Despite the importance of lifts in Western theatrical dance, few reports have been published on the subject and few techniques established as good practice. Dancers usually learn partnering by trial and error, an approach that elicits both spectacular and inefficient results. To establish safer partnering practices, more efficient use of rehearsal time, and greater choreographic possibility, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive partnering technique. And this should begin with the establishment of terminology. The author defines a lift as a movement in which the aerial trajectory of a dancer is affected by a force applied by one or more dancers. Following this definition, he observes that all lifts can be divided into two main categories: lifts with and without vertical support. Lifts with vertical support include dead weight lifts, assisted jumps, and catch lifts. These can be divided in five phases: preparation, loading, suspension, unloading, and conclusion. Lifts without vertical support include pushed or pulled jumps and blocked jumps. These can be divided in three phases: preparation, application of force, and conclusion. To complete this list, critical characteristics of lifts are also identified and classified: types of hold, different strategies to stabilize each point of support, horizontal travelling of each partner, and types of landing. The classification of dance lifts presented in this paper provides a terminology that facilitates communication among all concerned. It also facilitates the perception of phenomenon, the analysis of lifting situations, and the use of the proper biomechanical principles thus making more efficient the physical trials necessary for understanding how to execute lifts. Photographs and diagrams in this paper demonstrate strategies of execution that use the proposed terminology and illuminate the basic biomechanical principles. (Contains 8 figures.)