Contratiempo
Below are examples of songs that can be danced in contratiempo.
🕺 What is contratiempo?
Contratiempo ("against the beat") means you don't step on the first beat but against it. In casino you then don't step on beats 1 and 5; the emphasis is on beats 4 and 8, just like the bass in son that falls before the beat. The opposite is a tiempo: dancing with a step on the 1, as in most salsa.
- Traditionally: son, danzón, cha-cha-chá and casino were traditionally danced contratiempo. Today many casineros dance a tiempo.
- When it works: contratiempo feels most natural on music in which the bass and the tumbao clearly sound that off-beat, such as son and a lot of timba.
- How to hear it: listen to the bass. If it keeps falling just before the 1, the song invites you to dance contratiempo.
But first a contratiempo list i found on youtube:
Examples:
📝 Sources
Timba is the music this site is dedicated to exploring. It emerged as a distinct genre in the late 1980s and crystallized in the early 1990s — born in a moment of social crisis, built on the full accumulated history of Cuban music, and still evolving today.
Lees meer >Cha-cha-chá is a Cuban dance music rhythm created in 1953 by violinist and composer Enrique Jorrín while performing with the Orquesta América, a charanga ensemble based in Havana. It became one of the most successful Cuban music exports of the 20th century, spreading rapidly through Latin America, Europe, and North America.
Lees meer >Casino is the Cuban partner dance born in the social clubs (casinos deportivos) of Havana in the 1950s. It is what Cubans call their own social dance — distinct from, and older than, what the rest of the world calls "salsa."
Lees meer >A tumbao is a rhythmic and melodic pattern that is repeated over and over, usually in a cycle of two, four or eight bars. Piano, bass, tres, guitar and percussion each have their own tumbao; together they make up the groove a song rests on.
Lees meer >Timba, the explosive and rhythmically rich genre of Cuban dance music, transformed how the bass functions in popular music. In Timba, the bass is not just foundational — it’s fiery, funky, and free.
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