Patin
Rueda de casino skating-style call
RuedaLevel: Improver1 min read3 citations
See it danced
Video demo
Patin is a rueda de casino call rather than a pan-salsa basic figure: it belongs to the caller-led vocabulary in which all couples execute named actions together in the circle.[1] Available instructional indexing identifies Patin as a specific rueda movement and notes that it may appear inside compound calls such as Enchufla Patin.[2] Mechanically, the figure is best treated as an enchufla-family entry followed by a brief skating or gliding accent: the leader opens the follower’s left-turn pathway, the follower rotates through that pathway in stages, and the pair keeps the action compact enough to preserve circle spacing. The count normally keeps casino’s two-measure salsa structure, with one break in each measure and dancing on 1-2-3, 5-6-7 rather than on 4 or 8. Rueda de casino is historically rooted in Cuban casino and is associated with Havana social dance development in the late 1950s, later spreading through Cuban migration and international rueda communities.[3] Patin is therefore most securely named in Cuban/rueda contexts; slot-salsa scenes may know the Spanish call through rueda classes but do not generally maintain it as a separate New York On2 or Los Angeles On1 figure name.
How it's danced
Lead and follow cues
CountCasino/rueda social timing: 1-2-3, 5-6-7, with one break per measure. The leader breaks back left on 1 and the follower breaks back right on 1; the second measure carries the enchufla-family travel and patin accent. If a local group dances contratiempo or On2, the same mechanics shift to that group's break counts.
Lead
From open guapea hold, break back on the left on 1, replace on 2, and use 3 to open the follower's enchufla pathway while maintaining a clear left-to-right hand connection. On 5-6-7, guide the follower through a staged left turn while marking the patin accent with compact, gliding footwork; keep the couple close to its rueda lane and finish ready for the caller's next resolution or partner change.
Follow
From open guapea hold, break back on the right on 1, replace on 2, and take the offered enchufla pathway on 3 without rushing forward on the break. On 5-6-7, rotate left/counter-clockwise in stages through the opened pathway, matching the compact patin accent and finishing balanced, oriented to the leader or to the next called transition.
Song timingBest at moderate social salsa tempos around 150-185 bpm. At 190 bpm and above, the figure usually needs smaller steps and a lighter patin accent so the rueda circle remains aligned.
Learn first
Prerequisites
- Guapea/open basic.
- Enchufla.
- Basic rueda caller response.
- Compact circle spacing.
Watch out
Common mistakes
- Treating Patin as a slot-salsa cross-body action rather than a compact rueda call.
- Starting the follower forward on count 1 instead of both partners breaking away from each other on opposite feet.
- Giving a single late whip instead of staging the follower's left rotation through the enchufla pathway.
- Letting the skating accent travel too far and crowd the adjacent couple.
- Calling the compound Enchufla Patin while leading only a plain enchufla with no patin accent.
Don't confuse with
Easily confused moves
- Patin is not a literal slot-salsa figure name in New York On2 or Los Angeles On1 vocabulary.
- Patin should not be confused with generic shines or solo footwork that imitate skating but are not the rueda call.
- Enchufla Patin names a compound rueda call, not a separate native translation of cross-body lead.
Around the world
Other names
Cuba / rueda de casino
Patin
Attested rueda call name.
International rueda classes
Enchufla Patin
Attested compound form in which Patin is attached to an enchufla-family entry.
Miami rueda scene
Patin
Used as the Spanish rueda call where Cuban-derived rueda vocabulary is taught; no distinct English replacement is established in the available sources.
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.rueda.casino
- 2.youtube.com
- 3.wikipedia.org
How to cite this article
Choose a style and copy the citation.
Bailar Editorial Team. (2026). Patin. Bailar Biblioteca. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-patin
Bailar Editorial Team. “Patin.” Bailar Biblioteca, 2026, getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-patin. Accessed 13 October 2026.
Bailar Editorial Team. “Patin.” Bailar Biblioteca. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-patin.
@misc{bailar-move-rueda-patin, author = {{Bailar Editorial Team}}, title = {{Patin}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bailar Biblioteca}, url = {https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-patin}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-13} }
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