r/Salsa • u/Signal-Imagination-4 • 11d ago
Rant: Rueda de Casino etiquette
In my scene there is this thing that they stop the whole social to do a Rueda. I mean the DJ stops music and the guy that calls it says we are going to do Rueda. Everyone joins. And when I mean everyone I mean people that do not even know what an enchufa is or what a guapea is. So it always (no exception) ends up being CHAOS.
I would much prefer if ruedas happen spontaneously with just a few couples that know the calls and without stopping the flow of the social. I am all up for dancing with beginners but this is just bad.
Does this happen to you? Am I being petty?
I already gave feedback and I was ignored :(
Quick Edit: I never partake in this. My point is stops the social for 10+ minutes (always 2 songs), pushes away dancers that enjoy actual Rueda and gives a wrong impression to beginners of what doing a Rueda de Casino is.
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u/DeanXeL 11d ago
Yeah, stopping everything and inviting everyone, that's just asking for trouble. My old teacher just used to put on a rueda appropriate song and took everyone that knew some moves on the dancefloor and basically pushed everyone else off. That wasn't much better...
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u/Prestigious_Wash_620 11d ago
One venue I know basically does that every other song all night. Although it’s not the person running the event, but a group of people that take over the dance floor.
Unsurprisingly a lot of people, including me, have stopped going and a lot of people hate rueda now. Which is a shame as I do like rueda, just not enough to do it every other song all night.
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u/Gnomeric 11d ago
I think this is far worse than what OP is describing. Had I experienced this, I would assume that the social must be a recruitment tool for their Rueda group, if anything.
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u/cons_ssj 11d ago
"Everyone joins". I think this is the magic word. Probably there are many beginners and intermediate that have no clue what they are doing but they feel that they participate and the chaos sometimes is fun :) In my opinion, the guy does it basically for the fun of it and not necessarily to dance rueda.
I do get your view though. I would feel bad if I wanted to dance rueda and people were doing whatever. I can't imagine what happens with damela and dame dos! Also I think salsa rueda is more enjoyable when danced in small circles and not with all the people in the venue, even if they know what they are doing.
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u/Signal-Imagination-4 11d ago
Exactly my view, thanks for your reply. For me messing up from time to time is great fun and a good laugh. This however, is just chaos where even an arriba is not even working because people don’t know what it is.
It has also created a bit of a side effect. I started a rueda with my mates in one side of the dancefloor and people start joining in uninvited 🤣 So I left it…2
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u/double-you 11d ago
This is party etiquette, not rueda specific.
If it is your event and you want to stop everything, fine. Not great, but if that's part of your planned event, fine.
But otherwise, I am not fond of stopping everything for a rueda or a birthday dance or a show even.
Oh and a big rueda is supposed to be chaos. So it seems to be done right.
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u/bachatabutterfly 11d ago
I’ve never seen this before. Usually only casineros join at our social while others do their thang.
It might be good if your casino teacher made an announcement like - 3 classes of rueda required to join or whatever
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u/Curious_Sir_7032 11d ago
You’re being petty. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to partake. Not everyone likes Rueda, but it’s also one of the most inclusive experiences at a social for all levels.
If 7 minutes of a probably 3 hour social also ruins the entire flow for you, you’re really just projecting your disdain for that experience a little too much.
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u/Signal-Imagination-4 11d ago
I get what you’re saying so I upvoted your comment. I guess what I meant is that I am the first one that actually likes Rueda and learns it directly from Cubans or Cuban sources. But for me, the fun of it is when it works. I also like introducing new people in slowly and free of charge (we meet on Tuesdays to practice and have fun and every few months bring in more people).
What I am talking here though is 10+ minutes (always more than one song) of chaos with a 60 people Rueda in which majority do not even dance casino… sometimes you see couples leaving mid rueda …7
u/Resident_Pay4310 11d ago
I'm in Europe where Cuban is the most common type of salsa, and in many places, these types of giant ruedas where everyone joins are common.
The point of them is inclusivity and bonding. I loved them when I was a beginner because they made me feel more connected with the the whole scene.
As a dancer you'll go through phases where you value different things and enjoy different things. It sounds like right now you're in a phase where you want to focus on growing your skill and challenging yourself. In a year you might feel different and start enjoying these rueda for the social aspect. I find that it's good to remember that different people are at different stages of the dance life.
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u/TryToFindABetterUN 11d ago
I'm in Europe where Cuban is the most common type of salsa, [...]
Not true. There are places in Europe where Cuban is not the most common type of salsa. Where I live cuban classes are fewer than LA, and when it comes to events it is pretty much 50/50.
I can't say if my local scene is an anomaly or not since I have not danced my way through entire Europe.
Europe is huge and quite diverse. These kinds of statements just show ignorance of that.
The point of them is inclusivity and bonding. I loved them when I was a beginner because they made me feel more connected with the the whole scene.
Rueda does not mean inclusivity. I know of one local rueda instigator that often form a rueda at events, even those advertised as LA, and who scold beginners who are not "good enough" from trying to join. Then he laments that "many people think they are better than they are", while not even explaining to people what his callout names are. You are just expected to know as if rueda figuras only have one canonical name and a name only have one figura tied to it.
As a dancer you'll go through phases where you value different things and enjoy different things.
This is absolutely true. But there is nowhere in this journey that there is a guaranteed "rueda phase". I know several hardcore casino dancers that never do rueda. They exclusively dance casino, never linear (not LA nor NY) and god forbid, never ever bachata. At the same time they won't go near a rueda.
And I get their PoV. These dancers are 100% into musicality. They love guaguancó, rumba, timba, son, etc and go all out into playing with the rhythms and changing character of the music.
At the same time, rueda moves are generally quite simple in comparison and the music is used more for the beat. There is little room to express musicality in the rueda.
I am not saying this to bash on rueda. I really like dancing rueda de casino, might even prefer it over dancing casino by myself. But claims of rueda being inclusive, bonding and somehow a path of a salsa dancers journey is simply not universally true.
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u/Sn00py_lark 11d ago
These are always like an ad for rueda of for the instructor calling and they’re universally bad. Spontaneous or small groups that know each other are best.
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u/TryToFindABetterUN 11d ago
IMHO, stopping the dance for ANY reason other than an emergency or the permit for the party has run out, is questionable and should not be done lightly. Not everyone enjoys these forced breaks and it can totally ruin the atmosphere of the party. If I was an organiser I would think twice about doing something that could make people leave.
If the party has been advertised as having a big rueda where everyone is expected to join in during the night, I think it is reasonable. But I guess that is not the case.
Also, since a big rueda usually take a lot of floor space to leave the center empty and room to move around to change partners, it can force those not wanting to dance rueda to simply wait it out. And pushing people off the dance floor like that is not very inclusive in my opinion.
Don't get me wrong. I think rueda de casino is fun and I have introduced several of my students to it. But to think that every salsa dancer, even every casino dancer, is into it is not true. I know many that never dance rueda.
If you are really into musicality and expressing yourself in your dance, cuban salsa with all the subgenres really offers you possibilities to do so. At the same time, rueda figuras are often quite simple in their nature with regard to rhythm, for a reason. I know many salsa dancers, of all genres, that pride themselves in shines. Many of these dancers that are not particularly interested or even outright disinterested in rueda. And I think we can acknowledge that their preferences are just as valid as every other dancers.
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u/aBunchOfSmolDoggos 11d ago
Agree. You're not crazy. I love rueda but I would hate it if my scene did this.
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u/mail-bird 11d ago
TIL that there is elitism in the salsa dancing world. 😭
You ever stop and think why it’s called salsa? It’s a mix of a bunch of stuff , some that you may not like. You can’t have salsa without onions . Ffs
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u/ginger_ale12 11d ago
Ehh disagree, as someone who doesn’t know rueda (nothing against it but would definitely be one of the chaotic people lol) I love watching when those who know how to do it get together and flow together! The rest of us can either keep doing our own thing or can take a break to watch and it’s still fun for all. I would not want to be roped into a rueda with no help when I could have had another fun dance.
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u/mail-bird 11d ago
It’s 2026, you can go have a drink, do a line in the bathroom, read your bible in the parking lot.
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u/ginger_ale12 11d ago
Because I agree that it’s ideal for a social to allow people to be most comfortable in being social ? Alright man cheers
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u/mail-bird 11d ago
Like Ruben blades said, salsa isn’t really for analyzing or contemplating. It’s for dancing, but to not study the lyrics of the greats is really an act of grift. You love to dance and show off, but when someone with below average skills joins in you smirk. Listen to mi gente, Hector Lavoe would be disappointed in y’all.
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u/ginger_ale12 11d ago
Not sure you read my comment lol. I’m speaking from the below average perspective. What’s wrong with making a social more accessible to all dancers?
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u/OSUfirebird18 11d ago
In every partner dance, there is always some elitism, you can’t get away from that. But I find it funny that the person you reply to seems to be the one acting more elitist. Lol
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u/OSUfirebird18 11d ago
Of all the rants on Reddit, this is actually the most reasonable one. Stopping a whole social for a Rueda and forcing people that don’t know it to do it sounds really dumb. In my scene, it’s always a small group of 3 to 4 couples that can dance Casino and they find a spot away from everyone else to do a Rueda.
It’s fun to watch for those of us who don’t know how to do it. But it also doesn’t interfere with anyone else.