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We have more than fifty different Coca-Cola turns. One of my favorite Coca-Cola turns is propelled by the Gancho arm and continues into Exhíbela behind the Lead’s back. This Coca-Cola turn is sometimes called “71 Complicado” and it comes with many variations. 

I prefer to call it “Gancho Coca-Cola” and to add a qualifying label next. The “complicado” label is not that useful, when we have more than 10 good variations of this Coca-Cola alone. It is better to add a label that reminds us of what the variation is all about.

This tutorial focus on the sequence “Gancho Coca-Coca – Exhíbela – Vacilala Doble – Avanza”. I skip the Exhíbela label to make the name a little shorter. It is one of several “new” variations I and my dance partners developed in the Danish summer of 2025.  We don’t claim any authorship. Casino is Public Domain.

Avanza-DQN

In the video clips I use a special version of Dile Que No, I call Avanza-DQN. What is the difference? 

The traditional Dile Que No:

1. I start on “1” by stepping a half step forward collecting my feet. I only use half a step. It signals to the Follow that it is DQN. I am not going to continue forward. Taking only half a step forward helps the Follow move around me. It’s similar to a Cross Body Lead in Salsa. 
2. For the next steps in DQN I step back on step “2-3”.
3. I use Endrada step on “5” (“Hook Behind”).
4. Next I continue forward to the right on a curved line on “6-7”.

Most Leaders step DQN similarly. Some start it with a long step forward. This forces the Follow to back-rock or it holds her back, making a good natural flow difficult. The “Goose step” DQN is for Leaders that use DQN to end many moves of a dance. I prefer to dance as if the dance is one long move.

In “Advanza-DQN”:

1. I step forward on “1-2-(3)”.
2. Step “3” is a wild card. Sometimes I step forward, sometimes in place, sometimes I take a short back-step, depending on the situation. 
3. Step “5-6-7” of Lead’s Advanza-DQN is similar to the traditional Dile Que No. 

In both types of DQN, the Follow steps six steps forward: “1-2-3-5-6-7” on a curved line.

Same video at YouTube

Why Avanza

The AVANZA-DQN is a way to keep the momentum of Vacilala Doble alive, and adding more energy into the momentum. I like to think of it as “Toreador Styling”, “Toreo Styling”.

I had used AVANZA for some time. One day at a social dance event, I surprised a Follow with this combination of figures. She spontaneously called it “like a Toreador”. Thank you for that. This type of styling is not limited to DQN but can also be use as a way to continue e.g. DQN con Coca-Cola in front of the Lead on “1”. But that is for another tutorial.

Casino is Public Domain

Casino and social dancing is Public Domain. We inspire and learn from one another. It might be true that I have developed what you see in this tutorial. But I could just as well have forgotten that I saw something similar in a video of other dancers. Or other dancers might by chance do exactly the same somewhere today or maybe fifty years ago. 

So often when I truly believe that I have invented something, I am in for a surprise. It is only a matter of time before I know better. Suddenly I see the same or something similar in an old video or besides me on the dance floor.

Take the Saloneo walk as example. Some people make fools of themselves claiming that they have invented it. It is common to walk in V-shaped closed position (“Promenade”) in many social dance styles and in ice skate dancing. Casino has existed since the late 1950ties, for almost 70 years. “Moves” come and go and is then reinvented or changed or modified a little. Only a fraction is documented.

The bottom line is this: It’s interesting to know “who did it first.” It’s also interesting to know “who promoted it in recent years to a wider audience.” Additionally, it is interesting “who generalized it and gave it a name.” However, it doesn’t matter for social dancing. Life is simply too short for the average social dancers to ever bother about the origin of moves and figures.

Anything we come up with in social dancing is mutual inspiration. Free for anyone to use as if it is their own. No credit is due because it serves no purpose and is for that reason a waste of time. When we freely share our best moves and figures, developing a rich standard repertoire becomes easier. This benefits all of us.

END