Casino Partner Figures
01 · Term and function
What is Setenta Doble?
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.
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.
Double setenta
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 Doble
Setenta Doble is not used identically across all schools. This section describes the variant with two separate Setenta wrap-and-unwind cycles.
The first Setenta organization is fully established and clearly unwound. Arm pathways should not become a permanently blocked wrap.
Between the first and second cycles, it should be clear that the initial wrap has ended and a new organization is beginning.
The second wrap-and-unwind cycle repeats the basic idea rather than merely adding more twisting to an existing arm position.
The final exit follows only after the second clear unwind. Shoulder freedom, self-balance, and readable hand organization remain available throughout both cycles.
04 · Body knowledge
Body organization in Setenta Doble
Setenta Doble refers to different extended Setenta sequences depending on the school. Their shared feature is that the two-hand Setenta logic continues beyond the first wrap into another turning or wrapping organization.
Before the second part begins, weight, hand organization, and shoulder space are prepared again so residual tension from the first Setenta does not force the next action.
The added figure length is created through further foot, turning, and hand pathways. The arms remain information and connection rather than propulsion.
05 · For beginners
Build Setenta Doble clearly first
Practice normal Setenta through a stable exit or clearly organized intermediate point.
Then slowly add the second turning or wrapping organization used in your variation.
Can the second part begin from a calm intermediate position, or does it depend on leftover momentum or arm tension from the first?
06 · Teaching and feedback
What to observe in a controlled Setenta Doble
The extended sequence does not become one unreadable arm tangle.
Both dancers can begin the second sequence from independent support organization.
Hand and turning sequence follow one coherent logic within the selected Setenta Doble version without presenting a school-specific sequence as universal.
07 · Continue learning
From Setenta Doble to related movements
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.
Rueda extension of Enchufla: the Follow performs the Enchufla action twice in succession. In the common basic version this is followed by Dame una or the corresponding partner change.
Widely used Casino sequence with an early wrap or hammerlock organization followed by a resolution through additional turns and passes.
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.
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.
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.