Reading Ballroom Dance Scripts

Version 2.1 4 February 2007 Copyright 2007 Jim Farmer. This document is available from http://dance.plussed.net If you obtained it from some other source, you may not have the most up-to-date version.

1 Preliminaries
1.1 Purpose of this document I could not find a guide explaining how to read ballroom dance scripts. I decided to write one. 1.2 Terminology The Standard Style Dances are Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Tango and Viennese Waltz. However, I know little of Viennese Waltz so this document refers to it only rarely. In the ballroom context, the Latin American Dances are Rumba, Cha Cha, Jive, Samba and Paso Doble. However, I know nothing of Paso Doble and omit it. Sequence Dances are set routines performed in a circle. The above comments relate to International Style. I ignore American Style. More explanation on the above is available in the Guide to Classification of Ballroom Dances at http://dance.plussed.net. This document refers to dance scripts. Such references should be read as including not only a complete script for some lengthy routine or sequence dance, but also the definition of a single figure, as scripted in the appropriate ISTD theory book. While this document is chiefly concerned with Ballroom Dancing, most dancers have at least dabbled with dances outside this style. Hence this document occasionally makes brief references to other dances such as Argentine Tango, Salsa or Rock and Roll where this may help understanding. 1.3 Use of Examples Since most readers already understand many figures (or moves), examples are given whenever this seems to aid clarity. Hopefully this document still makes sense if the examples are figures you dont understand. 1.4 Sources of information The bibliography gives full details. The Ballroom Technique essentially assumes complete understanding of the scripting technique. This book contains negligible explanation on how to read it. The ISTD Latin American books define a few more concepts, but they are definitions rather than explanations, and seem to only make sense after youve divined the meanings from some other source. Neville Boyds book on Australian New Vogue Sequence Dances is the only book Ive found that seems to make a serious effort to explain rather than define. But it is still a relatively brief
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treatment, perhaps aimed at teachers with considerable of the scripting technique used in the ISTD publications. Most of the feedback Ive received on this guide has come from readers outside Australia, who are not familiar with Boyds book and arent interested in Australian New Vogue Sequence Dances. Reverse engineering has been a major source of information. By comparing the figures Id learnt in classes with the descriptions in the ISTD books, I gradually learnt how to read the tables in those books. 1.5 Unsolved mysteries Many symbolic scripting systems have been developed, including many which allow far more accurate descriptions of the more complex movements encountered in ballet. All these symbolic systems have names, such as Labanotation, Benesh Movement Notation (BMN), Action Stroke Dance Notation and Sutton Dance Writing. Ive never seen a name used for the text scripting system usually used in ballroom dancing. Does it have a name? What do you call someone who writes scripts? Not a choreographer, since thats the person who invented the dance, rather than someone who is writing the script for a dance that already exists. Scripter or scriptor sounds right, but dictionaries dont regard it as a valid word. I use author. Is there a better word?

2 Holds and Positions

2.1 Hold vs position Whats the difference? Position refers to the relative orientation of the partners bodies. As a first approximation, it can be described by the relative position of their hips. Hold refers to the placement of the hands, such as whether the mans right hand is on the ladys shoulder blade, or her hip, or holding one of her hands, or pointing in the air like on the album cover for Saturday Night Fever. Sometimes the term grip is used to describe the precise way that the hands link together. This term isnt often encountered in ballroom dancing, since there isnt much variety in grip. It is used more often in Salsa, Rock n Roll and Ceroc styles where the various arm contortions, drops and lifts require quite specific grips if you dont want to dislocate your shoulder. Warning: Some dancers, and even some authors of books on dancing, seem to use the words hold and position interchangeably. 2.2
2.2.1

Holds and positions are dance specific

Holds and positions are style specific

The holds and positions vary greatly between Standard Style (Waltz, Quickstep, Foxtrot, Tango, Viennese Waltz) and Latin American style. Standard Style is the simpler, use far fewer holds and positions, and will be dealt with first. Eventually I may get around to adding a section dealing with Sequence Dances, which is different again. The same name may be used to mean different things in different styles. For example, Promenade position involves body contact in Standard Style dances but not in Latin American style dances.
2.2.2 Within style, holds and position may be dance specific

Holds and positions are relatively consistent within style. However, the approach of the ISTD Latin American theory books is to only define the holds and positions needed for each dance. As a result of this:
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 Some holds and positions are only defined for some subset of the dances. The same name may mean different things in different dances. For example, in Cha Cha and Jive, the definition of Tandem position may involve the man being behind the lady or the lady behind the man. However, in Rumba, Tandem position is defined as having the man behind the lady, since the reverse arrangement doesnt occur in Rumba.
2.2.3 Some positions definitions include a hold definition; some dont

This complication doesnt arise for Standard Style dances. It only seems to be an issue for Latin American dances (and Sequence Dances). Four varieties of definition may occur. For some positions, the definition of the position includes a particular hold. When this occurs, the description of a figure may just state the position, and you need to remember which hold that implies. For some positions, the definition of the position states a particular default hold, and then specifies alternative holds. When this occurs, the description of a figure may just state the position, in which case the default hold is meant. If one of the alternative holds is required, it will be stated explicitly. For some positions, several holds may be listed with none explicitly listed as the default. When this occurs, any reference to the position must state which hold is required. For some positions, the definition of the position states the hold is as required for the figure used, or it may not be mentioned at all. The full list of which positions imply which hold is given later. For the moment, here are examples from Rumba of these four varieties. The Reverse Top is described as starting in Contact Position, which implies Normal Hold, the only hold defined for that position. The Natural Top is described as starting in Closed Position, which implies the default Normal Hold, while the Hand to Hand to Right Side Position is described as starting in Closed Position, Right to Left Hold, which is one of the alternatives to the default. The New York to Left Side Position is described as starting in Open Counter Promenade Position, Left to Right Hold, which is one of the alternative holds for that position, none being defined as the default. The definition of Right Side Position states the hold is as required for the figure used, while that for Tandem Position does not mention a hold at all. I dont know why this occurs. The number of holds for these positions still seems sufficiently small that they could have been listed. To complicate things further, a particular position may imply different holds in different dances. For example, consider Closed Position. In Jive, it implies Normal Hold. In Rumba and Cha Cha, it defaults to Normal Hold, with three other alternative holds available. In Samba, it may occur in Normal Hold or Left to Right Hold, with no default listed. (In Samba, where alternatives occur, a default is never nominated.) As noted above, position refers to the relative position of the bodies, and makes no claim about where the feet will be. That is, positions are mobile, meaning the dancers may perform various steps and move about the floor while maintaining a single position.

There is an exception. In Rumba and Cha Cha, the definition of Fan Position includes a specification of the foot position. Fan Position is thus a static position. 2.3
2.3.1

Explaining the holds and positions

How many holds and positions is it worth defining?

We do not name every physically possible hold and position that may occur during a figure. That would create a very long list. Rather, we name a relatively small set of holds and positions which cope with the key points in time in the majority of figures in the majority of ballroom dances. It is always possible to dig up a rare dance move that uses some hold or position seen in no other common dance. They are best dealt with by a footnote in the relevant script explaining the required hold or position.
2.3.2 Which do we explain first the hold or the position?

Unfortunately descriptions of holds usually make some reference to position, while descriptions of positions make some reference to hold, leaving the conundrum of which should be described first. Ive tried both ways, and they both have problems. Resign yourself to the idea that this section probably wont make complete sense until youve read through both the hold and position descriptions several times. Ill describe the holds first, but Ill have to give some idea where to stand relative to your partner for the hold to work. This is only a suggested position to get you started. It is definitely not a restriction and there may be other valid positions in which the hold can occur. 2.4
2.4.1

Position Diagrams
What defines the position?

Position refers to the relative position of the bodies of the two partners. Usually this is most easily described by the position of the hips. Usually the hips, chest and shoulders face the same direction, so a case could be made for using the shoulders, since it often the shoulder line which drives the lead. However, the difference between some holds, such Contact Position and Closed Position, depends on whether or not there is contact at the hips. Thus if youre trying to summarise a position by looking at a single body part, hips are more useful than shoulders.
2.4.2 Diagrams

Books on dancing often include sketches or photos of the various positions. These are usually misleading in that they typically show the feet closed together and directly below the body. However, the foot position is largely irrelevant. In Quickstep it doesnt matter whether your feet are doing a lock step, a check, or whether youve sprung half a metre in the air to clear the unfortunate couple who have fallen over in your path from the hips up you should still be in normal position and normal hold. Due to the level of my drawing ability, I shall take the simpler approach of providing symbolic diagrams indicating the hip positions viewed from above. Standard politically incorrect colour stereotypes are used pink for lady, blue for man. If the up direction on the page is North, here is a man facing North and a lady facing East. (Fan position, as described later.) In practice the absolute compass direction is irrelevant. The position defines the relative place and orientation of the couple.

I use these shapes since they are easy to construct in the limited drawing tools I have at my disposal, and the flat fronts allow them to be placed together to indicated hip contact. I rationalise them as being stylised representation of the pelvic bone, viewed from above. Perhaps it is easier to remember as the hip cross-section of a person who has developed a very flat stomach from years of strenuous dancing. 2.5
2.5.1

Standard Style Holds

Normal Hold

Most easily assumed when standing face to face with your partner, each with feet together, your right foot pointing between your partners feet, with minimal gap between partners hips. Mans right hand cups ladys left shoulder blade. Ladys left hand grips mans upper right arm, exact placement varying with the height difference between the partners. Ladys right hand is placed in mans left, palms facing, ladys fingers in the vee between mans fingers and thumb. Safety Warning: Ladies: The tops of your fingers should lie along the back of the mans hand. Do not wrap your fingers around his thumb. If you slip, his thumb will not support your weight and you may injure it. The ISTD publication The Ballroom Technique does not actually seem to name this hold. However, this hold is also used in the Latin American dances, and the ISTD publications on those dances call it Normal Hold, and hence it is the commonly used name.
2.5.2 Tango Hold

As for Normal Hold, except that while the ladys left forearm remains on top of the mans right arm, her left hand hooks under mans right upper arm, fingers straight. If her arms are long enough, her fingers may reach his armpit. (Eeewww!) O.K. Yes; there are more differences. Mans right arm is further around the ladys back. Mans left arm isnt extended to the side so far and the palms are tighter together with the mans wrist straight and the ladys wrist bent. But I dont think I can describe these clearly enough to make sense to anyone who doesnt already know these points, so I havent bothered. (Argentine Tango is slightly different again. Depending on the dancers relative heights, the ladys left arm may be higher on the mans shoulder or around the his neck.) 2.6 Standard Style Positions

Normal Position
2.6.1 Normal Position

Promenade Position

The man and lady face each other. Theoretically there should be body contact at the hips, though at a social level some distance may be maintained.
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Each dancer is slightly to the left of the others centre line. If they both have their feet together then each persons right foot points between the others feet. Hence if you step forward on your left foot you step outside your partner, meaning to the left (from your point of view) of your partners right foot. If you step forward with your right foot you step between your partners feet. When dancing with body contact, this means the insides of the partners right thighs brush together. The offset to the left has a practical purpose. If you step forward on your left or right foot slightly before your partner steps back on his or her right or left foot respectively, the offset means your foot passes beside your partners legs rather than kicking him or her in the chins. In Tango, the sideways offset may be slightly larger. Normal Position is one of several names in common use for this position. However, the ISTD publication does not actually seem to name this position. They dont need to name it since were in this position most of the time. In the descriptions of moves, unless there is an explicit mention of being in Promenade Position, were in Normal Position. In practice some dancers refer to Normal Position (probably inappropriately) as Contact Position or Closed Position, though these two terms are used to describe two slightly different positions in Latin American Dances.
2.6.2 Promenade Position PP

(The author does not wish to hear any more suggestions that this should be called Pacman Position.) The man and lady face at 90 to each other, the mans right and ladys left hips being in contact. Again, thats the theory, but in social dancing some distance may be maintained. Promenade position arises by opening out from facing position while maintaining Normal Hold or Tango Hold. Since each partner was slightly left of the others centre line in facing position, the result is that in promenade position the mans right hip is in contact with a point slightly in front of the ladys left hip, though the diagram above isnt that accurate. It is the relative position rather than the absolute position that is important, so rather than drawing this position as

it would be just a valid to draw it as

However, most men seem to think of this position in terms of the first diagram rather than the second, perhaps since this results in the most likely direction of movement from this position being leftward on the page, rather than diagonally up and left. (Ladies are invited to rotate the page 180.) 1.7 Standard Style What positions and holds are used in each dance? Holds Dance Waltz, Foxtrot Quickstep, Viennese Waltz Tango Normal Hold ! ! Tango Hold !
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Positions Normal Promenade Position Position ! ! ! ! !

2.8 Latin American Style Holds The holds in the first 4 sections below will see you through most figures. The holds in the remaining two sections can probably be safely ignored until you start learning advanced figures.
2.8.1 Normal Hold

(This is identical to Normal Hold under Standard Style.) Most easily assumed when standing face to face with your partner, each with feet together, your right foot pointing between your partners feet, with minimal gap between partners hips. Mans right hand cups ladys left shoulder blade. Ladys left hand grips mans upper right arm, exact placement varying with the height difference between the partners. Ladys right hand is placed in mans left, palms facing, ladys fingers in the vee between mans fingers and thumb.
2.8.2 Various single hand holds RRH, RLH, LRH, LLH

The mans hand is listed first. Thus Right to Left Hold, RLH, is mans right hand holding ladys left hand. The linked hands are usually held at ladys waist height. The precise grip of the linked hands may vary, depending on the figure that gave rise to the grip or the next figure which the man wants to lead. The ISTD Latin American books dont define the grips.
2.8.3 Double Hold

Most easily assumed standing face to face, about half a metre apart. Each partner holds their arms as if in the up position for doing push-ups. Mans left hand holds ladys right and his right holds her left, palms facing. In both cases, ladys fingers are in the vee between the mans thumb and fingers. Adjust the height of the hands to about the ladys eye height.
2.8.4 No hold

No physical contact. This state of affairs usually only lasts for a small number of steps. We dont want to be accused of line dancing!
2.8.5 Right Shadow Holds (includes Cuddle Hold)

These 3 holds are described under Right Shadow Position in the ISTD Rumba book. There, they are collectively referred to as the Right Shadow Holds. One is individually named Cuddle Hold; the other two are unnamed. (None of them precisely match Right Shadow Hold as defined for Australian New Vogue Sequence Dancing.) In all the cases, the hold is most easily described when in Right Shadow Position, the lady standing slightly to the right of and slightly in front of the man, both facing the same way. Version 1: The mans right hand on or slightly below ladys right shoulder blade. Mans left hand holds ladys left hand, wrist or forearm. Version 2: Cuddle Hold: Ladys arms are crossed in front of her body at waist height, the man holding her left hand in his right and her right hand in his left. Version 3: Mans right hand as for Version 1 and his left hand as for Version 2. The odd thing about Cuddle Hold is that until you get used to it, its very difficult to stand in the appropriate position and adopt the hold. Its easier to start in a different position and manoeuvre into the hold. So: Stand facing your partner, with mans left hand holding ladys right and mans right holding ladys left, hands at waist height. The man raises his left, circles it anticlockwise above the ladys head,
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turning her 180 to the left, and lowers his left hand in front of her. While doing this he uses his right hand, still at waist height to move her closer to him and slightly to his right. (Were only defining the hold here, but as an aside, in Rock n Roll dancing, this position is called Right Cuddle Position, though there the lady is brought into Right Side Position rather than being slightly in front. This position is obtained in the Jive figure Rolling Off the Arm when done in the Double Hold variation, but the name Cuddle Hold is not used there.) In Samba, Right Shadow Position is defined as including a hold very similar to version 1 above, the only difference being that there is the additional option of dispensing with the left hand hold entirely. The hold is not named there.
2.8.6 Hand on back holds

Samba has two hand on back holds: Left hand on ladys back and Right hand on ladys back. 2.9
2.9.1

Latin American The positions

The full set of positions

Here is the full set of positions we will use. Further explanation of each position follows the table. Facing Opposite Directions

Closed Position

Contact Position

Open Position

Right Contra Position

Left Contra Position

Right-angled Positions

Promenade Position PP

Open Promenade Position

Counter Promenade Position CPP

Open Counter Promenade Position

Fan Position

Facing Same Direction

Right Side Position RSP

Left Side Position LSP

Tandem Position (Man Behind)

Right Shadow Position

Left Shadow Position

Tandem Position (Lady Behind)

If this many positions seems overwhelming, start with the first 10 positions below, which are those most commonly encountered. The remaining 5 only occur in more advanced moves
2.9.2 Closed Position

Similar to Normal Position from the Standard Style dances, but without the body contact. The couple should be about 15 centimetres apart.
2.9.3 Contact Position

Identical to Normal Position from the Standard Style dances. The ISTD Latin American books refer to light body contact. In social dances, this would normally be replaced by Closed Position.
2.9.4 Open Position

The man and lady face each other at approximately arms length. Thats one persons arms length, not one arm length each. Its probably clearer to think of it as just close enough so that they can maintain Left to Right hand hold at waist level. This is probably a little over half a metre. In Closed Position and Contact Position, each dancer is slightly to the left of the others centre line, which reduces the risk of stepping on your partners foot. Open Position is sufficiently far apart that there is no risk of foot collisions, so there is no need for this offset.
2.9.5 Promenade Position PP

In Standard Style, promenade position involved hip contact. By contrast, Latin American style involves the nearer hips being slightly apart. This needs to be still close enough to allow Normal Hold, so the mans right and ladys left hips are probably around 10cm.
2.9.6 Open Promenade Position

Similar to Promenade Position, but further apart. Typically, far enough apart to allow a single hand hold to be comfortable.
2.9.7 Counter Promenade Position CPP

This is the mirror image of Promenade Position.

2.9.8 Open Counter Promenade Position

This is the mirror image of Open Promenade Position.

2.9.9 Fan Position

The lady is to the left of and slightly in front of the man, facing to his right. This position is unique in that the definition of the position includes the position of the feet. The man is standing with feet apart, weight on his right foot. The lady is standing left foot back, with weight on that foot.
2.9.10 Right Side Position

The lady is on the mans right, both facing the same direction. Distance may vary from hip contact to having sufficient distance for RLH Right to Left Hold. (And yes; it does seem inconsistent that we define Contact/Closed/Open Position which are pretty much identical other than for the distance apart, and we define Promenade Position and Open Promenade Position for a similar reason, but then we only have one Right Side Position which covers a wide range of distances.)

2.9.11 Left Side Position

The lady is on the mans left, both facing the same direction. This is the mirror image of Right Side Position.
2.9.12 Right Shadow Position

This position means different things in different dances. In Rumba and Samba, the lady is in front of and slightly to the right of the man. In Cha Cha, the lady may be slightly in front of or slightly behind the man, and is slightly to the right of the man. (The lady behind version is used in the Turkish Towel.)
2.9.13 Left Shadow Position

This only occurs in Cha Cha and is the mirror image of Cha Cha version of Right Shadow Position. Unsolved Mystery: The lady behind version is used in the Turkish Towel. What Cha Cha figure uses the lady in front version of Left Shadow Position?
2.9.14 Tandem Position

This position means different things in different dances. One partner is behind the other, both facing the same way. The issue is, who is behind who. In Rumba, the man is behind the lady. For example, Sliding Doors. In Cha Cha and Jive, either partner may be behind. For example, in Cha Cha, the Chase uses both forms. In Jive, the Catapult has the lady behind. The Development of the Overturned Fallaway Throwaway has the man behind, as does Spanish Arms.
2.9.15 Right Contra Position

Both are moving, or positioned ready to move (as in the diagram), towards their partners right side.
2.9.16 Left Contra Position

The mirror image of right contra position. 2.10 Latin American Which holds can occur on each position? The answer varies by dance. The following table summarises the results. Where a cell contains only one hold, it is in bold type, and the position is defined as including that hold. Where a cell contains several holds with the first in bold type, the first hold is the default and the others are alternatives. Where a cell contains several holds, all in normal type, these are alternative holds with none being defined as the default. A greyed cell indicates the position is not defined for that dance. And no, I have no idea how one goes about memorising this information, or whether it is useful to do so.

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Position Closed Pos. Contact Pos. Open Pos. Fan Pos. Promenade Pos. Open Prom. Pos. Counter Prom. Pos. (CPP) Open CPP Right Side Pos. Left Side Pos. R Shadow Pos. Left Shadow Pos. Tandem Position (man behind) Tandem Position (lady behind) R Contra Pos. Left Contra Pos.

Jive Normal Hold LRH, RRH, RLH, Double Hold

Rumba Cha Cha Normal Hold, LRH, RLH, No hold. Normal Hold LRH, RRH, No Hold, Double Hold

Samba Normal Hold, LRH

LRH Normal Hold RLH, LRH, No Hold Normal Hold LRH, No Hold Not specified. Not specified. See note below Not specified. Not specified. Not specified. Not specified. Not specified.

LRH, Right hand on ladys back. Normal Hold LRH, Left hand on ladys back See note below

Not specified. Not specified.

Note: Right Shadow Position: For Rumba: 3 Right shadow holds. For Samba: Similar to Hold 1 from the Rumba holds. See the section on Right Shadow Holds for full description.
2.10.1 Which holds occur in each dance?

This cant easily be answered from the above table. The above table definitely tells us things like Normal hold occurs in each dance. But it doesnt tell us that any particular hold doesnt occur in any particular dance, firstly because some possibilities are hiding under the not specified entries, and secondly because a hold may occur at a point where we are not in one of the named positions given above. For example, the following table has managed to include an entry for LLH, which didnt appear in the previous table at all. In terms of clarity of explanation, perhaps a more useful question is Name a figure from dance x that uses hold y. The following table gives such an example where I could find one. The remaining empty cells are mostly for the relatively rare LLH. There are probably no valid entries for these blank cells, but let me know if find one. The table excludes the rare shadow holds and Samba hand on back holds.

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Position Normal Hold LRH RLH RRH LLH Double Hold No hold

Jive Fallaway Rock Link Rolling off the arm American Spin (The lead)

Rumba Cha Cha Closed Basic Movement New to Left Side Position New York to Right Side Position Advanced Hip Twist Development Sweetheart

Samba Reverse Basic Movement Criss Cross Voltas Rolling off the Arm Contra Bota Fogos Development. Contra Bota Fogos Development.

Windmill American Spin (The spin)

Shoulder to Shoulder Switch turns Chase

Solo Spot Volta

3 Foot positions
The ISTD Latin American books state that foot positions: refer to the position of one foot in relation to the other when the foot has arrived in position; for example, forward, back, side, etc. That is, the important feature is where the foot finishes the step, not how it got there or where it started from. However, this is a tricky concept, so well begin by describing foot positions in the simplest scenario, stepping out from close feet with no turn. 3.1
3.1.1

Stepping out from closed feet

Primary and Secondary Directions

Stand facing North with your feet closed that is, together as shown by the two badly drawn shoeprints in the centre of the following diagram. (Donations of better drawn shoeprints or footprints will be gratefully accepted.) The arrows show some possible movements for the left foot. Take the mirror-image of the diagram to produce the corresponding steps for the right foot. In Rumba and Cha Cha, depending on the figure involved, the supporting right foot and possibly also the moving left foot may turn out as the step is taken. For the purpose of describing foot positions we seem to ignore this complication and instead pretend no turn out occurs. The diagram is not intended to precisely indicate the distance travelled; we are concerned with direction here.

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LF fwd LF fwd in line

LF diag fwd LF fwd & across

LF to side

LF diag back

LF back

The simplest movements for the left foot, sometimes called the primary directions are: LF fwd = Left foot forward LF to side = Left foot to side LF back = Left foot back It may seem odd that we say LF to side rather than the more informative LF to left. However, the repetition of left in LF to left makes it clumsy when said aloud, though it looks fine on paper. to the side always means to that foots side. When stepping with the left foot, we cant step through the right foot exactly to the right side. In LF fwd and LF back, the left foot is moving to a position directly in front of or behind its original position, not directly in front or behind the right foot. However, there is also the position: LF fwd in line = Left foot forward in line with the RF.

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This seems to occur only in 3 of the Latin American dances. It occurs frequently in Rumba and Cha Cha, as for example in the Switch Turn. It occurs rarely in Samba, one example (the only one?) being the Argentine Cross. I could not locate any occurrence of a step occurring back in line. There seems to be some dispute as to whether LF fwd in line should be called a primary direction, a secondary direction, or neither. I suspect this is an unimportant issue of semantics which need not concern us. The other directions, sometimes called the secondary directions, are: LF diag fwd = Left foot diagonally forward. LF diag back = Left foot diagonally back LF fwd & across = Left foot forward and across. The step LF fwd & across and its mirror image, RF fwd & across, do not occur in normal position. It is impossible to twist far enough to make that step while maintaining normal position. These positions only occur in Promenade Position and Counter Promenade Position. Usually the man and lady simultaneously step fwd and across, on opposite feet. In The Ballroom Technique CBMP is defined to be A foot position where the foot is placed on or across the line of the supporting foot, either in front or behind to support the body line. Samba and Jive use the same definition. The term is not used for Rumba and Cha Cha, presumably since the toe turned out nature of many steps means that it is not a useful concept. Also, recall that Counter Promenade Position does not occur in Standard Style Dances, and Promenade Position does occur in Quickstep. So, in summary: Rumba and Cha Cha may refer to: Man: LF fwd and across in CPP, usually occurring with Lady: RF fwd and across in CPP Man: RF fwd and across in PP, usually occurring with Lady: LF fwd and across in PP Jive and Samba may refer to: Man: LF fwd and across in CPP and CBMP, usually occurring with Lady: RF fwd and across in CPP and CBMP. Man: RF fwd and across in PP and CBMP, usually occurring with Lady: LF fwd and across in PP and CBMP. Waltz, Foxtrot and Tango may refer to: Man: RF fwd and across in PP and CBMP, usually occurring with Lady: LF fwd and across in PP and CBMP Quickstep does not use this foot position. There is no foot position of LF back and across or LF back in line, or their mirror images for the right foot. The absence of back and across is presumably because it wouldnt be safe to because neither partner could see where the couple were going. The absence of back in line remains an unsolved mystery.
3.1.2 The slightly directions

The slightly directions are intermediate to those in the previous diagram. The following diagram shows them as dotted lines. To avoid excessive clutter, the drawings of feet at the terminal points have been removed.

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If we remove the LF fwd in line position, the others are intended to be equally spaced at 22 steps, though this is not intended to suggest that we attain that level of accuracy when performing the steps.

LF fwd LF fwd & slightly to side

LF fwd in line

LF diag fwd

LF fwd & slightly across or fwd in CBMP

LF fwd & across LF to side & slightly fwd

LF to side

LF to side & slightly back

LF diag back LF back & slightly to side LF back in CBMP

LF back

3.1.3

Inconsistencies in Naming

Rumba and Cha Cha do not use the term CBMP. Hence where the standard style dances and Samba and Jive refer to LF fwd in CBMP, Rumba and Cha Cha instead use LF fwd and slightly across. Rumba and Cha Cha dont have any figures requiring a corresponding LF back and slightly across, so the diagram only shows LF back in CBMP. The above inconsistencies make sense. The following inconsistency doesnt and is presumably unintentional. The step LF side and slightly to side also appears in some figures as LF side and slightly leftwards. The mirror image step RF side and slightly to side also appears as RF side and slightly

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rightwards and RF side and slightly to right. Similar naming inconsistencies occur for the back and slightly to side moves.
3.1.4 Why do the slightly direction occur?

The slightly steps usually accompany a sudden change of direction while either travelling at speed or while in less than optimum balance, such as when youre on your toes with feet close together. For example, a script may call for RF fwd; LF side slightly fwd as in the Waltz Right Foot Closed Change. This could be interpreted as: Ideally wed like you to make the LF step to the side here, but since youve still got some forward momentum left over from that previous step you have no hope of doing it, so youll probably end up going slightly forward of to the side. If you ignore the slightly fwd instruction and just try to go LF side, I suspect you will achieve the scripted LF side slightly fwd. Similarly, you may encounter a LF side slightly back; RF back with the side step being a short fast step on the toes, followed by the RF step being a long powerful step. This could be interpreted as: The left step would ideally be the side, but youll need to make it slightly backwards to get the momentum started for that long back step. Again, if you ignore the slightly instruction and try to take the left step to the left without thinking too much about it, but while thinking a lot about the fact that your next RF step has to be a long step back, then youll find yourself unconsciously fudging the side step slightly backwards, just as described in the script. 3.2 What if the feet werent initially closed? We started the above section by saying Stand facing North with your feet together. What if your feet werent together? The directions are not given relative to the starting position of the moving foot. Rather, they are given relative to the position of the non-moving foot, or to be more precise, they are relative to the position the moving foot would be in if it was closed to the non-moving foot. As an example, say the last step was RF side leaving your feet as in diagram 1 below, and the next step is LF fwd. Do NOT move your left foot forward from its current position, as shown in diagram 2. Also, do not move your left foot to a position forward of the right foot, as shown in diagram 3. Rather, imagine the position the left foot would be in if closed to the right foot, shown by the dashed foot in diagram 4. Now move your left foot to a position that is forward of that dashed foot. Move it directly to that new location, along the straight solid arrow shown in diagram 4. This is perhaps one of the counter-intuitive aspects of scripting. Relative to its previous position, the left foot is actually moving diagonally forward and across, as shown by the solid arrow in diagram 4, but it is described as moving forward relative to the position that it would be in if closed to the right foot.

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We said above that the left foot should be moved directly to its new position, as shown by the solid arrow in diagram 4. In fact, in terms of style, depending on the dance, it may take a slightly curved path that scoops slightly towards the right foot, as shown by the curved arrow in diagram 4. However, it should not be closed to the Right Foot and then moved forward, as shown by the dotted arrows in diagram 4. If the author had wanted us to do that, the script would have explicitly stated this. For example, it may state LF closes w.o.w. LF fwd. The abbreviation w.o.w. stands for without weight. That is, the left foot closes to the right foot, but we keep all our weight on the right foot, allowing us to step forward on the left foot. An alternative description would be LF fwd after closing to the RF.

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3.3 How does turn effect foot positions? A full description of how to measure turn will come later, (if I ever find time to write it.) This section is going to gloss over the complications of measuring turn, and concentrate on how the presence of turn effects the description of foot position. Stand facing North with your feet together (figure 1). Move your left foot North while turning 90 to the right on the ball of your right foot to face East. Figures 2 to 4 show the process, with figure 4 being the final position. In scripts, the turn would be written as R, meaning turning to your right by a quarter of a full revolution of 360. But how would the foot position be described?

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Diagram 2 shows that at the start of the step your left foot is moving forward. By diagram 3 you are facing North East so your foot is travelling diagonally forward. By diagram 4 you are facing East, so just before your foot stopped moving it was travelling (left) to the side. However, recall that by definition foot position refers to the position of one foot in relation to the other when the foot has arrived in position, so diagram 4 is the relevant diagram for our purpose and this step is described as LF to side, R. The fact that the foot was also travelling forward and diagonally forward at intermediate points of the step is not mentioned. Actually, this glosses over a complication, in that on rare occasions the initial foot motion is mentioned in the script. For example, in the Waltz Outside Spin, the mans 3rd step is LF to side ending LF back. This form of description seems to occur in situations where the dancer has to complete part of the turn before starting to move the moving foot to its new position. In the outside spin described above the man completes most of his turn with the LF held relatively close to the supporting right foot. Partway through the turn he starts moving his Left Foot sideways. It continues to travel along a straight line while he continues to turn another R, so at the end of the turn it ends as LF back. 3.4 Closing the feet together Closing one foot to the other is a common step. The diagrams below show the result of closing the left foot to the right foot. The first diagram below shows the normal outcome when the closing foot closes level with the other foot. The other two cases, closing slightly forward or slightly back, are usually only encountered in tango (or in tango sequence dances). In tango, the man usually encounters RF closes slightly back. The lady usually encounters LF closes slightly forward if in facing position, changing to slightly back if in promenade position.

LF closes

LF closes slightly back

LF closes slightly fwd

Normally a close involves a change of weight. That is, if the last step was LF closes, the next step will be with the right foot. Less often a close may be without weight w.o.w. For example, if the last step was LF closes w.o.w. the next step will be with the left foot.

4 Line of Dance (LOD)

Line of Dance (LOD) can be loosely thought of as the average direction of movement anticlockwise around the floor. Particular moves of the dance may take you off this path, towards the wall or the centre of the room, or perhaps even briefly against the Line of Dance, but smoothing

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out all these brief diversions, on average the clear direction of travel is anticlockwise around the floor. The direction of Line of Dance is different at different points of the floor and also depends on the style of dance. 4.1 Line of dance in sequence dances Sequence dances are performed in circle, which in reality is hardly ever a true circle in the geometric sense. At popular dances, there may be a second circle running inside the first. When this happens, the convention is that faster dancers favour the inner circle. On a very small square dance floor the circle may really be a circle and LOD is the direction anticlockwise around the circle. That is, the direction is continuously updated as you progress.

On very small non-square rectangular floors the circle may be an ellipse. However, on any reasonable size floor, the circle tends to be a rectangle with rounded corners as shown below. This is the solution which wastes as little floor space as possible, thus fitting as many couples in the circle as possible.

At any point on this circle the Line of Dance is still the direction clockwise around the circle. That is, while travelling along the straight sections of the circle, line of dance stays constant and is

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parallel to the edge of the floor, but while travelling around the curve at a corner, line of dance gradually rotates 90 to the left. 4.2 Line of dance in standard style While line of dance is still around the room in the anticlockwise direction, the Line of Dance is now a rectangle. That is dancers are not supposed to fudge their way around the corner by gradually curving their path as they approach it. Rather they are expected to dance to the corner and then employ one of the moves which can legally be made at a corner to cause a sudden right-angle bend and come out of the corner on the new LOD as shown below.

This scenario describes normal social dancing. However, if you are doing a dance lesson where all couples are dancing the same routine at the same time, then youre effectively sequence dancing and you should revert to the previous diagram with the rounded corners. Nothing in the above explanations should be read as implying that the dancers may never move off the line shown in one of the above two diagrams. There are a few sequence dances which do only involve movement along this line, mostly forwards but sometimes backwards. However, most of dances also involve movements towards the wall or centre of the room and along diagonal paths. LOD is a concept which gives us a reference point against which to measure these other directions. Thus, wherever you are on the floor and no matter what direction you are moving, you always need to be able to identify where LOD would be for your current position. The following diagram shows an alleged path danced by a couple, with arrows indicating the direction of LOD for various points on this path.

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4.2.1

At what point near the corner does LOD change?

This is a common question amongst beginners. When Im getting close to the corner, how do I know when to switch to the new LOD? The real answer is complex, since the decision is often based on the surrounding traffic as well as what options for cornering your current orientation and the figure you are performing provide. While this is a true statement, it doesnt provide much help to the beginner who is trying to figure out what the Line of Dance looks like near the corner and who probably hasnt yet encountered the traffic issues that occur at social dances and who has a very limited choice of figures for turning a corner. So heres an answer specifically for beginners, which is not the whole truth Draw a line coming out of each corner of the dance floor at 45 to the edges of the floor. Unless the floor is exactly square, the four lines dont meet at a single point, but instead there are two pairs of meeting lines. Join the two points of intersection. This gives the following diagram.

The lines split the floor into 4 zones. Your Line of Dance should change whenever you change zones. As the following diagram shows, if you walk exactly in the direction of line of dance, you always maintain the same distance from your nearest wall and end up back where you started.

4.3 Line of dance in progressive Latin American dances Unlike dances in the standard style, Samba, a progressive Latin American dances does not have any moves specifically designed for a 90 corner. Hence the LOD in Samba gradually curves around the corners as for sequence dances.

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4.3.1

Unsolved mystery

Paso Doble is seldom seen at social dances in Australia. Can anyone familiar with it advise whether it has corner moves like Standard Style Dances or whether LOD gradually curves around the corner as in Samba? 4.4 No line of dance in spot Latin American dances Spot Latin American dances by definition can wander all around the floor at random. Thus the concept of LOD does not apply to Jive, Rumba and Cha Cha. However, we will need to modify this comment later in the context of study alignments. 4.5 Non-rectangular floors Yes; they do occur. You certainly wont see them at championships, but if you frequent the cheaper end of the social dances youll find dance floors squeezed into unusual architecture. Youll just have to warp your concept of LOD as best you can to deal with things like: Hexagonal school halls. A formerly rectangular room which has had a square lockup storage area carved out a corner leaving an L-shaped dancing floor. A rectangular floor with ceiling-supporting pillar blocking the logical LOD. A floor with a concave curved side built up against a rotating circular dining area. Ive personally encountered the first three examples above. Im not sure whether the fourth is an urban dance myth. Several dancers report having heard of such a floor, sometimes described as in the Blue Mountains area West of Sydney, but no one seems to know the precise venue.

5 Alignments & Directions

5.1 Alignment vs direction whats the difference? In dance scripting the terms alignment and direction have precise and quite different meanings. However, there is significant confusion on this issue and some dancers use the terms alignment and direction interchangeably. Its difficult to explain the difference between alignment and direction without also using the word direction in its normal non-dancing sense, but Ill try. Alignment refers to the orientation in which you are facing. (Later, we need to deal with the complication of which body part is used to define the orientation you are facing.) Direction refers to the orientation in which you are moving. For example, stand at attention facing North. Step your left foot out sideways, towards the West, then close your right foot to it. Repeat until collision with an immovable object seems imminent. Throughout this process your alignment was North and your direction was West. That is, you were moving West while facing North. 5.2 The 8 labelled orientations Of course, in dance terminology we dont actually describe alignment and direction by compass points. Instead, alignment and direction are measured relative to the Line of Dance, which is different at different points on the floor. The same set of labels can be used to describe both alignment and direction. Dance scripts employ the 8 equally spaced orientations shown below.
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LOD: Line of Dance DC: Diagonal to Centre DW: Diagonal to Wall

C: Centre

W: Wall

DCA: Diagonal to Centre Against line of dance

ALOD: Against Line of Dance

DWA: Diagonal to Wall Against line of dance

DCA and DWA are also often written as DCALOD and DWALOD, but the point of a good acronym is that it should be comfortably short, and DCA and DWA are not ambiguous. Another oddity is that when these orientation labels are being used to describe directions rather than alignments: LOD usually becomes down LOD or along LOD, and Wall and Centre usually become to Wall and to Centre. The other 5 labels are not altered. On the dance floor, all alignments are located relative to Line of Dance. For example, in the following two diagrams the red arrows point to Wall and the blue arrow point to Centre. The first diagram is for the scenario where the Line of Dance curves around the corners, as in sequence dances and Samba.

The second diagram is for the scenario where right-angled corners occur, as in the Standard style dances.

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Notice that the alignments Wall and Centre are always perpendicular to LOD. For example, Centre means 90 left of LOD and this alignment does not usually point directly at the physical centre of the floor. (Recreational mathematicians should now try to identify all positions where a line drawn toward Centre does pass through the centre of the floor.) With respect to the diagram above showing the 8 orientations, it seems to be the convention to always draw the diagram with LOD pointing up on the page. This is only a convention, just as it is only a convention that North is up on a map. The important point to grasp is not where LOD is drawn on the page, but rather where the other alignments are relative to LOD. In practice, you need to be able to rotate this whole diagram in your head and place it correctly at any point on the dance floor, remembering that it has to be oriented differently at different points on the floor. Usually these 8 orientations provide sufficient resolution to describe all the alignments and directions occurring in a dance. If a finer resolution is required, it can be specified as being between 2 of these orientations. For example, The Ballroom Technique indicates that in Tango, step 1 of the open finish has an alignment between wall and DW for the man. Alternatively an almost orientation may be used. For example, the Foxtrot Natural Weave includes the alignment almost DC. The Waltz Closed Telemark contains another example. 5.3 Facing and Backing 8 alignments become 16 This terminology appears to be unnecessary, adding an extra level of complexity to dance scripts for no apparent gain in clarity. Unfortunately it is traditional and were stuck with it. This terminology applies only to alignments, not to directions.
5.3.1 Facing and backing What do they mean?

The alignment at the end of a step which had any forward component (e.g. fwd, diagonally fwd, side and slightly fwd) is stated as the keyword facing followed by the alignment you are facing. The alignment at the end of a step which had any backward component (e.g. back, diagonally back, side and slightly back) is stated as the keyword backing followed by the alignment you are backing, which is opposite to the way you are facing. For example, say you are facing LOD. If you just completed the step LF side and slightly fwd your alignment would be stated as facing LOD.

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 If you just completed the step LF side and slightly back your alignment would be stated as backing against LOD. This means that our set of 8 orientations generate 16 possible alignments. They can be thought of as 8 pairs, where you are facing the same way for the items in a pair. Facing LOD. Backing ALOD. Facing DC. Backing DWA. Facing DW. Backing DCA.

Facing C. Backing W.

Facing W. Backing C.

Facing DCA. Backing DW. Facing ALOD. Backing LOD.

Facing DWA. Backing DC.

The labels above employ abbreviations so they fit on the diagram. Here is the same data in unabbreviated form, listing the alignments clockwise from the top of the above diagram. If you have moved forward: Facing Line of Dance Facing Diagonal to Wall Facing Wall Facing Diagonal to Wall Against line of dance Facing Against Line Of Dance Facing Diagonal to Centre Against line of dance Facing Centre Facing Diagonal to Centre If you have moved backward: Backing Against Line Of Dance Backing Diag. to Centre Against line of dance Backing Centre Backing Diagonal to Centre Backing Line Of Dance Backing Diagonal to Wall Backing Wall Backing Diagonal to Wall Against line of dance

5.3.2

What happens for sideways steps?

Either facing or backing may be used when the last step was taken sideways. I havent found any clear statement of how to choose between the two options, but heres what the practice seems to be. The authors of The Ballroom Technique seem to choose so as to avoid having to use any of the three against alignments, ALOD, DWA and DCA. I cant pick any pattern as to how they decide which to use when the choice is between Wall and Centre. The ISTD Samba book seems to most often use whichever term was used on the preceding step, if any. The other Latin American books seem to usually choose the facing option. But in both these cases there are exceptions that do not conform to these patterns.
5.3.3 What happens for the initial alignment of a figure?

We said that when describing the alignment at the end of a step we choose between facing and backing based on whether that step had a forward or backward component. So what do we do

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when describing the starting position for a figure, (or of a sequence dance)? There is no just completed step to refer back to when describing the starting position. In The Ballroom Technique this issue is rare, because in the Standard Style dances there is hardly ever any turn on the first step of a figure. This means the initial alignment is the same as the alignment at the end of the first step and so the charts dont bother stating the initial alignment. I could only find one figure where turn occurs on the first step. That is the Waltz Reverse Pivot, where the figure only has one step. There the initial alignment seems to have been chosen based on whether the sole step is forward or backward. The ISTD Latin American books also only state the initial alignment when there is turn on the first step, but this is a far more common occurrence in Latin American dances. Usually this alignment is given in facing form, though there are occasional exceptions that use the backing form. I havent managed to pick any pattern for the exceptions. 5.4 Decoding the script Is it an alignment or a direction? We noted above that the 8 orientation labels can be used to describe both alignments and directions. If you are reading a script and encounter one of these orientation labels, how do you know whether it is referring to an alignment or a direction? We can tell by the use of the four keywords: facing, backing, pointing or moving. Alignments are preceded by facing, backing or pointing. Directions are preceded by moving or by no keyword. The following description is oversimplified in places and Ill have to correct bits of this later. Some examples: Moving LOD and LOD without any qualifier indicate directions. Facing LOD, backing LOD and pointing LOD indicate alignments. Facing and backing are used when the feet and body are facing the same way. Pointing is used when the foot is being placed to point a different orientation to the body. Pointing describes the alignment of the foot and may be combined with further information about the alignment of the body. For example the Waltz Weave from Promenade Position includes Pointing to Centre, Body facing DC. That is, the foot just placed faces centre, while the shoulders face DC. Sometimes, where it aids clarify, a step may indicate both alignment and direction. For example, the waltz chasses from Promenade Position has facing DW (moving LOD). The mans feet face Diagonal to Wall while his direction of travel is along LOD.
5.4.1 How NOT to decode alignments and directions

Do NOT rely on the headings in the ISTD theory books. In The Ballroom Technique, the Tango figures include a column labelled Alignment or Direction while for Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep the corresponding column is labelled Alignment. Since theyve gone to the trouble of using different headings, it would be perfectly logical to assume that the Alignment column in Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep only ever contain Alignments, not Directions. Perfectly logical. And wrong. The Alignment columns can contain Directions. Admittedly that are far less common than in Tango, so its the high frequency or Directions in the Tango descriptions that caused the change in the heading for that dance, but it isnt difficult to find Directions in the

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Alignment column for the other dances. Similar comments apply to the Alignment column for Samba. Some examples: Waltz: Chasses from PP step 1 Foxtrot: Change of Direction. Mans step 2. Quickstep: Natural Pivot Turn. Mans step 4. Samba: Stationary Samba Walks, steps 2 and 5. (Similar issues will arise later for Study Alignments in Jive, Rumba and Cha Cha, which can also be Directions rather than Alignments.) 5.5 Dance dependent concepts and tango warning For most of the remaining concepts in this section, the answer varies by dance. Tango is a minefield with its own set of peculiarities. At this stage I dont understand it well enough to attempt including it in the remaining sections. 5.6
5.6.1

What body part determines alignment?

Summary

Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Samba Jive: The feet. If the two feet are pointing different directions to each other, use the foot that took the step just completed. Rumba and Cha Cha: Arguable. Maybe the shoulders. Maybe alignment is undefined.
5.6.2 Source Quotes

For Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep: The Ballroom Technique states the alignment is The position of the feet in relation to the room. It doesnt clearly state what happens when the two feet point different ways, but the above is my understanding based on how the term in used in the charts. The ISTD Samba and Jives books state: Alignment in this dance refers to the position of the foot in relation to the room. The ISTD Rumba and Cha Cha books state: the terms facing and backing are used, referring to the position of the body in relation to the room.
5.6.3 Discussion

This bit is irritating. At the point in the discussion where the Samba and Jive books define the term alignment, the Rumba and Cha Cha books go out of their way to avoid defining that term. Instead they explain where they use facing and backing, which in only these two dances are based on body alignment rather than foot alignment, which hints that alignment is measured by the body. But then they explain pointing as referring to the alignment of the foot and give a diagram of alignments with feet draw on it. Arggh! By failing to give a clear definition they have created the scenario where there are two conflicting justifiable interpretations, and dance teachers disagree on which is right. The two interpretations are: 1. Alignments are always referring to feet, unless specifically stated otherwise for a particular step in a script. But alignment usually isnt a useful term in Rumba and Cha Cha, so in those dances we define the terms facing and backing as describing the orientation of the body rather than the alignment of the feet.
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2.

Unlike other dances, in Rumba and Cha Cha, alignment refers to the orientation of the body. Except when the term pointing arises, when we are again talking about the orientation of the feet.

This is essentially an issue of semantics. The two interpretations do read the scripts in a consistent manner. They are only disagreeing on what the word alignment means in these two dances, if anything. Currently I find the first interpretation more serviceable, but I have to admit to having flip-flopped on this issue several times.
5.6.4 In relation to the room?

All the definitions quoted above refer to the position of the foot or body in relation to the room. It would be more correct to say in relation to the Line of Dance.
5.6.5 Body? Shoulders?

When we talk of the alignment of the body, we usually mean the upper body. Its usually clearest to think of this as the orientation of the shoulders. If we are dancing properly, it is the orientation of the mans shoulders that drives the ladys orientation.
5.6.6 Why base alignment on the feet (in most dances)?

So why do we specify alignment primarily by the feet rather by the shoulders? Here are two plausible suggestions. 1. Foot alignment controls direction of movement When dancing, the direction you travel is primarily controlled by the alignment of your feet, not the alignment of your body. Hence the first priority must always be to get the alignment of your feet right, and so scripts measure alignment by the feet. If your feet are correctly aligned but your body is wrong, your style may look poor but at least youre likely to be travelling in the right direction. If the alignment of your body is correct but your feet are wrong, you tend to travel in the wrong direction. This argument fails for Rumba and Cha Cha, where there is considerable turn out of the foot on, backward steps, side steps and checked forward step. Hence we take a different approach to alignments and direction in those dances. 2. Body alignment is imprecise While we can usually be precise about foot alignment, sometimes we can only make qualitative rather than quantitative descriptions about the body alignment. Hence body alignment isnt precise enough to be the basis of scripting. This is most obvious in Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep where we frequently encounter CBM, a term that isnt used in Latin American dances. Consider for example the 3rd step of the Feather Step in Foxtrot, moving along LOD. This step is right foot forward with Contrary Body Movement (CBM) meaning that the opposite (left) side of the body is leading. That is, while your feet are pointing along LOD, and you are stepping forward with your right foot along the LOD, your body (measured at chest and shoulders) is pointing to the right of LOD. But how much to the right? For many dancers the answer is: Further than youre currently doing, so you should spend some time stretching to improve your flexibility. Seriously. A lot of us cannot use too much CBM because we arent that flexible. Different dancers have different flexibility and so they attain different levels of CBM. So dance scripts
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often dont specify precisely where the body should point. They just use terms like CBM or LSL (Left Side Leading) to indicate to which side of the foot alignment the body should be pointing and thus leave it to the judgement and flexibility of the dancers to determine how much the foot and body alignments differ. If the body alignment can vary between couples depending on their flexibility, they arent a sensible choice for denoting alignment in scripts. Again, this argument fails for Rumba and Cha Cha. There, when the foot is turned out, the amount of foot turn is described in the ISTD books as approximately 1/16 to 1/8, depending on the dancers own physique. That is, in these two dances it is the body alignment which is clearly defined and it is the foot alignment which varies by dancer. Hence in Rumba and Cha Cha it makes sense to script the body alignment rather than the foot alignment. 5.7 Real and arbitrary alignments and directions study alignments The Standard Style Dances and Samba (and Paso Doble) progress around the room so Line of Dance is a real concept, as are the other 7 orientation labels (Diagonal to Wall, Wall, etc.) derived from it. Spot Latin American dances do not progress around the room, so theoretically there is no Line of Dance. However, dancers are used to using these 8 orientation labels and they continue to do so when describing spot Latin American dances. In these dances a figure may legally started in any of the 8 possible alignments. When describing a particular figure a script book may arbitrarily choose 1 of the 8 possible initial alignments and then describe the remaining steps in the figure based on that arbitrary choice. The other 7 possible initial choices would give equally valid descriptions of the figure. In the ISTD Jive, Rumba and Cha Cha books, these descriptions based on an arbitrarily selected initial alignment are called Study Alignments. Do not be mislead by this title. The entries in the Study Alignments may be Directions rather than Alignments. You need to use the surrounding keywords to determine whether the Study Alignment is an Alignment or a Direction. As described previously, Facing, Backing and Pointing imply an Alignment, while Moving or an absence of any keyword imply Directions. 5.8
5.8.1

When to use a direction instead of an alignment When to use moving

The general answer

Previously we considered the situation where you are reading a script and need to determine whether an orientation is an alignment or a direction. But if you are writing a script, how do you decide whether to give an alignment or direction or both? The authors of the ISTD books use directions in two scenarios. Scenario 1: When a step is take with toe turned in or toe turned out. Toe turned in tends to occur on pivot turns in Standard Style dances while toe turned out may occur on forward and backward steps in Latin American dances. When this occurs it is usually difficult to precisely define the amount of turn in or turn out that occurs. If we cannot accurately say where the toe is pointing, we cannot accurately say what the alignment of the foot is. Hence we give direction instead of an alignment. In this scenario there is no keyword preceding the direction. That is, the word moving does not appear. Thus in this scenario, directions are identified by the absence of the keywords facing, backing and pointing. Scenario 2: When the direction is oblique to the foot alignment.

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In this scenario we are not talking about the normal step to the side, where the direction differs from alignment by 90. We are usually referring to the situation where the direction is diagonal to the foot alignment. This scenario usually involves Promenade Position (PP), Counter Promenade Position (CPP), open PP or open CPP, and most often arises when steps are taken forward and across. In this scenario the script will state both alignment and direction. To improve clarity, the direction is preceded by the keyword moving. (It can be argued that clarity would be further improved if this keyword were also used in scenario 1.) We now briefly examine how these concepts apply in each dance.
5.8.2 Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep

Scenario 1 In these dances, this scenario occurs as toe turned in, usually at the start of a pivot turn. I could not locate any toe turned out cases. Sometimes when a direction is given in one part due to the toe being turned in, the part for the other sex will also give a direction rather than an alignment, even if that other part does not involve a toe turned in. Some examples: Waltz Natural Spin Turn. Mans step 4. Down LOD toe turned in. Waltz Reverse Pivot. Mans step 1: DC toe turned in. The corresponding ladys step is given as a direction, though it is not taken toe turned in. Waltz Outside Spin. Mans step 1. DC against LOD toe turned in. Waltz Fallaway Reverse and Slip Pivot. Mans step 4. To Centre, toe turned in. Again, the corresponding ladys step is also given a direction, though it is not taken toe turned in. Scenario 2 It was noted this scenario usually arises in PP, CPP, Open PP or Open CPP. Of these positions, only PP arises in Waltz and Foxtrot, and none occur in Quickstep. (The keyword moving is never used in Quickstep.) Here are some examples using PP. Most examples of this scenario involve steps that are forward and across, and the first two examples are of this type. For variety, the third example is different. Waltz Chasses from Promenade Position. Mans step 1: Facing DW (Moving along LOD) Ladys step 1: Facing DC (Moving along LOD) These are both forward and across steps. In fact, all steps of this figure have this direction, but the direction isnt repeated for each step. Waltz Open Telemark and Cross Hesitation. Ladys step 4 is Pointing to LOD (Moving DW). Waltz Contra Check: Mans Step 3. LF to side in PP. Facing DW (Moving along LOD) Ladys Step 1: RF to side in PP. Facing DC (Moving along LOD) Exception The following example does not seem to fit either of the above scenarios. Waltz, Turning Lock to Right, Man and Ladys Step 1. Alignments would seem to suffice here, but directions are given instead.
5.8.3 Samba & Jive

Scenario 1

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The ISTD Samba and Jive books states Direction is given when toe is turned out on a forward or backward step. In Samba, this includes cases where the foot movement is a replace weight step where the foot that weight is being replaced to is forward or back with toe turned out. Since comparatively few forward and back steps in Samba and Jive use toe turned out, directions are relatively rare in these dances. Samba Examples: Samba Walks, Steps 2 and 3 for man and lady. Against LOD. Stationary Samba Walks, Steps 2 and 5 for man and lady. To centre and To wall. (Travelling Bota Fogas Back Mans step 10 may be an oversight. A direction is given, but the step does not include toe turned out, so an alignment should have been given.) Jive Examples: Stop and Go: Mans step 6: Down LOD Chicken Walks: All ladys steps: Against LOD throughout. (The ISTD Jive book is somewhat unclear on this point, but this figure is very much a toe turned out figure for the lady.) If a step is take to a direction other than forward or back with toe turned out, an alignment is given. For example, see Side Samba Walk step 2 which is to side and slightly back with toe turned out, and an alignment is given. Scenario 2 The ISTD Samba and Jive books also state: On a step in Promenade or Counter Promenade Position the direction of the step and the alignment of the foot will often differ, therefore both [alignment and direction] are given. In Samba, this may also occur in Open PP and Open CPP rather than just in PP and CPP as stated. Samba Examples: Boto Fogos to Promenade and Counter Promenade Position. Mans Step 4. Moving along LOD, facing DW. See also step 7 and the corresponding ladys steps. These are all forward and across steps. Promenade and Counterpromenade Runs. Mans step 8. LF to side in Open PP. Moving along LOD, facing DW. Jive Examples: Walks: Mans steps 2-8: Moving along LOD, facing DW. Toe, Heel Swivels: Mans and Ladys steps 5 and 8. Stalking Walks, Flicks and Break: Several occurrences in both parts.
5.8.4 Rumba and Cha Cha

Scenario 1 The ISTD Rumba and Cha Cha books state: Direction is given on forward and backward steps. Compare this to Samba and Jive, where this was only done on forward and backward steps when the toe is turned out. These were relatively rare in Samba and Jive, but in Rumba and Cha Cha most forward and backward steps involve the toe being turned out, so rather than singling out the few exceptions for special treatment, it is more efficient to simply use direction on all forward and backward steps.

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While it is not clearly stated, direction is also given on steps which are forward and slightly to side, back and slightly to side, and the relatively rare diagonally forward and diagonally back steps. For examples of the last two, see the continuous hip twist in Rumba or the Fan Development in Rumba or Cha Cha. Scenario 2 Where the preliminary material in the ISTD Jive and Samba books give a clear explanation of scenario 2, the corresponding sections in the Rumba and Cha Cha books omit that explanation, which suggests this scenario does not occur in these dances. Actually, it does occur, though rarely. The only normal example seems to be: Rumba: Fencing. Mans step 3 and 4: Moving along LOD, facing DW. Ladys step 4: Moving along LOD, facing DC. Recall that for Rumba facing refers to body alignment rather than foot alignment. A similar situation arises in Cha Cha, Cuban Breaks, Mans and Ladys Steps 1 and 2. Curiously only the direction is given, rather than direction and alignment. 5.9
5.9.1

When to use facing, backing and pointing

Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep

The Ballroom Technique states: Use facing and backing when the body and feet are in line, and Pointing when the foot is in a different alignment to the body. Looking at the figures defined, this isnt the full story. Several figures involve steps with CBM Contrary (or Contra) Body Movement which means the side of the body opposite the moving foot leads. When this happens the feet and body are different alignment, yet the terms facing and backing are still used. CBM usually occurs when the body is commencing a turn before the feet start turning, and the feet will eventually catch up. By contrast, the term pointing seems to be only used when the foot being placed is turning before the body turns, and the body will eventually catch up. For example, see the Waltz Natural Turn, mans steps 4 and 5. Step 4 involves CBM, the body starting the turn while the foot steps straight, and the term backing is used. But on step 5 the foot turn overtakes the body turn, and the foot is placed facing the orientation that the body eventually reaches on step 6, so step 5 uses pointing DC.
5.9.2 Jive and Samba

The term pointing is used on a step where the body has made less or more turn that the feet. While it isnt specifically stated, presumably this means facing and backing are used when the body and feet have made the same amount of turn. That is, this is effectively equivalent to the treatment of Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep. (The CBM complication doesnt arise here since CBM is not defined for Latin American dances.)
5.9.3 Rumba and Cha Cha

On side steps and closing steps the terms facing and backing are used, referring to the position of the body in relation to the room. Occasionally the term pointing is used, this refers to the alignment of the foot to illustrate certain positions where the body has turned less than the foot. The use of the pointing is consistent with the other dances. Note however that facing and backing are defined as referring to body alignment, rather than foot alignment as used in the other dances.
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6 References
Boyd (1994) The Ballroom Technique ISTD Latin American ISTD Cha Cha Cha ISTD Jive ISTD Rumba ISTD Samba Boyd, Neville. New Vogue Sequence Dancing & the Viennese Waltz 1994. ISBN 0 9591272 6 7 Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. The Ballroom Technique 10th Edition 1982. No ISBN. Collective reference to the next 4 items. Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Latin American Cha Cha Cha 6th Edition. 1999. No ISBN Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Latin American Jive 6th Edition. 2000. No ISBN Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Latin American Rumba 6th Edition. 1998. No ISBN Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Latin American Samba 6th Edition. 2000. No ISBN

7 History
Prehistory Version 1.0 Version 1.1 Version 1.2 Version 1.3 13 April 2004 1 May 2004 14 Feb 2005 28 April 2005 Some of the information in this document first existed as a series of web pages, developed over 2002 and 2003. Initial Release Corrected typographical errors in 2.3.1 Updated source URL for this document. Numerous minor wording improvements. Some lengthy discussions of Boyd (1994) removed and will be moved to a separate document. Major clarification of alignment vs direction. Major changes to description of the slightly directions. Version 2.0 13 Aug 2006 Significant additions to discussion of CBM and CBMP Major revision. This document now only deals with the dance scripting system officially in use. All the discussion exploring possible alternative scripting techniques has been removed, but may yet reappear in a separate document. Fixed incorrect mention of Argentine Tango in section 2.1. Added material concerning where LOD changes at a corner. Number minor wording clarifications.

Version 2.1

4 Feb 2007

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