Dance terms
adagio |
(at) slow music |
alemana |
lady turns clockwise under her right hand (ccc and rumba) |
allegro |
(on) fast music |
alteración (AT) |
alteration, change of direction during the pass |
appèl |
appeal on the ground, sounding stomp foot (full weight) on the floor. (Military: obey call) |
ball change |
two (fast, syncopated) steps on the ball of the alternating foot |
ballroom |
stately graceful dance around the floor |
bamboleo |
surge, swing |
bandoneon |
accordion that came over from Germany to Argentina, typical to Argentine music |
barrida (AT) |
'sweep', with brushing along the bafoot of the other |
beat |
accent in the rhythm of the music |
bebop |
jazz form from the years 40-50 (no dance style) |
boleo (AT) |
change of direction in the axis e.g. backward ocho to forward makes backward boleo (= throw lasso, which moves like swinging leg). |
bongo |
hand drums (usually 2 together), under side open |
bootcamp |
training week (end) without luxury, so named after sports training of U.S. Army |
bounce |
back spring, typical samba movement with knee and hip stretched to springs up somewhat |
box (step) |
6 steps in a rectangle (or square) shapeon the floor |
BPM |
beats per minute, beats (accents) per minute |
brush |
bring the moving foot to the standing one without weight transfer |
BULDO |
Belgian Union of Teachers of Dance and Manners |
caller |
dance leader in country dancing indicating moves |
cavaquinho |
ukulele -like instrument with 4 strings |
CBM |
Contrary body movement: turning starter by crossed the coordination of the body relative to the legs (like winding up to move back) |
chassé |
(mostly) sideways movement: side- close - side (locking) |
check |
short, highlighted interruption of a movement with the foot at the beginning of a pass (with weight), which then flows in the reverse direction |
choreography |
description (and think of) dance moves |
clapshold |
lady 'flips' (actually flattes) for ballroom dancing her right hand into the left of the gentleman, fingers closed |
claves |
two hardwood sticks as a percussion instrument |
conga |
with hand or fingers played, about 70 cm high (wood) drum, open at the bottom |
corrida (A. T.) |
acceleration in running |
cortado (AT) |
is broken step in double- speed (initially a stop) |
country |
country folk music of white Americans |
cross body lead |
basic cross, man steps aside and turns 90° to let the lady straight pass by |
cruzar (cruze) (A. T.) |
crosses, the cross step |
cuban break |
double hold at shoulder height, both one foot quickly traverse in the same direction, fall back to the other and place back the first again, then the same in mirror |
cuban motion |
hip rotation by bending and stretch knees |
cuca |
short for cucaracha, which is sometimes too long as instruction in class or while dancing |
cucaracha |
(cockroach) rapid sideways and back, body remains above the standing leg, hips draw an 8, the outgoing heel follows with a 0 (or 'side break) |
cumbia |
Colombian music and dance style with Spanish and African roots, lots of percussion |
cunita (AT) |
wobble step, only move some weight, feet stay on the spot, at a normal pace |
doo-wop |
a cappella music from the '20s (U.S.), vocal |
double hold |
both hands holding the right on the left |
enchufla (salsa) |
position change, revolve 180° around each other while (hand) hold |
enrosque (AT) |
'roll’ yourself, swing free leg around stand leg to revolve yourself while standing on one leg |
fallaway |
V - shaped dance position as Promenade, but walking backwards |
fan (position) |
ccc, rumba, lady left and perpendicular to the gent. Man left, lady right hand |
fleckerl |
Viennese waltz, quick revolving move in the middle of the floor |
flick |
(tap) kick your foot toward your buttocks (slightly tilted towards standing leg) |
frame |
framework. Fixed position of the arms, shoulders and upper body at Ballroom |
gancho (AT) |
hook with your free leg to a leg of the other |
giro(AT) |
twist, the lady around the gentleman, or both around a centerpiece |
glissade |
(ballet) sliding pass |
guira |
percussion instrument, cylindrical metal grate scraped with a fork |
hand to hand |
as a New Yorker, but with the foot on the open side you step outside backwards instead of inside forward |
handshake |
both give right hand, such as shaking hands |
heelturn |
twist with closed feet on one heel (2 heels toghether cannot, there is always only one pivot point!) |
hip twist |
rotate hips according to the backbone |
Hockey stick |
fan, then Loop Turn for the lady. She makes a hockey stick - shaped path |
hover |
high step on the ball of the foot, to change course or direction (_check). |
impetus |
driving energy prior to rotation with heel turn for the man |
in line |
(as opposed to outside) both dancing with a foot between both feet of the partner (often the starting position) |
crossing in |
join free foot cross (near the ankle) to the support leg |
inside (turn) |
(turn) movement committed to the center between the partners |
instrumental |
without human voice |
jazz |
French 'Jazer' = chat, hodgepodge of styles, black improvisation from New Orleans, the white version was Dixieland music |
kick |
stretch leg forward and down (small soccer - move) |
kick-ball-change |
kick or flick, followed by ball change |
kisses dance |
see polonaise |
LA |
Los Angeles salsa style. Stylized and rounder than Cuban. With shines. |
lapiz (AT) |
pencil, "draw" with the foot on the floor, done with the free leg: draw a circle |
Latin-American |
see Latin |
latin |
dances based on - whether coming from the Caribbean, often Cuban |
lift |
partner while dancing lifting off the ground. In competitions not allowed |
left turn |
(swing your left arm out and backwards, follow this direction to) move, you turn counterclockwise |
lockstep |
pass (forward or backward), cross connecting to other foot (back or front), and again a step at the ball of the foot in the same direction (sort chasse) |
lunge |
heavy check (tango and rock) with bending of the leg |
measure |
size, regularity, unity, variety of accents in music |
maracas |
samba balls, shakers or rattles with handle |
mariachi |
street musician from Mexico |
melancholic |
downheartedness, gloomy,bluesy (often the atmosphere of Argentine Tango) |
molino (AT) |
twist, he around the lady who stands on one leg and is rotated by him |
momentum |
propelled, indicates how difficult it would be to stop the movement. |
Motown |
Famous record label from Detroit, 1959 (Motor Town) |
Neo tango (A.T.) |
more contemporary music and instruments with elaborate dance code, initiated by the tango revival by Gotan Project |
New-Yorker |
in hold, both step 90⁰ inside, hands together pointing in the same step direction, to fall back on the other foot in the other direction. Use other hand (and feet) to repeat this mirrored. (the English call salut cubain a NY?) |
ocho (AT) |
move (by follower) 8- shape: turn on the standing leg, the free leg rotates around there before it is moved |
outside |
(as opposed to inline) next to each other, he dances with both feet in front of the lady |
outside (turn) |
(turn) move themselves from the center between the partner to the outside |
pandeiro |
tambourine with convex jingles and span able face sheet |
parada (A. T.) |
a stop, facing dance direction |
step |
move feet with weight transfer |
pas de Bourée |
(ballet) alternatingly steps: front - back on the ball / toe of the foot |
percussion |
drumming, beating |
pirouette |
quick turn on one foot, spotting |
pitch |
degree of bending of the body, front or rear |
pivot |
turn on the support foot |
put |
placing (or replacing) the light lifted foot back and bring your weight on it |
point |
foot point in the extension of the leg, without heel on the floor or weight on it |
promenade |
partners turn open running in the direction of dance, apart (but holding) |
rap |
rhythmic nonstop verbiage in rhyme. Tough, spicy, humorous |
right turn |
(swing out backwards your right arm and follow this) move, you turn clockwise |
reverence |
(ballet) theatrical, polite bend |
reverse (turn) |
left turn |
rise and fall |
unrolling of the foot by a pass causes this up-and -down motion |
rhythm |
regularity, repetition, pattern |
rock step |
type check in Latin dancing, rock from one foot to the other |
romantic |
dreamy, speaking to feeling and imagination (Rumba) |
rond de jambe |
(ballet) wide circular motion with one leg |
sacada /entrada (AT) |
step with witch one takes almost literally the place of the other |
salida (A. T.) |
based walk, departure. Also the lateral pass to the left of the leader (start) |
salsero(-a) |
salsa dancer |
salut Cubain |
|
sandwich (AT) |
move in which a foot of one is taken between the feet of the other |
sanguichito, mordida (A.T.) |
small sandwich: foot of one partner is taken between the two feet of the other |
sentada (A.T.) |
partner to sit on the thigh (with a lunge) |
shadow position |
spooning position, faces in the same direction |
shine |
solo show in salsa, footwork, stylized moves, also (lady) styling: movement with arms, shoulders, body, hands), especially in LA |
slow |
quiet, relaxed (one beat per measure) |
soltada (A.T.) |
open up a closed dance position to further creatively improvise |
son |
Cuban music with Spanish influences and African rhythms |
spin |
fast rotation, trun, revolving |
spiral (turn) |
forward turning with the free foot. The released foot revolves around the standing leg |
spot turn |
turn on the spot, one partner moves forward, the other backward |
spot turn |
a turn with three steps forward |
spotting |
fix one point when turning, until the body is rotated as far as possible, then rotate the head quickly and watch the same point again |
standard dance |
collection of five ballroom and 5latin dances that can be done in competition |
sway |
swing, tend toward inside of the rotation, swing by stretching the body to one side to offset the center fleeting force |
syncope |
shift accent outside the normally expected count |
tambora |
Latin American, African -derived drum major |
Tango Close |
end of tango pattern, left forward, right side, left in (without weight) QQS |
Tango fusion (A.T.) |
fusion of tango with contemporary dance and music (including non- tango, electronic...) |
Tango nuevo (A.T.) |
(lesson) system from simple to complex tango movements |
Three Step |
Slowfox, three steps forward, SQQ |
timbale |
short metal (Cuban) (cup) drum, open at the bottom |
trot |
walk |
tuck in (turn) |
type winding movement before the (opposite) spin |
twist turn |
rotate on the spot with both feet together |
vihuela |
guitar -like, eight -stringed plucked and stroke string instrument |
vocal |
without instruments, only voice |
traditional dance |
folk traditional, regional, surviving dance |
volta |
turn, turning point |
Whip |
(swing, Lindy) rotary action of the lady around the man |
whisk |
step aside, other foot cross in behind and then both with the inside foot again stepping further in the direction of dance |
closed change |
three consecutive passes, so the following figure can begin with the other (exchanged) foot (waltz) |