Move Attributes

Each move requires the select attribute, whose value is the name of the move. Moves can also be modified with additional attributes. These animations show how some of these attributes work. Here is the XML of the first animation.

  <tam title="Lead Right scaleX=&quot;2&quot;" formation="Couples Facing Out" group="Lead Right">
    <path>
      <move select="Lead Right" scaleX="2"/>
    </path>
    <path>
      <move select="Lead Right" scaleX="2"/>
    </path>
  </tam>

The coordinates for these attributes are relative to the dancer's current position and facing direction. The X axis is forward and Y is to the left. Attributes that modify the dancer's position are:

scaleX and scaleY Multiply the destination coordinate by the given factor. The factor can be any real number. You can make a move larger with a scale factor greater than 1, and make a move smaller with a scale value between 1 and 0.
offsetX and offsetY Add an offset to the destination coordinate. This is useful for moves like Quarter Right, which are not affected by scale attributes. You can use both positive and negative real numbers, as shown in these examples.

Other move attributes are:

beats The number of beats to use for this move, a real number greater than 0. Every move has a default number of beats, and you use this attribute to override that value.
hands The hands that should be used to connect with other dancers. Values are none, right, left, both, gripright, gripleft, gripboth. For values right, left, and both, the program will look for another dancer looking for a hand within reach, and keep the connection as long as the dancers stay together. The grip values are different in that once a connection is made the dancers will not let go until the end of the move, no matter how far apart. See Dive Thru for an example of using grip values.
reflect This reflects the move around the dancer's X axis. The effect is like using a scaleY value of -1, and changing the sign of any offsetY value. It also switches any right and left hand values. The reflect attribute is used internally to create Right moves from Left moves without re-doing all the math. Since Right and Left moves are both pre-defined you will not need tu use the reflect attribute unless defining your own moves with movements.

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