My name’s Yanek and I’m thirty years old. I’ve been dancing since October 2002. I have a dance group and its name is Casino.com. We dance Casino Rueda, Salsa as well as other Cuban dances. We were champions of Cuba twice. I was the champion of Cuba in 2004, and I also won the world championship in Italy in 2004. Later on, I was present at world championships as a judge, I was there to help and participate in performances.
How did you learn to dance?
I taught myself, watching my brothers dance. I started by inventing my own moves and movements. I wanted to become a good dancer but the one who performs only the things of his own creation, without watching someone else’s videos or learning from others. I didn’t care if it was good or bad as long as it was mine. That’s what I wanted.
How do you make up your choreographies?
I’ve found my ideal time for creative work. It’s when I get up in the morning. That’s the time when ideas swarm in my head and I start to create. Once I’ve worked through certain choreography, everything’s ready. I imagine people dancing and I already have a vision of what can work well and what can’t. Next I dance it all out myself and only then I practice the choreography with my group. As soon as I’m done with the choreography, I start searching for music and change some things because in my performances I like to use pauses in music.
How did you choose dancers for Casino.com?
At first it was only my family. My brother, my ex-girlfriend and her friends, two cousins and two neighbors. At that point I decided that dancing was not going to be my hobby but my job, my vocation. I live to dance. However, my brothers had their jobs so they left. I had to find someone else. The cousins stayed with me, and I found other friends. Our goal isn’t to become stars, all we want is to enjoy our dancing. I tried to find good people, friends, and not primarily good dancers – that was not an issue. I believe that what makes you a good or bad dancer depends on the time you spend practicing and learning, and it also depends on how we feel about what we do. Now, all my friends have become good dancers. They mightn’t have been before but they wanted to. We’ve put a lot of hard work and dedication into it and they’re all very good dancers now.
How often do you practice?
We usually practice once a week but sometimes it’s difficult to fit everyone and everything in, to find time when we can all meet. I hope it’ll change for the better in the future. We practice for two hours. Before we get down to choreography, we start with some minor new things – steps, bits from other dances.
Could you tell us something about your participation in “a la Salsa Cubana” DVDs?
I took part in the “a la Salsa Cubana” DVDs released by Eric Freeman in 2002. It was a tremendous experience to see that people like what we do here in Cuba. At the same time it was an excellent opportunity to show to the whole world what a Cuban dancer can do. People have no information about Cubans who live in Cuba – I don’t mean those Cubans who live in Europe. It was a good experience and now I want to do something on my own. We already have on video some high-standard figures for the advanced level but we still haven’t had the chance to publish, sell or show them because we don’t have any means to do it in Cuba.
What do you think about the evolution of Salsa in Cuba?
There aren’t many students of Cuban salsa. Salsa isn’t regarded to be a professional dance. It’s seen as a street dance. There are no schools where young people could be taught to dance Cuban salsa, because we aren’t organized in Cuba. We still have to develop and share our opinions and views. There are a lot of people teaching in different ways and using different pedagogies so that it’s difficult for those who learn salsa outside Cuba to synthesize and make sense of all that. It isn’t the same as with the “Los Angeles” style which is taught everywhere in the same way, even if different things are done. That’s not the case here in Cuba, and that’s exactly what we need. When we achieve that goal, we’ll be better.
What do you think about Reggeaton?
As far as music goes, I think that it has to do with the Latino musicians’ wish to imitate American rappers. The way they dance and sing, and the clothes they wear are identical to those of American rappers. But that’s not Cuba, that’s not for us. The media are the major influence there. If you hear Reggeaton wherever you go, you’re bound to love it. But we can’t say that Reggeaton is a dance. All you have to do is to move your body any way you can. That’s easy. For Cubans, that’s very easy. It might be more difficult for Europeans, because of the moves, but it’s too easy for us. So, since it’s simple, a lot of people in Cuba dance Reggeaton. That’s also one of the reasons why there aren’t so many people who dance salsa. I hold nothing against Reggeaton, I dance it, I like it, but I love salsa. I have no chance to dance it in a disco because they play mostly Reggeaton there, which is a problem we currently have.
Who are your favorite salsa musicians?
It depends on what I wish to do at that particular moment. If I want to dance rueda, then it is “Los Van Van”, and if I want to dance salsa then I prefer “Orquesta Reve” and “Pupy y los que son son.” If I want the best music to dance salsa in Cuba I choose to dance to the music of Adalberto Alvarez. At the “Bailar Casino” national championship I danced with some of these musicians.
Could you tell us more about the “Bailar Casino” show?
It was a television program which started in 2004 with the intention of preserving Casino and Casino Rueda since before that it had been Reggeaton all over. The purpose was to draw more people to salsa. It was a competition and couples had to pass qualifications first. It went on weekly, monthly, semiannually and annually. It was a good show and it was broadcast for two years. What was the problem? When I won the first year, only the best dancers took part in the competition. The next year, these people weren’t allowed to participate because new people were wanted for the show. The standard dropped and the program died out. It doesn’t exist any more, and we need it.
What is your favorite activity – teaching, dancing in the evening, dancing on stage?
First and foremost, I don’t like the stage! I love to dance. The problem isn’t that I’m a lousy dancer on stage – at least, I suppose I’m not. What I like is to improvise, to dance to the feeling I have and not to perform certain choreography. But you can’t do that if you’re in a show, unless the show itself is an improvisation. In that case I can dance on stage, but even then I’m a bit shy. My favorite dance is when I dance for myself, on the street, or when I teach. But still, what I love most is to create. If I have a goal, I can think up ten figures in a single day.
Is there a dancer that you admire?
I highly esteem Jorge Camaguey, a Cuban who lives in Spain. He’s a very good dancer, an excellent teacher and a wonderful person. When he dances, everyone around him feels something and absorbs all the information. At the world championship in Italy, I met the dancer Henry Herrera who danced the Miami style and I think he’s also an excellent dancer and instructor. And there’s Jhesus Aponte – I like his style very much.
What do you plan to do?
To conquer Europe! Not as me, Yanek, but as Cuba. To show what we Cubans can do, because I think that people in Europe don’t know anything about that. I want to accomplish great things – Camaguey and I have a plan to put our efforts into bringing all Cuban instructors together.
What’s your definition of Cuban salsa?
It’s a feeling rather than a dance. Salsa isn’t knowledge but a feeling. Dancing with instinct. It’s a combination of Cuban rhythms and Cuban culture. Salsa isn’t just a dance. It’s what we do and what we talk about. Cuban salsa is the Cuban way of life and also our culture.
