You dance casino.
But do you know where the name comes from?
Published
An elite club. A revolution. A name that crossed an ocean.
This story has all three.
1950s Havana. ‘Casinos’ weren’t gambling halls.
They were members-only social clubs. Elite. Exclusive. Cuban high society
Casino Deportivo
One of Havana’s most famous social clubs. Marble floors, live bands, strict dress codes. The places to be seen.
A new way to dance was born inside
Couples in a circle. Partners traded with a call. Faster. Looser. Freer. They started calling it ‘casino’, named after the rooms where it lived.
1959. Castro takes power. The elite clubs are transformed. Some disappear completely.
But the dance survives. Beyond the clubs. Beyond Havana. And eventually, across the world.
The buildings faded. The movement didn’t.
Today casino is danced in Amsterdam. São Paulo. Berlin.
The name traveled where the buildings couldn’t.
The ghost of a place that doesn’t exist anymore.
Save it. Send it to your dance partner. More history → cubansalsa.nl