Cuban-style salsa, also known as Casino, is a form of salsa dance that originated in Cuba. Dancing Casino is an expression of popular social culture; Latin Americans consider casino as part of social and cultural activities centering around their popular music. The origins of the name Casino are derived from the Spanish term for the dance halls where a lot of social Salsa dancing was done in Cuba during the mid-20th century and onward.
Historically, Casino traces its origin as a partner dance from Cuban Son dancing, and its rhythmic body motions from Afro-Cuban Rumba heritage. Son is considered an older version and ancestor to Salsa. Son is danced on delay measure upbeat (contra-tiempo) following the 2-3 clave (Son Clave) whereas Casino is usually danced on the downbeat break of 1 or 3 (a-tiempo). Musically, the beats 1, 3, 5 and 7 are considered downbeats; whereas 2, 4, 6 and 8 are considered upbeats. Casino was popularized in the late 1950s as the Cuban Son received upbeat and quicker arrangements by musicians. Casino has a very independent development, free from external influences such as Puerto Rican and North American dances partly due to the effect of the Cuban Embargo.
Culturally, Casino is danced as an interplay between male and female gender and feeling the music ("Sabor") as its main ingredients. Much of the interplay of Casino style dancing is based on the broader Latin cultural context with emphasis on sexual interplay, teasing and everyday experience.
Geographically, in Latin America, Casino and its variants are danced in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Nicaragua. It is also highly popular in Europe and parts of Asia.
This style of salsa is relatively easy to learn and thus popular among beginners. However, to master Casino requires mastering the underlying dance influences such as Rumba, Son and Mambo. This takes a long time and is further compounded by lack of teaching materials in languages other than Spanish.
Casino can be seen at the Cuban Salsa Congress,[1] which bring dance instructors and authentic Latin musicians to many parts of the world. Today, there is a global re-emergence of Cuban Salsa due to:
Cuban-Style Salsa Partnership Dance (Parejas)
Casino is danced in three points which makes up the circular motion as couple face each other in intricate patterns of arms and body movement. This is distinctive from the North American Salsa styles which is danced in a slot (two points) and linear positions as taught by the North American and European dance studios.
Casino has a strong basic step known as "Guapea" (lit. "Chill Out" by Afro-Cuban Community), in which the male lead put his left foot behind on the break, which is a contrast to the most common basic Salsa step in which the male lead places his left foot forward.
Casino styling includes men being "machisimo" and women being femininely sexy, with major body and muscle isolations, through the influence of Rumba dancing. During the dance, dancers often break from each other during percussion solos and perform the "despelote," an advanced form of styling in which the male and female partner get physically close and tease each other without touching through the gyrating of hips and shoulders while performing muscle isolations.
The major distinction of Cuban Salsa Styling is that male partners have tendencies to show off (following Afro-Cuban Guaguanco influence) under the guise of cultural behavior of males having to attract attention and tease females. This is the major point of differences between "Casino" and the rest of the Northern American Salsa as the North American Salsa ascribed to the ballroom adage of "men are the picture frame while women are the picture."
Cuban Solo Dancing ("Suelta")
Cuban-Salsa Solo Dancing ("Suelta") is dancing salsa without having a partner. It originates from stage singers and dancers who set up routines during orchestra and live performance. Dance singularly or in a group (usually male facing females on the dance floor) the movements are based on "a-tiempo" or "contra-tiempo" with intricate footwork and lively body movements.
Other forms of partner dancing
Other partner dancing styles include "Trios" or "Quattros" in which a male lead will dance with two or more female partners in each arm in in intricate patterns. There are also a "Trios" version in which two male leaders share a female partner.