Dancing with Fire

By Cristine Gonzalez

The Portland Tribune, Oct 16, 2001, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Forget the do-si-do and allemande.

Dance lovers are moving to steps with names such as “enchufla” and “exhibela.”

The steps are staples of rueda de casino, a Cuban street dance that has hit the Latin dance scene in Portland.

Best described as salsa square dancing, casino rueda developed in the 1950s. Immigrants brought it to Miami nightclubs, where it became popular in the 1980s. But it wasn’t until a few years ago, when a wave of Cuban immigrants came to Portland, that it was introduced to local dance hot spots.

Now, at least four Portland studios offer lessons. Three groups ÐÐ AchŽ, Los del Sol and Sabor Latino Dance Company ÐÐ stage performances that draw big crowds. And Andrea’s Cha Cha Club, in Southeast Portland, has evolved into

“la Cueva Cubana,” or Cuban cave, where many dancers spontaneously dance casino rueda along with the traditional dances of comparsa and son montuno on a regular basis.

“If you know how to dance it, you can dance it with anyone anywhere,” said Sharon Spence, co-owner of Northeast Portland’s Satin & Latin Dance Studio, which has offered casino rueda lessons for about two years.

What makes the fast-paced dance unique is how it is performed: Couples dance in the shape of a rueda, or wheel, following calls for rapid exchanges between partners who turn and break as they would in regular salsa dancing. Rueda can accommodate two to 50 couples, but in nightclubs it’s more comfortable with about six.

Of course you don’t have to be Cuban to dance casino rueda convincingly. “The more people who know how to dance rueda, the better,” said Juan Herrera, a frequent dancer at Andrea’s who has been dancing casino rueda since he was a young boy in Cuba. “We’re trying to get people into it; we want rueda to be the future.”

The best way to start is by watching casino rueda done right. (It can’t hurt to rent the 1998 movie “Dance with Me,” starring Vanessa Williams and Chayanne, whose character dances rueda in some scenes.)

Once you get an idea, head to the Satin & Latin studios, the best place in town for beginning casino rueda lessons. For advanced footwork and flair, check out Erick Gonzalez at Viscount Dance Studios, on East Burnside Street, or Sylvia Haugland at La Rumba, in Old Town.

A glimpse of what you’ll find

Andrea’s Cha Cha Club has earned the nickname “La Cuevita,” or little cave, among regulars because of its location in the basement of The Grand Cafe, at 832 S.E. Grand Ave.

The small but intimate dance floor comfortably holds about 40 people. But after 11 p.m., that number easily swells to 60 or more.

DJ Marcos Moracen thoughtfully guides dancers through various moods with a wide selection of Caribbean rhythms on a recent Friday night. About a dozen people form lines, similar to those in country line-dancing, to dance comparsa.

When the music changes to an evenly paced salsa, six couples come together in a tight circle on the dance floor. One man hollers out several calls, and everyone changes partners, sometimes clapping and stomping their feet in unison until they reunite with their new partner ÐÐ and all at a furious pace.

All eyes are on the group as they dance, the men weaving in and out of the women, who salsa dance in place during the exchanges. When one dancer unwittingly begins to move out of the circle, an onlooker gently pushes him back in to keep the momentum going.

After the song ends, they get pats on the back and even a round of applause.

Salsa teacher Paul Edison is gracious with newcomers. If he’s busy on the dance floor, bartender Carmen Montano is a font of knowledge on Cuban dance.

Cost: $5 cover charge or $10 for beginning salsa lessons at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

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