Dance
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Knee bend in ballet. It is used in jumps and turns to provide spring, absorb shock, and as an exercise to loosen muscles and to develop balance.
Plié
This show follows the training and careers of children in dance and show business under the tutelage of Abby Lee Miller as well as the relationships between Miller, the dancers, and their often bickering mothers.
Dance Moms
The first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.
Misty Copeland
A performance dance technique and style that first emerged in the United States in the early twentieth century. This style refers to vernacular jazz or to Broadway or theatrical jazz. Both genres build on African-American vernacular styles of dancing that emerged with jazz music.
This move occurs when a dancer makes a quick, small circular motion with their fists and leans into a freeze position when the beat drops in a song.
The Woah
A classical ballet term meaning “raised.” It describes the action when a dancer rises up and seemingly is standing “on their toes” in a demi-pointe or a fully en pointe.
Relevé
An American dance competition television series. The format of the show consists of a celebrity paired with a professional dancer. Each couple performs predetermined dances and competes against the others for judges' points and audience votes.
Dancing with the Stars
An African-American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the AAADT.
Alvin Ailey
A type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres and cultures
Ballet
This dance is performed to the debut single from American rapper Silentó. It features punching your arm out while stomping one foot and then swaying your body and stepping back.
Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)
A rotation of the body about the vertical axis. It is usually a complete rotation of the body.
Turn
An American dance reality television series. This show follows a majorette style team that competes in hip-hop and majorette competitions.
Bring It!
An American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He had a profound influence on modern dance.
Merce Cunningham
This style is often considered to have emerged as a rejection of or rebellion against, classical ballet. Dance artists such as Isadora Duncan, Maud Allan, and Loie Fuller were pioneering new forms and practices in what is now called aesthetic or free dance for performance.
Modern
Milly Rock
A dance step used in many dances in many variations. All variations are triple-step patterns of gliding character in a "step-together-step" pattern.
Chassé
An American reality competition television series. The series features dance performers, including solo acts and larger groups, representing any style of dance, competing for a grand prize of $1 million.
World of Dance
An American ballet choreographer who was one of the most influential 20th-century choreographers. Styled as the father of American ballet, he co-founded the New York City Ballet and remained its Artistic Director for more than 35 years.
George Balanchine
Refers to street dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture.
Hip Hop
Emote from the game Fortnite, where you gyrate the hips and swing the arms across the body.
Orange Justice