Casino Partner Figures
01 · Term and function
What is Setenta Complicado?
One three-eight-count Setenta Complicado variant starts with a Setenta entry into the wrap/hammerlock organization; in the second eight the Lead crosses on count 1 into the characteristic complicated passage and performs the hook turn; the third eight resolves through Enchufla and positioning.
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.
Setenta complicada
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 Setenta Complicado
The described variant begins with the Setenta entry and establishes the wrap/hammerlock organization. Hands and arms remain clearly placed without sacrificing shoulder freedom.
In the described a-tiempo execution, the Lead crosses on 1 into the complicated passage and then performs the own hook turn. With another timing, the sequence remains while its temporal placement shifts.
The hook turn is generated from the Lead's own footwork and weight organization. The partner's arms are not used to pull the self-rotation.
Because the figure contains several arm organizations, hands, elbows, and shoulders must remain readable throughout; crossed connections should not create blocked joint positions.
The third eight resolves the complicated organization through Enchufla and positioning. A clear unwinding is more important than abruptly releasing the arms.
04 · Body knowledge
Body organization in Setenta Complicado
Setenta Complicado builds on the familiar Setenta wrap. Its more complex middle only works cleanly when the starting position is reached without shoulder pressure and with clear weight organization.
A common Setenta Complicado structure adds an Enchufla and a Hook-Turn-like organization of the lead in the middle. This continues the position changes without the arms pulling the bodies around.
Additional hand and body changes require earlier preparation and more precise spatial organization. Greater tension does not make the figure safer.
05 · For beginners
Build Setenta Complicado clearly first
Practice the basic Setenta with a controlled wrap and resolution before adding the Complicado middle.
Practice the Enchufla and lead Hook Turn separately and only then place them between the entry and exit.
Do weight, hand organization, and turning direction remain clear after every section, or is an error being hidden by faster arm movement?
06 · Teaching and feedback
What to observe in a controlled Setenta Complicado
Entry or Hammerlock, complex middle sequence, and exit connect in control.
The lead uses partner connection neither as a counterweight nor as a lever for personal rotation.
No intermediate position forces shoulder, elbow, or wrist toward a loaded end range.
07 · Continue learning
From Setenta Complicado to related movements
Widely used Casino sequence with an early wrap or hammerlock organization followed by a resolution through additional turns and passes.
The name Setenta Doble is not used consistently across schools. One variant uses two clearly separated Setenta wrap-and-unwind cycles before the final exit.
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.
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.
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.
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.