conga an African-Cuban dance in 2?4 time, popularized in the 1930s, and characterized by a long chain of dancers performing three successive steps, followed by a kick.
contredanse a French square dance originating in about 1600.
cossack a Russian dance featuring squatting dancers with arms folded.
cotton-eyed Joe a country and western dance in which dancers move around the room and stomp, shuffle, and kick.
fandango a progressively accelerating Spanish dance performed with castanets and snapping fingers, and further characterized by the couples freezing temporarily when the music pauses and then resuming.
faruca a Spanish gypsy dance characterized by double turns, falls, and heel work.
flamenco Spanish gypsy dance characterized by foot stomping and hand-clapping.
fox-trot a couples ballroom dance performed in 2/4 or 4/4 time.
freak dancing slang for any sexually explicit dancing. Also known as booty dancing.
freak train slang for a train of dancers dancing in a sexually explicit manner.
freestyle any invented form of dance, sometimes combining elements from many other dances, as in rock and roll dancing.
galop a lively Hungarian dance featuring glissand- ing and galloping steps, popular in the 19 th century.
hornpipe a lively sailor's dance performed with the music of a hornpipe.
hula a Polynesian dance featuring undulating hips and gestures of the hands and arms to tell a story.
hustle a popular American disco dance of the 1970s.
jacking rapidly rippling the torso back and forth, especially to match the beat of the music, as part of any disco dance.
jitterbug a lively swing dance, a variation of the lindy hop.
jive a fast swing dance combining elements of the lindy hop and jitterbug, noted for its triple step performed on the toes.
juba American slave dance of the 1800s, characterized by hand-clapping and slapping of the knee and thighs.
lambada passionate and sensuous Brazilian couples dance with close body contact, and combining elements of various other Brazilian dances.
limbo West Indies dance in which dancer tries to bend as far back as possible while shuffling under a progressively lowered pole.
lindy hop named after Charles Lindbergh's first crossing of the Atlantic in an airplane, a popular swing dance characterized by its high-flying, acrobatic moves.
locking robotic-like movements through which a dancer freezes or locks and collapses into successive poses and moves.
mambo a Caribbean dance in 4/4 time, resembling the rumba.
minuet a slow and stately dance originating in 17th- century France, featuring groups of dancers performing courtly gestures.
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.