Inside turn

What does “Inside turn” mean?

The term is applied to an individual turn of a partner in the couple. Basically, it denotes a turn where the arm of the partner doing the turn begins by moving towards the "inside" of the couple (the line running from the center of one partner to the center of the other). The meaning is intuitively clear, but it may be performed in numerous ways and in different handholds, so that even accomplished dancers are confused. In dances such as swing and salsa, inside and outside turns most commonly refer to underarm turns done by the follower. Since in these dances the follower's right arm is normally used to lead a turn (most commonly by the leader's left arm, but sometimes by the leader's right arm when a cross-hand or "handshake" position is used), an inside turn is normally a left (counter-clockwise) turn, while an outside turn is a right (clockwise) turn. However, if the follower's left arm is used to initiate the turn, the intended direction of turning may be opposite. (Alternatively, the non-ambiguous terms "left turn" and "right turn" may be used.) See Direction of movement for more detail.

Definition adapted from Glossary of dance moves on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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