World's Largest Rueda

& Playful Rueda Moves

On Sunday August 21, 2005, the Miami Salsa Congress, produced by Rene Gueits of Salsa Lovers Dance Studio, undertook to break the world record for the size of a Rueda circle. They did this as a highlight to their Congress, and they succeeded in breaking the record!

I went to the Congress and took part in the circle, which was a quite an undertaking. We all had to register for the event and got T-shirts that said "World's Largest Rueda" which everyone wore. By folding the circle a number of times to create a figure eight, the hundreds of Rueda dancers were able to fit their "circle" into the hotel's large ballroom. It was clear that Rene was following some ground-rules for establishing the record and documenting what we did. We all had to sign our initials next to our names on the long list of participants.

The caller, Ramani Nicola, stuck with simple moves so that relative beginners could step into the circle. In fact, all the moves were reviewed before the large circle was formed, so those who were unsure of any could go over them. I was asked by someone who knew me from the D.C. area to review Montana with him---and that was about the most complex move we did.

Above: This shows one part of the ballroom where the world's largest rueda took place. This view got as much of the circle as possible in one camera shot! The room was huge and there were hundreds of dancers.

Before the record was broken, we had a quick "dry run." The event was then filmed and we took photos afterwards of the hundreds of dancers who participated. Rene announced that we had succeeded in making history! I found the whole experience uplifting, not because we set a record, but because of the sheer thrill of dancing in unison with so many other people.

As much fun as that was, in my opinion, the spontaneous Ruedas that took place at the party that night were just as special. Many top names had performed in the show, so they were on hand for the Rueda. Henry Herrera called the moves, and I saw Edie the Salsa Freak, Maykel Almuina (director of Salsa Lovers' performing team), and other well-known Salseros in the circle. Henry called lots of funky steps, included plenty of Afro-Cuban body movements and, as usual, made it a lively and original circle.

For example, at one point he had opposite sides of the circle come in toward the center and pass through each other. But it was far from orderly. Some couples veered and zig-zagged. So in fact, a large mass of couples moved out of a circle and then reformed into a circle after some significant chaos. It was really a kick; I've never seen that done!

To top it all off, he led something really hilarious. There is a move called caminala where you clap your partner's hands (kind of like a high 10) and then turn (guys turn right and ladies turn left) and clap the hands of the person behind you. You do this many times, and each time you turn, you clap your own two hands together. So you are clapping on beats 1, 3, 5, and 7.

We did that move, but then Henry started bending his knees to go lower and lower with the circle following his lead. Soon he was actually sitting on the dance floor, turning his body from side to side to continue the clapping. And then he rolled back so that he was lying on the floor-continuing to clap from side to side. It was absolutely hilarious. He then got back up to a sitting position and then a standing position, just the way he'd gradually lowered himself. There is never a dull moment when Henry calls.

No doubt about it----August 21, 2005 was a day of some remarkable Ruedas

Above: DanceInTime dancers with Philadelphia Casineros for Collaboration, 4/8/06