Natural And Reverse Turns
A natural turn is a dance step in which the partners turn around each other clockwise. Its near-mirror counterpart is the reverse turn, which is turning to the counterclockwise.
This terminology is used mainly in the "International Standard" group of ballroom dances. "Natural turn" and "reverse turn" are names of syllabus figures in waltz, Viennese waltz, foxtrot, quickstep. In addition, the words natural and "reverse" are used in some other figures that amount to turning to the right or left, respectively, e.g. natural twist turn in tango and foxtrot.
The name "natural" has two explanations. In a standard ballroom closed dance position the partners are somewhat shifted to the left with respect to each other, which makes the right turn easier. The second reason is related to progress around the floor along the counterclockwise line of dance. Turning to the right is partly compensated for by the line of dance's leftward curve, so that it takes less effort to stay on line of dance while turning to the right than while using opposite footwork and turning to the left, especially at the corners.
Read more about Natural And Reverse Turns: "Natural" Figures, "Reverse" Figures
Famous quotes containing the words natural, reverse and/or turns:
“The domestic career is no more natural to all women than the military career is natural to all men.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
—Bible: Hebrew Isaiah, 2:4.
The words reappear in Micah 4:3, and the reverse injunction is made in Joel 3:10 (”Beat your plowshares into swords ...”)
“We drove the Indians out of the land,
But a dire revenge those Redmen planned,
For they fastened a name to every nook,
And every boy with a spelling book
Will have to toil till his hair turns gray
Before he can spell them the proper way.”
—Eva March Tappan (1854–1930)