Thus these simpler dances can be well described by a list of the names of the 'Steps' composing them, together with additional instructions regarding directions and dance holds. These dances are more complex than the simpler social sequence dances described above, and need a more complex mode of description. Most professional dance companies have a notator on staff who maintains notated scores of the dances in the repertoire of the company. A number of notations have been internationally standardised and are used for this purpose. An example may be seen in Figure 2, showing the Dorothea Waltz in Labanotation.
Time advances symbolically upwards, and the dance actually starts at the double bar line.
Symbols below this denote the starting position. Each staff consists of a central line, with a line each side. As may be seen, the initial movement of the man is with the left leg. A symbol with a nick out of its top signifies a forward movement, so the man may be seen to step forward onto the left foot and then onto the right foot. A parallelogram denotes a turn, to the left or to the right depending on its orientation and by an amount denoted by the pin in its middle.