Help Page Thursday 28th of March 2024 01:13 PM
Index of help topics




Safety advice

First the official bit - sorry, I have to say this :)

No liability will be accepted for any accidents - damages caused by attempting to dance any of these moves. Take care and dance safely, within your limits and with regard to your partner's limits and the surroundings!

The moves in The Jive Treasure Box are intended to act as a point of reference for people who have danced these moves before (or similar) and want to be reminded of how they go, or discover new ones.

The descriptions are in no way intended to replace a proper dance lesson and teacher and never will. Tips are listed in places but you only get the whole picture in a proper lesson where it is demonstrated properly.

There are always risks involved in dancing any move, but some of those listed here are more dangerous than others (drops, seducers, contra-spins or archies and arial moves). Such moves have special comments added in the comment field warning accordingly.

Terminology and abbreviations used

  • The move descriptions all assume a knowledge of dancing jive moves. As a dance you are stepping back, together all the time to give motion to the dance. Only the main points are discussed which is thought sufficient for conveying the message.
  • The following lists are to clarify terminology which is used, some you will know, some you may not have heard of.
  • Moves are described from the man's point of view unless specifically stated.
  • Move names are chosen to reflect their historical name, or if not known describe the move. If you know better, let me know what it should be :)


    These are words used in descriptions
    TermDescription
    CheckTake held hand out to the left or right at hip height
    ExitFinishing a spin or turn
    FaceYou are facing each other after a turn or spin (turn to face)
    FlatspinSpin lady by throwing one hand to one side at hip height
    FreespinPush-pull lady to spin round under her own steam
    Lady's Left (hip etc)The lady's left (hip etc) from HER point of view
    Left side of the ladyThe left side of the lady from YOUR point of view
    Mirrorusually footwork - lady steps same as you but with other foot
    Prepareprepare for a spin by taking hand in opposite direction a little first
    ReturnUncoil a lady from a previous spin or turn - usually ACW
    Turn a littleTurn less than 90 degrees, usually to aid movement in a certain position
    Let go of ? handLet go of whatever hand or other body part your ? hand is holding onto at the moment
    These are symbols used in descriptions
    TermDescription
  • description for next beat
    -..or explained more specifically..
    :main move description follows
    ()additional descriptive comments
    ,joins descriptions
    List of the abbreviations in move descriptions
    AbbreviationDescription
  • L
  • left
  • R
  • right
  • H
  • hand
  • SH
  • shoulder
  • SBS
  • side by side
  • CW
  • clockwise
  • ACW
  • anticlockwise
  • 180CW
  • 180oclockwise
  • 90ACW
  • 90oanticlockwise (and so on)

  • The move signal hands graphic

  • The signals are described in words above and shown in the graphic. If it's not clear in the graphic the words will explain
  • More will be added in time
  • As always, if you think the signal is wrong, let me know so I can ammend :)

    A few of the move signal graphics
    GraphicDescription
    Move signal
    No graphic available
    Move signal
    R arm out at waist height
    Move signal
    RH up at shoulder height
    Move signal
    LH behind back
    Move signal
    RH up flat
    Move signal
    Make loop with LH onto R forearm behind back
    Move signal
    No special signal

  • Contact types

  • Each move is categorised for how close you will typically get to your partner.
  • Not everybody will be happy dancing intimately so this gives an indication of what to expect.

    Contact levels
    ratingDescription
    No Trust
    You can dance this with anyone without getting close.
    Contact
    Some contact is involved but you can dance it effectively apart.
    Sleazebag
    These are good if you are both happy dancing in a flirty way.
    Close
    These are intimate moves that wont work at all at arm's length so make sure you are both happy being close.


  • Browse and List pages
    The list page allows you to list, compare, view and print dance / jive moves from The Jive Treasure Box according to the search criterea you set. The browse page allows you to browse through those moves. It is up to you which you use but you will probably prefer switching between both.

    Searching for moves
    At the top of both screens there are search options. You can view all moves of a certain class (such as those derived from first move, or manspin etc) or all moves of a certain level - (easy, hard etc) and so on. To do this select your required options from Move finder basic.

    You can also view all moves with certain styles (drops, kicks, jivey etc). To do this tick one or more boxes from Move finder advanced and ensure all options in Move finder basic are set to Any..... Click update to see the new selection of moves.

    This can return many move descriptions and so you can narrow down your search by selecting more than one option from either of the move finders.

    Finally, to narrow down further if you have options set in Move finder basic then selecting option(s) in Move finder advanced will only apply to those already found in Move finder basic.

    While you are selecting basic options note that the list is updated in real time, showing characteristics of each move for comparison. Clicking on a heading will sort by that column (ie sort by date, or name..). At present, names and classes sort alphabetically (starting at a) and all other columns sort reverse alphabetically (highest numbers first).

    List mode
    The moves found by Move finder will be displayed in a list in the middle of the screen. The number of moves in the list can be increased to view more, but some selections can show so many moves it is best to narrow your search down a bit or the page could get big!
    The number of moves found and those displayed is always shown just above the list in the navigator and you can click update results to refresh the screen at any time.

    Finally you can click on the name of a move to see its full description directly below or use the icons to the right to print the move or even change to browse mode and start browsing moves from that place in the search!

    Browse mode
    The number of pages of moves found and the current page number is always displayed just above the list in the navigator and you can click update results to refresh the screen at any time.

    Once you have selected your moves use the arrows to step through them, go to first, or last, and you can click on the links (1 2 3 4 ..) to go directly to particular ones though only the first 20 moves will have direct links. You can view up to 4 moves per page.

    Add move page
    The add move page allows you to add moves to The Jive Treasure Box to share with other people. If you know of a move which you are sure is not already in The Jive Treasure Box, feel free to add your move description.

    The procedure is fairly straight-forward if you are already familiar with how moves are described and classified on this site.

    It is recommended to have your move description written down in a text editor (such as notepad) before you enter it into the site. This is just in case something goes wrong with the addition - you don't want to have to write it all again!

    These are the steps to adding a move:

    • Enter your details. Name and website will be added to the credits which appear when the move is displayed.
    • Enter email address. This is kept internally only and will only be used to contact you if there are problems with your submission.
    • Enter the name of the move. You can check to see if the name is already used. If you feel an existing move in The Jive Treasure Box has an incorrect name, please mail me to let me know.
    • Enter a move class. This is the main way the moves are catagorised. The class is the basic move from which the move was derived. Often there are more than one influencing class so the one which most completely describes the move is used.
    • Check the hands and signal are correct. If not, or if they are not entered at all, correct them for your move.
    • Rate your move, in rating, level and contact.
    • Enter the description you have prepared and any useful comments which will accompany the description
    • Finally click on submit, review what you have entered and confirm the submit. At this stage the move will be added and you will not be able to change it.
    Entered material will be regularly checked to make sure it is complete and suitable to be posted on the site.

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