active couple

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun In set dances with more than one couple dancing, the active couple is the couple doing the more complicated movement during any given portion of the dance. In many dances, the role of active couple passes from one couple to another. In many quadrilles, certain figures will have two active couples at any one time; in long set dances, quite often every other couple or every third couple is the active couple.