Classic Cuban style

The Cuban style describes a dance style of salsa , also called "casino" or "de la calle" (= Spanish: "street") style.

The different names are supposed to indicate the origin of Cuban salsa: it was at home in the elegant casinos and cabarets of Havana as well as in the barrios and rural areas of the island. Cuban salsa is faced with the dilemma that there were no more casinos and cabarets in Cuba in the 1970s, when salsa was born. These were mostly visited by the Cuban upper class and US tourists and abolished after the Cuban Revolution in 1959 .

Therefore, it is not possible to distinguish between a Cuban “casino” or a “de la calle style”.

Cuban salsa seems playful, rhythmic and lively and has no clear direction. In a sense, it is “shirt-sleeved” and not very regulated. Nevertheless, there are various basic step combinations for the various, sometimes extremely complicated and confusing figures, which must be mastered in order to be able to perform these figures correctly.

The essential feature of the Cuban style is the rotations of the dance couple around a common center. In addition, the partner almost never lets go of the woman, which leaves her relatively little room for her own interpretations in the dance.

Basic step / turns

The normal dance steps begin on the first beat of the bar: 1,2,3, -, 5,6,7, - (left, right, left, tap, right, left, right, tap). The 4th and 8th beats consist of a pause in which a tap is usually set, but which is often barely visible to the viewer, especially with very fast pieces, and serves to accentuate the dance rhythm. The steps can also start on the 2nd or 3rd beat (see below). The steps are danced either forwards, backwards or to the side.

Turns are usually run on half a clave (1, 2, 3, or 5, 6, 7) rather than on the point. With the (less frequent) double rotation, two rotations are carried out in the same period of time.

Accentuation of the rhythm

In principle, Salsa can be danced to different beats, ie the steps remain the same, but are offset in time based on the measure or phrase. The different beats are called "On #", the number after the "On" indicates the beat of the phrase on which the gentleman dances his first step forward:

Phrase:       1 . 2 . 3 . 4 .  | 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 .
             ------------------+------------------
On 1:        [X]  o   o        | X   o   o
On 2:            [X]  o   o    |     X   o   o
On 3:         o      [X]  o    | o       X   o
On 6:             X   o   o    |    [X]  o   o     
Legende: X = betonter Schritt, o = unbetonter Schritt, [] = erster Vorwärtsschritt des Herrn.

The counting method "On 3" is used very rarely, because by distributing a basic over two bars it creates an accent that is more like samba than salsa.

In the New York style "On 2" or "On 6", the principle of "on clave" dancing has also developed:

Phrase:       1 . 2 . 3 . 4 .  | 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 .
             ------------------+------------------
„3-2“-Clave:  X     X     X    |     X   X
On Clave:         o   o   X    |     X   X   o    
             ------------------+------------------
„2-3“-Clave:      X   X        | X     X     X
On Clave:         X   X   o    |     o   o   X

This principle is intended to convey which steps should be highlighted; the dancing should be related more to the Cuban clave than the original rhythmic idea of the music. The idea is to dance every step that coincides with a beat of the clave with emphasis, ie in this context "make this step clear" or "now is a good time for an improvised movement".

Comparison with other styles

The Cuban style and the New York style or Puerto Rico style are often seen as competition in the US and European salsa scene. The consequence may be that their respective representatives find it difficult to cope with dancing together.