240_F_78087233_XhBddq7B8ewQei8BvyrvrEKxNTWYo2xC.jpg

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF CASINO RUEDA MOVES

Please note that Rueda groups differ in the moves they do and their calls, including even in the basic step.  Some basics have partners face each other the entire time and others have partners face the center of the circle part of the time just as an example. 

The tests below are based on the approach used in the DIT classes, but that is not the only way to do the dance. As a result, some of the questions below may not be applicable to the way everyone does the dance. 

Test For Beginners:

  1. In Salsa music, how many beats are there in a musical phrase (one complete basic) and which beat gets the most emphasis?
  2. How many steps does the dancer take in one musical phrase?
  3. How is the underlying rhythm of the dance commonly described?
  4. What is the difference for leads and follows in doing the basic step of one-on-one Salsa versus Casino Rueda?
  5. Which shoulder faces into the center of the circle for guys in guapea (basic step)?
  6. What foot do you step onto after a tap on the right foot? What foot do you step onto after a tap on the left foot?

To see the answers, scroll down this page and look after the 20 questions on Hispanic culture.

Test For Intermediate Dancers:

  1. Which type of call gives the dancer the greatest time lag between the call and step: those that begin with the tap or those that begin without a tap?
  2. Name 2 calls where the time lag between the call and the step is so short that you are calling on beat one and doing the step on beat 5 of the same 8-beat phrase.
  3. Which way do leaders turn on vacilense los dos? How many turns does the leader do?
  4. How many steps can Rueda dancers blend together? (That means you do one after another with no basic in between.)
  5. Name two moves that are essentially the same except that you hold one hand in one step and both hands in the other step. Why do you think such similar moves are given different names?
  6. Can Casino Rueda be danced on 2?
  7. Name a move that often feels unfinished--like you shouldn't be done with the move even though you are.
  8. What are some nice basic/intermediate Rueda moves that can be done as club moves (one on one) and how do you get into them from the one on one basic Salsa step?

To see the answers, scroll down this page and look after the basic test questions. 

Bonus questions for experts!

  1. Name three moves that alter the timing so that if you were dancing on 1 before the call, you are dancing on 5 after doing that move.
  2. There is a large common segment in the moves Sombrero de Regnier and Uno Complicado. Name another move that shares this same segment

To see the answers, look at the very bottom of this page.

 Twenty Questions On  Hispanic Cultural Information

1. National recognition of Hispanic Heritage began with a week-long celebration.  Was that celebration  in  the: 

1940s?    1960s?   1970s?    1980s?   (Circle one.)

2.  We now celebrate Hispanic Heritage for a full month from  mid-September to mid-October.  Why?

__That worked best with the schedule for recognizing other heritages as well.

__Officials of some Latin countries requested that time interval.

__That interval includes the independence day of many Latin countries as well as “Dia de la Hispanidad”  (or “Dia de la Raza”), which was when Columbus first landed in the Americas.

__The government wanted the holiday to begin a little after children returned to school.

3.  Which country did not get their independence on 9/15/1821:   (Circle one)

Costa Rica       Honduras       El Salvador      Mexico     Guatemala

4.  The 2010 US Census showed what percent of our population is Hispanic?   (Circle one.)

13%   16%   20%    24%

5.  Which dance is the National Dance of the Dominican Republic?  (Circle one)

Cha Cha       Salsa     Merengue    Bachata   

6.  Which of these dances is a Latin Dance?    (Circle all that apply)

Foxtrot       Waltz     Bachata    Samba       Country-Two-Step      Cumbia

7. When did Salsa music start to evolve?    (Circle one)

1880s      Early 1900s     early 2000s?

8. Who was called the “King of Mambo?”     (Circle one)

Rey Ruiz       Tito Puente      Michael Jackson         Los Van Van   

9. Who was called the queen of Salsa?    (Circle one)

La India       Gloria Estafan       Celia Cruz

10.  In the late 80s, a softer, more romatic style of Salsa began.  Which artist composed this type of Salsa?  (Circle one.)

Tito Nieves             Victor Manuelle           Gilberto Santa Rosa

11. Merengue dancing began in the    (Circle one)

Late 1800s?     Early 1900s?        Late 1900s?

12.  What country shares an island with the Dominican Republic?  (Circle one)

Madagascar     Kuwait     Haiti

13.  The dance rhythm for Salsa is:  (Circle one)  quick slow quick        slow slow quick          quick quick slow        quick quick quick quick

14.  The dance rhythm for Merengue  is:  (Circle one)     quick slow quick       slow slow quick        quick quick slow       quick quick quick quick

15. On which beats of a four beat musical measure do you step in Merengue?  (Circle one)

Beats 1, 2, & 3                   Beats 2, 3, & 4                Beats 1 and 3            Beats 1, 2, 3, & 4 (all four)

16.  Which statement is not true?

___In Merengue, you sometimes slightly drag one foot.    

___ There are different “styles” of Salsa.    

___ Cha cha was originally named because of the swishing sound shoes make against the floor when dancing it. 

___Salsa is only popular in Latin countries   

17.  Which dance is  a Latin Folkloric dance? (Circle one)    Hasapikos    Salsa     Bachata    Cumbia

18.  Which of these is NOT a name for Salsa dancing that is done by a group?          Salsa Rueda         Rueda de Casino    

Cuban Salsa         Son    

19. Which modern day dance most closely resembles Salsa?       Mambo       Cha Cha        Danzon

20.  If you dance Salsa on 2, that generally means that you:

switch which direction you are moving on beat 2       hit the floorwith a heavier emphasis on beat 2     start the dance  pattern on beat 2

Answers To Twenty Questions on Hispanic Culture are below:  (For answers to Test Your Knowledge Questions, scroll lower.)

1. 1960s

2. Many Latin countries gained independence then, and Dia de la Raza occur in those 4 weeks

3.  Mexico

4.  16%

5.  Merengue

6. Bachata, Samba, Cumbia

7.  early 1900s

8.  Tito Puente

9.  Celia Cruz

10.  Gilberto Santa Rosa

11. early 1900s

12.  Haiti

13.  quick quick slow

14.  quick quick quick quick

15. 1, 2, 3, 4

16.  It is not true that: Salsa is only popular in Latin countries.

17.  Cumbia

18.  Son is generally done by just two people in partnership.  But this is a tricky question because Cuban Salsa refers to the style of the steps, and those steps can be done by two people dancing together or by a group of dancers in a Rueda circle.

19.  Mambo

20.  Switch direction on beat 2.

 ==============

Answers to "Test Your Knowledge" Questions

Basic Test Answers

  1. There are 8 beats in a musical phrase. (Each phrase is comprised of two musical measures in 4:4 time--for the "musicians in the house.") The first of these 8 beats gets the most emphasis.
  2. Dancers take 6 steps during the 8-beat musical phrase.
  3. The underlying rhythm is referred to as Quick Quick Slow where a slow step takes 2 beats and a quick takes one beat.
  4. Ladies step forward on the left and back on the right in Casino Rueda just like they do in one on one Salsa. But guys do the reverse of what they do when they dance one on one. So in the Rueda basic, guys step forward on the right and back on the left. (One way to think of this is that in the circle, everyone is stepping back with the foot that is "outside" the circle. Everyone steps forward or "in" with the step that is inside the circle.)
  5. The guys' right shoulder faces into the center of the circle.
  6. After tapping on your right foot, you step onto the right. After tapping on the left foot you step onto the left.

Intermediate Test Answers

  1. This is an interesting question because to some extent the answer depends on how you conceptualize the start of the move. It is common to say that tap moves begin on beat one of the phrase after the phrase in which the call is made. So you call on beat one and start the move on the next beat one.
    However, I think that is confusing to people first learning the dance. A more pragmatic way to think of when the moves begin is when you start to do something other than basic. For the moves that start with a tap, that would be on beat 6 of the same 8 beat phrase in which the call is made. (Calls are made on beat 1.)
    Moves that don't begin from a tap most typically (but not always) start somewhere in the next 8 beat phrase after the phrase in which the call is made. So practically speaking, you usually have to deviate from the basic step earlier on moves that start with a tap.
     
  2. Steps that begin on beat 5 of the phrase in which the call is made are: Suena, Bulla, Bulla Doble, and Suena Con Bulla. These steps obviously have very little lag time between the call and the step.
  3. On Vacilense Los Dos, leaders can turn either way. Turning to the left essentially uses the momentum from leading the lady to do her turn. Turning right is the same direction as the lady turns. So there is logic to either way of doing it. Leaders can turn once or twice in either direction.
  4. There is no limit to the number of steps that can be ganged. In fact, some groups consider the goal of a sophisticated Rueda to have no basic steps or a minimal number so it looks like one long sophisticated sequence of movement.
  5. Dedo and Montana are essentially the same but you hold one hand in the former and two in the latter (in a cross hand-hold position). They may be named differently because they look so different. 
  6. Casino Rueda can be done on 2 though by far most groups dance it on 1. 
  7. Abanico is a move that many people feel ends abruptly. To compensate for this, some groups add an Enchufla onto the end of it.
  8. Some basic/intermediate moves that are good for club style (one on one) dancing are: Pa ti pa mi, Setenta, Adios con la hermana (some groups call this "Prima"), Pasea, Sombrero, Balsero, Beso, Uno, Dos, Kentucky, and countless others. 
    There are two ways to get into these moves. If you are doing a step that starts with the tap on the 8th beat, you can do a cross body lead and then give a strong lead to pull her into the tap. Ladies who don't dance Casino style aren't always used to tapping so that lead has to be a little forceful to be clear. Remember that those tap moves can be done without a tap as well, and if you are leading someone not accustomed to tapping, you may be best off just omitting the tap. 
    If you are leading a step that doesn't start from the tap, like Uno, then after the guy's back-rock, he back-rocks again as the lady is rocking back. That essentially puts you into the Rueda basic and you can take it from there.

 

Bonus questions answers:

  1.  Confusion, Pelota con Uno and Pelota con Tres are all steps that have a number of beats divisible by 4 but not by 8. So after doing each of those steps, you are dancing on 5. You can do any of them again if this bothers you and that will put you back on 1.     
  2.   Beso Complicado shares this segment in common with the other two moves.