WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS 2026

GENERAL INFO

This year we have 70 workshops to choose from! We have made a brief description of the workshops below. Please use the descriptions both to help you choose which workshop you want to attend, and also to get any useful information about any requirements to attend the workshop.

You can also find very useful explanations, illustrations and videos of many of the Rueda structures on the SalsaNor video platform rueda.casino.

First some general descriptions:

•     All workshops named Rueda de Casino will be Rueda figures selected by the instructor.

○      On level 2 and 3 some of the figures will be standard Rueda figures that you may find videos to on the SalsaNor video platform rueda.casino.

○      On level 4 some of the workshops may focus on more complicated figures, speed, challenging combinations of already known figures etc.

•   IMPORTANT:  Workshops marked with a * indicate that there are certain requirements of knowledge and experience in order to attend the workshop. The requirements are listed in the description of the workshop. Please respect this so that the instructor may carry out the class as planned.

•     Rueda LAB The Rueda LAB is an opportunity to exchange and test Rueda de Casino ideas with other Rueda enthusiasts. It will be monitored by some of our innovative SalsaNor Rueda Congress artists who loves to experiment with new rueda ideas, but it is not a workshop with teaching. Do YOU have a Rueda idea you would like to explore?

Evaluation class *

In response to previous feedback, we are now offering some classes on a master level. Access to these classes is by invitation only. Those who have registered in their sign-up for level 4 that they also wish to be evaluated for access to the master classes, must participate in the evaluation class Friday 4th 17:45 – 18:45. Your wristband with the correct colour will be handed out from info desk after the evaluation is done, but of course before the classes start on Saturday.

* Special requirement: Only if you signed up for the evaluation when purchasing the pass, you can participate.

Rueda cero caminando
Rueda Cero Caminando alters the basic step of our rueda de casino from guapea to, well, cero caminando.  Once you get the hang of that, all sorts of new possibilities emerge for switching partners, changing directions, and creating new movements.  The concept is easy but putting the movements into action can be challenging!

Rueda play
Let’s play! In this class, Noe and Diego share some of their favourite twists on the basic moves: simple enough to drop into a social rueda de casino, fun enough to keep you on your toes trying to keep up. Come ready to laugh, get creative, and add some flavour to your rueda vocabulary!

Rueda contratiempo *
Rueda danced contratiempo (on 2, the timing used in Son). Related to the music, instead of dancing on 1-2-3 and break on 4, you break on 1 and dance on 2-3-4.  Gives you a new dance feeling, and be aware, you might be looking for Son classes afterwards!
(Note! Rueda contratiempo is not the same as Rueda de Son, which would use only son music and son figures, in rueda.)

* Special requirements: You should have some experience in dancing salsa in contratiempo mode. (If not, we recommend to study this in couple dance first.)
See illustration and explanation of rueda contratiempo on rueda.casino.

Cuban footwork improvisation (for all)
Learn from one of the best! Catch the latest steps and moves to shine while improvising on the dancefloor! This non-rueda class with Sofia will be a lot of fun.

Rueda cadeneta – Reynaldo
In this fun and creative class, combinations and interlocking figures are created with hands forming chains and knots, which then open up.

Basic casino technique for rueda dancers
A must-have class for a good kick-off for the weekend. This is a non-rueda class learning the foundation of a good casino. Very useful and suitable for all levels.

Rueda contrario
Some rueda calls are extended to include “contrario”, for example “enchufla contrario”. “Contrario” means “opposite”. In these figures, every second leader will change partner the regular direction (abajo), and the others will change partner the opposite way (arriba). Chaos? Not if you follow the traffic rules! Illustration and more description at rueda.casino.

Rueda cruzada
Rueda with two different “groups” in the same circle, on different beat. Partner change only within the same group. A fun challenge. 

Move like a Cuban – men/ladies
Improve your Cuban movements and boost your personal dance! A very useful class for your individual development as a salsa and rueda dancer. For all levels. 

Rueda en ventana
Rueda en ventana is a rueda structure that allows you to change the direction of the wheel. In a traditional rueda, the dancers face the center. When performing a *ventana* (window), all the dancers turn their backs to the center, and from that point on, the rueda essentially proceeds in reverse.

Rueda switch 1 *
In rueda switch, you constantly switch between leading and following. This is a nice challenge, and it is also useful to learn and understand more of the other role than you usually dance. A bonus is that this rueda concept does not require an even balance between leaders and followers to dance, because everyone switches roles.
Illustration and explanation on rueda.casino.

* Special requirement: To attend the Rueda switch I workshop, you must have experience in leading and following basic rueda figures like dame una, dame dos and enchufla.

Rueda domino
Dominó is a playful sequence-based rueda concept where couples execute a chain of moves in a cascading order, like falling dominoes. Perfect for several small to medium-sized groups, this modality develops timing, anticipation, and group coordination while encouraging dancers to read and respond to each other. Dominó is a simple concept and a dynamic tool to make social rueda more engaging and visually striking.

Rueda: music connection
Connect your calls to the music. Great rueda is more than knowing the figures — it’s about dancing to the music. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to make your calls fit naturally with the rhythm, musical phrasing, and energy of the song.

Understanding the fundamental rhythms of Cuban music.

• Recognizing musical phrases and breaks.
  • Identifying common break patterns and knowing when to use them.
  • Timing your calls to match the music instead of counting mechanically.
  • Creating a stronger connection between the caller, the dancers, and the music.

Son
A partnerwork class of the beautiful, traditional dance from Cuba, the ‘mother’ of salsa. The son is danced contratiempo.

Street rueda
Street rueda (as opposed to dance school rueda); short, fun figures to be used in a rueda on the street or at a party, where the dancers might not even know the figures already.
See explanation of street rueda on rueda.casino. 

Rueda reversible
Welcome to another of Sassans high level, creative rueda classes. The Rueda reversible is somewhat similar to Rueda Torno. It plays with fast transitions between Rueda pa’dentro and Rueda pa’fuera. Are you ready?

Rueda Concéntrica *
Four couples, a new orientation, and new possibilities: In this workshop, we explore the logic of concentrica, practice entries and exits, and dance figures that become especially interesting in this unique rueda structure.

* Special requirement: To attend this class you must be familiar with both linea moderna and active following.

Rueda á la High Five Salsa
Noe and Diego will share some of their favourite moves, designed to keep the rueda flowing with creativity and energy. It includes short building-block moves that can be combined into longer sequences, patterns where followers take initiative and constant movement of the rueda in any direction. It will be fast and unpredictable, so get ready to #embracethechaos.

Rueda dinamica
Rueda dinámica is a fast-paced rueda with frequent combinations and partner changes where both leaders and followers have an active role. New modifiers and quick commands that seem simple, but create a fun & challenging rueda! 

Afro-Cuban technique
In order to dive into the movements of the different Orishas like Elegua, Yemaya, Shango etc., it is very useful to understand the ABC of the technical preparation for afro-cuban dance.  Either you already love dancing afro-cuban, or you want to start, you will love this class. 

Rueda – functional styling
Do you think of styling only as how your dancing looks? Styling has the ability to enhance your dancing in more ways than the esthetics! 

Rueda: caminando meets contrario *
In rueda caminando figures, you can change partner and keep going, for example using tarro in figures like camina or reina. When you add contrario, every second leader change partner in opposite direction, and followers as well. 

* Special requirement: You should be familiar with rueda contrario and active following in advance, otherwise it will be too many new things to learn in one class.

Rueda switch 2 *
In rueda switch, you constantly switch between leading and following. This class introduces new switch commands, and suit rueda dancers that already are experienced switch dancers.
Illustration and more explanation.

* Special requirement: All participants must be experienced switch dancers.

Rueda Bamboleo
Are you familiar with the Bamboleo steps? What did you think of playing with these cool steps through different variations in rueda? This can go anywhere, and that´s exactly why Enrique & Meli thought that the Bamboleo deserves it´s own rueda class ;)

Rueda con afro
Rueda con Afro is simply rueda de casino infused with elements of Afro-Cuban dance, Orishas, ​​Congo dances, Arará dances, and more!

Dominican bachata
Give yourself a rueda break diving into this beautiful couple dance from the Dominican Republic.

Rueda 2 con 2
Small circles with only 2 couples in each Rueda. The small Rueda brings another dynamic to the figures, and also makes room for some new ones! Useful also for many rueda structures.

Rueda bomba
The Cuban salsa music is built up in several parts. The most energetic part of a song is called bomba. This class will be focusing on rueda figures and moves that is most suitable to use during this specific part of the music. Let´s dance rueda bomba!

Documentary: Rueda structures
The emergence of Rueda structures» is a documentary from 2023, with new content added in 2026. It contains presentations of nearly all the rueda structures taught at the SalsaNor Rueda Congress over the years, including stories and fun facts from the various creators. Made by Bernt Rygg.

Rueda – displacement and speed
Keep the circle moving! A great rueda is always in motion. The circle flows, the couples move continuously, and partner changes happen naturally and dynamically. In this workshop, we’ll focus on creating movement that feels smooth, energetic, and connected.

• Understanding displacement and movement within the rueda.
  • Creating smooth and dynamic partner changes.
  • Connecting figures in a natural and creative way.
  • Building continuous flow instead of stopping between calls.
  • Managing speed while maintaining clarity, timing, and group coordination.
  • Using movement to make the rueda feel alive and exciting.

Rueda from rueda.casino
This class will be led by teachers that actively use the rueda.casino platform from SalsaNor, and have chosen some of the figures from the platform to teach and dance in the class. They will also share their rueda.casino video playlist with you. Later you may also wish to make your own playlists.

Rueda challenge
Up for a challenge? Matias has developed a very nice new concept for advanced rueda dancers. Come and find out all about it!

RdCA Favourites
A selection of our favourite Rueda ideas and combinations — with the typical RdCA joy of technique, flow, and group dynamics. Expect clean transitions, smart details, good energy, and one hour of dancing where precision and fun support each other.

Rueda puro Cubano
An hour of pure rueda, as it is dances by the advanced dancers on Cuba; most probably on the street and not in a dance academy. And with quisk shifts, improvisations and the music up-beat. The pure Cuban rueda is fun, with an attitude and definitely with less complicated figures. A pure social dance!

Rueda con instrumentos
Join Enrique and Meli for a unique rueda de casino workshop celebrating the instruments of salsa—from the clave and conga to the piano montuno and brass! Through our own voice, clapping, stepping, and body expression, both leaders and followers will play with the music at the cantante’s command. Get ready to enjoy a million enchuflas, dames, or other callings seasoned by every single instrument!

Timba
Timba refers to the music style, and the instructor is completely free to develop the content for the class. Dancing to a lot of energetic timba music is compulsory. Join this amazing non-rueda workshop with explosive timba movements. 

Rueda 2 mujeres
Rueda de casino danced with triples of one leader and two followers. It´s surprising how many rueda figures you can dance with triples. Even setenta? Challenging and great fun!

Rueda – Estilo
You can never work enough on style and elegance in the dance. A very useful workshop, to let you enjoy the rueda to the fullest.

Rueda no stop
If you know Reynaldo, this workshop needs no further explanation. If not, you are in for an hour of rueda dancing just like it is supposed to be, with a lot of things going on at the same time. This is one the most advanced classes Reynaldo does, are you up for it, be there!

Rueda Tocadof / Berlin style
This particular kind of rueda developed by the very active rueda dancers in Berlin is all about fast transitions with lots of flow.

Rueda de bachata
A variation of the rueda, the dominican way, to bachata music and with some bachata moves, but still with change of partner. Good fun!

Rueda almaZenada
Created from the idea that rueda is a game/sport. A match between two rueda teams will have all the components of a sport: practice, improvisation, strategy, attack, defense & fun! 

Rueda para todos
Rueda para todos means rueda for everyone, and it´s about equal roles and active following. Focus on balance and shared experience within the Rueda. Come and enjoy!

Rueda reparto
Cuban street dance elements used in rueda. What is reparto? Some 25 years ago it was all about tembleque; then came reggaeton in various forms and styles the next 10-15 years. The new era brings you reparto – which is Cuban slang for the suburbs or ‘the hood’, hence where most of these movements are born. Not only the dance style has evolved, but also the reparto music is here to stay. Groovy rhythms and some fun moves, and if you don’t understand Spanish, consider yourself fortunate, because the lyrics….are not worth listening to ;) Join a fun class with modern street movements in the rueda.

Rueda: patin extreme
Ready for your head to explode from Sassans innovations of using patin and patinetas? Come if you dare to! 

Rueda favourites
Join us for a collection of the figures and combinations we keep coming back to. Some you’ll recognize, others you may be seeing for the first time, but all of them have earned a place among our SalsaNor favourites. Expect creativity, flow, and plenty of fun that you can bring straight into your next social rueda. Come ready to learn, laugh, and leave with a few new favourites of your own.

Rumba Guaguancó
The Cuban rumba is based on African music and dance movements, and the dance has a stronger relation to the percussion and song than the popular Cuban dances. Guanguancó is one of the 4 Cuban rumba traditions, in addition to columbia, yambú and jiribilla. Rumba moves are also frequently used in rueda and casino/salsa, especially guaguancó.

Rueda Mixta 2.0 *
Rueda structure mixing ideas from rueda por fuera and rueda cruzada, using faster music and adding new challenges to what was done in the first workshop. Needs an even number of couples.

* Special requirement: For experienced dancers of rueda mixta.

Cuban styling – ladies
Improve your Cuban movements and boost your personal dance! A very useful class for your individual development as a salsa and rueda dancer. For all levels, focusing on the followers and feminine movements.  

Rueda 2 con 2
Small circles with only 2 couples in each rueda. Small ruedas bring another dynamic to the figures, and also makes room for some new ones! Useful also for many rueda structures.

Rueda: figuras de canciones populares
Rueda figures made from famous Cuban hits… the figures coordinate with the choruses of the songs. Join the class and discover all the fun Victor has created to well known tunes.

Rueda street & hip hop
A perfect and fun class for Sunday afternoon, where you can use the last drop you have left of rueda energy (saving some for the party tonight, of course!) Luis creatively incorporates easy moves and elements from street dance and hip hop in to the rueda. A popular class with lots of great energy.

Move like a Cuban – ladies/men
Improve your Cuban movements and boost your personal dance! A very useful class for your individual development as a salsa and rueda dancer. For all levels.

Rueda Exchange
Rueda exchange is a session where a few participants will share some fresh rueda content they have been working on. It was an open invitation to all participants to contribute. You are welcome to learn and try out this new content. This is a miniature version of the Rueda eXchange weekender concept that Ethan Wagner launched some years ago, and the fundador himself will also be moderating the session!
The content is: Torno Flow Rueda, Ataca y Demora and Overlapping Structures. More info in this news post.

The rueda.casino website offers useful information about casino, rueda de casino and other stuff related to Cuban dance & music culture. The different rueda figures are organized in different levels and modules, used by many teachers and active dancers worldwide. The majority of figures are connected to a video library on Youtube. Make sure to follow/subscribe to our FREE Youtube channel and get to all our videos there! Learn more about how to get the most our of our channel in our rueda.casino Coffee Talk during lunch Saturday (check info desk for location).

And if you enjoy the many videos from rueda.casino, and want to support the work SalsaNor do recording of new videos, please consider signing up as a YouTube member where you pay a small monthly fee, and receive some small benefits like early release access, and access to apx 150 archived videos from the previous “ruedastandard” years pre rueda.casino.