Sácala

Sácala — Spanish for "take her out" — is one of the foundational figures of Cuban Casino: the move with which a leader draws the follower out of a facing or closed hold and into the open guapea position.^[1] The label is the imperative of the verb sacar, "to take out," and in the Cuban tradition the same word does double duty as a spoken rueda de casino call, so a single Spanish name carries the figure across both partnered Casino and the wheel.^[2]

Execution

Sácala is a displacement rather than a turn: instead of spinning the follower, the leader resettles her across to his side along Casino's circular track. On the breaking count he extends the follower's right hand and steps to redirect her, opening her out while both partners keep the back-stepping basic of the guapea.^[1] Because Casino is danced a tiempo, the figure breaks on counts 1 and 5 across roughly two measures, the leader rocking back onto his left foot as the follower mirrors him by rocking back onto her right.^[1] A practical cue for learners is to treat the opening as a small re-aiming of the basic rather than as added footwork — the lead lives in the hand and the change of facing, while the feet hold their tempo.

Variations and naming

The figure travels widely under this one name and recurs in catalogues of essential move names that dancers across the Cuban scene are expected to recognise on sight.^[3] Its best-known embellishment, Sácala con mentira ("take her out with a lie"), inserts a faked extension — a feinted lead — before the real opening, yet it remains a dressed-up variation of Sácala rather than a separate figure.^[4] The linear slot styles, LA On1 and NY On2, carry no distinct figure of this name, a reminder that Sácala belongs to Casino's round geometry rather than to the line-and-slot framework.