Descriptionary

Mexican hat dance a Mexican folk dance featuring a male's dance around a sombrero.

moonwalk a glissanding backwards walk giving the impression of floating on air, made popular by Michael Jackson in the 1980s.

moshing counterculture dance form in which danc­ers aggressively slam into each other, in a dance area called a "mosh" pit, originating in the 1980s. Also known as slamdancing.

paso doble a Spanish march in which a male dancer moves as a bullfighter and employs his female partner as a "cape."

polka lively Bohemian dance for couples character­ized by a hop followed by three short steps.

quadrille a French square dance performed by four couples.

quickstep a quick fox-trot popular in Europe.

rave an all-night dance party.

reel a lively, Scottish folk dance.

rumba a Cuban dance that evolved by mimicking the movements performed in farm labor, such as shoe­ing a mare, but is now perceived as sexual.

running man modern American dance step reminis­cent of someone running in place, originating in the 1990s.

samba a Brazilian dance performed in 4/4 time.

shimmy a shaking of the whole body, originally an African-American dance of the 1880s, now incorpo­rated as an element of freestyle dancing.

swing see jitterbug, jive, lindy hop.

tango Latin American dance performed in 2/4 or 4/4 time, characterized by dips and long, glissading steps.

tarantella a lively and whirling Italian folk dance performed in 6/8 time.

twist a hip-wiggling rock and roll dance originating with Chubby Checker in the 1960s.

two-step a country and western dance with lots of twirls, originating in the 1800s.

vogue posing like a photo model while incorporat­ing other dance forms, such as modern jazz, gymnas­tics, and yoga, so named after the song and video by Madonna.

BALLET

arabesque a position in which the dancer balances on one leg, the other leg extended backward with straight knee while the arms hold one of various poses.

assemble a jump in which the dancer thrusts one leg up and then springs off of the other.

attitude grecque an arm position with one arm curving overhead one way and the other arm curving downward toward the legs in the opposite direction.

attitude a terre a leg position in which one foot is pointed sharply to the side while the other leg is bent at the knee and slanted in back with its foot bend over and toes scraping the floor.

baisse lowering the heel or heels to the floor after standing en pointe.

ballerina a female ballet dancer.

ballerina, prima a ballet's leading female dancer.

ballonne a leap beginning and ending with one foot touching the opposite leg at the knee (grand ballonne) or at the ankle (petit ballonne).

barre the bar at hip level that runs along the walls of a ballet dancer's practice room.

barre work classroom practice of balance and movements while the hand rests lightly on the barre.

basque, grand pas de a movement in which the dancer thrusts the front leg forward and springs so that the supporting leg rises as the first leg descends.

battlements, grand throwing one leg up high with knee straight and foot pointed while the body is kept as still as possible.

battlements, tendus sliding out one leg along the floor until the foot is fully pointed and then returning to the starting position.

beat to strike or slap calves together.

bourree, pas de gliding across the floor on the toes with quick, mincing steps.

cabriole a movement in which the dancer, with one leg raised, springs from the supporting leg and exe­cutes a single, double, or triple beat.

cambre bending from the waist in any direction.

chasse sliding the foot out in any direction while keeping the heel flush on the floor.

chat, pas de a movement in which the dancer brings one foot up to the opposite knee or ankle and leaps sideways.

cheval, pas de scraping the ground like a horse with one foot while hopping on the other foot.

choreographer one who creates dances and steps.

choreography the steps and movements of a ballet.

ciseaux, pas de leaping and splitting the legs wide apart to the side or from front to back. Also known as the grand ecart.

colle jumping steps in which the legs and feet are held tightly together in the air.

coryphee the rank below a principal dancer and above those in the corps de ballet.

coupee to put down one foot while lifting the other.

course, pas de a succession of running steps.

danseur a male ballet dancer.

danseur, premier the leading male ballet dancer.

defile, le grand on closing night of a ballet, an onstage parade of all the members of the ballet company.

deux, pas de any dance performed with two people.