Dance - Middle School and High School

Study this list of dance terminology and leap into the world of ballet, tap, and hip-hop. You'll stretch your intellectual muscles as you learn about the job of a choreographer and the difference between an arabesque and a pirouette.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. adagio
    a slow section of a pas de deux
  2. agility
    the gracefulness of a quick and nimble person or animal
  3. alignment
    the spatial property possessed by things in a straight line
  4. Alvin Ailey
    United States choreographer noted for his use of African elements (born in 1931)
  5. angle
    the space between two lines or planes that intersect
  6. Anna Pavlova
    Russian ballerina (1882-1931)
  7. arabesque
    position in which the dancer has one leg raised behind
  8. balance
    a state of equilibrium
  9. ballet
    a theatrical performance of a story by trained dancers
  10. ballroom dancing
    any of a variety of social dances performed by couples in a ballroom
  11. beat
    the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music
  12. belly dance
    a Middle Eastern dance in which the dancer makes sensuous movements of the hips and abdomen
  13. bolero
    a Spanish dance in triple time accompanied by guitar
  14. break dance
    a form of acrobatic solo dancing performed to hip-hop music
  15. cancan
    a high-kicking dance of French origin performed by a female chorus line
  16. chasse
    (ballet) quick gliding steps with one foot always leading
  17. choreograph
    compose a sequence of dance steps, often to music
  18. choreographer
    someone who creates new dances
  19. choreography
    a series of dance steps and movements for stage performances
  20. contraction
    a shortening or tensing of a muscle or organ
  21. coordination
    the skillful and effective interaction of movements
  22. counterbalance
    a weight that balances another weight
  23. Dame Margot Fonteyn
    English dancer who danced with Rudolf Nureyev (born in 1919)
  24. dance step
    a sequence of foot movements that make up a particular dance
  25. diagonal
    having an oblique or slanted direction
  26. directionality
    the property of being directional or maintaining a direction
  27. elevation
    (ballet) the height of a dancer's leap or jump
  28. extension
    the ability to raise the working leg high in the air
  29. fandango
    a provocative Spanish courtship dance in triple time
  30. flamenco
    a style of dancing characteristic of the Andalusian Gypsies
  31. flex
    bend a joint
  32. flexibility
    the property of being easily bent or shaped
  33. flexion
    act of bending a joint
  34. folk dance
    a style of dancing that originated among ordinary people
  35. fox-trot
    a ballroom dance in quadruple time
  36. George Balanchine
    United States dancer and choreographer (born in Russia) noted for his abstract and formal works (1904-1983)
  37. glide
    the act of moving smoothly along a surface while remaining in contact with it
  38. glissade
    (ballet) a gliding or sliding step in ballet
  39. habanera
    a Cuban dance in duple time
  40. hip-hop
    genre of African-American music of the 1980s and 1990s in which rhyming lyrics are chanted to a musical accompaniment; several forms of rap have emerged
  41. hyperextension
    greater than normal extension
  42. Isadora Duncan
    United States dancer and pioneer of modern dance (1878-1927)
  43. Jerome Robbins
    United States choreographer who brought human emotion to classical ballet and spirited reality to Broadway musicals (1918-1998)
  44. jitterbug
    a jerky American dance that was popular in the 1940s
  45. kinesthesis
    the ability to feel movements of the limbs and body
  46. kinesthetic
    of or relating to kinesthesis
  47. leotard
    a tight, stretchy garment worn by gymnasts and dancers
  48. lindy hop
    an energetic American dance that was popular in the 1930s
  49. locomotor
    of or relating to locomotion
  50. lyrical
    expressing deep emotion
  51. mambo
    a Latin American dance similar in rhythm to the rumba
  52. Martha Graham
    United States dancer and choreographer whose work was noted for its austerity and technical rigor (1893-1991)
  53. Mikhail Baryshnikov
    Russian dancer and choreographer who migrated to the United States (born in 1948)
  54. modern dance
    a style of theatrical dancing that is not as restricted as classical ballet; movements are expressive of feelings
  55. pantomime
    a performance using gestures and movements without words
  56. parallel
    being everywhere equidistant and not intersecting
  57. pas de deux
    a dance for two people
  58. pas de quatre
    (ballet) a dance for four people
  59. pas de trois
    (ballet) a dance for three people
  60. percussive
    involving percussion or featuring percussive instruments
  61. phrase
    dance movements that are linked in a single sequence
  62. pirouette
    a rapid spin of the body
  63. rhythm
    the basic recurring unit in a piece of music
  64. Robert Joffrey
    United States choreographer (1930-1988)
  65. Rudolf Nureyev
    Russian dancer who was often the partner of Dame Margot Fonteyn and who defected to the United States in 1961 (born in 1938)
  66. Rudolph Laban
    Hungarian choreographer who developed Labanotation
  67. social dancing
    dancing as part of a social occasion
  68. square dance
    American country dancing in which couples form squares
  69. stance
    standing posture
  70. style
    a mode of expression typical of a person, group, or period
  71. sustained
    continued at length without interruption or weakening
  72. syncopation
    a musical rhythm accenting a normally weak beat
  73. tango
    a ballroom dance of Latin-American origin
  74. tap dance
    a dance step tapped out audibly with the feet
  75. tarantella
    a lively whirling Italian dance for two persons
  76. tempo
    the speed at which a composition is to be played
  77. turnout
    the rotation of a dancer's leg from the hip
  78. Twyla Tharp
    innovative United States dancer and choreographer
  79. unison
    the act of occurring together or simultaneously
  80. variation
    (ballet) a solo dance or dance figure
  81. Vaslav Nijinsky
    Russian dancer considered by many to be the greatest dancer of the 20th century (1890-1950)
  82. waltz
    a ballroom dance in triple time
Created on Mon Feb 06 09:08:31 EST 2017 (updated Wed Mar 29 16:04:51 EDT 2017)

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