In open position the couple is connected with one hand, keeping the other hand free.
The basic step in open position is called guapea. Most figures start from this position, but a few start when the partners are side by side. For example in dame una, where you start the figure by turning to the your next partner, doing a dile que no.
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BEGINNER LEVEL
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dame
give me
This is the most common of all rueda figures, a simple partner change.
There are several calls with the exact same meaning, just for variation, like synonyms in a language.
Some of the most common are dame una (give me one), dame otra (give me another) and otra (another).
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dame dos
give me two
Because of the distance the men/leaders are moving in the figure, they need to start moving as soon as the previous woman/follower passed (beat 6).
A classic sequence of calls using this figure is: dame una > dame dos > dos con dos“.
It is not common to call dame dos from guapea (the basic step), because you need to be in motion to make the figure look nice.
It is possible to also call dame tres (give me three), but don’t be surprised if the caller calls ¡mentira! just for fun.
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dame una arriba
give me one upward
This figure the man/leader is changing partner to their left. In this case the dile que no starts as the guys are in front of the ladies, and dile que no is therefore done with some more turning.
It is also common to call this figure una arriba (one upward) or la de arriba (the one upward).
A classic sequence using this figure is: dame una > dame dos > una arriba.
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paseala
take her for a walk
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sacala
pick her up
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enchufla
connect her
Enchufla is one of the most common figures in rueda de casino. It is also used frequently as a start for other figures, like enchufla con mambo. Usually enchufla includes a partner change, but some places it is praticed without partner change.
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enchufla doble
double “enchufla”
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enchufla y quedate
“enchufla” and stay
In this figure the men meet in the middle if the rueda is small, typically 2-5 couples.
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enchufla con mambo
“enchufla” with mambo
“Con mambo” adds mambo steps to a figure, for both men and women. In enchufla con mambo, the mambo steps are done while changing partner, and include hand movements. Normally the mambo part keeps on for 8 beats, but it is possible to extend it by calling siguelo or sigue.
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dame directo
give me directly
This is a simple partner change, without dile que no. You may hear variations of the call for this figure, like directo (directly), damela directo (give me her directly), arriba directo (directly upward).
There are also a few different ways to lead this figure: men’s left hand in women’s right (used in the video), with both hands or both using the right hand (the man switches on 7).
A tip for the leader is to lead without any turning of the follower and step (left) out of the way for your right arm to not hit the follower when passing.
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pelota una, dos, tres
ball one, two, three – refering to baseball
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festival de pelota
festival of “pelota”
This figure is a common combination of three figures, that may also be called separately: pelota una, pelota dos and pelota tres.
In general, adding festival de to a call, usually indicates making three repetitions of a certain figure with one clap after the first time, two claps after the second time, and three claps after the third time.
However, there are exceptions like festival de fly, a figure of three claps following each other (on 1, 2 and 3), with no partner change in between.
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vacilala
look at her
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sombrero
hat
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sombrero con mambo
“sombrero” with mambo
In sombrero con mambo the arms are not free to do the hand movements, so in this specific figure the mambo part mainly include footwork.
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la prima
the cousin
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prima con la hermana
cousin with the sister
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la familia
the family
In Cuba you can hear this figure called any variation of familia, ‘la familia’, ‘prima con la familia’, ‘prima con toda la familia’, or similar. Outside of Cuba you may also hear “hasta la tia” (all the way out to the aunt), or “la abuela” (the grandmother).
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patin
skating
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