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Your First 10 Moves

You don’t need two hundred moves to have a great dance. You need ten you can actually lead. Here they are, in order — the home base and your first real connector. Learn these and you’re already improvising.

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1
Basic Step
The heartbeat of every figure. The forward-and-back rock-step that every linear salsa move is built on top of.
What it teaches: Timing & Footwork Foundation — Its job on the floor: filler/reset.
2
Side Basic
The basic, turned sideways. A lateral rock-step that sets up turns and adds variety without leaving home position.
What it teaches: Timing & Footwork Foundation — Its job on the floor: filler.
3
Back Basic
Reverse gear. The basic stepping back instead of forward, used to change facing or open up distance.
What it teaches: Timing & Footwork Foundation — Its job on the floor: filler/reset.
4
Guapea (Cuban Basic)
The casino home base. The open, push-and-pull Cuban basic that every casino figure launches from and returns to.
What it teaches: Timing & Footwork Foundation — Its job on the floor: filler/reset.
5
Cross-Body Lead
The linear workhorse. The slot-clearing exchange that moves the follow past the lead and powers most of linear salsa.
What it teaches: Frame & Lead-Follow Clarity — Its job on the floor: travelling.
6
Dile Que No
The master reset. "Tell her no" — the cross-body walk-across that returns any casino figure to open home position.
What it teaches: Frame & Lead-Follow Clarity — Its job on the floor: travelling/reset.
7
Right Turn (Lady's Underarm)
The first turn everyone learns. A clockwise underarm turn for the follow, returning to the same spot.
What it teaches: Frame & Lead-Follow Clarity — Its job on the floor: filler.
8
Left Turn (Lady's)
The counter-clockwise sibling. A left underarm turn that often gathers the follow into a closed hold.
What it teaches: Frame & Lead-Follow Clarity — Its job on the floor: filler.
9
Enchufla
Plug in and swap. The casino workhorse — a half-turn place-swap that feeds nearly every Cuban combination.
What it teaches: Frame & Lead-Follow Clarity — Its job on the floor: filler/travelling.
10
Open Break / Push Break
Load the spring. A tension-and-rebound break that creates the momentum and distance to launch turns.
What it teaches: Frame & Lead-Follow Clarity — Its job on the floor: accent/break.

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