Welcome to the MIT Casino Rueda Group! The Group promotes, instructs, and performs in the different Salsa dance styles, particularly the Casino Rueda style. We hope that you come to our workshops, and learn to love Rueda as much as we do. To join our mailing list please email salsalovers-request@mit.edu with subject `subscribe'.

For upcoming MIT Freshman and Sophomores, visit our short Introductory page for more information.

History of Casino Rueda
La Rueda de Casino originally began in Cuba in the 1950's, and consisted of couples dancing salsa in a circle, following the moves called by the caller, who set the pace of the dance. The calls ranged from those known by everyone from Cuba to San Francisco to more unique moves that people invented on their own.
See our background page form a more detailed description of Salsa and Casino Rueda.

The MIT Casino Rueda Group
The MIT Casino Rueda Group is an entirely student-run organization. Its founding members learned the dance in places such as Miami and San Francisco, and have been spreading the dance to others at MIT and beyond since the fall of 1999. Please visit our background page to learn more about the beginnings of the MIT Casino Rueda Group.

We hold workshops once or twice a month, that provide an intense rueda experience. Workshops last 3 hours, and cost between $5-10 per person. See the Events page on this website for more detailed information.

We have separated the calls into six levels depending on difficulty and how essential they are to the dance. Level 1 includes all the moves without which Rueda simply would not be Rueda. Levels 2 and 3 build upon Level 1 by adding variations, new turns, and moves that stress good timing. The calls in Levels 4 and 5 get faster, and have more turns while continuing to rely on the basics. Level 6 contains calls that are not essential to dance Rueda, but provide a challenge even for experienced dancers! At each workshop, we will separate the dancers into three groups. Level 1 will always be taught by itself in order to introduce new dancers correctly to Salsa and Rueda. Levels 2 and 3 are combined since these moves are similar in difficulty, and build directly on Level 1 and on each other. Levels 4 through 6 will be taught together since they contain advanced calls, and require a strong knowledge of the previous three levels.

The MIT Casino Rueda Group has performed at various MIT events, and also in off-campus sites such as Simmons College, Tufts University, and The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. If you would like to perform with the Group, you need to attend every class and the necessary workshops to reach Level 4 and above, and get to know some of the current performing members. At that time, and if you are interested, we will come to you offering a performing member spot. Performing members get benefits such as, but not limited to, free workshops and learning more advanced steps at our practices. In addition, there are no fees or costs whatsoever, all you need is enthusiasm. Performing members are also required to help teach some classes during the semester once they reach a certain level of proficiency, and to perform other smaller tasks for the general upkeeping of the group. See our Performances page for information and pictures of our past performances. Furthermore, if you would like the Group to perform at an event, please contact rueda_inner_circle@mit.edu.

Thank you for your interest and we hope to see you often!

Sincerely,

The MIT Casino Rueda Group