TAKE A VIDEO BREAK: Cuban Casino Dancing and the Chinese Caballero

[magbana]

Okay folks, I have worn myself out posting compulsively about the Colombia-Ecuador-Venezuela issue. I needed a break and came across something on my blog that I posted a long time ago. I thought you might enjoy it too. So take a few minutes, crank up your speakers and have a good time. Then, get back to the REVOLUTION!!

Cuban Casino Dancing and the Chinese Caballero

In describing the Cuban dance, Casino, many people say it is the Cuban form of salsa. But Casino's strongest influences are a melange of many dances: rhumba, guanguanco, cha-cha-cha, pachanga, etc. If you did not learn Casino as a young child, getting the steps right will seem to take an eternity. And, after learning the steps, you still must figure out what to do with the rest of your body. The last hurdle for the beginning student is mastering the turns which are some of the most intricate I've ever seen in any form of dance.

This is all to say that for someone who didn't learn Casino until he was an adult, the Chinese man who you will see dancing on this video puts on one heck of a performance. His partner is Cuban and moves like one - graceful and athletic. Keep an eye on the audience as they go from polite applause in the beginning to standing on their feet and cheering along the end.

This is from a dance championship in Havana in 2004 and the couple one top prize!

http://hcvanalysis.wordpress.com/2007/08/26/cuba-casino-dancing-and-the-chinese-caballero/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Astonishing. You just don't see dancing like that anywhere local! Holy smokes.

If the guy didn't learn Casino dancing until he was an adult, it's inconceivable how he would have done as an adult.

I've definitely got to share this link. Too cool to keep to oneself!

Will bear watching again and again.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Kick!

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[Judi Lynn]

3. Well, what do you know! I looked for some photos of Cuban casino dancing, and found this!

This is an organization of Cubans who live in Australia teaching Cuban dancing. This is very interesting, isn't it?

They are affiliated with a group called:
'Isla de la Rumba' Studio
Cuban Dance Academy of Australia

Some of them appear to live in Australia, one of them is preparing to move back to Cuba, and in NOT ONE of the small thumbnails of these dancers does it say they "escaped" from Cuba! Probably an oversight, right? :eyes:

It says one of them, "Moro" is currently artistic director for the Buena Vista Social Club, which is, as you know, always Cuban, never anything else but Cuban.



Moro
http://www.cubandanceacademy.com.au/publish/page.php?contentID=63

[Judi Lynn]

4. Adding another short video, "Casino Rueda on the Malecon"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_O47mCiKNY

[magbana]

5. Uno mas - Yanek y Diana

Hold on to your hats, take your motion sickness pills - Yanek y Diana will spin you into orbit!

What's amazing is that, while some Cubans are better than others, they are all at the superb level and above. Yanek and Diana are famous and you can see why. The irony is that neither Che nor Fidel can dance An Argentinean that didn't dance tango? And a Cuban who doesn 't dance any one of the gaillion different dances of Cuba.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9yugsVjfnc