Danzón Cedazo
The figured, weaving section of the Cuban danzón and its contradanza ancestor
DanzonLevel: Improver2 min read3 citations
In the Cuban danzón — and in the older contradanza from which it descends — the cedazo (Spanish for 'sieve') is the dance's animated, figured passage: the section in which couples break from the near-stillness of the recurring paseo and begin to weave and sift past one another, the very image the name preserves. The motion stays compact and grounded. Holding an upright closed frame, the partners trade small, mirrored steps and gentle quarter-turns, threading around each other within a tight patch of floor before settling back toward stillness as the paseo comes around again.
Phrasing and feel
The cedazo is danced to the cinquillo, the characteristic five-stroke 2/4 rhythmic cell that gives the danzón its lilt. The footwork rides this pattern in short, low-traveling increments rather than broad travel, so the 'sifting' reads as fine interlacing rather than open movement. The structural pulse of the danced form is precisely this alternation: the figured, mobile cedazo answered by the quiet, near-standing paseo, its companion section.
Roots and lineage
The danzón — long regarded as Cuba's national couple dance — belongs to a musical tradition that blends West African rhythms with European, and especially Spanish, melodic and harmonic practice.[1] Like most Cuban genres it is thoroughly syncretic, drawing its instruments and phrasing from both lineages — a duality audible in the cedazo's pairing of African-rooted rhythmic phrasing with European couple-dance structure.[1] That tradition has, since the nineteenth century, ranked among the most popular and influential regional musics in the world.[2] The same Cuban current that shaped the danzón later seeded son, rumba, and salsa, carrying the cedazo's weaving sensibility into the wider Latin dance repertoire.[3]
How it's danced
Lead and follow cues
Count2/4 time, phrased to the cinquillo (the five-stroke pattern across two beats); figures occupy the melodic sections, never the paseo introduction. No salsa-style On1/On2 break structure applies — the danzón is a closed-hold figure-dance, not a slot dance.
Lead
From an upright closed ballroom hold, the leader begins on the left foot and keeps the steps small and contained; through the cedazo (the danced section) he guides gentle quarter-turns and weaving displacements that sift the couple past one another, then settles to a near-standing pause when the paseo introduction returns.
Follow
The follower mirrors on the right foot, matching the small steps and holding a poised, upright frame; she follows the leader's weaving and the gentle quarter-turns, completing each turn to re-face him, and rests with him through the returning paseo.
Song timingModerate 2/4 danzón tempos, roughly andante (around 110–150 bpm); the cedazo's figures sit in the melodic sections while the paseo introduction is held, not danced. Slower, stately tempos than salsa — fast big-band danzones are the upper edge, not the comfortable center.
Learn first
Prerequisites
- Danzón upright closed ballroom hold and frame
- The contained danzón basic step (small, mirrored weight changes)
- Reading the rondo structure — knowing to dance the melodic sections but pause through the paseo
- Hearing the cinquillo and the 2/4 phrasing
Watch out
Common mistakes
- Dancing through the paseo introduction instead of pausing — the cedazo is the danced section, and continuous dancing erases the form's signature pause.
- Taking large, traveling steps; the danzón keeps steps small and contained.
- Collapsing the upright, elegant closed frame.
- Rushing or ignoring the cinquillo, so the figures fall off the 2/4 phrasing.
- Forcing slot-and-break salsa mechanics (cross-body lead, On1/On2 breaks) onto a closed-hold danzón section where they do not belong.
Don't confuse with
Easily confused moves
- 'Cedazo' literally means 'sieve' — the name describes the weaving/sifting motion, not a tool or a footwork pattern.
- Paseo — the calm introductory pause section is the cedazo's companion and opposite, not the cedazo itself.
- Salsa/casino weaving or the cross-body lead — slot-based figures on a different timing, unrelated to this closed-hold danzón section.
- Cadena (chain) — a related but distinct contradanza/quadrille figure, not the cedazo.
- Danzonete, danzón-mambo, and cha-cha-chá — later Cuban derivatives of the danzón, not the cedazo.
Around the world
Other names
Cuba (danzón tradition)
Cedazo
Spanish for 'sieve'; names the livelier figured section that contrasts with the introductory paseo.
Cuban contradanza (19th-century salon form)
Cedazo (segunda parte)
the second, figured part of the binary paseo–cedazo form from which the danzón descends.
References
- 1.Music of Cuba — Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, intro
- 2.Music of Cuba — Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, intro
- 3.Music of Cuba — Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, intro
How to cite this article
Choose a style and copy the citation.
Bailar Editorial Team. (2026). Danzón Cedazo. Bailar Biblioteca. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://bailar.site/biblioteca/move/danzon-cedazo
Bailar Editorial Team. “Danzón Cedazo.” Bailar Biblioteca, 2026, bailar.site/biblioteca/move/danzon-cedazo. Accessed 29 June 2026.
Bailar Editorial Team. “Danzón Cedazo.” Bailar Biblioteca. Accessed June 29, 2026. https://bailar.site/biblioteca/move/danzon-cedazo.
@misc{bailar-move-danzon-cedazo, author = {{Bailar Editorial Team}}, title = {{Danzón Cedazo}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bailar Biblioteca}, url = {https://bailar.site/biblioteca/move/danzon-cedazo}, note = {Accessed: 2026-06-29} }
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