The most demanding class at Ahinama - Cuban salsa on the off-beat, mixed with Afro and rumba. For dancers who are strong in one style and want them all to meet.

The count

Contratiempo · on 4 and 8 - on the off-beat

At a glance

Level: Advanced, any style
Format: Solo, no partner
Intensity
Best for: Combining salsa, Afro & rumba

The story

Contratiempo at Ahinama is Cuban salsa on the off-beat - the class where salsa, Afro and rumba meet. It is taught with the stamp of George and Elena.

It is the most demanding class at Ahinama, and it is built for a specific dancer: the one who is strong in a single style and has started to feel the ceiling. The salsa dancer with clean steps and stiff hips. The Afro dancer with fire but no casino structure. The rumba dancer who loses the off-beat inside a salsa track.

The work is solo from start to finish, and the count never leaves the contra. Every drill asks your home style to borrow from the others - salsa footwork with rumba phrasing, Afro groundedness at casino speed - until the borders between them disappear.

When the contra settles into your body, the borders drop. You hear salsa, Afro and rumba as one language, and you dance them as one dancer.

What you will work on

Inside a Contratiempo class

1
The structure of contratiempo
Son, rumba and the clave - where the "contra" comes from and why it sounds so Cuban.
2
Afro & rumba rhythms
The roots that feed the off-beat - how Afro body and rumba phrasing change your salsa from the inside.
3
Sueltas & footwork drills
Solo steps drilled until the off-beat lives in your feet, not in your head.
4
Combining the rhythms
Salsa steps, Afro body, rumba phrasing - drills that make the three styles talk to each other on the contra.

How we teach it

The Ahinama way

We work the rhythm slowly and methodically, with plenty of drills, before taking it up to speed. It is hard work on the ear - but it changes forever the way you hear every Cuban track.

Inside the room