Glossary of partner dance terms

This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those.

This glossary lists terms used in various types of ballroom partner dances, leaving out terms of highly evolved or specialized dance forms, such as ballet, tap dancing, and square dancing, which have their own elaborate terminology. See also:

Alignment can mean:

A combination of two or more figures; more generally: a sequence of figures that a couple wants to dance.

A category of dances in American Style ballroom competitions. It includes cha-cha-cha, rumba, East Coast swing, bolero, and mambo. Sometimes it may include samba and West Coast swing.

This category loosely corresponds to the Latin category of International Style ballroom.

A category of dances in American Style ballroom competitions. It includes waltz, tango, foxtrot, and Viennese waltz. Previously Peabody was also included.

This category loosely corresponds to the Standard category of International Style ballroom. However, Smooth differs from Standard in its inclusion of open and separated figures, whereas Standard makes exclusive use of closed positions.