Korea Carruseles

Review videos for Waegook Cook dancers.

Here's some videos I'm putting up specifically for our dancers at Waegook Cook in Gumi.  These are most of the moves that we learned and practiced last week.  We'll review them of course this coming week but we want to spend as little time on them as possible in order that we can move forward to other, more exciting patterns to spice up or choreography.

Here you'll see guapea (AKA: guapeando), dile que no, exhibela and enchufla (AKA: enchufe or enchufle).  The only one I couldn't find just now was 'para el media' (or maybe it' s 'medio.......I don't remember :-).

Please review these and try to absorb as much of the flavor as you can.  A couple of things I'd like you to particularly notice:

1.     Notice that they don't bounce up and down......all the 'action' is in the knees and hips.

2.     Notice that they don't take big steps but rather only enough of a step to make their hips move and to be able to feel the rhythm.

3.     Notice that their knees bend when they're moving their legs.  It hard to describe in just words but it is part of that 'latin hip movement' thing that all the teachers talk about.  It sometimes seems strange at first and then suddenly.......you feel it and get it!

Here's the videos:

Casino Rueda in Daegu

Casino Reuda is alive and reasonably well in central S.Korea.  In the city of Daegu to be more exact.

Yes, I've been having lots of fun attending the Saturday night Casino Rueda Class at Babalu Salsa Club in the downtown (AKA: "Rodeo") area of Daegu.  The classes are run by two young ladies, Susie and Melinda.  And just recently our class has been integrated with a similar casino rueda class run by a Korean guy (who names escapes me at the moment).

Point is......it's there.  And it's getting better every week.

The classes start at 8 pm and go til 10 pm. and are divided up into sometimes beginner, intermediate and advanced.   There has been some talk just last week about getting more sophisticated in our certification of proficiency levels but.....that'll take care of itself.

I think it's safe to say that 99.99% of the moves we're doing would be found on DVD 1 or 2 of Salsa Lovers (I always like to use them as a comparison :-) .  I think, now that the classes seem to be growing very rapidly, that we'll have a smaller group delving more deeply into more advanced moves.

I've got a bunch of videos and pictures that I just haven't had time to post here.  But I will.

One thing possibly of interest to you...if you're thinking about attending.  I think I finally found a reasonably priced jimjilbang in that area.  That means that if you're coming from out of town to attend the class, you don't have to worry about an inexpensive, safe and clean place to stay.

There's actually at least 4 jimjilbangs in that area but this all of them, except the one that I noticed right next to the train station and finally tried this weekend, either had noise, comfort or distance issues.  The one next to the train station is only 6000 KW, is plenty big, it does have a quieter/darker room for those of us don't want to stay up all night bullshitting (like some Koreans seem to like to do), plus it even has blankets if you want'em.

The rueda classes are 10,000 KW and that price includes a drink at the bar (of the club).  Sometimes there's a dance at the club on Saturday nights.  And sometimes not.  There does seem to be a problem with getting good, English language, information about salsa happenings in Daegu.  Even though there are at least 3 clubs (that I've been to so far).

If you're interested in finding about more about the casino rueda classes, they also have a Facebook page.. "Salsa For Foreigners in Daegu".  It's open to join.

The only thing I'd like to see improved is that a lot of the people who come to the class don't seem to want to hang out much after the class, even if there's a dance afterwards, and do any casino reuda.  Yeah....doesn't make much sense does it?  But.....I think that's going to improve as the classes get more fun and as we develop a large advanced group.

Casino Rueda 101.....Fall Semester starts Saturday!!

 

New pattern for next week Casino Reuda 101 Pt4

Here's a pattern we're going to learn next week at Casino Rueda 101 Wk4.  It's all just enchufla or a variation.  Also notice that it's 4 parts long.  So it'll fit into the music perfectly.  Later, we can add something else to it and make it real nice.

Coined a new term for Casino Rueda

From now on, to the extent that I have anything to do with it, 'clockwise' in our ruedas will be referred to as 'downstream' and 'counterclockwise' will be referred to as 'upstream'.

I thought this would be a good idea because frequently I find myself trying to make notes on rueda patterns and I've discovered that I couldn't think of anything logical for 'counterclockwise'.  Clockwise was logically 'cw' but 'counterclockwise', sounding more like it had three words in it.......I didn't want to use the abbreviation 'ccw' because it had 3 digits (i.e. vs the 2 digits of 'cw').

I realize now that I could use 'cw' and 'cc' but, somehow, the words downstream and upstream seem better to me.  That makes the abbreviations somewhat more uniform....e.g. 'u.s.' and 'd.s.'

Anybody got any opinions on that?

Casino Rueda 101 pt 3 !!

Yes friends and fun lovers in Seoul (and environs)......it's that time again.  Time for another fun and frolicing evening with Candela Dance Studio, Korea Carruselescom and Korea Latin and Salsa.com.

Join us for our third class of Casino Rueda 101.  Our classes are growing steadily, everybody's learning real fast and we're all having a great time in the process. 

How 'bout you?  What have you been doing on Saturday nights? 

If you've been going salsa dancing but you haven't :-0 been doing any rueda......man!  I don't know how you've been surviving.  There's nothing more fun that dancing with your friends in a rueda. 

Talk about 'renewable energy'!!!  This is it, baby!

It's kinda lika being a member of a street gang that dances.  Except it's not on the street.  We're more civilized than that.  We do it in clubs.  And we do it with............EVERYBODY!!

Even if you've missed the first two classes, as long as you know your salsa basics it's probably not too late to get in and move along with us.

Candela Studio is easy to find.  Just get to the Yangjae subway station in Seoul.  Take Exit #6 and Candela Dance Studio is a short 3 minute walk from that.  You'll see direction on the video elsewhere on this site.  Or you can call me, Art, at 010 5822 2277 or call Pillhwan at 011-9046-6103

SSQQ and Jorge Elizando. Two great names.....in studios and bachata

This post isn't immediately relevant to anybody in Korea right now but I think it's nice for Korean dancers to know some of the more important events and people in the US dance scene right now.

Anybody who knows anything about latin dancing in Houston, Texas knows who SSQQ is.  SSQQ ("Slow-Slow-Quick-Quick").  SSQQ has probably introduced and trained more people in the various latin dances (i.e. salsa, bachata, merengue, cha-cha) than any three other studios in Houston.  In fact, that's actually where I first learned to dance.

And anybody who knows anything about bachata very possibly knows who Jorge Elizando is.  In fact, Jorge came to Korea last December and did a two day, 9 hour workshop over at YouCanDance studio in Itaewon that was very well received by over 30 people. 

Jorge is also a personal friend of mine and he's the guy who really opened up my mind to what bachata can be.  He's also the guy who, probably more than any other, has brought bachata 'out of the closet' and made it a joy to thousands of people in the US and Europe.  

No doubt about it.  Two great names in their respective niches of the dance business.  Now, for the first time ever, they're working together to bring two exciting days of bachata master-level training to the good people of Houston, Texas.

Casino Rueda 101 tomorrow!!

The first ever class of it's type in Korea, Casino Rueda 101, starts tomorrow, Saturday, August 8, 6pm. at Candela Dance Studio in Yangjae, Seoul, S.Korea.  Many of the best dancers from www.korealatinandsalsa.com and Candela Dance Studio will be in attendance......fired up and highly motivated to learn more about the casino rueda.

Casino rueda is, without a doubt, the most entertaining way to learn salsa.  It can be done by one couple or with 100 couples.  It's definately the most social form of salsa dancing because everybody gets to dance and everybody dances with everybody else.

This class is the first of a series of classes called Casino Rueda 101.  Students who complete this series of classes will know the basic format of casino rueda and over 60 of the basic and the best casino rueda patterns.  And those students who want to will also be given a chance to learn to be a 'caller'....i.e. the person who leads the rueda.

From this class will emerge a core group of casino rueda afficianados who will be able to do ruedas in the many excellent salsa clubs in Seoul.  And hopefully bring lots and lots of new students into the joy of learning salsa through rueda.

It's not too late to get into this class.  It's only 10,000 KW, payable to the studio, and it includes admittence to our socials plus all the excellent facilities at Candela.

Sign up at the KorealatinandSalsa Facebook page.....here.  Or just call me, Art Williams, at 010 5822 2277 and let me know you want to come.

Dedo....give somebody 'the finger'...casino style

Dedo means 'finger' in Spanish and there's actually a handsign for this that looks like flipping somebody 'the bird'.  Sometimes people use their little finger instead. 

This move isn't hard and is sometimes part of the two hour cram course.

Push Turn (AKA: "Turnstile" a-la-Sandra Moro Sleeper

This move is often called a 'push turn' in regular salsa but my friend in Austin, Texas, Sandra Moro Sleeper of www.streetsalsa.com teaches it in here very successful Sunday afternoon casinor rueda classes at the Rutamaya Coffee Shop as 'Turnstile'.