Congresses/Competitions & Rueda Groups Around the Globe
Click here for Congresses and Competitions
Click here for a listing of Casino Rueda Groups World-Wide
Congresses & Competitions
There are Congresses and major events featuring Salsa and sometimes Rueda de Casino, all around the world. Below is information on some special events that DIT has participated in!
1. "Dance Rueda"|
This event is a little different than a traditional Congress. Ramses Padilla Alvarez, a Cuban man now living in Canada, and his wife Debbie, sponsor this event in Vancouver. For the 2005 year, in addition to having a competition at the event, there was a Mega-class with several instructors including myself each teaching a few moves----quite an original concept. There is also a photo below from the competition, which was the highlight of the event. The three judges including myself (Barb) and the organizers did some serious conferring (as you can see!) since the scores were very close. The results were finally announced and one of the teams from Vancouver won. (The last Cuba Baila was April 19 and 20th, 2008.) | 
Above: Teaching Thalia at the workshop |
Above: Three judges confer with the organizers of the "Dance Rueda" competition
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2. Miami's Salsa Rueda Congress This event, held first in November of 2004, and then in all subsequent Novembers, is sponsored by Henry Herrera of SalsaRacing and Billy Fajardo. Many of the Miami giants were there (including Rene Gueits of Salsa Lovers and others)----teaching, performing, etc. It's great to see the groups intermingle in Rueda circles. Click here to read an article about this unique Congress, including a description of the competitions, the workshops and the overall experience. I also judged this competition the first two years, which was a great experience! The website is: www.salsaruedacongress.com |
 Above: You go girls! This is the all women's team that won the Rueda competition at the Rueda Congress in Miami, 11/05 |
Above: Judging the Salsa Rueda Congress competition in Miami
Above: Six Rueda teachers from all over the country pose after chatting about their
classes by the hotel pool at the 2006 Rueda Congress in Miami
Above: Rueda teachers Barb, Simona, and Duane pose after having lunch together at the 2006
Rueda Congress in Miami
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3. Miami Salsa Congress The Miami Salsa Congress is another annual event with lots of Salsa and Casino Style instruction. This is sponsored by Rene Gueits of Salsa Lovers Studio. It's generally in early August, and in 2007, it will be the first weekend in that month. All the details are available at this site: www.MiamiSalsaCongress.com. There are many great workshops and dynamite performances at the event. In 2005, they "unofficially" broke the World Record for the Largest Rueda Circle which was a kick! (See photos on this page and go to www.bigrueda.com for the names of those who participated and for more information.) Rene brings in good teachers and performers, and this Congress is well worth attending. To read an article about the 2005 Congress, click here In 2005, a group of us went to this Congress and I went again in 2007. I was one of the workshop teachers at this 2007 Congress, and my women's team performed there that year! To see more info on that, please click here!
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 Above: At the 2005 Miami Salsa Congress, a group of Rueda dancers gather informally by the hotel pool and Glen teaches them La Cuadra |
 Above: This DanceInTime team performed August, 2007 at the Miami Salsa Congress!
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4. Washington D.C. Salsa Congress
This event was sponsored for the first time in June, 2005 in D.C. Many groups came in from out of town and there were special presentations that closed the evening are were dynamite. DIT performed at this Congress a number of years!
To read an article about this event, click here
Above: Some members
of the women's team from DanceInTime perform at the D.C. Congress, 6/05
Photo courtesy of GreatDance/Stuck on Salsa
Above: DanceInTime poses after performing at the D.C. Salsa Congress, 6/10/07
Above: This DanceInTime team performed August, 2007 at the D.C. Salsa Congress!
4. Puerto Rico Salsa Congress
DIT performed at this Congress during July 08. To see
their performance video,
click here
To see Barb teaching a class at the Puerto Rico Congress,
click here.
DanceInTime performing in Puerto Rico. 7/08
DanceInTime dancing at the Puerto Rico Congress. 7/08
5. New York Salsa Congress
DIT also performed at this very prestigious Salsa Congress in 08. The performance groups at this Congress were particularly strong. The shows were great!
5. D.C. Rueda Fiesta
This party which is held annually in the DC area with Rueda groups performing and open dancing. Below is a video clip of the effort in 2007 to break DC's record for the largest local Rueda circle. Click here to see the big rueda circle we made And you can see a video of the DIT performance in 2008 on the Performance Videos page!
Rueda Around the World
Some years ago, I started a website, CasinoRuedaConnection.com, which lists all the Casino Rueda teachers/groups throughout the world that I am aware of. This is a little different than other listings of Salsa class and club information on other sites. Since teachers' venues often change, and the number of Rueda groups is relatively finite, I have listed the teachers or groups with websites or contact information. I did not attempt to provide information on where and when classes are held. You can follow the contact information and get up to date information directly from the teacher or contact person listed if you are visiting somewhere and want to know where you can dance Rueda.
I would love to make this listing as complete as possible, so if you are reading this and teach Rueda anywhere in the world and aren't listed, please contact me. I need only the city/cities and state if U.S. and country where you teach along with a website and/or contact information for the teacher or group. And thanks for helping to make this information a rich resource!
One more thing: Two Rueda de Casino teachers from out west, Sarita Streng and Eric Johnson, have traveled to Cuba and filmed a wonderful documentary on the origins of the dance. Barb Bernstein also prepared a short film (6 mins), which has the theme of how Rueda has spread all over the world and how much it benefits those who do the dance.
Below are some photos of Rueda dancers from different corners of the globe that I accumulated in doing research for the film. The film has actual videos from dancers all over the world and is very lively. For more information, including how to order Sarita's full length documentary, you can write to saritastreng@yahoo.com. And for information on ordering my short film (6 mins) which focuses on the role of the dance world-wide today, contact BarbBtalks@aol.com.
Above: Rueda dancers Inma and Jose from Salsa sin Fronteras in the Cadiz
province of Spain
Above: Rueda dancers from the Nippori Salud group in Tokyo, Japan.
Above: Another Rueda group, called Sol Caliente, from both Nagoya and Tokyo,
Japan.
Above: Rueda dancers Ana and Leonel from Caracas, Venezuela.
Above: Rudy Espenoza of "Bolivian Salsa Dancers" poses with Barb after
taking her Rueda workshop atthe Philadelphia Salsa Congress. 6/09