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Basic Dance Glossary

This document provides definitions for 45 common dance terms from various styles including ballet, jazz, ballroom, and partner dancing. It defines positions, steps, turns, leaps and other movements. Some examples include the chaine turn, ball change, grapevine, first through fifth positions, pique turn, releve, developpe, arabesque, grand jete, and pirouette. The glossary provides a helpful reference for learning dance vocabulary across multiple genres.

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Denise Michelle Antivo
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128 views3 pages

Basic Dance Glossary

This document provides definitions for 45 common dance terms from various styles including ballet, jazz, ballroom, and partner dancing. It defines positions, steps, turns, leaps and other movements. Some examples include the chaine turn, ball change, grapevine, first through fifth positions, pique turn, releve, developpe, arabesque, grand jete, and pirouette. The glossary provides a helpful reference for learning dance vocabulary across multiple genres.

Uploaded by

Denise Michelle Antivo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Basic Dance Glossary

1. Chaine Turn - a basic turn used in ballet and jazz dance, as well as other
styles.
2. Ball Change - shifting weight from one foot to the other, and back again.
3. Grapevine - a dancer steps out to the side, crosses the other foot in front,
steps out to side again, and crosses the other foot behind.
4. First Position - One of five ballet positions. Heels touch and toes pointed
outward, forming a line with the feet. Arms are rounded.
5. Second Position - One of five ballet positions. Feet are separated about
shoulders' width, with toes turned outward. Arms are outstretched with
slight rounding.
6. Third Position - One of five ballet positions. Left foot stays forward while
the right heel meets the arch of the left foot , with right toes turned outward.
Right arm is outstretched to side, left is rounded above head.
7. Fourth Position - One of five ballet positions. Right foot is turned out in
front of the left at a distance, and left arm is rounded over the head. Right
arm is rounded in front, just as in first position.
8. Fifth Position - One of five ballet positions. Both feet are turned out in
different directions - toe to heel, heel to toe. Both arms are rounded above
head.
9. Pique Turn - Dancer steps out on one foot, and a complete turn is made on
releve while the opposing foot's toes are brought up to the inside knee.
10. Releve - To balance on your toes, either stationary or in movement.
11. Kick Ball Change - one foot kicks either forward, to the side or to the back,
and then is brought behind for a ball change step.
12. Heel Pull - found in ballroom dancing, a half turn is completed on each
heel.
13. Derriere - French for "directly behind the body." Referenced often in ballet.
14. Pas de Deux - a two-person dance, usually a male/female duet
15. Double Turn - two full rotations of any dance turn (pique, attitude, pencil,
etc.)
16. Attitude Turn - while turning on releve, one leg is bent backward behind
the body, leading the turn outward.
17. Glissade - a small leap to the side, almost a gliding motion across the floor.
18. Plie - a bend of the knees in any of the five ballet positions
19. Pas de Bourree - a connecting step used in dance combinations, it involves
the transfer of weight from one foot to the other, usually to "prep" for a turn
or leap.
20. Bridge - body is arched upside down, supported by the hands and feet
with head dropped downward.
21. Working Leg - the leg that is currently being used in a dance step
22. Developpe - leg is brought up so the knee is bent at waist length, and then
the leg is extended straight outward.
23.Dos a Dos - two people rotate completely around each other without
touching, their backs to one another.
24. Split Leap - legs "switch" back and forth in midair during the leap
25. Tour Jete - a jump in which one foot steps out to the side, and the other foot
kicks around in a leap to meet the other foot. Dancer lands on kicking foot.
Arms are outstretched, over the head during the leap, and then brought down
again.
26. Feather Step - in partner dancing, the man takes four steps toward the
woman, with the third step going around the outside of her body.
27. Aplomb - a stationary position
28. Arabesque - one leg supports while the other is extended up and behind
the body
29. Ballerino - Italian term for male ballet dancer
30. Barre - a horizontal single or double barre used for ballet warm ups and
balance during instruction of new steps
31. Fan Kick - a kick that rotates 180 degrees in the air
32.Jete - a leap from one foot to the other
33.Grand Jete - a large leap that literally forms the splits in the air
34. Splits - one leg stretched straight in front of the body and one stretching
directly behind
35. Passe - the toes of one foot are brought up to the knee of the opposing leg.
36. En Pointe - to execute ballet steps on the tips of the toes, wearing special
ballet slippers known as pointe shoes
37. Port de Bras - the movement of the arms into different positions
38. Rond de Jambe - half circles traced with one foot
39. Tendu - French for "to stretch", in which a foot reaches out from the body
and extends outward, with toes remaining on the floor
40. Grand Battement - working leg is kicked upward to hip level and
brought down again
41. Retire - much like a passe, only the raised foot literally "rests" against the
front or back of the supporting knee
42. Sissonne - a jump from both feet onto one
43. Quadrille - a succession of steps in ballroom dancing in which the man
dances in turn with the woman
44. Pirouette - a complete rotation done in place in the "pique" position
45.Reverence - a bow or curtsy in dance

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