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Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.

Standardized Abbreviations
for Folk Dance Descriptions

Compiled by Dick Oakes

Standardized Abbreviations

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These are some of the standardized abbreviations used in folk dance descriptions.


& a secondary ct between two major cts, as in "1-&-2"
beg beginning
bt, bts beat, beats
bwd backward
CCW counter-clockwise, often meaning turning that direction in place (see LOD)
cir circle, circles
COH center of hall
cpl, cpls couple, couples
ct, cts count, counts
ctr center
CW clockwise, often meaning turning that direction in place (see RLOD)
diag diagonal, diagonally
dir direction
dn down
fig, Fig figure, Figure
ft foot, feet
ftwk footwork
fwd forward
L left (side, dir, ft, arm, hand, etc.)
LOD line of direction around the floor, counter-clockwise
M man, man's, men, men's
meas measure, measures
opp opposite
orig original
pos position
prev previous
ptr, ptrs partner, partners
R right (side, dir, ft, arm, hand, etc.)
RLOD reverse line of direction around the floor, clockwise
shldr, shldrs     shoulder, shoulders
swd sideward
twd toward
uh bt between a major ct and a secondary ct, as in Lawrence Welk's "uh-1-&-uh-2"
var variation, variations
W woman, woman's, women, women's
wt weight