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Palmadas

Coordinated claps in rueda de casino

RuedaLevel: Beginner1 min read4 citations

Palmadas are coordinated hand claps inserted into rueda de casino as rhythmic accents, cue-like signals, or embellishments while the couples continue the called figure in the circle.[1] The action is not a separate travelling exchange: leader and follower keep the normal casino stepping relationship, facing or passing according to the base call, and release or soften the hand connection only long enough for the clap. In common rueda usage, palmadas may be attached to named calls: some Dame variants place one, two, or three claps during the leader’s change to the next partner, while Enchufla variants may place a clap on count 1 or shape the clapping toward clave rhythm.[2] The timing therefore belongs to the caller’s variant rather than to a fixed turn pattern: the dancers preserve one break per measure and add the clap on the announced beat or beat group. Rueda de casino is associated with Cuban casino danced by couples in a circle under a caller, a format traced in the sources to Havana social-club practice and especially the Casino Deportivo milieu.[3] Palmadas also appear in international rueda teaching as the Spanish term for these clapping accents rather than as a slot-salsa figure.[4]

How it's danced

Lead and follow cues

CountCasino/rueda phrasing: steps continue through 1-2-3 and 5-6-7, with one break per measure. Palmadas are caller-specified accents, commonly one clap on 1 in some Enchufla variants, clave-shaped claps in Enchufla con clave, or one, two, or three claps across 5-6-7 in Dame una con una/dos/tres.

Lead

Maintain the base rueda call and casino timing. On the called palmada beat, release or lighten the hand connection, clap cleanly at chest level, then immediately recover the connection and continue the figure. In Dame-style uses, the leader commonly claps during the 5-6-7 change to the next follower; in Enchufla-style uses, the clap may be placed on count 1 or on a clave-shaped accent.

Follow

Maintain the base rueda call and casino timing. On the called palmada beat, release or soften the available hand connection, clap cleanly at chest level, then immediately recover the connection and continue the figure. In Dame-style uses, the follower keeps the partner-change pathway while matching the claps on 5-6-7; in Enchufla-style uses, the follower matches the count-1 or clave-shaped accent without adding an extra turn.

Song timingBest at moderate social casino tempos, roughly 150-185 bpm, where the clap can be placed crisply without interrupting partner changes. At 190 bpm and above, palmadas remain possible but require smaller arm motion and immediate reconnection.

Learn first

Prerequisites

  • casino basic step
  • basic rueda circle spacing
  • Dame
  • Enchufla
  • ability to release and reconnect hands without pulling

Watch out

Common mistakes

  • Stopping the feet during the clap instead of keeping the underlying rueda figure moving.
  • Clapping late and missing the caller's specified beat group.
  • Breaking the handhold too forcefully, making reconnection rushed or unclear.
  • Adding an uncalled turn or slot-style travel to what is only a rhythmic accent.
  • Letting the clap obscure the next partner change in Dame-style variants.

Don't confuse with

Easily confused moves

  • Dame con dos and Dame con tres are specific partner-change variants using claps, not alternate names for every palmada.
  • Enchufla con clave is a named rueda call with clave-shaped clapping, not a generic synonym for Palmadas.
  • Palmadas should not be confused with palmas in flamenco, where handclapping is a specialized rhythmic practice outside rueda de casino.

Around the world

Other names

  • Cuba / rueda de casino

    Palmadas

    Spanish term for claps used as rueda accents within other calls.

  • International rueda classes

    Palmadas

    Commonly retained as the Spanish call term rather than translated.

  • English-language rueda teaching

    claps

    Usually a descriptive gloss for palmadas, not a separate formal call name.

References

  1. 1.lafriquedancecompany.nl
  2. 2.salsaselfie.com
  3. 3.wikipedia.org
  4. 4.danceintime.com

How to cite this article

Choose a style and copy the citation.

APA

Bailar Editorial Team. (2026). Palmadas. Bailar Biblioteca. Retrieved July 4, 2026, from https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-palmadas

MLA

Bailar Editorial Team. “Palmadas.” Bailar Biblioteca, 2026, getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-palmadas. Accessed 4 July 2026.

Chicago

Bailar Editorial Team. “Palmadas.” Bailar Biblioteca. Accessed July 4, 2026. https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-palmadas.

BibTeX

@misc{bailar-move-rueda-palmadas, author = {{Bailar Editorial Team}}, title = {{Palmadas}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bailar Biblioteca}, url = {https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/rueda-palmadas}, note = {Accessed: 2026-07-04} }

Editor-in-Chief: Paul Thomas Plawin

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