Wed 9 July 2025 - Level 1: Vacila, Level 2: Review Latest Moves

Thanks to all our dance friends for another great Wednesday night! And thanks DJ Mario for keeping the party going and for joining us in the lessons too.

In this week's class, level 1 did Vacílala and Vacílala con Mano, while level 2 reviewed the more challenging recent moves: Sombrero, Montaña, and Setenta.

Level 1 - Vacílala & Vacílala con Mano

Vacílala: Vacílala con Mano is the same as Vacílala - just don't let go of the hands! Many people just say Vacila instead of Vacílala. This move is fundamental to so many of the moves you'll learn in level 2 and beyond such as Sombrero, Setenta, etc. The follow's feet do the same on all those moves. Leads, remember to prep on 7 !

Another Vacila video with rueda circle:

Level 2 - Review Sombrero, Montaña, and Setenta

Sombrero: You'll see in these videos that the follow's footwork is the same for sombrero as it was for vacila. The lead preps before the move on 7 as well. The difference is that the partners hold both hands throughout the move. Part of the lead's prep is to switch hands on 7: right to right and left to left, with the right hand above.

Another sombrero demo:

Montaña: The name of this move comes from how the arms move up & down like the peaks of a mountain range. Key things to remember are starting the prep on the 7 before the move starts, and crossing hands when doing that prep (right-to-right and left-to-left.)

Step-by-step:

Setenta: What a milestone! Setenta (70) is one of the most important and most common rueda moves - and one that you only learn when you've grown to a certain level of experience. As we master Setenta, we will see our dance skills grow and all rueda moves will become easier for us. Setenta leads to so many other moves too! 71, 72, 73, setenta complicado, etc etc.

Like so many moves, Setenta is a combination of moves we already know, just with different hand-holds. Watch the video and you'll see: (1) vacila with both hands leading to hammer-lock (2) enchufe (3) enchufe for lead (4) enchufe (5) dile que no.

Beginners - Welcome! Guapea & Dame are your foundational moves

Guapea: Basic move in rueda (cuban style salsa dancing)

Dame: (Scroll down to see detailed step-by-step video.) Switch partners by lead bringing partner on right over to left. Dame is the same as Dile Que No - dame is what we call in a rueda circle and dile que no is what is done dancing one-on-one.