What is this move? What is this kind of salsa?

David

David

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Staff member
I see they do a lot of things where the lady rocks back on her right foot and change of sides and then rocks back on her left foot, and then turns 90° and rocks back on her right foot. So it’s not so linear like LA salsa. I’m just trying to figure out the names of the moves and what the style is and I love this couple of course

I know maybe the simple answer is salsa Cubano. But I would just love to learn a little bit more.

www.facebook.com

36K views · 1.1K reactions | ❤️Salsa Cubana❤️ Demo final de clase en Salsaterme Grazie mille a tutti. #wilmerymaria #salsacubana #salsashow #salsadancing #salsacasino #casinocubano #ShowSalsa @fanpiùattivi Leoni Torres | Wilmer Najarro y María del C

❤️Salsa Cubana❤️ Demo final de clase en Salsaterme Grazie mille a tutti. #wilmerymaria #salsacubana #salsashow #salsadancing #salsacasino #casinocubano #ShowSalsa @fanpiùattivi Leoni Torres
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
MAMBO_CEC said:
Casino. A lot of the purists will tell you that Salsa Cubana doesn’t exist.
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In Europe they just call it Salsa Cubano. I suspect Casino as a term is widely used in the USA.

That clip in the OP looked to me like a casino/cubano dancer fusing salsa and casino patterns.
 
Offbeat said:
In Europe they just call it Salsa Cubano. I suspect Casino as a term is widely used in the USA.

That clip in the OP looked to me like a casino/cubano dancer fusing salsa and casino patterns.
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So do you feel like this is something that is being danced by a lot of people socially with just their partner? When I hear people talk about casino salsa, I get the impression we're talking about the group dance. So when you say in Europe it is called Salsa Cubano, Is it being taught as a dance with one partner with patterns such as the one I showed you? Or is it more just a group dance with choreographed movement?
 
David said:
I see they do a lot of things where the lady rocks back on her right foot and change of sides and then rocks back on her left foot, and then turns 90° and rocks back on her right foot. So it’s not so linear like LA salsa. I’m just trying to figure out the names of the moves and what the style is and I love this couple of course

I know maybe the simple answer is salsa Cubano. But I would just love to learn a little bit more.

www.facebook.com

36K views · 1.1K reactions | ❤️Salsa Cubana❤️ Demo final de clase en Salsaterme Grazie mille a tutti. #wilmerymaria #salsacubana #salsashow #salsadancing #salsacasino #casinocubano #ShowSalsa @fanpiùattivi Leoni Torres | Wilmer Najarro y María del C

❤️Salsa Cubana❤️ Demo final de clase en Salsaterme Grazie mille a tutti. #wilmerymaria #salsacubana #salsashow #salsadancing #salsacasino #casinocubano #ShowSalsa @fanpiùattivi Leoni Torres
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
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The clip in the facebook post is an improv. I cannot identify any turn patterns that have names and could be called in a rueda. Casino, salsa cubana and also rueda have common elements that can be combined endlessly. The basic elements are enchufa, exhibela, vacila, huelta, ronde, adios or prima and a few more. Most cuban turn patterns are combos of several of the above plus a few special ones.
 
David said:
So do you feel like this is something that is being danced by a lot of people socially with just their partner? When I hear people talk about casino salsa, I get the impression we're talking about the group dance. So when you say in Europe it is called Salsa Cubano, Is it being taught as a dance with one partner with patterns such as the one I showed you? Or is it more just a group dance with choreographed movement?
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You have been administering a salsa forum for 2 decades and it's the first time you encounter cuban salsa ? 95% of people in France dance salsa like this (and maybe 80% in Paris). Is cuban salsa so rare in the USA (besides maybe in Florida ) ?
 
Yogalholic said:
You have been administering a salsa forum for 2 decades and it's the first time you encounter cuban salsa ? 95% of people in France dance salsa like this (and maybe 80% in Paris). Is cuban salsa so rare in the USA (besides maybe in Florida ) ?
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And over those 2 decades there have been endless discussions about Cuban Salsa/Casino/Rueda. Some of them so heated , it ended up with people being banned. Waiting for the Casino experts on Salsa Forums to chime in, I know you’re out there.
 
Yogalholic said:
You have been administering a salsa forum for 2 decades and it's the first time you encounter cuban salsa ? 95% of people in France dance salsa like this (and maybe 80% in Paris). Is cuban salsa so rare in the USA (besides maybe in Florida ) ?
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I think potentially yes. More than two decades. I've definitely encountered Rueda Lots of times. But if someone was dancing Cuban salsa in normal partner dancing I can't say that it was clear to me that they were doing that or that there were any classes that I encountered where they were teaching this.
 
Yogalholic said:
You have been administering a salsa forum for 2 decades and it's the first time you encounter cuban salsa ? 95% of people in France dance salsa like this (and maybe 80% in Paris). Is cuban salsa so rare in the USA (besides maybe in Florida ) ?
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Cuban salsa is actually rare in Florida. There are a few clubs that cater to timba and cuban salsa on some nights, but contrary to what outsiders think, Cubans or Cuban-Americans are not a very large contingent in the dance scene once people venture out of Doral or Hialeah.

Surprise surprise... one of the largest cuban salsa scenes is actually in NYC!!!!
NYC is so large that is has the largest on2 scene, one of the larger cuban salsa scenes and one of the larger salsa caleña scenes.
 
MamboJazz said:
Interesting article. Nothing new actually that "many instructors are not really teaching to dance socially", but always good to point out.
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It was too long. Despite fast reading and skimping parts, I was only able to read half the article. There seem to be many points he is raising in the article.
 
bailar y tocar said:
Cuban salsa is actually rare in Florida. There are a few clubs that cater to timba and cuban salsa on some nights, but contrary to what outsiders think, Cubans or Cuban-Americans are not a very large contingent in the dance scene once people venture out of Doral or Hialeah.

Surprise surprise... one of the largest cuban salsa scenes is actually in NYC!!!!
NYC is so large that is has the largest on2 scene, one of the larger cuban salsa scenes and one of the larger salsa caleña scenes.
Click to expand...

True when you talk to dancers from Miami and other bigger cities in Florida, you realise how small it is relative to large Cuban population in the state. It is not surprising. I think most people consider it dance of their parents or grandparents generation. It takes effort to learn. What is surprising to me is that people assume it will be big in Florida. In Cuba too I wonder what percentage of locals actually dance.
 
Offbeat said:
True when you talk to dancers from Miami and other bigger cities in Florida, you realise how small it is relative to large Cuban population in the state. It is not surprising. I think most people consider it dance of their parents or grandparents generation. It takes effort to learn. What is surprising to me is that people assume it will be big in Florida. In Cuba too I wonder what percentage of locals actually dance.
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When I go out dancing at dance socials or at venues that cater to regular dancers of salsa & bachata and the DJs do their lame old... "la gente de... (fill in Latino country here)", there are always more people who identify themselves as Puerto Rican (although they are from NYC), Colombian, Peruvian and Venezuelan than Cuban. That is different when we go to Doral or other SW suburbs. There the majority is Cuban. This in north Miami, Hollywood etc. When we go to Colombian venues almost everyone is Colombian but that is obvious.
 
Gaviota said:
Fittingly sonycasino's latest article mentions Wilmer y María https://sonycasino.com/2026/04/16/the-cuban-dance-scene-has-a-grifter-problem/ (I disagree with his assessment that the moves from their demo linked in that article aren't leadable socially.)
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Daybert is controversial on here at times, but in this article he is on point.
I always think the salsa (linear and casino) scene in the UK at least has what I call a Pokémon mentality. People want to collect all the moves, even down to collecting experiences i.e attending congresses etc. The focus becomes the collecting. The 'advanced' dancers are the ones with the most moves, who go to the most congresses, socials etc.
This doesn't make people better dancers, in many cases I think it makes people worse.
 
Gaviota said:
Fittingly sonycasino's latest article mentions Wilmer y María https://sonycasino.com/2026/04/16/the-cuban-dance-scene-has-a-grifter-problem/ (I disagree with his assessment that the moves from their demo linked in that article aren't leadable socially.)
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The first part of the Wilmer&Maria video is very leadable, but I think the article refers to artistry like the ones at 2:33 or 3:00 - this is not for social dance for sure. She acts on her own, she has learned by heart what to do, this is not leadable. The same is well-known with some bachata couples (e.g. Melvin&Gatica). One could say "If lead raises his left little finger then follow is expected to do a backflip", but I wouldn't call this lead & follow, this is choreo and not for the social floor. I understand the writer is uncomfortable with this development.

But honestly how could it be different? Pro dancers must live from dancing, so they must teach (even if they are didactically bad), and most students are beginners & improvers, you see that in every dance school: the pyramid gets thinner to the top. And beginners get impressed by artistry, not by good grounded stepping (which they don't see). The million clicks in social media do not even come from dancers. This is about economy.

Unfortunately the writer also plays the authenticity card in the third paragraph. I understand this is a valuable thing, but in general the world does never maintain that. We don't eat kebab like they do in Turkey, we don't eat pizza like they do in Naples because we adapt it to our other needs, and our local, personal needs always top over what some 10.000 km away people think of it. If you export your thing to the world it gets changed. One can regret that, and there are always people who are interested in the original thing and maintain it, but most start dancing with other reasons than to maintain a culture they have never been to.
 
Yogalholic said:
You have been administering a salsa forum for 2 decades and it's the first time you encounter cuban salsa ? 95% of people in France dance salsa like this (and maybe 80% in Paris). Is cuban salsa so rare in the USA (besides maybe in Florida ) ?
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You're not wrong, but perhaps you're not considering the "website engagement" angle here. I believe one of our other esteemed posters has mentioned this before, I think it was Offbeat :)
 
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