Jazz History
Jazz Vocabulary
Choreography Tools
Ballet History
Ballet Vocabulary
100

The dance enslaved people did to make fun of their masters

cakewalk

100

basic dance step that creates a square or box pattern on the floor

Box Step

100

the sequence of steps and movements in dance or figure skating, especially in a ballet or other staged dance.

Choreography

100

 refined and developed Ballet to how we understand it today in regards to body positions, terminology, and other various ballet steps. They also called him the Sun King

King Louie the 14th
100

“Chasing one foot with the other”. The leading foot slides forward into fourth (or sideways into second), then, with a spring off the floor, the stance limb draws up to it in the air, and the leading foot opens to land in fourth (or second). Used as a traveling or transition step.

Chassè

200

The time period where White Men codified Jazz Dance

1940s-1960s

200

A jazz dance step where the left foot drags behind the right foot when stepping, and vice versa

Drag Step

200

someone who composes a sequence of steps.

Choreographer

200

the World’s first Ballet company was founded in 1669 and it still exists today.

Paris Opera Ballet

200

is a "slipping" or "escaping" movement where the feet open from a closed position, like fifth position, to a more open position, such as second or fourth, and then return to the closed position.

échappé

300

The Mother of American Dance

Katherine Dunham

300

an act of spinning on one foot, typically with the raised foot touching the knee of the supporting leg.

Pirouette

300

 Our bodies' movement qualities can be broadly separated into seven groups- Collapse, Expand, Percussive, Suspended, Sustained, and Swinging

Seven Qualities of Dance

300

Started off as court dancing amongst Kings, Queens, and Royalty.

The Beginning of Ballet

300

a fundamental linking step consisting of three small, quick steps

Pas De Bourée

400

The Ballroom where swing dance competitions happened

Savoy Ballroom
400

arrange (laws or rules) into a systematic code.

Codified

400

Space, Body, Time Action, and Energy. The ingredients for dance.

Dance Elements

400

refers to the origin of ballet in the 15th and 16th-century Italian and French courts, where it began as a lavish form of entertainment combining music, dance, poetry, and spectacle for nobles. It spread from Italy to France through Catherine de' Medici, and was later standardized under King Louis XIV, who established the first dance academy. Early Renaissance ballets were participatory, with court members dancing in performances that often featured heavy, restrictive clothing.

Renaissance Ballet Period

400

a jump meaning "step of the cat," where the dancer jumps sideways, bringing the knees up and then drawing the other foot into a passé position, with a moment at the top where both bent knees form a "diamond shape" before landing

Pas De Chat

500

The guy who Choreographed Pippin and Chicago

Bob Fosse

500

shows done in black face that displayed stereotypical roles and entertainment of black people.

Minstrel Shows

500
putting choreography in a pattern order with two different phrases

ABA Phrasing

500

 the theatrical dance that developed from the court dances of King Louis XIV in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, serving as a direct precursor to classical ballet. Characterized by its elegant movements, controlled footwork, and focus on musicality, it established foundational elements like turnout and the bend-and-rise action still used today.

Baroque Ballet Period

500

Meaning the bending of the knees. Consists of a movement in which the dancer bends their knees and straightens them again.

Plié

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