Side Step

A side step can be used to move sideways (open side step) or can be done “in place” (closed side step).

The pattern is “1-2-3-hop,” but moving sideways. In an open side step, the free leg steps away from the dancer's center of mass, and the second leg follows to come back together. In a closed side step, the free leg crosses in front of the dancer's center of mass and the second leg does not follow.

In hankie dances, the hankie on the same side as the leg that starts the side step flicks out and up (kind of like the Nike “swoosh”) on beat 1. In stick dances, the hand (either the stick hand or the Teflon1) non-stick hand, depending on which foot you are leading with) moves outward in a sort of Nike “swoosh”.