DanceSport Dictionary

Alphabetical Dance Terms List:

Accent - an emphasis placed on one or more elements of music and/or dance

Action - Reaction - the action of the male leader in partnership dancing (dance couple) is felt and reacted to by the female follower. Action/ Reaction also takes place if the follower does an unexpected syncopation which takes more time than expected.

BPM (Beats Per Minute) - tempo of the music, how fast is the music?

Brush - a brushing of the ball of the Free Foot against the floor

Clockwise Turn (Right Turn) - turn in the direction of your right shoulder

Connection - In couples dancing, the feeling of resistance between partners that makes action and reaction a possibility

Counterclockwise Turn (Left Turn) - turn in the direction of your left shoulder

Dancercise - Energetic dancing done for the purpose of aerobic exercise

Frame - is the connection between dancers that allows information from the Leader ("L") to be transferred to the Follower ("F") - Man/Woman or Leader/Follower

Free Foot - this is the unweighted foot, the foot with no weight applied

Kick - a fast movement of the Free Foot

Lead and Follow - resistance between partners which will be either active resistance or passive resistance, the leader do not use force

Social Dancer - a person who participates in a social gathering arranged for dancing (as a tea dance, where socializing is the primary focus of the dancing)

Shadow Position - dance position where both man and lady face the same direction, with one partner directly in front of the other or slightly offset

Step Pattern - is a rhythm pattern with direction indicated

Triple Step - a series of three consecutive steps, usually syncopated within two beats of music

Underarm Turn - any turn which takes place under joined hands

Variation - a modified version of a common step pattern

Walkaround Turn - the American name for the International Latin Spot Turn

Visit danceway.com Forum Now!         Dance topics and much more...



Some IDSF members are national DanceSport associations:

ADF - Austrian DanceSport Federation, Austria (Europe)

AABD - Asociación Argentina de Baile Deportivo

DanceSport BC - British Columbia Amateur Dancesport Association (in Canada)

DSAA - Dance Sport Association of the Azerbaijan Republic, NOC recogn.

BDF - Belgian Dancesport Federation, NOC recogn.

BDF - Belgian Dancesport Federation, NOC recogn.

CADA - Canadian Amateur Dancesport Association, NOC recogn.

CDF - Chinese DanceSport Federation, NOC recogn.

CDTA - The Canadian Dance Teachers Association

DS - Dansk Sportdanserforbund - Denmark (Europe)

EADA - English Amateur Dancesport Association

EDSA - Estonian Dance Sport Association, NOC recogn.

FDSA - Finnish Dance Sport Assosiation, NOC recogn.

FFD - Fédération Francaisse de Danse, France (Europe), NOC recogn.

HKDSA - Hong Kong DanceSport Association, NOC recogn.

HDA - Hungarian Dancesport Association

FIDS - Federazione Italiana Danza Sportiva, NOC recogn.

JDSF - Japan DanceSport Federation, NOC recogn.

IDSF - The International Dance Sport Federation

IOC - The International Olympic Committee

RDSF - Romanian DanceSport Federation, NOC recogn.

DSFR - Dancesport Federation of Russia, NOC recogn.

SGDF - Singapore DanceSport Federation, NOC recogn.

SDSF - Slovak Dance Sport Federation, NOC recogn.

TDSA - Thailand Dance Sport Association, NOC recogn.

USAD - USA Dance, U.S.A.(America), NOC recogn.

UDSA - The Uganda Dance Sport Association, NOC recogn.

UUDSO - the Ukrainian Union of Dance Sport Organizations

UIFSDD - Uzbek International Federation Sport Dance Department, NOC recogn.

VDSA - Vietnam DanceSport Association, NOC recogn.

PZS - Slovene Dancesport Federation

IOC - The International Olympic Committee

WDDSC - The World Dance and Dance Sport Council

Whisk - A figure or pattern involving the crossing of one foot behind the other.

Window - A position of the arms formed by two partners with connected hands, which forms the shape of a window.

YUDSF - Yugoslav Dance Sport Federation, NOC recogn.

Zig Zag - A figure or pattern involving sharp or angular changes of direction.