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Kentucky is a popular move, hundreds of dance instructors have uploaded it to YouTube. It works equally well for Rueda de Casino and in one-on-one social dancing. As is so often the case, nobody remembers the origin of it or the reason for the name. It is not in the DVD collections of “Salsa a la Cubana”, “Salsa Lovers” or “Salsa Racing” (early videos). But both Kentucky and Kentucky Complicado are on the “Quick and Dirty Guide to Salsa” DVD Collection published in Miami 2005.

Kentucky Complicado begins and ends with Kentucky. The figures in between are another classic: Setenty y Uno Complicado. The Vacilala of Setenta is mostly done on “1-2-3” or on “3-5-6”. It can be started from Open Position or from Caída inside an Exhíbela Walk.

Kentucky

1. Enchufle Doble with left arm over and back to the neck
2. Enchufla with Hook Turn and Alarde to the Lead

Setenta y Uno Complicado

1. Vacilala Hammerlock
2. Enchufla into right arm Gancho
3. DQN con Coca-Cola por Detrás
4. Exhíbela

Please note that in the last video clip, I don’t start the last Kentucky on “1-2-3” but on “5-6-7”. It works surprisingly well. Could be the beginning of a new figure!

Social dancing

My social dancing is mostly based on ever changing combinations of basic figures of one count of eight. The reason is simple: I want as small building blocks as possible in order to catch the moment. The smaller the building blocks the easier it is to be creative and spontaneous, playful and music driven. I hate long, hard wired, fixed moves. Choreo has nothing to do with social dancing.

But sometime my creativity runs dry or I need to do something different for variation. Then a good classic move can help you out. In my basic way of dancing I often repeat figures, so I like that Kentucky Complicado both starts and ends with Kentucky. And the Setenta y Uno Complicado part I already use with many variations.

Kentucky Complicado fits perfectly into my style of dancing based mostly on figures of one count of eight. And if need be, I can easily break out of the momentum of a long move and continue in a thousand of other ways at any moment.