Facing in same direction – The partners face in the same direction and are skating side by side or one behind the other with their arms extended and their hands clasped. A variation of this is the arm-in-arm side by side hold.
Facing in opposite directions – The partners usually face each other while one skates backward and the other skates forward with the arms extended to the side but sometimes the hold can be skated back to back (e.g. steps 22-25 in the Cha Cha Congelado).