Dance Vocabulary

You and your partner stand close, chest-to-chest or near it. The leader’s right hand sits on the follower’s back and the follower’s left arm rests on the leader’s shoulder or arm. It’s the warmest, most connected hold — the home base for bachata and Cuban salsa.

18 salsa · 48 bachata moves

You stand a step apart and stay connected only through the hands. There’s room between you, so it’s the position where turns, hand changes and footwork patterns happen. Most figures travel through open position at some point.

89 salsa · 58 bachata moves

A relaxed in-between: closer than open position but not fully chest-to-chest, often slightly offset so one side opens up. Used as a stepping stone into or out of a closed embrace.

1 salsa · 2 bachata moves

Both partners face the same direction, one standing just behind the other like a shadow. It frees the front partner’s body to move and is a favourite for sensual bachata and styling moments.

5 bachata move

You stand next to each other facing the same way, usually still joined by one hand. Common in playful or showy moments where both dancers do the same thing for the room to see.

2 salsa · 2 bachata moves

The standard open-position handhold: the leader’s left hand holds the follower’s right hand. It’s the default connection most patterns start from, the one you’ll meet first.

70 salsa · 39 bachata moves

The leader’s right hand holds the follower’s right hand. It twists the connection and sets up wraps, hammerlocks and right-hand turns that the basic hold can’t reach.

11 salsa · 16 bachata moves

The mirror of the standard hold — leader’s right hand to follower’s left. It usually shows up mid-pattern as the hands trade, opening the other side of the body.

2 salsa move

Both pairs of hands are connected at once. It gives the leader the most control and is the launch pad for moves like Setenta and other two-handed pretzel patterns.

22 salsa · 13 bachata moves

Both hands are held, but crossed so the arms form an X. Untwisting that cross is what powers a whole set of turns and flips — the tangle is the point.

6 salsa · 2 bachata moves

One of the follower’s arms is led into a soft wrap behind their own back, held in place by the hand connection. Always gentle and comfortable — never forced. A signature shape of wraps-and-locks moves.

4 salsa move

The hands let go entirely. This is where shines and solo footwork live: you stay connected through timing and eye contact instead of touch, then catch the hands again to continue.

13 salsa · 9 bachata moves

Lands on a strong moment in the song — a horn stab, a drum hit, a punch in the rhythm. You use it to show the music, marking something the listener can hear.

49 salsa · 36 bachata moves

A bread-and-butter move that keeps you dancing smoothly between the highlights. Nothing flashy — it buys you time and keeps the connection alive while you decide what’s next.

48 salsa · 30 bachata moves

Moves the two of you across the floor rather than staying on one spot. Good for using space, repositioning, or just changing the picture.

25 salsa · 13 bachata moves

Made for the moments when the music drops out or pauses. You stop, suspend, or hit a shape together — then explode back in when the song returns.

20 salsa · 21 bachata moves

Brings you back to a tidy, neutral position so you can start a fresh idea. The “take a breath and regroup” move.

9 salsa move

This move is at home in both Cuban and line (LA/NY) salsa — a shared piece of vocabulary you can use whichever style you dance.

59 salsa move

Cuban-style salsa (casino): partners move around each other in circles rather than along a line, with a playful, grounded feel. The root of Rueda.

40 salsa move

New York (and LA) line salsa: partners trade places along a single line, often danced “on2”. Smoother and more linear than the Cuban circle.

1 salsa move

The traditional bachata from the Dominican Republic: lively, footwork-heavy and full of little syncopations and free-foot taps. The roots of the dance.

21 bachata move

Modern bachata: the most common social style, blending the basic step with turn patterns and a clean, accessible partner connection.

43 bachata move

Sensual bachata: slower and led from the body, full of waves, isolations and wrap shapes. Emphasises flow and connection over fast footwork.

36 bachata move

The core steps — basic, back-break, side-step — that every other salsa figure assumes you already have. Start here.

7 salsa move

The cross-body lead and the patterns that grow from it — the move that swaps the partners’ places and unlocks most of line salsa.

6 salsa move

Turn patterns for the follower and the leader — inside turns, outside turns, and the spins that link them.

11 salsa move

Moves whose whole job is to change where you stand or which hands you hold — the connective tissue that links one figure to the next.

13 salsa move

The essential circular Cuban-style figures — Dile Que No, Enchufla and friends — that make up the bulk of casino dancing.

33 salsa move

Rueda de Casino: couples form a circle and a caller shouts moves everyone does at once, swapping partners around the wheel. Social, fast and a lot of fun.

5 salsa move

Solo footwork done without holding your partner — your moment to play with the music on your own before catching the hands again.

11 salsa move

The polish: arm styling, body movement and accents that make the same step look and feel like yours.

7 salsa move

Moves and ideas about hitting accents, breaks and changes in the music — dancing the song, not just the count.

5 salsa move

Small linking moves whose purpose is to flow smoothly out of one figure and into another. The improviser’s joints.

2 salsa move

The bachata basic and the home positions everything returns to — the side-to-side step and tap that anchors the dance.

16 bachata move

The lively footwork of traditional Dominican bachata — taps, double-steps and syncopations that decorate the basic.

9 bachata move

Turn patterns and hand-led figures danced a step apart in open position — the bachata equivalent of salsa’s turn vocabulary.

23 bachata move

Figures that move the couple across the floor rather than staying on the spot — using space and changing the picture.

10 bachata move

Moves that wrap the follower’s arms into and out of comfortable shapes — hammerlocks, cuddles and unrolls. Always gentle and led with care.

15 bachata move

The signature of sensual bachata: body waves, isolations and led body movement, danced close and slow.

19 bachata move

The dramatic finishers — dips, drops and leans — usually saved for the last beat of a song. Safety and trust first, always.

8 bachata move