El Dos
Rueda partner-change call skipping one follower
RuedaLevel: Beginner1 min read4 citations
See it danced
Video demo
El Dos is a rueda de casino call in which the active leader changes partners by passing the immediately adjacent follower and taking the next follower two positions away in the circle; the same figure is also called Dame Dos in many rueda teaching settings.[1] It belongs to the Cuban rueda de casino vocabulary, a caller-led group form associated with casino social dancing and later circulated through international Latin-dance communities.[2] In a common eight-count teaching frame, the couple begins from guapea timing: on 1-2-3 both partners break away on mirror feet, then recover; on 5-6-7 the leader travels around the circle past one follower and prepares the second connection, while the follower releases cleanly and stays rhythmically available for the arriving leader.[3] Some taught versions begin from or include an enchufla-like exchange before the partner skip, and may briefly use the leader’s body position to redirect traffic before the return to basic.[4] The figure is normally treated as beginner to improver rueda material because the main skill is not turn complexity but spacing, timing, and recognizing the called partner distance.[3]
How it's danced
Lead and follow cues
CountCasino/rueda On1 teaching frame: one break per measure, with breaks on 1 and 5 across an eight-count phrase. For El Dos, 1-2-3 preserves or opens the guapea/enchufla entry; 5-6-7 completes the partner skip to the second follower. No additional break is added inside either measure.
Lead
Casino/rueda On1 teaching count: from guapea, break back on the left on 1, replace on 2, collect on 3 while maintaining the circle shape. On 5-6-7 travel counter-clockwise around the rueda, pass the immediately next follower without stopping, and offer the receiving hand to the second follower so the new pair can settle into guapea on the next 1. If an enchufla entry is used, open the exchange about a quarter turn on 1-2-3, then complete the partner change by the end of 5-6-7.
Follow
Casino/rueda On1 teaching count: from guapea, break back on the right on 1, replace on 2, collect on 3, staying oriented to the current leader and the circle. On 5-6-7 release the departing leader without chasing him, keep time in place or with the taught rueda travel, and receive the arriving leader from the previous position so the new pair can restart guapea on the next 1. In enchufla-entry versions, turn through the invited exchange on 1-2-3, then re-square to the circle by 5-6-7.
Song timingBest at moderate social casino/rueda tempos around 150-185 bpm, where leaders can travel past one follower without rushing. Around 190 bpm and above, the call becomes fast and demands compact travel, early preparation, and disciplined circle spacing.
Learn first
Prerequisites
- Guapea.
- Basic rueda partner-change spacing.
- Clean hand release and reconnection.
- Awareness of circle direction and caller timing.
- Enchufla for versions that use an enchufla entry.
Watch out
Common mistakes
- Leader stops at the immediately next follower instead of skipping to the second follower.
- Leader leaves too late on 5-6-7, causing the receiving follower to be missed on the next 1.
- Follower chases the departing leader rather than staying rhythmically available for the arriving leader.
- Partners break on the wrong foot by treating the mirrored roles as opposite directions instead of opposite feet with both breaking away from the partnership.
- The circle compresses because leaders travel inward instead of maintaining rueda spacing.
- The enchufla-entry version is over-turned on 1-2-3, leaving insufficient time to complete the partner change on 5-6-7.
Don't confuse with
Easily confused moves
- Dame: a one-partner change to the next follower, not a skip to the second follower.
- Dame Dos: the same call as El Dos in many rueda settings, not a separate turn pattern.
- Dos con dos or other regional calls containing dos: not automatically the same figure unless the call specifically means skipping one follower to take the second.
- Linear cross-body lead: a slot-based partner exchange, not the circular rueda partner-skip structure of El Dos.
Around the world
Other names
Cuba / Cuban rueda de casino
El Dos
Attested Spanish call name for the figure.
International rueda teaching scenes
Dame Dos
Attested alternate call name; literally indicates taking the second partner.
References
The bracketed numbers in the text show which source each fact comes from. Tap or click one to jump to that source in this list.
- 1.elmotivola.com
- 2.passada.com.au
- 3.youtube.com
- 4.youtube.com
How to cite this article
Choose a style and copy the citation.
Bailar Editorial Team. (2026). El Dos. Bailar Biblioteca. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-el-dos
Bailar Editorial Team. “El Dos.” Bailar Biblioteca, 2026, getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-el-dos. Accessed 13 October 2026.
Bailar Editorial Team. “El Dos.” Bailar Biblioteca. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-el-dos.
@misc{bailar-move-rueda-el-dos, author = {{Bailar Editorial Team}}, title = {{El Dos}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bailar Biblioteca}, url = {https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-el-dos}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-13} }
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