SalsaSelfie.com

This is a rather common call in Rueda de Casino, I have experienced it on a regular basis with different Cuban Rueda callers. Normally most dancers don’t remember it, so the caller will instruct it first, and use it several times during the Rueda. For named figures to make at least some sense, Sombrero con Mambo Complicado must mean that

Sombrero con Mambo is a very common call in Rueda de Casino and requires a Rueda call because there is no natural way to lead it. If both Lead and Follow use it a lot in Rueda, they have a good chance of also using it as a fun move in social dancing, because if you stay in the Sombrero

Sombrero means hat and is one of the legacy moves of Cuban Salsa but is also used in “American” Salsa. Sombrero is the name of a move with many variations and Complicado versions, and the name of a pose, we get into at the end of many moves, “putting the hat on”. The start of the Sombrero move is important

This is a nice little move with several Alardes good to practice. It is called El Dedo (Finger) because it starts with a hand-held Vacilala as in other El Dedo moves. In this case right-to-right handed because it is followed by a right-to-right handed Enchufla. The right-to-right handed Enchufla, how we get into it, the Alardes, and how we get

Alarde Complicado is Cuban all the way but it is not a typical Cuban salsa move. I regard it more like a better dance school combo, good to practice at advanced level with several difficult basic figures. The most important part is the Alarde section, one of the hallmarks of Cuban Salsa. The Alardes in this tutorial is the relatively

It helps a lot to break the move down into its basic named figures, because it is much easier to remember a sequence of names than a sequence of turn patterns. For a longer move it is important to know where to cut it short if necessary, and where to split it up to make it easier to practice the

Nudo means “knot” and this is not a good name because we have less knot in Nudo than in so many other Cuban Salsa moves. The basic Nudo move is short, two counts of eight. Most Complicado versions are not at all Complicado, they just add an Exhibela to the baseline. When very Complicado, they even repeat themselves after the

Exhibela means “exhibit her”, show her to the world. It is one of two original Cuban Salsa right turns on 5-6-7. The other is the walking right turn called Habanero. As a relatively new trend, Exhibela is today often called Sacala instead, meaning “take her out”. That is annoying because we now have to use both words in the same

Many Cuban Salsa dance schools teach the Vuelta right turn already in the first class at beginner’s level. This is a paradox, because strictly speaking, we don’t have a Vuelta right turn in Casino. Instead, and I am only talking about turns to the right on 5-6-7, we have the sideways Exhibela turn and the walking Habanero turn. The Habanero

The Habanero is like a hand-held Vacilala with opposite Vacilala stepping. In Vacilala, the Follow is lead forward on one and turn on 1-2-3 and continues to step forward on 5-6-7. In Habanero the Follow is lead forward on 1 and steps forward on 1-2-3, and turns on 5-6-7. Depending on how the Follow is lead into the move, she

Dile Que Si (say yes to her) is the pendant to Dile Que No (say no to her). As a move Dile Que Si is a hand-held Vacilala, turning the Follow on 1-2-3 (Vacilala Steps) in order to bring her into closed position on 5-6-7. That is what the name means: bring her in, say yes to her. Dile Que

Rainbow. Arcoiris means rainbow and is sometimes spelled Arco Iris. The move starts like other Setenta moves with Hammerlock, and for that reason the move is also called Setenta con Arcoiris. I prefer the short form, and there is a reason for the name. The figure clearly has a part that looks like a bow, a rainbow. There are a

A classic Cuban Setenta move and a must to train at intermediate level for learning the basic technique of going down under the Follow’s right arm. Abajo and por Abajo means down. The move is also called por a bajo (by a low), de bajo (of low) or debajo (under). I prefer Setenta por Abajo, it both sounds and looks

Setenta y Cinco Complicado replaces the Vacilala with a two handed Enchufla and continues with the Complicado part of the Noventa move. One could just as well use the Complicado part of the Setenta Nuevo move. Video 1 is from Pablo Solis, Roma, Italy, 2012. Video 2 is from Salsagaia, Firenze, Italy, 2018, featuring Elena De Simonis as Follow. Name

In Setenta y Cinco por Arriba, the back-to-back turn has replaced Vacilala. Normally the back-to-back turn is done over a count of eight, and at the very end of the eight count, on 7-8, an Alarde is added or the Sombrero ending is used. I am in favor of using the full count of eight for the back-to-back turn in

Setenta y Cinco should be reserved for the “75” ending with the two handed Vacilala. Most dancers seem to agree, 9 out of 10 “75” videos end with Vacilala. There is one other ending that deserves to have its own name, and that is “75” ending with a back-to-back turn, a so-called barrel turn. This is a great turn that

As mentioned in the Setenta y Cinco (75) tutorial, the “75” with the two handed Vacilala at the end, there are many good alternative ways to end the move, making it easy to adapt to any Follow and to changes in the music. But nine out of 10 videos use the Vacilala ending. In this tutorial we look at the

This is easily my favorite Setenta and even my favorite of all moves. Not just because it ends with a wonderful two handed Vacilala but because we have many good alternative options for ending the move making it very versatile. In this tutorial we will only look at the by far most popular version with the two handed Vacilala at

I stumbled upon this excellent brand new move, at least unknown to me, in two exactly the same versions both called Setenta y Uno a la Moderna, but I prefer to shorten the name to Setenta y Uno Moderno. This move could easily be one of the Complicado climaxes of any social dance. It made it into my repertoire right

There are many moves on YouTube called Setenta y Uno Complicado, if we also search for 71 Complicado and Setenta con Gancho Complicado, but with one exception, I don’t think, I have seen the same move twice. That is, Setenta y Uno Complicado is, at the moment, just a name for all sorts of moves, even for moves that do

In my search for Setenta y Ocho (78) moves, I found several that deserve a better fate with more telling names of their own, making them easier to remember. The following “78” move has a two handed Giro doble figure over one count of eight as the climax, so why not call the move Setenta con Giro Doble? The two

In my search for Setenta y Ocho (78) moves, I found several that deserve a better fate with more telling names of their own, making them easier to remember. The following “78” move starts with three Hammerlocks in a row. Why not call it Setenta Triple? Repetition of elements is often a good thing, by the way, it is like

Noventa is a typical Complicado, and we could just as well call it Setenta Noventa because it starts with the Hammerlock as in all the other moves in the Setenta family. This is a very popular move, a classic, with very many videos uploaded to YouTube. Sadly to say, most videos ignore the potential of the Enchufla steps in the

Setenta Nuevo is a Complicado making Setenta Nuevo Complicado a double Complicado. The move is attributed to Maykel Almuina from the notorious “Salsa Lovers” DVD based course in “Casino”, Cuban Salsa. Notorious because the execution of the moves sometimes has major issues, but the many DVDs are a great archive of standard Cuban Salsa moves for anyone to implement their

This is a lovely intermediate move with a good flow. I use it a lot. The beginning is similar to Setenta con Corona but instead of a Exhibela turn, the Follow is just unwrapped in a turning fashion. The Lead prep the unwrapping by slightly pressing his thumb against the Follow’s right shoulder. Next the Lead swings his arms over

Corona Doble is just a small extension of the original Setenta con Corona. It is still too easy to be considered a Complicado. We are at intermediate level. For a long time Corona Doble has been a well-defined figure with many videos on YouTube. In 2018 Mexican Salsaficion published a new alterative Corona Doble. I don’t like when new figures

Guapea (Handsome) is one of the very first figures we learn at the dance school, and it is often called the basic steps of Casino, of Cuban Salsa, but that is a simplification. It is not uncommon to have a whole social dance at advanced level without a single Guapea. Compare that to Salsa basic steps in linear X-Body salsa.

Abajo (down) is one of the most common ways to start a Cuban Salsa either directly or after some short initial stepping in place or a short walk. The move is also called Para Abajo, or Llevela para Abajo or Llevala pa’bajo for short. Abajo is a confusing name for a short move (there is no “down” in it) because

Setenta Complicado is the Mother of all Complicado, probably the first Complicado at most dance schools, and really the only one you will ever need, if you only have the time for one. There are more videos of this move on YouTube than of almost any other Cuban Salsa move. Don’t underestimate Setenta Complicado. Even many dance schools get it

The big Setenta family of turn patterns starts with the Hammerlock move, and for that reason the family could just as well be called the Hammerlock family. The Hammerlock is part of many dance styles. In Cuban Salsa we have two very different ways to do the Hammerlock, one count of eight. The Follow can turn on 1-2-3 or the

Vacilala steps are the signature steps of Cuban Salsa. The basic hand free Vacilala move is the favorite move of many salsa dancers. In almost every social dance, Vacilala is used at least one or two times as the most elegant way to get into free style mode. Hand held Vacilala is used as the beginning of more than 100