In ballroom dancing (and in some other types of partner dance), directions of progressive movement, in particular directions of steps, can be indicated either in relation to the room or in relation to the body position. Directions of turns, although there are only two of them, may also be indicated in several ways.
Dancers can align their bodies and move in any of the following directions:
- line of dance (LOD)
- against Line of dance (ALOD)
- center (C)
- wall (W)
- diagonal center (DC)
- diagonal wall (DW)
- diagonal center against LOD (DC-ALOD)
- diagonal wall against LOD (DW-ALOD)
These directions may be taken either facing if the dancer’s feet are pointing in the direction of the movement, or backing if the dancer’s feet are oriented in the opposite direction and the dancer is moving backwards with respect to their body. For example, “backing DC against LOD” means that a dancer is moving diagonally to the center against the line of dance, but as they are dancing backwards, the feet (and, roughly, the body) are pointing diagonally to the wall.
The term pointing refers explicitly to the direction the feet are pointing, which is useful if they are not, or not yet, aligned with the orientation of the body. For example, a dancer can be pointing DW while facing the wall.
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