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Who is Changó— "In Yorùbá religion, Sàngó ( also spelled, Sango or Shango, often known as Xangô or Changó in Latin America and the Caribbean, and also known as Jakuta[1]) is perhaps the most popular Orisha; he is a Sky Father, god of thunder and lightning. Sango was a royal ancestor of the Yoruba as he was the third king of the Oyo Kingdom. In the Lukumí (Olokun mi = "my dear one") religion of the Caribbean, Shango is considered the center point of the religion as he represents the Oyo people of West Africa. The Oyo Kingdom was sacked and pillaged as part of a jihad by the Islamic Sokoto Caliphate. All the major initiation ceremonies (as performed in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Venezuela for the last few hundred years) are based on the traditional Shango ceremony of Ancient Oyo. This ceremony survived the Middle Passage and is considered to be the most complete to have arrived on Western shores. This variation of the Yoruba initiation ceremony became the basis of all Orisha initiations in the West.

The energy given from this Deity of Thunder is also a major symbol of African resistance against an enslaving European culture. He rules the color red and white; his sacred number is 6; his symbol is the oshe (double-headed axe), which represents swift and balanced justice. His dominance is over male sexuality and human vitality, in general. He is owner of the Bata (3 double-headed drums), as well as the Arts of Music, Dance and Entertainment. Shango can be deduced, in some regards, to be the essence of "strategy" (logic and passion drawn and fashioned precisely to achieve some end).

The dance of Changó along with men styling will be taught by master instructor duane Wrenn

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What is Danzón — "The style developed in the second half of the 19th century, and has been an important root for Cuban music up to the present day. The precursors of danzón are the contradanza, and the habanera, which are creolized Cuban dance forms. The danzón was developed, according to one's point of view, either by Manuel Saumell or by Miguel Failde in Matanzas."

Danzón is elegant and virtuoso music, with dance. A danzón, in its original form, was not sung, and did not feature any improvisations, unlike some other Cuban genres. A danzón has the following typical structure:
• An introduction or paseo (A), usually 16 bars.
• The theme or principal melody (B), featuring the flute, thus often referred to as parte de (la) flauta.
• A repeat of the introduction.
• The trio (C), featuring the strings, thus also called parte del violín.
• Ending. This could either be a cliché ending (there are a few standard danzón endings), another repeat of the introduction, or a combination of both.

Danzón will be taught by master instructors Ricardo and Beatriz Golden-Hayes

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What is Rumba — In Cuban music, Rumba is a generic term covering a variety of musical rhythms and associated dances. The rumba has its influences in the music brought to Cuba by Spanish colonizers as well as Africans brought to Cuba as slaves. Rumba developed in the Cuban provinces of Havana and Matanzas in the late 19th century. As an energetic Afro-Cuban dance, Rumba was often suppressed and restricted because it was viewed as dangerous and lewd.

Cuban Rumba can be broken down into three types: Yambú, Columbia, and Guaguancó

Rumba will be taught by master instructors Ana Llorente and Noemi Pinate

What is Rumba Yambú — "Yambú is the oldest and slowest known style of rumba, sometimes called the Old People's Rumba. It uses the slowest beat of the three Rumba styles and incorporates movements feigning frailty. It can be danced alone (especially by women) or by men and women together. Although male dancers may flirt with female dancers during the dance, they do not use the vacunao of Rumba Guaguancó.

What is Rumba Guaguancó — "is faster than yambú, with more complex rhythms, and involves overtly flirtatious movements between a man and a woman in the roles of "Rooster" and "Hen".The woman both entices and "protects herself" from the man, who tries to catch the woman off-guard with a vacunao -- tagging her with the flip of a handkerchief or by throwing his arm, leg or pelvis in her direction in an act of symbolic sexual contact. To defend herself, she may cover with her hand, or use her skirt to protect her pelvis and whip the sexual energy away from her body. Guaguancó most likely inherited the idea of the 'vacunao' from yuca or macuta dances, which were both brought to Cuba by Bantú ethnic groups. "

What is Rumba Columbia — "Rumba Columbia (not "Colombia") is a fast and energetic Rumba, with a 6/8 feel, which is often accompanied by a 6/8 (Spanish 'seis por ocho') beat struck on a hoe or a bell. It is assumed that the Columbia originated in hamlets in the interior of Cuba rather than the suburbs of the larger cities from where other types of Cuban Rumba stem. Solo, traditionally male, dancers provoke the drummers, especially the player of the smallest drum (Quinto, here also soloist drum), to play complex rhythms that they imitate through their creative and sometimes acrobatic movements. Men may also compete with other men to display their agility, strength, confidence and even sense of humor. "

Rumba Yambú and Guagauncó will be taught by master instructors Ana Llorente and Noemi Pinate

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What is Guaracha — "The guaracha is a genre of Cuban popular music, of rapid tempo and with lyrics. The word had been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical theatres and in low-class dance salons. They became an integral part of Bufo comic theatre in the mid-19th century. "

During the 19th century, performing groups arrived in Puerto Rico from Cuba, bringing with them Cuban styles such as the son and the guaracha. Later, the guaracha took on a style of its own in Puerto Rico and became part of other Puerto Rican customs, such as the sung rosaries, the baquiné, Christmas music and children's songs.

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What is Samba — "Samba is a Brazilian musical genre derived from African and European roots. It is worldwide recognized as a symbol of Brazil and Carnival. The samba derives a kind of dance of roots African arisen in Brazil and taken as the national pace for excellence. Considered one of the main cultural events popular Brazilian, samba became a symbol of national identity.

Among its original features, is a form where the dance is accompanied by small melodic phrases and refrões for creating anonymous, foundations of samba de roda born in Recôncavo Baiano and led in the second half of nineteenth century, to Rio de Janeiro by black slaves who migrated from Bahia and have settled in the then capital of Brazilian Empire. "

Samba will be taught by master instructor Serena Wong

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What is Timba — "As opposed to salsa, the roots of which are with the Cuban conjunto bands of the 1940s and 1950s, modified with rock, jazz, and traditional music of Puerto Rico, Timba represents a synthesis of a wider variety of popular and folkloric sources."

"Though timba is considered to be a form of popular music, the technical mastery of timba is only possible through highly trained musicians, who have solid theoretical backgrounds in classical music, jazz, traditional Cuban music, as well as other international genres. This is made possible through the high standards of government-run music schools in Cuba, as well as the strong competition between musicians.
Government policy favours artistic excellence and Cuban music is regarded as a source of revenue and a legitimate way to attract tourism. Nevertheless, many Cuban musicians seek to work abroad, and a significant number of musicians now work in exile, both in the United States and in Europe (and to a lesser extent in Latin America), leading to a new wave of cross-breeding between the timba and salsa."

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What is Rueda de Casino: Rueda de Casino is a particular type of round dancing of Salsa. It was developed in Havana, Cuba in the late 1950s and early 1960s by the group Guaracheros de Regla and one of its main choreographers and creators was Jorge Alfaro from San Miguel del Padrón, a soloist of a comparsa.

Pairs of dancers form a circle, with dance moves called out by one person, a caller (or 'Líder' or 'cantante' in Spanish). Many moves have hand signs to complement the calls; these are useful in noisy venues, where spoken calls might not be easily heard. Many moves involve the swapping of partners.

The names of the moves are mostly in Spanish, some in English (or Spanglish; e.g., "un fly"). Some names are known in slightly different versions, easily recognizable by Spanish-speaking dancers, but may be confusing to the rest.

Although the names of most calls are presently the same across the board, the different towns in Cuba use their own calls. This was due to the fact that when the pioneers of Rueda de Casino started, they wanted to keep others from participating in their Rueda. Nowadays many local variations of the calls can be found. They can change from town to town or even from teacher to teacher.

Cuban-style salsa (also called Casino) can be danced either on the down beat ("a tiempo") or the upbeat ("a contratiempo"). Beats 1, 3, 5 and 7 are downbeats and 2, 4, 6 and 8 are upbeats.

The cross body lead is an essential step in this style too and is referred to as Salida Cubana or as Dile que no in Rueda de Casino Dancing. This move becomes essential in the more complex derivative of Cuban Casino leading to the many moves of Rueda, or wheel dance. Here multiple couples exchange partners and carry out moves synchronized by a caller.

SALSAtlanta is proud to be the "only" casino style salsa school in Georgia with over 6,000 students in the last 10 years.

Rueda de Casino will be taught by master instructors Henry Herrera, Ramani Nicola, Chris Rogicki, Nick & Serena, Jae Evans, Michael Yi, Julián Mejía