Arcata Rueda

Find a  community of dance friends through our weekly classes in Salsa Rueda.  "Rueda" (wheel) refers to a circle of couples dancing together, frequently changing partners, to patterns called out in Spanish or shown with hand signals. It's also known as "Rueda de Casino", as the cuban-style salsa is called "Casino". This dance has its roots in Cuban Son and Afro-Cuban Rumba; the name originates from the "casinos" or community centers in Cuba where it became popular in the late 1950s. Casino is a playful and flirtatious dance in which partners move in a circle around each other rather than in a linear slot. It is most often done by individual couples, but the rueda format is used for teaching and is great fun at dances and parties. For an in-depth view of rueda de casino and its place in Cuban culture, check out this excellent full-length documentary film.  

Our 6-week beginning series progresses through the basic building blocks of casino: the basic step (guapea), cross-body lead (dile que no), and how to change partners (dame una and dame directo), enchufla, adios, exibela, paseala, vacilala, and closed position calls. Level 2 includes kentucky, vacilala, sombrero, setenta, group figures and combinations.  You should plan on attending the entire series. Drop-ins familiar with the basics are welcome in the intermediate class, but the beginning Level 1 and 2 classes should be taken all or nothing.  The intermediate class will typically focus on figures built up from the building blocks learned in the beginning classes, as well as leading and following technique and elements of other dances that have become part of the casino repertoir: cuban son, afro-cuban rumba, pilon, reggaton.