Adios con la Hermana – The Salsa knack
Exitement, We didn't dance for a while!
Will I still remember the call,
Will we still know the style?
"Dame una", "Adios", not difficult at all.
Some new faces, "Bonita", easy and fun,
It's great to be back, "Dame dos con dos",
"Kentucky complicado", easier said than done, "Enfufla triple", simple, but I'm at a loss.
Some figures we can copy from one another,
"Rolin, linea, fly", three times clap with a crack,
"Trenza dobble", we still know a lot I discover,
These figures look awesome, spectators lose track.
"Sombrero - con Mambo", I dance with my love,
It's a bit like cycling it quickly comes back,
"El dedo complicado", sometimes a little shove,
"Dámela directo", we got the Salsa knack.
I hope when we're "Setenta", some day,
We'll still dance like we're "Treinta y Tres",
My deep passion for this dance will stay,
Even if otherwise my mind might be a mess.
Jan H. Hellberg (28.01.2024)
My wife and I love dancing Rueda or Rueda de Casino. Rueda is Salsa danced in a circle with a caller, giving the prompts for the next steps and figures to dance. Sometimes the group interacts with the figures. We have been with groups with a little bit changing members around one leader for many years. With our children we didn’t go very often and it was great to see how well we still could blend in with the group on our return(s). That’s what the poem is about. The words in quotation marks are the calls a caller will say to let everyone dance the same and right steps and figures.
I couldn’t find a video with my wife and me on it, but this is our group some years ago, the Raddraaiers (wheel turners) in action.
Mish is hosting the dVerse Pub. It’s all in the spirit of dance. Today’s Poetics is wide open for interpretation, simply a poem to the theme of dance in any form.
Join us now or another time to read our write.
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This sounds like such a delightful way to dance… Many years ago I used to do a little solo-dance at the gym… I got pretty good after some exercise, and it was awesome to dance with synchronized moves.
Yes, it’s really great and I can loose myself in it completely.
Your love for the dance comes through, Jan, especially in dancing as a couple! Loved every known and unknown word and move of this. Thanks for sharing the video — what fun!
Thank you, Dora
This was such an interesting share with the salsa terminology and movements. You can feel the joy of returning to the dance! I was so impressed by the video as well. Lots of stamina and muscle memory!
Thanks, Mish.
Looks tricky and a lot like square dancing set to salsa. Looks like it would be both challenging and fun.
Thank you
You’re welcome.
Very nicely done, Jan. Dancing sometimes going with the flow. You said it very well … dance till you drop! :>)
Thank you
You are welcome.
wonderful rhythm! (K)
Thank you!
So very glad you gave an explanation in your note at the end. I actually read it first which helped my understanding of the poem. I LOVE that you’ve incorporated the calls into the poem. And I must say, I really wonder what the „Kentucky complicado“ step looks like!
I’ll look at the link you provided now. Always fun to learn about another’s culture, including dances!
This is Kentucky complicado:
Often the steps are combinations of puget steps. It looks long and complicated, hence „complicado“, but with the long term experience even those figures are learnable with not too much effort.
Wow! Just watched the link….it’s a very complicated style of dancing! Did you have to take lessons first? I thought it might be similar to the US square dancing but this does look much more complicated! Do you always have the same number of people in one group? And then a number of groups on the floor?
Thanks, Lillian, indeed before starting with Rueda, I recommend to be good at Salsa. However, also Rueda starts with easy and fun figures.
The group size has no limit, it just gets difficult when it’s e. g. more than 50 dancers to know what the call is. There are however hand signs, already as the music might be too loud in some places to hear the call, so a visual prompt is supposed to be given at the same time.
(Just to clarify, the really large Ruedas are danced in open spaces)
‚It’s a bit like cycling it comes back quickly‘ bodes well for us remembering how to dance for the rest of our lives…muscle memory is amazing and a bit like magic!
Indeed, thank you
Lovely! I so enjoyed this. Your joy for dancing shines through, Jan.
Thanks
You are welcome.
No matter my age, I hope to dance .. my Mother was 83, in last stage Alzheimer’s …. we still danced together and laughed and smiled. Thank you for the comment on my „Last Dance‘ post.
Yes, and I think dancing keeps us young
I love the message here, never give up the dance!
Thank you
I was so drawn into the the way you wove this poem, like a dance it has a circular rhythm.
Thanks a lot, Paul
Very welcome Jan 🙂