Casino Partner Figures
01 · Term and function
What is Bayamo?
Bayamo denotes a family of Casino figures with crossed two-hand connection and a Rodeo-Inverso-like circular pathway as a recurring core idea. Entries and exits vary; Sombrero is a possible but not defining resolution.
a-tiempo, contratiempo
Lead, Follow
a tiempo · contratiempo
02 · Positions, timing and variants
Starting point, direction and variants
Timing, role context and spatial orientation are described separately. Names and execution details can vary across salsa styles, schools and regions.
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Casino Partner Figures
casino, rueda
a-tiempo, contratiempo
Note: Naming and exact sequencing may vary by region or school. This entry describes a widely encountered core idea and does not claim a worldwide rueda standard.
03 · Technical execution
What matters in Bayamo
Bayamo does not denote one globally fixed sequence but a family of related Casino figures.
A recurring feature is crossed two-hand organization that leaves sufficient freedom for both personal axes.
The central spatial idea in common Bayamo variants is a Rodeo-Inverso-like pathway in which the Follow travels behind or around the Lead.
Lead and Follow create the orbit through personal steps and weight rather than using the arms as a rigid shared turning center.
Entry and resolution vary among versions. Sombrero is a common possible exit but not a defining feature of every Bayamo.
04 · Body knowledge
Body organization in Bayamo
In common variations, Bayamo is built from a two-hand crossed connection. Hand organization remains readable throughout the circular partner pathways without twisting shoulders or wrists against one another.
The dancers travel around one another in a reversing or counter-circular organization while each retains personal support rather than being pulled around a rigid shared center by the arms.
Bayamo refers to a family of figures with several common entries and exits. Controlled crossed-hand and circular organization is the essential feature; one particular Sombrero or Enchufla ending is not mandatory for every variation.
05 · For beginners
Build Bayamo clearly first
Practice the two-hand connection and simple position changes before adding the complete circular pathway.
Let both dancers create the orbit through personal steps and use the hands only to organize connection.
Do hands, shoulders, and body axes remain free while both dancers travel through the circular pathway independently?
06 · Teaching and feedback
What to observe in a controlled Bayamo
The crossed connection changes in control rather than through hurried regripping or wrist twisting.
The orbit remains present with light connection and is not created through pulling on both arms.
The chosen Bayamo entry and exit match the existing hand organization rather than being forced during the figure.
07 · Continue learning
From Bayamo to related movements
Alias entry for the same closed-position Casino base action as Adentro y afuera: rhythmic opening and closing of the couple space with elastic weight transfer. Regionally the name does not identify a uniquely different choreography.
Coca-Cola can denote the Follow’s traveling left turn layered onto a Casino walking/Dile-que-no passage. The rotation is superimposed on continuing travel rather than performed as a stationary spot turn.
In common Casino versions, El Dedo combines a guided Follow right turn with Enchufla or a Follow left turn, a Lead right/outward turn, and Dile que no. Starting handhold varies; right-to-right is documented alongside other one-hand variations.
Fundamental Casino figure and common transition from closed to open position: the Follow passes the Lead on a curved walking pathway while the Lead opens space, and both finish oriented toward each other again.
The name Dile que sí is school-dependent. One couple variant uses a hand-held Vacílala from open position to bring the Follow back into closed or near-closed couple position.
Extended Sombrero figure using several successive two-hand and side-changing pathways. One common version begins with Sombrero, moves into a reverse-Sombrero-like return pathway, and then uses further turning and hand pathways before resolving with Dile que no.
A Casino shadow figure in which the Lead is in front of the Follow, back toward the Follow, and both walk/pivot in the same general direction before the connection is resolved.
Casino shadow figure using aligned or offset partner organization. In one common version the Lead is temporarily behind the Follow while both travel or pivot in a similar direction; other El Uno conventions organize the relative front/back position differently.
Compact Casino turn-and-place-change figure in which the follow turns under the hand and the couple re-establishes orientation.
Additional professional background
Book on learning, body knowledge and partner communication
The movement lexicon complements The Salsa Teaching Tree by Mathias Ellmann. The book connects movement, perception and partner communication with body knowledge, motivation, musicality and sustainable learning.
The Salsa Teaching Tree
A holistic orientation model for salsa learning and teaching that goes beyond collecting steps and figures and connects body organization, music, perception, decision-making and partner communication.
View The Salsa Teaching TreeConcept · Salsa knowledge · learning · partner communication
Mathias Ellmann
Mathias Ellmann develops the Salsa Movement Lexicon as a connection between dance technique, body knowledge, musicality, learning and partner communication.
Movement is not considered only in terms of which steps or figures are danced, but also how weight, timing, space, perception and connection interact.
Leading and following are treated as reciprocal communication: one person prepares movement possibilities and makes them perceptible, while the other responds through self-organized movement. Both roles remain perceptive, adaptive and autonomous.