Dancing Etiquette at the Allegro

The Allegro is starting to draft a proposal regarding floor craft. This is an initial effort by Hal Aigner. Below is an excerpt of the proposal. Please pass your thoughts and suggestions to Manager Lydia Wong.

1. Floor craft
   "Floor craft" is the trade term used in Latin and Ballroom dance to describe good manners and courtesy on the dance floor. Good "floor craft" requires that all dancers make a best effort to avoid causing any inconvenience or disturbance to other Allegro patrons while on the dance floor.

   One example: If partners are going to stop in the middle of the dance to discuss dance steps or dance technique, good floor craft means that the partners will move off the dance floor in order to avoid blocking the passage of other dancers.

   Floor craft is required of all individuals who dance at Allegro. Allegro understands that beginning dancers may have a more difficult time exercising this skill than intermediate and advanced dancers. Therefore, Allegro places stronger expectations on intermediate and advanced dancers to observe the basic principles of floor craft.

2. Line of Dance
   "Line of dance" is the trade term used to describe the counter-clockwise course taken around the ballroom floor during dances such as waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, samba and tango, all of which are commonly referred to as "progressive" dances because they progress around the dance floor.

   All Allegro dancers are entitled to the benefit of the line of dance. This means that every dancer at Allegro has the right to expect that every other dancer will respect and conform to the counter-clockwise motion of the line of dance while on the ballroom floor.

   Because Allegro dancers have the right to this expectation, any leader who takes his partner backward against the line of dance or across the line of dance is under an obligation to assure that other dancers will not be inconvenienced by the steps he is leading.

3. Outer Lane, Inner Lane, Center Space
   As pictured in the diagram to the right, a ballroom dance floor is divided into an imaginary outer lane, inner lane and a center space.

   Outer lane. For all progressive dances, the outer lane is reserved for intermediate and advanced dancers who have learned dance steps that require maximum freedom of movement. Ballroom tradition gives intermediate and advanced dancers a priority in use of the outer lane.

   Inner Lane. The inner lane is for people who are new to dance and, at Allegro, for dancers likely to perform international styles of dance that typically involve stopping on the dance floor. In both instances, the goal is to maximize the free flow of dance in the outer lane.

   Center Space. On occasion, more than one style of dance can be performed to a single piece of music. For example, both foxtrot and west coast swing can often be danced at the same tune. On these occasions, the center space must be used by couples choosing the non-progressive style of dance. The outer and inner lanes must continue to be available for the progressive styles of dance.