Recently we traveled a bit farther to Ruedx: Virginia. It was hosted at George Mason University by the Azucar Latin Club. We had another incredible weekend filled with friends and dancing. Read hear about our 2nd Ruedx experience.
What was included?
This event was free for the workshops and socials. Tickets were not sold, since this event was invite only. Thursday and Friday’s scheduled were focused on meeting up at other local events. The weekend was as follows:
- Thursday
- Agua Night (social organized by Agua Night)
- Friday
- Manolito y su Trabuco concert (organized by a Peruvian Independence festival)
- Saturday
- 5 one hour workshops
- 1 hour of practice time
- 3 hour social
- Sunday
- 5 one hour workshops
- 1 hour of practice time
- BBQ at a House
Which classes did we take?
Alexa
- Daybert Linares (DC Cuba): Musicality in the Rueda
- Carolina: (NYC España): Avenida
- DC Casineros (Adrian, Naomi, Paul, Jen): Optimizing Cuban Popular Dances with MCC technique
- Ville Casineras (Louisville): Estrella
- Nicole (Louisville): Megarueda recap
- Mei Gibbons and Sheryn Reid(NoVA): Switch
- River City Rueda (Richmond VA): coca-cola variations
Andrea
- Daybert Linares (DC Cuba): Musicality in the Rueda
- Gustavo Ramallo (NoVA): Rueda de Zouk
- DC Casineros (Adrian, Naomi, Paul, Jen): Optimizing Cuban Popular Dances with MCC technique
- Ville Casineras (Louisville): Estrella
- Nicole (Louisville): Megarueda recap
- Mei Gibbons and Sheryn Reid(NoVA): Switch
- Ethan Wagner (NYC): Afrocuban in the Rueda
- River City Rueda (Richmond VA): coca-cola variations
Our Favorite Part?
Andrea: I loved seeing so many young people. It was great to see the future of the community be engaged and excited about Rueda de Casino. So much time and care has been put into nurturing these dancers, and I am so excited to see what they do. Truly their passion inspired me.
Alexa: The afterparty on Saturday. The space was so nice, and the music had us vibing till 3:30am. Every dance I had was fun. We did sueltas, ruedas, rueda de tazas, partnerwork, etc., but it was just a bunch of us letting loose and enjoying ourselves.
Overall Takeaway
We really love the idea of Ruedx which is driven to be low-cost/free because it chooses to focus on exchanging ideas. Ruedx: Virginia fully delivered on this. Practice time was allotted to help groups reinforce the things they’d learned throughout the day showing that the event wants to exist beyond the classroom. Pre-Ruedx activities, like Agua Night and the Manolito concert, were great ways to interact with the local dance community. Additionally, so many of us made memories together which built trust heading into the workshops.
As for the workshops, we feel there was something for everyone to take away. Not only ideas on how to dance in a Rueda, but how to approach and teach them. There were things neither of us had talked about or considered with regards to teaching, and exchanging those ideas was as important as doing moves/combos.
Finally, the best thing about Ruedx: Virginia 2023 was the clear desire to help everyone grow, whether as: a follow, a lead, a caller, in structure knowledge, or as an instructor. The idea was to bring people in closer to grow our community together.
Huge thanks to the organizers for an amazing event. We had the best time being with out fellow Casineros, and can’t wait to see them again. Were you at Ruedx: Virginia? What was your favorite part? Looking for where to travel next check out our Travel List. Don’t forget to subscribe for updates.
Bueno…ya tu sabes.
Ya Tu Sabes 