The Beauty of Rueda

I started rueda late, 2 years after I had started salsa because I had wanted to stabilise salsa as its own dance discipline first before starting on the rueda discipline which is decidedly different from salsa.

One of its differences from the on 1 salsa normally executed in Singapore, is that while the partnerwork is executed as straight lines of motion between the two partners, cuban salsa has the partners moving around each other in circles. For fast salsa numbers then, there is no pressure to reach "the other side" on time (at the end of the 8 bar count) when executing cross-body-lead variations.

In rueda (and it is based on cuban salsa), the partners are moving in circles, and so there's no "end of the line" you need to reach by the end of the turn pattern at the end of the 8 beats. So all I need to respect as a follower is my partner's lead, I don't really care where I end up on as long as I'm around my partner. It takes up more space than salsa on 1 or on 2, but it takes alot less energy and stress to dance - ideal for fast numbers.

The beauty of rueda is its teamwork, which results in better identification of the rhythm, spatial awareness, lead and following which has greater potential to lead to stronger social bonding.

There is greater motivation for each dancer to identify the rhythm and the beats of the music. A caller who mixes up his first and fifth beat will result in uncomfortable dissonance in the circle's followers. A follower whose rhythmic sense is weak will result in a discordant circle.

There's also greater spatial awareness, not just of your partner, but also of the pairs besides you and the caller. Ideal for avoiding being stepped on by people on the dance floor.

Different people have different leads and following (strengths, signalling etc) as we move through different people in the rueda circle, there's also greater consciousness to adjust the lead and follow to the different people. Good platform to learn.

As we adjust to each other's style, lead, follow, strengths and weaknesses, it naturally leads us to know each other better. Although my group doesn't quite fully gel with each other yet, this is a platform which allows for better mixing and communication on a neutral, non-personal factor.

So if these are your concerns and you have been dancing salsa for some time. Why not consider rueda? If you stay open, humble and being willing to ask others for feedback and not taking offense from that, it can be a period of growth in your salsa dancing life.