Cuban salsa

In Cuba, a popular dance known as Casino was marketed abroad as Cuban-style salsa or Salsa Cubana to distinguish it from other salsa styles when the name became popular in the 1970s. Dancing Casino is an expression of popular social culture in Cuba, and many Cubans consider Casino a part of their social and cultural activities centering on their popular music.

The origins of the name Casino are casinos deportivos, the dance halls where a lot of social dancing was done among the better-off, white Cubans during the mid-1950s and onward.

Historically, Casino traces its roots as a partner dance from Son Cubano, which was fused with partner figures and borrowed from Cuban Mambo, Cuban Cha Cha Cha, Rumba Guaguancó, and North American Jive. Similar to Son, Danzón and Cha Cha Cha, it is traditionally (though less often today) danced a contratiempo. This means that, distinct from subsequent forms of salsa, no step is taken on the first and fifth beats in each clave pattern, and the fourth and eighth beats are emphasized. In this way, dancers contribute to the polyrhythmic pattern of the music through their movements.

Casino dance is closely intertwined with Afro-Cuban dance traditions. Many dancers include spontaneous or ad hoc fashion, though this is not a defining feature of the dance. Much like sonero (lead singer in Son and Salsa bands), they may quote or reference older songs. Casino dancers frequently improvise, integrating movements, gestures, and extended passages from Cuba's African heritage, including rumba and older popular dances such as Cha Cha Cha and Danzón.