Cuban Salsa: Setenta y Uno (71)
Setenta y Uno is a short move, the Hammerlock plus one more count of eight consisting of Enchufla and Gancho, an arm hook. Sententa y Uno is not that interesting by itself but the move is used as the start of several other moves like Setenta y Cinco (75) (one of my favorites), and the Gancho arm hook is part of very many moves.
Many beginners, both Leads and Follows, have problems getting in and out of Gancho with ease and elegance, making it an important detail to train. Unfortunately some Dance Schools create confusion by prolonging the move without changing the name (examples later). I believe that it is important to have a move called Setenta y Uno with one Gancho, and to have a Setenta y Dos with two, one Gancho for each arm. These two moves are basic building blocks for reference, the names are easy to understand and the arm hooks are important to train.
The following video from 2018, featuring “Salsafusión Ale Casano”, shows the basic version of Setenta y Uno:
The video from the “Danceliker School” in Moscow, 2016, featuring Adonis Santiago and Svetlana Ovchinina, is also getting it exactly right both for Setenta y Uno shown first and for Setenta y Dos shown next:
Confusing naming practices
- The Hungarian “Salsa Steps” App (I recommend it) calls Setenta y Uno for Setenta con Gancho. I like that name but Setenta y Uno is well established except that the move is sometimes prolonged in various ways.
- Some Dance Schools add a “Coca Cola” turn to the Dile Que No following Setenta y Uno and call the combination of the two moves for Setenta y Uno. Much better to have a Setenta y Uno and a Dile Que No con Coca Cola.
- Some Dance Schools keep the Setenta y Uno name but has turned the move into a variation of Setenta y Cinco. I list that version in another tutorial as a variation of Setenta y Cinco.
- Some Dance Schools interpret the Setenta y Uno name as two moves, Setenta and El Uno and combine them into one move! They have even skipped the Gancho part! Why not call this combination for Setenta con El Uno making us all happy?