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Rebound**Recall**Registration**Regular Lessons**Release**Relevé (Freestyle)**Renewal
Repetition**Resistance**Reverse Turn**Rhythm**Rhythm and Timing**Rhythm Break
Rhythmic Expression**Ribcage Action**Right**Right Turn** Rigid Knees**Rise and Fall**Rock ‘n Roll
Roll Rondé (Rond de Jambe)**Rotation**Rotational Hop**Round Dance Routine**Comp Rules**Rumba

REBOUND is the strength and courage to be able to take the hard knocks of losing. To bounce back with grit and determination. It's that special quality that makes a champion a champion. It's to be flat on your back but still having the will to win. It's an unstoppable sane kind of madness - a frantic frenzy to be the best - it is being totally alive and using all your talents and facilities to your full capacity.

RECALL is when couples in a championship have been selected by the adjudicators to go into the next round. Their number of selections are then added by the scrutineer who in turn gets the Chairman of Adjudicators to verify which of the selected couples go into the next round.

REGISTRATION: To ensure a level playing field and fairness for all Amateur Competitors who wish to participate in any Amateur Dance Sport Competitive event:

• a) All individuals entering in any Amateur Dance Sport Competitive Event must be registered with a member organisation of the IDSF. This includes Amateur Events run at any recognised competition held by any and all organisers.
• b) Citizens and other residents of a country, or one of its possessions, who are not currently registered with another member organisation of the IDSF as an 'Amateur Competitor' and who wish to be registered as an Amateur Competitor must maintain a current 'Competitor' membership with that country's Amateur body.
• c) Any Amateur Competitor who wishes to represent his/her country in a Protected International Competition must be a citizen or must have been a permanent resident of that country for a period of not less than 12 months immediately preceding the date of the qualifying competition. The country's Amateur body is responsible for determining an individual's 'Amateur Competitor' status and may revoke or suspend an individual's 'Amateur Competitor' registration if sufficient cause is found to do so.

RELEVÉ(Freestyle): A rise through the feet brought about by lifting the heels from the floor and transferring the weight onto the balls or toes of the feet.

RENEWAL is when a student re-enrols for a dance course or repeats a similar course to the one completed. A renewal is also referred to in some social schools as the dance course that follows an "extension" course.

REPETITION is the painstaking, tedious task of doing the same figure, style, action or movement over and over and over again. It is the key to progress and success in any sport or recreation. In dancing, repetition means selecting an element and practising that one thing countless times until it becomes a natural part of the dancer's body-control and actions.

Repetition consequently eliminates the conscious effort of thinking of several moves at the same time, i.e.
it develops an automatic reflex for two or more actions. Repetition is the sole cure to co-ordination  uncoordinated limbs so that each works in harmony with the other.

RESISTANCE: A balanced force and counter force between two bodies. A slight pulling away of two bodies to create a counter-balance during spin turns or drag movements.

REVERSE TURN is a turn to the left. This turn goes against the natural anti-clockwise Line Of Dance, unless overturned. It is mainly used for practical purposes, such as directional changes, as a link and when moving diagonally centre into a figure such as the telemark or after a corner step.

REVERSE TURN: An inside turn.

RHYTHM: The regular occurrence of an accented beat or beats in a bar of music.

Rhythmic dancing is a dimension above that of dancing in time because it is 'feeling' and 'moving' with the whole of the music, not only the beat, and it starts with dancing on the accented beat.

The word 'Rhythm' usually refers to the accented beats of the music which recur regularly and give character to the music (see timing and rhythm).

RHYTHMIC EXPRESSION: The way in which a dancer interprets the music by using his/her own method of expressing the feeling of the music through movement and technique.

RHYTHM BREAK: To leave or to break away from the natural rhythm of a pattern (see syncopation).

RIBCAGE ACTION refers to a hip movement that begins from the ribcage all the way down to the hips. It is not just a motion of the hips, it's an isolation of the hips from the shoulders. A simple exercise which will help achieve this action, is to stand with the feet together keeping the hips still while the shoulders are moved from side to side in isolation of the hips and then isolated diagonally forward and back.

The next step is to push the right shoulder blade down as the right hip is swung to the right, alternating this action left, right, left, etc. In other words, when the hip is pushed out to the right the ribcage is pushed out to the left.

RIGHT: Refers to the right foot, hand, hip or moving/turning in an clockwise direction.

RIGHT TURN is also known as an Outside turn or Natural turn.

RIGID KNEES: When a dancer's knees are tightly locked back without flex, giving a stilted or hard appearance.

STIFF LEGS: Knees can only be straight without weight. In fact, a suggested tip for a forward step is that the knee should be over the toe, not back in its socket as the leg swings forward. Remember however, that if the knee of the supporting leg flexes too much before the other leg moves forward or backward, a "sitting down" position will result. Soft knees assist control and balance. A stiff leg and even a straight leg can make free movement difficult or even impossible (see flexed knees).

RISE AND FALL is extensively used in the swing dances such as Waltz, Slow Foxtrot and Quickstep in varying degrees. It is a controlled rising and lowering movement achieved by the use of the ankles, the flexing of the knees and the bracing of the body, i.e. coming up on the toes by bracing the ankles and stretching the spine, then lowering to the heels. Rise and Fall adds flow and character to these dances. (see rise & fall)

The ideal speed is 40 to 46 bars per minute (medium fast). Rock 'n Roll is the dance of the 50s. At break-neck tempo the man and lady 'kick, step, kick, step' the basic. He then flings her left and right, slides her through his legs, whips her up onto his right hip then his left hip, then both hips, into a cartwheel and dolly-drop. The Hold is similar to that of the Boogie but is looser and more flexible, the arms being held a little lower. Basically the dance is very simple.

The man begins all the figures with his left foot and the lady with her right. For Rock 'n Roll, the direction in which the dancer faces when he starts the dance does not matter as most of the figures are danced around the same spot. The dancer does not progress round the floor as with the other ballroom dances.

ROLL: The indicated body part circles right or left.

RONDÉ (ROND DE JAMBE 'circular movement of the leg'): A movement in which the working leg is made to describe a letter D about the supporting leg, either on the floor (aterre) or in the air (en l' air).

RONDÉ: An upward and outward rotation of the leg from the knee and hip.

ROTATION is just another fancy word for turn.

ROTATIONAL HOP: A series of hops onto the same foot turning continuously with the free leg extended forwards.

ROUND DANCE: All types of social dances were once called round dances. Today round dance refers to couples or groups of three or more, doing routine patterns dancing anti-clockwise or clockwise around the dance floor.

RUMBA: This dance had its origin with the African Negro slaves imported into Cuba, whose dances emphasised the movements of the body rather than the feet. The complex cross rhythms were considered more important than the tune, being provided by a percussion of pots, spoons, bottles, etc. It evolved in Havanna in the 19th century in combination with the European Contra-danza.

The name 'Rumba' possibly derives from the term 'rumboso orquestra' which was used for a dance band in 1807 - although in Spanish, the word 'rumbo' meeans 'route', 'Rumba' means 'heap pile', and 'rhum' is of course an intoxicating liquor popular in the Caribbean - any of which might have been used descriiptively when the dance was being formed. The name has also been claimed to be derived from the Spanish word for 'Carousel'.

The rural form of the Rumba in Cuba was described as a pantomime of barnyard animals, and was an exhibition rather than a participation dance. The maintenance of steady level shoulders while dancing was possibly derived from the way the slaves moved while carrying heavy burdens.

The step called the 'Cucaracha' was stomping on cockroaches. The 'Spot Turn' was walking around the rim of a cartwheel. The popular Rumba tune 'La Paloma' was known in Cuba in 1866. The Rumba was introduced into the USA in the 1930s as a composite of this rural Rumba with the Guaracha, the Cuban Bolero (unrelated to the Spanish Bolero) and the Son.

The British dance teacher Pierre Lavelle visited Havanna in 1947 and discovered that the Rumba was danced with the break step on beat 2 of the bar, rather than on beat one as in the American Rumba. He brought this back to Britain, together with the names of the many steps he learned from Pepe Rivera in Havanna.

These, together with dancing the break on beat 2 rather than beat 1, have become part of the standard International Cuban Rumba. With only a transfer of weight from 1 foot to the other on beat 1 of each bar, and the absence of an actual step on this beat, the dance has developed a very sensual character. Beat one is the strongest beat of the music, but all that moves on that beat are the hips, so the music emphasises the dancing of the hips.

RUMBA RHYTHM: Rumba music is usually written in 4/4 time and should be played at a tempo of 28-31bars per minute for examinations and competitions. The various rhythm instruments may be accenting different beats in the bar but throughout there is always an underlying pulsation of 1, 2, 3, 4. It is sometimes a little difficult for the untrained ear to recognise this pulsation and for the beginner to understand why the forward and backward steps are taken on the second beat of the bar.

If, however, the dancer is using the correct hip movement it will be perfectly natural for him to feel a lateral swing of the hips as he commences to flex the knee of the moving leg on the 1st beat in the bar, thus resulting in the foot being placed either forward or backwards on the count of 2.

HIP MOVEMENT: The hips should move softly from side to side as a result of the flexing and straightening of the knees and never by a conscious swinging of the hips. To achieve this hip movement every step should be taken with pressure on the ball of the foot and the knee flexed.

When the weight is taken onto the foot, the heel should lower, while the knee straightens and the heel of the opposite foot is released as the hips move softly sideways in the direction of the stepping foot.

NORMAL HOLD: Stand facing partner about 6 inches apart with the head erect and the body naturally upright. The man should place his right hand on the lady's left shoulder blade, the lady resting her left arm lightly on his, following the curve of his arm to the shoulder.

The man's left hand should be raised in a gentle curve to the level of the eyes; the lady should place the fingers of the right hand between his thumb and first finger and both hands should be lightly clasped. The remaining holds referred to in the charts are described in the analysis of holds and body positions.

ARM POSITIONS: The arms should be held in a natural and unaffected way and never be conspicuous. In many figures the partner is held with only one hand; the free arm is never static and is always moving slowly between the following three positions, taking a whole bar of music (2, 3, 4, 1) to do so. In practice any movement is hardly noticeable. Position 1 - Normal dance hold. Position 2 - When the dancers are moving apart the free arm moves to a point away from the body at approximately waist level. Position 3 - When the dancers are moving towards each other but without taking normal hold the free arm moves to a position slightly across the body.

SOCIAL Rumba (also spelt Rhumba and pronounced Roomba) differs from the International style Rumba, in that its basic movement forms a box and its hip movements are less staccato than that of the International style.

Rumba Basic / Rumba Walks Forward / Rumba Walks Back / Rumba Hip Twist