The story
Cuban salsa - or casino, as it is called in Cuba - is the heart of Ahinama. George Tsi has been teaching authentic Cuban style since 2008, and opened the school in Galatsi in 2017.
It is not a sequence of rehearsed steps - it is a conversation between two dancers. The leader calls, the follower answers, and the music guides them both. Unlike linear styles, casino moves in a circle: the figures are fluid, the turns connect naturally, and the dance leaves room for personal expression. It is how people actually dance at parties in Havana.
The roots: Afro, Rumba and Son
Casino was not created from nothing. It stands on three strong pillars:
- Afro-Cuban - the rhythms and movements of the Yoruba people and the Orishas give salsa its grounded energy, its weight into the floor and its circular hip motion.
- Rumba - from rumba comes the playful dialogue between partners, the sense of space and the free improvisational expression. Many casino moves have a direct root in rumba.
- Son - the melodic structure, the walk and the social elegance of son keep the dance joyful, readable and enjoyable at every level.
From Cuba to New York
George Tsi started with Cuban salsa, Afro and Rumba, and these remain the deep roots of the school. In recent years, however, he has kept evolving, working intensively on modern styles such as salsa on1 and on2 as well. The result is a teacher who moves comfortably both in authentic Cuban tradition and in the contemporary salsa scene at a high level.
Groups start from Salsa Intro (no experience needed) and go all the way to advanced levels and a choreography team.
