Why do we dance “offset” from each other?

In most partner dancing each person is slightly to the left of the other person.  So, when either person looks forward, they are generally looking over the right shoulder of their partner.  This “offset” position evolved as couples’ dancing evolved.  Back in the nineteenth century the Waltz became extremely popular, at least in more wealthy or aristocratic circles.  Think about Johann Strauss, The Blue Danube, large ballrooms, and everyone dressed to impress.  That epitomized the dance scene in those days.  The music was glorious.  Men and women danced in a close hold (which was initially considered scandalous!).  and everyone had on their best outfits.  In the case of the men who were often soldiers, this included a sword.  This was probably not the best accessory to wear for dancing, but hey, that was part of the uniform and it looked pretty cool, so you just had to deal with it.  Since most people are right-handed, the best side to wear your sword for a quick extraction from the scabbard (you are at a dance, but you can’t be too careful) is on your left side.  So, to keep things comfortable with your partner, you kept that left side and your weapon a bit off to the side.  In addition, it probably felt more natural to have your partner in your dominant right arm.  This natural offset became the norm.

Probably more relevant for current dancers, the offset position helps to prevent bumping legs and stepped-on feet.  Each person’s left leg can move forward just outside their partner’s right leg.  Each person’s right leg can move forward just inside their partner’s right leg between the partner’s feet.

As dancing evolved, the offset position had a strong impact on dance technique.  In the International Style, all turns to the right are called “natural”.  Since the left side of the body is not blocked by your partner, it became easier to swing the left side forward and effectively make a turn to the right.  Turns to the left developed later and took longer to be fully accepted.  Turns to the left were (and are) known as “reverse” and require a somewhat different technique.  (This is something I hope to explore in a future post.)  But the offset position allows the right, or Natural, turns to move more than the left, or reverse, turns.  This also relates to the fact that we travel counterclockwise around the floor.

In the Standard dances, right turns are generally used to move along the dance floor nearer the outside of the floor following the counterclockwise flow of the dancers.  Turns to the left usually move away from the outside and towards the middle of the floor.  Because of the offset, the figures that turn to the right are generally different than those danced to the left.  In other words, you cannot just take the mirror image a figure that turns one way to have it turn the other direction.  The offset makes things work well in one direction and requires a difference in the step pattern or at least the technique to make it work in the other.

All of this makes dancing endlessly interesting and entertaining.  Keep your offset position and don’t stop dancing!