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This is a brand new Coca-Cola turn, at least I haven’t seen it before, published by the “Social Dance Studio” in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 2021, featuring Stanislav Shvetsov and Natalia Nebogatikova. The move is probably a “Stanislav”. I instantly liked this “no name” move, and in order to make it easier to remember, I have given it the descriptive name Gancho Coca-Cola.

I like this style of Cuban Salsa: this is not a “party dance” but everyday life, for the love of it: Laid-back, playful, free-styling. The most important is to have fun and enjoy your own dance. The first DQN out of the Gancho, the Follow makes a very small back step on one, the second time they do the move, the Follow makes a huge stylish forward step!

The move starts from the Lead’s right arm Gancho (hook). In the video the Lead uses Setenta y Uno to get into that Gancho but in creative flow dancing, a Lead can get into the Gancho arm position almost at any time out of the blue on 5-6-7.

I like moves out of the ordinary, moves you need to train with a Follow at some Practica session before you own it well enough to give it a chance in social dancing with strong Follows. It is always useful to challenge your business as usual body memory.

I like two things about the Gancho Coca-Cola:

1. I am always interested in moves going counter clock-wise on the partner circle because Cuban Salsa has a tendency to be too clock-wise heavy.
2. The end of the move is a right turning motion with a right-to-right handhold making it easy for the Lead to give the Follow 2-3 even 4 pivot turns, controlling them with two fingers or the like.

“Stirring the pot” is not Cuban in “look and feel”, but the temptation is too big and it works well in the Gancho Coca-Cola move and I love it as an exception to the rule. And a traditional double turn also works well as analternative.

I don’t know of a single common Cuban move having pivot turns like in X-Body Salsa. The reason could be that pivot turns require dance educated Follows that can stomach them, and good dance surfaces and dance shoes. Cubans traditionally love to dance outside in the streets and patios, with bare feet, clip-claps, sandals and sneakers.

In general for my own dance style, I don’t like too explicit self-promotion: “look at us, we are good”! For that reason, I am opposed to anything but small time “stirring the pot”, elaborate footwork, Macho Alarde Sections, Caidas (Falls), Rumba Guaguancó. And I only like Lead’s Son Tornillo turns, if the one to the Follow is more advanced. Make your own list of “no goes”, and dance and let dance!

I don’t want distractions: I want full focus on the basics of the dance: musicality and an inspired flow.