In reply to Fraser:
> To me, flagging is quite different from back-stepping, the former doesn't involve a foot making contact with the rock / wall, whereas the latter does. I've never heard of "Greek dance" in the context of rock climbing - do you mean "Egyptian"?
The only thing I enjoy more than a bit of Greek dance is sidelining discussion of a great sporting performance with a debate about obscure climbing terminology. FWIW my understanding is:
A backstep is, well, stepping back on to a hold. This presupposes you are facing sideways to start with, so the position you end up in is the classic Egyptian.
The same pose can be attained, starting face-on, by putting a foot on a hold out to the side (knee pointing up), then dropping the knee and rotating your body away from the hold.
Flagging is different. Basically, it is sticking your leg out for balance rather than support, but it is also often combined with preventing rotation by applying an inward (rather than downward) force on the wall.
Post edited at 12:12