The Mastermind behind the World's Largest Casino Rueda school, Salsa Lovers Dance Studios!!

Mr. Rene Gueits, is the master mind and creator of the largest Casino Rueda dance school in the world.  Over 48,000 students have taken his courses. 

Mr. Gueits has been responsible for the explosion of Casino Rueda all over the Miami Florida area, and beyond.  His method of teaching massive quanitities of students at a single time is incredible.  Sometimes his classes number in the hundreds, with instructors teaching huge Rueda circles simultaneously. 

I was particularly impressed with his methods and concepts of teaching.  By giving certain "cards" as a reward system for going to a higher level.   Also, I was particularly impressed with his feelings about teaching students who are married, who's spouses stay at home... "uninterested." 

Stay tuned for the Salsa Lovers Casino Rueda instructional video, which will be sold on Salsaweb very shortly. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing World Famous, Mr. Rene Gueitz

How long have you been dancing Rueda and what got you into it?

For approx. 6 years. I went to a couple of latin nightclubs and saw salsa dancers doing acircle and passing partners I immediatley got hooked.

How is Miami Casino Rueda Dancing different from Casino Rueda dancing in other parts of the country, or the world?

Our salsa combinations in rueda are more intricate not so flashy. The turns are much tighter rather then open movements.

How many students have you had total pass through the Salsa Lover's system?

Every day we get approx.350 new students who register weekly with Salsa Lovers.We have till this day 22,135 students who have passed thru our dance program.

How many students do you average during one of your biggest classes?

We averaged one day, in only our beginner levels 425 students not counting for that evening intermediate and advanced hour.

Where did you originally learn how to dance Rueda and who was (were) your mentors?

I give credit to Club Mystique in Miami because at that time there was no one teaching rueda so Club Mystique was offering rueda classes being given by some street dancers. It was pretty difficult cause I had to actually teach myself by jumping into the ruedas and trying to keep up with all these turns. The dancers were great but they could not explain the structure on what they were doing,it was nerverecking!.

How long have you been teaching Rueda and what made you decide to teach Rueda?

I have been teaching rueda for about 6 years. I saw that it took me so long to learn how to dance rueda that I figured that why not come up with a structured dance syllabus so the public could have an easier method on how to dance rueda. At that time I was dancing Tango and Ballroom so the structure came easy to me.

Why do you think people come to learn from you?

Our schools have a family atmosphere. We always put the students first before anything. The students progress is very important. Our intstructors go thru a two month training and after being employed they train bi-weekly. Professionalism and dedication are key to our schools.

Are most of your students men or women? and why is that?

Men. We have seen the demand for men to be able to defend themselves on the dance floor. Women these days aren’t looking for a Ferrari or Porshe they are looking for a good dancer.

Do you find it difficult to dance with people from outside of Miami, like New York, or Los Angeles, or from different parts of the world?

For myself I don’t find it difficult to dance with women from other states because I have different dance backgrounds so this has helped me understand different styles of dancing.

Miami Salseras have a world-wide reputation for only dancing with people they know. Why do you think that is? Why is it that the majority (not all) of women of Miami rarely accept a dance with an experienced Salsero visiting from out of town?

This is topic for a long discussion but I will start by saying that the Miami salsa style is slightly different from salsa dancers I have seen from around the world. Miami salseras tend to feel more confident with Miami salseros they want to look good on the floor instead of trying to understand what this out of towner is going to do. For one example a lot of salsa dancers from around the world tend to lead the women with a lot of resistence and salseras from Miami like soft leaders. Even though ballroom dancers tend to dance beautiful they tend to dance with a lot of resistence in there arms and this makes it difficult for us to lead or follow salsa combinations.

What advice would you give the followers (women) from out of town, when dancing with a Miami-style dance partner?

Don’t assume what hes going to do. Pay attention to his lead. Some salseros from Miami have a very soft lead.

What advice would you give the leaders (men) from out of town, when dancing with a woman from Miami?

One important thing ease up on the lead. These women like the dance smooth rather then rigid and tence.

How about performing? Do you still perform and who have you performed for or with?

Salsa Lovers has performed for many artists, charities and corporate organizations. Some artist that we have performed with is Hansel & Raul, Willy Chirino, Victor Manuel, Celia Cruz, Adolescentes, El Dandy, Roberto Torres, India, Rey Ruiz, Etc.

Name your favorite on stage performer?

Celia Cruz

What got you into performing and what was your first time on stage?

We started by trying to promote our schools and now we do approximately 6 to 10 performances a month.

What did you feel when you first performed live on stage?

I have competed in amatuer ballroom competitions and have performed argentine tango in theater. If I were to tell you what I felt in all these dances, salsa, tango, ballroom is was the most fulfilling accomplishment I had ever felt.

Have you ever choreographed a routine?

I actually started in the dance business by choreographing quinces (15) celebrations.

What do you like about being a dance choreographer? What do you look for in a song when you are putting choreography together for it?

I look for a song that moves me physically and emotionally.

Have you traveled to teach workshops and seminars? If so where have you gone?

We have done workshops in Haiti, California, Las Vegas, and now Washington DC for Salsaweb’s 1999 Convention.

What is it that you like about traveling to teach?

Meeting people of all walks of life that have the same interest, dancing.

Which has been your favorite place to teach a workshop?

Haiti

What is the difference between teaching a regular class and special one-shot workshop/seminar?

My challenge with a one-shot workshop is to see how much dance material can I teach in such a short amount of time.

Which gives you the most joy? Teaching, performing, social dancing, or putting together choreography?

How is it that you prepare yourself for a workshop? and for a performance?

All our dance material is prepared for me already so all I need to do is prepare mentally.

What advice would you give those just getting into Rueda? How can they work at getting better at dancing?

All it takes is a little dedication and a lot of practice.

How best could you describe your way of dancing? of teaching? and of performing?

I try to make the material that I am teaching short and sweet. I try to get across enough material so that the student feels he or she is accomplishing something.

How do you "graduate" people from beginners, to intermediate, to

We have three levels in each beginner,intermediate and advanced group classes.The student must start in beginner I first, when that student completes that level we give the student a transfer card.The student fills out the card with his/her name then it is placed in our computer transfer program so when that student returns for there next class our
ticket agents will sell them the next higher level, which will be beginner II.advanced?

How do you feel about students who come to your classes, or who would want to take privates with you who are married, with spouses that stay home, or who don't want to accompany them? What do you do?

Students will always tend to feel comfortable with our dance instructors and other students.Alot of students are married or have other relationships.if we know that a student is in a rlationship we treat that student with the upmost respect.The majority of our student body are divorced or lonely and are looking for a great way to meet people.

What is the largest Rueda circle you've ever created and ran?

For a street festival we participated in we had over 40 couples(80 dancers)dancing rueda.

Any world records?

Not yet!.

 What is the best way for someone interested in learning Rueda can get in contact with you?