dance key terms Flashcards
Actions
What a dancer does eg travelling, turning, elevation, gesture, stillness, use of body parts, floor-work and the transference of weight.
Acceleration
Speeding up the movement
Accompaniment
The sound that you hear during a dance. For example, percussion.
Accumulation
When a dancer performs a series of movements and others join in at different times until all perform in unison.
Alignment
Correct placement of body parts in relation to each other.
Artistic intention
The aim of a dance; what the choreographer aims to communicate.
Aural setting
An audible accompaniment to the dance such as music, words, song and natural sound (or silence).
Balance
A steady or held position achieved by an even distribution of weight.
Binary
A composition in two parts or sections.
Canon
When the same movements overlap in time.
Choreographic approach
The way in which a choreographer makes the dance.
Choreographic devices
Methods used to develop and vary material.
Choreographic intention
The aim of the dance; what the choreographer aims to communicate.
Choreographic processes
Activities involved in creating dance such as improvisation, selection and development.
Choreography
The art of creating dance.
Climax
The most significant moment of the dance.
Complementary
Perform actions or shapes that are similar to but not exactly the same as another dancer’s.
Contrast
Movements or shapes that have nothing in common.
Control
The ability to start and stop movement, change direction and hold a shape efficiently.
Coordination
The efficient combination of body parts
Costume
Clothing worn by dancers in performance.
Counterpoint
When dancers perform different phrases simultaneously.
Critical appreciation
Evaluation of dance based upon knowledge and understanding, including original insights.
Deceleration
Slowing down the movement.
Development
The way in which movement material is manipulated.
Direction
The facing of a movement.
Duet
Two performers.
Dynamics
The qualities of movement based upon variations in speed, strength and flow.
Elements of dance
Actions, space, dynamics and relationships.
Elevation
The action of ‘going up’ without support, such as in a jump.
End-stage
A performance space with the audience on one side; also known as ‘end-on’
Episodic
A choreography with several sections, linked by a theme.
Execution
Carrying out actions with the required intention.
Expressive skills
Aspects that contribute to performance artistry and that engage the audience, such as focus and musicality.
Extension
Lengthening one or more muscles or limbs.
Facial expression
Use of the face to show mood, feeling or character.
Features of production
Lighting, set, properties, costume and aural setting.
Flexibility
The range of movement in the joints (involving muscles, tendons and ligaments).
Focus
Use of the eyes to enhance performance or interpretative qualities.
Formations
Shapes or patterns created in space by dancers.
Fragmentation
Use of parts of a phrase or motif.
Highlights
Important moments of a dance.
Improvisation
Exploration or generation of movements without planning.
In-the-round
A performing area with the audience seated on all sides.
Intention
Aim or desired outcome.
Interpretation
Finding the meaning that is in the movement or finding the movement that is in the idea.
Isolation
An independent movement of part of the body.
Levels
Distance from the ground: low, medium or high.
Lighting
The illumination of the performance area.
Manipulation of number
How the number of dancers in a group is used.
Mental rehearsal
Thinking through or visualising the dance.
Mental skills
These include commitment, concentration, confidence, movement memory, systematic repetition, mental rehearsal, rehearsal discipline, planning of rehearsal, response to feedback and capacity to improve.
Mobility
The range of movement in a joint; the ability to move fluently from action to action.
motif
A movement phrase encapsulating an idea that is repeated and developed throughout the dance.
Motif development
Ways in which a movement phrase can be varied.
Musicality
The ability to make the unique qualities of the accompaniment evident in performance.
Narrative
Dance that tells a story.
Pathways
Designs traced in space (on the floor or in the air).
Performance
The presentation of dance to an audience.
Performance environments
Different settings for dance such as in-the-round, proscenium and site-sensitive.
Phrase
A short sequence of linked movements.
Physical skills
Aspects enabling effective performance such as posture, alignment, balance, coordination, control, flexibility, mobility, strength, stamina, extension and isolation.
Posture
The way the body is held.
Projection
The energy the dancer uses to connect with and draw in the audience.
Proscenium
The arch or opening that creates the effect of a picture frame and separates the stage from the auditorium.
Rehearsal discipline
Attributes and skills required for refining performance such as commitment, systematic repetition, teamwork, responsibility and effective use of time.
Relationships
The ways in which dancers interact; the connections between dancers.
Repetition
Performing the same action or phrase again.
Rhythmic content
Rhythmic content
Rondo
A music or dance form with alternating and repeating sections eg verse and chorus.
Safe execution
Carrying out actions safely.
Site sensitive
Dances that are designed for (or relate to) non-theatre spaces.
Solo
One performer.
Space
The ‘where’ of movement such as levels, directions, pathways, shapes, designs and patterns.
Spatial awareness
Consciousness of the surrounding space and its effective use.
Staging/set
The presentation of dance in the performing space including set, furniture, props, projection and backdrop.
Stamina
Ability to maintain physical and mental energy over periods of time.
Stimulus/stimuli
nspiration for an idea or movement.
Strength
Muscular power.
Structure
The way in which material is organised to create the whole.
Structuring devices
The ways in which a dance is made, built, ordered or organised.
Style
Characteristic way of dancing.
Style fusion
The combination of features of two or more styles.
Systematic repetition
Repeating something in an arranged or ordered way.
Tactile
Relating to the sense of touch.
Technical skills
These include accuracy of action, timing, dynamic, rhythmic and spatial content and the reproduction of movement in a stylistically accurate way.
Ternary
A composition in three parts.
Timing
The use of time or counts when matching movements to sound and/or other dancers.
Transitions
Links between dance phrases or sections.
Unison
Two or more dancers performing the same movement at the same time.
