A handhold is a manner the

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

s hold each other's

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "h ...

s during the

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. A hold is the way one partner holds another one with hands. Hold and handhold are important components of connection in dance.

Couple dances

*Waist-hand hold *Shoulder-waist hold *Shoulder blade hold *Ballroom hold *Banjo hold *Barn dance hold *Butterfly hold: in face-to-face

dance position Dance position is a position of a dancer or a mutual position of a dance couple assumed during a dance. Describing and mastering proper dance positions is an important part of dance technique. These dance positions of a single dancer may be furt ...

, the arms are extended sideways palm to palm, elbows slightly bent *Shoulder hold (varsouvienne hold) *Cross-back hold *Promenade hold *Short-arm hold *Skaters hold **Back skaters hold: partners side-by-side, same hands joined, man right arm around lady's waist with right hands on the lady's right hip, left hands joined in front, man's hand palm up **Front skaters hold *V hold *Hammerlock hold *Sweetheart hold *Cuddle hold

Line/circle dances

When danced in line or circle formation, the handholds usually connect a dancer with the two immediate neighbors, sometimes with the two second next neighbors. Exceptions are free hands of the first and last persons in the line formation. A number of these holds may be used in

couple dance Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a ...

s (a couple is a line of just two). *Shoulder hold *Chain hold *Basket hold **Front basket hold: Arms are extended sideways in front of the neighbors to connect with the arms of the second next person **Back basket hold: Arms are extended sideways behind the neighbors to connect with the arms of the second next person *Belt hold: Each dancer holds the belts of the neighbors *Escort hold: one arm slightly rounded with arm at waist level, the neighbor from this side place the opposite hand on the forearm through the space formed by founded arm

References

{{reflist Dance technique