Celebrating the art of dancing contra‑tiempo, from Cuban Son to Palladium‑era Mambo and beyond.
This is the fundamental rule. Every performance must be grounded in it, whatever the tradition a dancer draws from.
The Contra‑Tiempo Challenge is not a competition devoted to one dance style alone. It celebrates the broader tradition of dancing contra‑tiempo, from Cuban Son and related traditions to early New York, Palladium‑era On2 and Mambo.
The aim is to recognise dancers who can combine timing, musicality, movement, connection and creative interpretation while maintaining a clear contra‑tiempo foundation.
You may break the basic for musical interpretation, but you must first demonstrate that you own the basic.
Competitors should demonstrate recognisable weight changes and movement grounded in 2, 3, 4 and 6, 7, 8. The choreography does not need to remain rigidly on the basic at every moment. Pauses, syncopations, suspensions, accents, breaks and rhythmic variations are encouraged where they serve the music. However, the judges must be able to see and feel that contra‑tiempo remains the underlying foundation to which the dancers return.
The competition recognises that contra‑tiempo is not limited to Son. Early New York On2, including the Palladium‑era Mambo tradition, can also be expressed through a 2, 3, 4 and 6, 7, 8 foundation. This allows the Challenge to embrace different historical and stylistic interpretations without requiring every dancer to reproduce one particular technique or aesthetic.
Competitors may draw from Son Cubano, Mambo, Palladium‑era New York On2, Cha Cha Chá, Latin Jazz and related musical and dance traditions. Creative fusion and contemporary interpretation are welcome, provided the 2, 3, 4 and 6, 7, 8 contra‑tiempo foundation remains clearly identifiable.
The music does not have to be traditional Son. The defining requirement is the dancer's relationship to contra‑tiempo. Music should provide an appropriate rhythmic and musical framework for competitors to demonstrate that relationship.
Every performance must be fundamentally danced contra‑tiempo, using 2, 3, 4 and 6, 7, 8 as its rhythmic base. Within that foundation, dancers are encouraged to show their own identity, heritage, musical understanding and artistic interpretation.
Judges will assess the dancers' ability to establish and maintain 2, 3, 4 and 6, 7, 8 as the fundamental timing of the dance, with appropriate weight transfer, body movement, phrasing and rhythmic control.
This is not simply a Son competition, nor is it intended to prescribe a single modern On2 method. The Contra‑Tiempo Challenge creates a meeting point between traditions connected by the practice of dancing contra‑tiempo.
Honour the timing, understand the music, and then make it your own.
Entries are open now for the Contra‑Tiempo Challenge at the Mambo Con Son Festival, Radisson RED Hotel, London Heathrow.
£107 per dancer, includes your Full Weekend Pass.
Enter the Challenge