Glossary

Aerial	Alternative name for airstep.
Airstep	Dance move that involves one of the dancers leaving the ground, possibly being lifted or thrown by their partner.
Apache	Alternative name for the Texas Tommy.
Armbreaker	Alternative name for the Texas Tommy.
Back Beat	Musical accent on the even beats in a bar (2, 4), commonly accented in most forms of popular music.
Balboa	Swing dance form with the partners in close hold, using a shuffling step. Usually danced to fast music.
Basket	Dance position where the follower is at the leader's right hand side, both facing in the same direction. The leader's left hand holds the follower's right hand in front of them, and his right arm is across her back to hold her left hand at her right hip.
Boogie-Woogie	Swing dance form popular in Europe, mostly involving six-beat moves danced to fast jive music. The dance differs from Lindy Hop in that there are few rock-steps, and the dance is often performed on a slot.
Carolina Shag	Swing dance form with similarities to West Coast Swing. Carolina Shag is typically danced to faster music than West Coast Swing, and concentrates more on six-beat patterns.
Ceroc^®	The original organization that introduced Modern Jive to the UK. Occasionally used casually as the name of the dance itself, but generally avoided since the term is a registered trademark.
Charleston	Early dance form that influenced the development of the Lindy Hop. Danced independently or with a partner, the dance is based around a swivelling, twisting step movement.
Close Hold	Closed dance position with the dancers close together and facing each other.
Closed Position	Dance position where the leader's right arm holds around the follower's back, and her left hand is on the leader's right shoulder.
Collegiate Shag	Swing dance form with hopping, shuffling steps, usually with the dancers in close hold.
Cross Arm	Movement from open to closed position, starting with the leader's right hand holding the follower's right hand. The leader pulls the follower in to his right hand side while turning his hand clockwise. The follower ends at the leader's right hand side, facing in the same direction as him, with the leader's right arm across her back to hold her right hand at her right hip.
Cuddle	Alternative name for Wrap.
Dean Collins Style	Alternative name for Hollywood Style Lindy Hop, since the dance style was created by Hollywood choreographer Dean Collins.
Downbeat	Musical accent on the odd beats in a bar (1, 3); emphasizing the downbeat is now less common in popular music.
East Coast Swing	Swing dance form derived from Lindy Hop that mostly relies on six-beat moves. Similar to Jive. Abbreviated as ECS.
Fallaway	Alternative name for Side position (commonly used in ballroom dancing).
French-Style Jive	Alternative name for Modern Jive.
Hollywood Style	A dialect of Lindy Hop with a different style that typically involves more tension in the arm connection between the dancers and a more upright position. Sometimes known as Dean Collins style.
Jitterbug	Alternative name for the Lindy Hop, although sometimes this term indicates a slight variant of the Lindy Hop that is more bouncy and concentrates more on six-beat moves.
Jive	General name for swing dance forms that are derived from Lindy Hop but which consist mostly of six-beat moves. Similar to East Coast Swing.
Kick Step	Two-beat unit where the dancer performs a kick on the first beat, and then transfers their weight onto the kicking foot on the second step.
Lead	The action of the leader that indicates what the follower should do. Most leads are performed using the hands, but other parts of the body can be used to lead in closed position.
Lift	A move where the follower leaves the ground, with the leader providing additional impetus. Here we use "lift" for moves where the follower jumps up in place, and "airstep" for more complicated (and dangerous) moves where the follower travels when she is in the air.
Modern Jive	Simplified swing dance form popular in the UK.
Open Position	Dance position with the dancers standing opposite and facing each other, with their hands as the only contact between the two.
Promenade Position	Alternative name for the side position.
Pronate	Turn the hand so that the back of the hand is uppermost, and the palm faces downward.
Triple Step	Two-beat unit where the dancer transfers their weight three times. The first step falls on the first beat, the second step falls between the two beats (on the &), and the third step falls on the third beat.
Turn	Rotation of a dancer while still maintaining contact with their partner's hand.
Savoy Style	Name for the original style of Lindy Hop, used to distinguish it from Hollywood style.
St. Louis Shag	Swing dance form based around a kicking sequence that includes a stomp, performed with the partners in side position.
Shag	Name for a variety of swing dances, not all of which are directly related to each other. See Collegiate Shag, St. Louis Shag and Carolina Shag.
Side Position	Dance position with the follower at the leader's right hand side, both facing in the same direction.
Signal	Indication from the leader of what move is about to be performed. A signal differs from a lead because the follower needs to know what the signal signifies, whereas a lead actually moves the follower in the required direction.
Slot	A notional line on the dance floor along which the follower travels. Because the follower stays entirely within a constrained area of the dance floor, this allows more dancers to be packed into a crowded dance floor, provided that all of the slots are aligned. Used in West Coast Swing.
Spanish Arms	Alternative name for the Wrap Lindy Turn.
Spin	Rotation of a dancer with no hand contact with their partner.
Spotter	Assistant for learning and practising airsteps, who helps support the dancer off the ground.
Stroll	An dance where dancers each dance individually but in sync, each performing the same pre-arranged choreographed sequence of steps.
Sweetheart	Dance position where the dancers are in Side Position and the leader holds both of the follower's hands in his. His right arm is stretched across her shoulders to hold her right hand just above her right shoulder; his left hand holds her left hand in front of her left hip.
West Coast Swing	Swing dance form involving both six and eight-beat moves, performed with the follower on a slot. Danced to slower music than Lindy Hop, with complicated footwork variations being common. Abbreviated as WCS.
Whip	Name of a move in West Coast Swing that is equivalent to the Lindy Turn. Also the name of a variant of West Coast Swing danced in Texas, USA.
Wrap	Dance position where the dancers are in Side Position and the leader holds both of the follower's hands in his. His right arm stretches across her back to hold her left hand at her right hip; his left hand holds her right hand out in front of the pair of them.