's the dance and only the dance! That's the magic of Cuban Salsa!

Tiempo España Dance Academy Is Growing

We have certainly had our ups and downs and it has not always been easy to run a Cuban salsa school in Yorkshire. Nonetheless, the trend has been upwards from the beginning and our classes and events are busier than ever. Particularly our Leeds class has attracted a lot of new students lately culminating in one evening recently where we had more than 40 people join us for our various classes.

What has been particularly enjoyable to watch, however, is the fact that some of our regular students have reached such a high level of dancing that they are increasingly interested in aspects other than just learning new moves. We have been able to teach different Rueda structures such as Confusion, Rueda Pa’ Fuera, Rueda Espejo etc. as well as working increasingly on musicality by introducing such concepts as dancing Contratiempo. Many of our students use Guapea as a basic step and add additional steps or other forms of styling to make their dance look better which is a huge shift even from just a year ago.

This has resulted in an increased demand for more advanced classes which we have responded to by introducing new level 6 classes at the start of this month as well as increasing the frequency of our level 5 classes to Wednesdays and Saturdays. We now run 6 classes (level 1 to level 6) every Saturday from 6pm to 8pm as well as running level 2 to level 5 every Wednesday with an additional new level 1 beginner’s class being offered on the first Wednesday of each month from 7:30pm to 8:30pm.

We are very excited about our students having reached a level where we can offer level 6 as it is a major milestone both for our students as well as Tiempo España Dance Academy as a dance school. It is at this level that we want to introduce students to performing and focus on perfecting the moves they have learned to date to be able to showcase what they have achieved to others. We will be adding elements of related Cuban dances to the performance so will be increasingly offering classes that focus on dances such as Rumba, Mambo, Son etc. We won’t push anyone into performing with us but we will teach the same background to everyone who has reached level 6 and whether they end up performing this or not it will hugely improve their social dancing as they become more comfortable with all aspects surrounding Cuban salsa.

Tresillo (Part 5)

In the Western world Tresillo can be traced back to ancient Greece where it is believed to have entered European music and where it first appeared under the name dochmiac rhythm aka dochmius. It was originally a metric element that first appeared in the works by Aeschylus. It soon became a widespread rhythmical structure that rose to such popularity as to be considered a signature rhythm by the time Renaissance music was developed.

Through its historic relationship with Cuba, tresillo rose to popularity in New Orleans in the 1800s where it eventually helped to form ragtime with its subsequent influence on American music. It helped to shape jazz syncopation, lent itself to R&B music and became so popular in New Orleans music that the famous musician Wynton Learson Marsalis considers it to be the New Orleans "clave".

In terms of modern Cuban music, the rhythmic pattern has become particularly important in salsa songs as it denotes the 3-side of the son clave pattern. As such it is inherent to the vast majority of salsa songs whether it is played out or implied. It is the tresillo pattern that creates tension in the clave and is therefore referred to as the strong side of the clave irrespective of whether the clave pattern is 2-3 or 3-2. By comparison, the two side of the clave is often called “debil”, meaning the weak side of the clave which has the function of releasing the tension created by tresillo.

Moreover, tresillo is also the rhythmic basis of the bass and the conga drum in Afro-Cuban music which led to its use as the rhythmic pattern in son montuno, mambo and salsa dubbed “tumbao”. Sometimes the tumbao pattern is played by carrying the last beat over to the next measure leading to a rhythmic structure where only the two offbeats of the tresillo pattern are sounded. In this form the pattern is often called the bombo-ponche tumbao with bombo referring to the first off-beat and ponche referring to the second off-beat. While there are many variations on the tumbao rhythm based on the tresillo structure two main categories of this rhythm have emerged: Tumbao that coincides or emphasises the clave tresillo pattern is called clave aligned whereas a tumbao rhyth that does not fulfil this condition is usually referred to as clave neutral.

Rueda Hand Signs (Part 31) Setenta Complicado

The move Setenta Complicado is one of the most common Setenta variations taught internationally. Contrary to most other Setenta moves it is taught and performed relatively consistently internationally with only minor variations being added or removed for styling purposes.

The move is in no way among the most difficult Setenta moves but it received the qualifier complicado simply to distinguish it from the standard Setenta version. While the first 8-count of this move is identical to the standard Setenta move, leaders bring their left hand over their head on beat 7. What makes this move more difficult than the standard version is that for the second 8-count leaders lead the Enchufla behind their back (before they do a Ronde Moderno) which is a very common element found in many other moves but dancers usually experience this element for the first time when learning Setenta Complicado.

In order to execute the Enchufla behind your back, an easy way to get used to this initially is for leaders to try and look at their follower by turning their head towards their left hand side which will automatically puts them into the correct position. It does feel slightly more natural initially for leaders to look at their follower by turning their head to their right, however, this will make it impossible for them to complete this move and it is one of the most common issues new dancers have when trying this out.

Like most other Setenta variations the ending is a simple Enchufla, which can be embellished by Alardes, Ganchos, Styling etc. As usual at Tiempo España Dance Academy we finish Setenta Complicado with an Enchufla Ronde which can of course be changed when social dancing but it keeps things consistent when performing Setenta Complicado in a Rueda.

The hand sign for this move is the hand sign for Setenta followed by the sign for Complicado which involves the caller forming a fist with their free hand and knocking it against their head. It is irrelevant how many times the fist is knocked against the head, it is simply meant to convey that it hurts your brain to figure out this move i.e. because it is complicated.
Other hand signs are also sometimes observed for this such as making a circling motion next to your head with your index finger. However, this sign is also used for the modifier “loco” which is used to describe a different set of moves so we use the former sign at Tiempo España Dance Academy to avoid ambiguity.

Rumba (Part 12)

It should be clear by this point that the term Rumba has become one of the most ambiguous descriptions in dance. While there are many forms of dance and music that are described by this term they often have little in common other than the title “Rumba” which distracts from their individual characteristics as well as diluting the original Cuban Rumba complex internationally. It is not the aim of this series to go into details about every musical reference that includes the term Rumba but rather to clear up some of the most common misunderstandings when any of the Cuban Rumba dances are discusses outside of Cuba where an entirely different meaning of the term Rumba may be more prevalent. That being said, a few additional Rumba references will be mentioned in this post as they are relatively common and often better known in certain territories than the original Cuban dances.

Galician rumba is a term used to describe songs and dances that emerged in Galicia in the 19th century mixing Spanish and Cuban musical elements. They are often described as “cantes de ida y vuelta” similarly to Rumba Flamenca as some of the Spanish influences on Cuban music were brought back to Galicia to form Galician rumba. While some of the Rhythms in this musical genre may also be characteristic of the original Cuban Rumba music, Galician rumba was equally influenced by other Cuban genres such as Guaracha and Habanera not to mention the European aspects that dominate this form such as the inclusion of bagpipes.
The song names of Galician rumbas are usually attributed to their author if known (i.e. Rumba de Pucho) or to the region where they were collected (i.e. Rumba de Vergara).

La Rumba Criolla is the name given to a category of various dance forms in Colombia that developed in the Tolima region, particularly in Fresno. It was influenced by such musical genres as Rumba Flamenco, Bambuco and the original Cuban Rumba complex and was developed at the start of the 20th century. Over time different types of Rumba Criolla emerged according to their meter and the culture surrounding the area in Colombia where they emerged such as Rumba Antioqueña, Rumba Cundí and Rumba Criolla Tolimense.

During the 1940s some Afro-Cuban songs and musicians became popular in Congo thanks to Radio Congo Belge playing Cuban music. Congolese bands started to create their own versions of what they heard on Radio singing in French or Lingala adding their own musical and cultural influences to the new sounds they had discovered. Despite the fact that the songs they tried to emulate were predominantly Son Cubano, the new music that was created became known as Congolese Rumba or Rumba Lingala. This style of music in turn became popular in various African countries and later led to the development of Soukous creating yet another point of confusion as to what is understood by Rumba internationally.