We can use salsa as a stepping stone to rumba. The first section of the workshop will involve the development of skills in the salsa context which are transferable to the rumba rhythm group. The second section is directly pertinent to guaguancó: the timing, or at least one possible timing, of the vacunao and the defense against it. An introduction to a dance gearing in columbia is the subject of section three.
Section I - Salsa's Heartbeat
Concept: locating, hearing and feeling the conga open tones of the tumbao moderno
Hearing the tones as the 'lub-dub' of the heartbeat.
Exercise: tapping the 'lub-dub'
Solo, to the isochronous conga track. Tapping on the chest over the heart (a la Dirty Dancing).
Exercise: tapping the 'lub-dub', dancing
Solo, to the isochronous conga track. Tapping on the chest over the heart while dancing the salsa step rhythm.
Concept: in dialogue with the open tones (salsa context)
Call-and-response between the drum (conga open tones) and the dancer (salsa dance rhythm).
Exercise: the dancer calls, the drum 'responds'
Solo, to the isochronous conga track and later the conga plus piano track. Note that this is an illusion, a pre-recorded drum cannot respond.
Exercise: the drum calls, the dancer responds
Solo, to the isochronous conga track and later the conga plus piano track. Note the slight latency in timing which softens the attack of the dancer. This is a prerequisite skill for rumba and dancing to live music performances.
Practice: both call-and-response variations, partnered
Using the isochronous conga track, then the instrument layers tracks in increasing complexity, and finally complete pre-recorded salsa tracks.
Section II - Vacunao and defense timing
Practice: playing martillo on the bongó
Exercise: stopping on beat one, starting on beat eight
Solo. Beats as counted by Europeans. Drumming the martillo on the bongó. To bolero, chachachá and timba tracks of increasing tempo.
Exercise: stopping on beat one, starting on beat eight
Partnered. Beats as counted by Europeans. Dancing the rumba basic. To timba of increasing tempo.
Exercise: a basic vacunao and defense timing
Partnered. Beats as counted by Europeans. Dancing the rumba basic. To timba of increasing tempo. Addition of the leg-raise vacunao on beat one (or five), with women's defense on the 'and' of beat one (or five).
Demonstration: points of flexibility in a basic
Two fundamental variables:
- how a rumba basic may be flexed in its centre to give rise to changes in orientations; and
- how the close step can be substituted with a front cross step.
Solo, to music of increasing tempo. Maintenance of orientation discipline is stressed.
Section III - Dance Gears
Briefing: tresillo as a common motif in Caribbean music
Identifying the tresillo as the 3-side of son clave.
Exercise: clapping tresillo
Solo. Moderate tempo salsa and timba music. Begin by clapping son clave, then substituting all 2-sides with the tresillo.
Demonstration: tresillo as an alternative gear in rumba
Dancing a rumba basic using the regular downbeat-based dancer's rhythm, and then switching to a tresillo dance rhythm.
Exercise: dancing rumba, switching gears
Solo. To 'Sandore' by Suzzana Owiyo. Dancing rumba basic, switching between the regular down-beat gear and the tresillo gear.
Additional Materials
Loo's Instrument Layers CD
Timba Teaching CD1
Timba Teaching CD2
Yeo Loo Yen
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