Monday 20 August 2012

Rueda is meant to be fun.....

Something that irks me is the etiquette of joining in with a Rueda or lack of understanding of it.

Rueda is a wonderful inclusive style of dance. I have often described it as 'Kaeligh meets Latin Dancing'. A lot of the fun is in the chaos. 

For those not familiar with this style, couples dance in pairs in a circle. The 'caller' or 'leader' calls out the name of the move to be danced. The dancers execute the move. It involves a lot of changing partners. Some of the moves are basic and could be executed by almost any dancer. Some are more complex and require a degree of competency in the dance and some experience of what is required. Some are flirtatious, even downright rude. Some moves it doesn't matter if you know what to do or not, others if you don't know it throws the whole group out. 

There is an undeniable thrill and excitement when a group gets flying and the moves are all danced well together. A certain amount of chaos and 'things going wrong' also adds to the flavour. 

I've even had Cubans watching Rueda's in our club comment 'some of the moves are going wrong'. 'Yes, but the dancer are all laughing and having fun, isn't that the point?'. 'Err, yes it is, we forget sometimes'.

However, there is a big difference between a few things going wrong and just plain messing it up for everyone. 

So, here are my etiquette points when it comes to Rueda.

Experienced dancers with no experience of Rueda should not join in. 
There is no way you should join a Rueda if you don't know what you are doing. It just ruins it for everyone else. It isn't enough to 'know how to dance salsa', you  need to know where your meant to be going and when. 

Only pair up with dancers who should be in the Rueda. 
Some nights I see dancers grabbing 'anyone' off the sidelines so they can join in. It is so awkward when a Rueda if forming up and I see someone - usually a man - on the side without a partner, grab a beginner or any bystander and charge over to the dance floor. It is just wrong - it ruins it for the beginner, it ruins it for the whole Rueda. 

Ladies DON'T lead
When someone doesn't know a Rueda move, the best bet is to dance casino until the time comes to move on. Why do some women insist on trying to lead men through the move? It invariably means that instead of being able to move on when the move ends they are all over the place uncertain of anything other than 'they can't do it'

If a Rueda is established, leave it be.
Sometimes it is nice to have a Rueda with top flight dancers who can really dance and the standard and complexity can be raised. Equally a Rueda can be made up of friends 'having a go' at calling their own Rueda. Half way through the track a couple join who really haven't the experience or the ability find a way in. Boom, the whole thing has to slow down to their level or the fun of dancing with friends has been sidelined. 

If you don't know a move, watch the caller like a hawk.
I've had strong Cuban dancers in my Ruedas that don't know all of my moves. Only a skilled observer would know this. They focus on the leader and they copy at great speed. If you aren't strong enough to copy on the fly, then just stick to Casino. 

Now don't get me wrong. You need to join in with Rueda's to get the experience. Just make sure that when you join, you aren't ignoring everyone else just so you can 'get in'.

Finally - one night when every guideline was broken, but it worked really well. 
There are nights when the whole room seems to join in and it just flies. Dancing with one other couple at a local club in Brighton, within 2 minutes it felt like the whole room had joined in. At the end of the tune, the DJ announced that the Rueda was to stay put and have another tune. If only I knew how to call over the club sound system cranked to the max. Still, it worked somehow and remains a special memory.

Jon 
20th August 2012

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