Casino Schools around the World
Practicing cultural responsibility in a globalized, capital-oriented world is hard. Really hard. With hundreds of dance schools that market their classes as “Cuban salsa”, trying to teaching casino—and calling it “casino”—can be quite frustrating for those already doing it, and extremely intimidating for those who consider doing it. And it is both of those things because going against the international market for Cuban dances can be very lonely.
I’d know. Just look at the title of this blog. But what keeps me doing this—and what keeps this blog going—is the thousands of views that it gets every month. People from all over the world are reading what is written here. What’s more, people are reading against the grain because what is written here is far from the mainstream, market-driven narrative of “Cuban salsa.” People are agreeing with the contents of this blog.
So I know I’m not alone.
And I want you to know that you are not, either.
If you’re teaching casino as “casino,” I want you to know that there are other schools that are doing this, too. There are other people, too, who are teaching casino and calling the dance by its name. There are others who are resisting calling the dance “salsa.”
Because we all know casino isn’t salsa.
I want the thousands of people who visit this blog to see and learn about these dance schools/groups; and if some of them happen to live in the same city, to be encouraged to go and support the work that is being done there. Hopefully, this will also encourage other schools to follow suit and give them ideas about how to market their classes.
So I’m starting a list of dance schools that teach casino as “casino.” I am going to start with a few that I personally know, but the list will grow as more people send me links to other dance schools’ websites or Facebook groups.
The only thing required for any dance school to be included in this list is this: that nowhere on the name or description of what they do, be it on their website or Facebook page, casino is referred to as “salsa”. So if you know of a school that does this, or if you’re an instructor at that school, please post their information in the comment section or send me an e-mail to daybertlinares@yahoo.com
Without further ado, here’s the list. Every name is hyperlinked, so simply click on it to be taken to its website or Facebook page.
United States
Baila Cubano San Diego, Inc. San Diego, California
Bookoo Rueda. New Orleans, Louisiana.
Boston Rueda. Boston, Massachusetts
Casino Revó Dance. Tampa, Florida
DC Casineros. Washington, D.C.
Dile que NOLA. New Orleans, Louisiana
Philly con Sabor. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Europe
Cubaneo, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
DanceCubano. Horsham, UK.
Latin America & the Caribbean
Compañía All Stars de Santiago de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Playa Casino. Playa del Carmen, México
zaSon y Candela, Coahuila, México
Australia
North Coast Casineros, South Wales.
Solo Instructors
(Because, like me, some people do not teach casino through a dance school):
Michael & Leilani, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
