ABSP - Dances

Dances

Words

allemande almain	a courtly baroque dance in which the arms are interlaced.
beguine	a dance of French West Indian origin.
bergamask bergomask	a rustic dance.
bogle	a kind of rhythmic dance; (verb) to perform this.
bolero	a Spanish dance with sudden pauses and sharp turns. Pl. BOLEROS.
boogaloo	a kind of dance; (verb) to perform this.
boogey boogie boogy	to dance to rock music.
boston	a waltz-like dance.
bourree	an brisk French dance in triple time.
branle bransle brantle brawl	an old French dance or dance-tune.
breakdance breakdancing	an energetic form of dance to rock or disco.
cachucha	an Andalusian dance in three-four time, resembling the bolero.
cakewalk	a prancing stage dance with backward tilt; (verb) to do the cakewalk.
canary	a lively Renaissance courtly dance; (verb) to dance this.
cancan	a French dance.
cantico canticoy kantikoy	to dance as an act of worship. [Algonquin].
capoeira capuera	a martial art and dance combination.
carioca	a variation of the SAMBA.
carmagnole	a popular song and round dance of the French Revolutionary period.
chaconne	a Spanish baroque dance in triple time.
charleston	a lively dance that involves kicking.
clogdance	a dance performed with clogs, the clatter keeping time to the music.
conga	a Latin American dance in which dancers are linked in a single file; (verb) to dance the conga.
contredanse	a folk dance in which two lines of couples face each other.
cooch	a sinuous dance.
coranto courant courante couranto	an old dance with a gliding step.
cotillion cotillon	an elaborate ballroom dance with frequent changes of partner.
cracovienne krakowiak	a lively Polish dance; the music for it. [From Cracow, a city in southern Poland).
csardas czardas	a Hungarian dance that increases in speed. The quick movement is called a FRIS or FRISKA, the slow movement a LASSU.
dancical	a type of dance show in which choreographed performers dance to pop songs.
fading	an old Irish dance.
fado	a type of Portugese folk-song or dance > FADOS. [Port. fado, fate].
fandango	a lively Spanish dance performed by a couple > FANDANGOS or FANDANGOES.
farandole	a lively Provençal dance in which men and women hold hands.
farruca	a gypsy dance with sudden tempo and mood changes.
flamenco	a Spanish dance style > FLAMENCOS.
forlana furlana	a Venetian dance in 6-4 time.
foxtrot	a ballroom dance to syncopated music; (verb) to dance the foxtrot.
fris friska	the quick movement of a CZARDAS.
frug	a vigorous dance performed to pop music, popularized in the 1960s; (verb) to perform this dance.
galliard	a sprightly Renaissance and Baroque dance.
gallopade galopade	a lively ballroom dance in 2/4 time; a piece of music for this dance. GALLOPADE, but not GALOPADE, can be used as a verb: to dance a gallopade.
galop	a lively double-time dance; (verb) to dance this > GALOPPING or GALOPING, GALOPPED or GALOPED.
gavot gavotte	a dance, somewhat like a country-dance, originally a dance of the Gavots, people of the French Upper Alps.
german	(US) an elaborate dance.
giga gigue	a lively Italian dance. Pl. of GIGA is GIGAS, GIGHE.
gopak	a high-leaping folk-dance from the Ukraine.
habanera	a slow and seductive Cuban dance.
haka	a ceremonial Maori war-dance.
halling	a Norwegian country dance.
hey	a winding country dance; (verb) to dance this.
hoedown	a country dance.
hoolachan hoolican	a Highland reel, esp. the reel of Tulloch.
hora horah	an Israeli dance.
hornpipe	a lively British folk dance.
hula	a sinuous Polynesian dance with rhythmic hip movements.
jitterbug	a jazz dance featuring vigorous acrobatic feats; (verb) to dance this.
jive	to dance to jazz or swing music.
joncanoe junkanoo	a boisterous West Indian dance.
jota	a Spanish dance in triple time.
juba	a Negro rustic dance.
kathak	a dance of N. India.
kazachoc kazachok	a Russian folk dance > KAZACHKI.
kazatski	a Russian folk dance > KAZATSKIS.
kazatsky	a Russian folk dance > KAZATSKIES.
kazatzka	a Russian folk dance > KAZATZKAS.
kolo	a Serbian folk-dance > KOLOS. [Serbo-Croat kolo, wheel].
krakowiak	see CRACOVIENNE.
krumper	one who does KRUMPING.
krumping	a type of dancing in which participants, often wearing face paint, dance with one another in a fast and aggressive style mimicking a fight but without any physical contact.
lambada	a rhythmic energetic Latin-American dance.
lanciers	a French dance. N.B. there is no singular LANCIER*.
lassu	the slow movement of a CSARDAS.
landler	a S. German dance, like a slow waltz (the a has an umlaut).
lavolt lavolta	a lively dance for couples in 3/4 time, in which each partner lifts the other clear of the ground in turn; (verb) to do this dance.
legong	a Balinese dance.
lindy	a dance closely resembling the jitterbug.
loure	an old slow dance in 6-4 time. [Fr. bagpipe].
malaguena	a Spanish dance performed by a couple, similar to the FANDANGO.
mambo	a Cuban ballroom dance resembling the rumba or cha-cha; Voodoo priestess; (verb) to dance the mambo > MAMBOS or MAMBOES.
marinera	a Peruvian folk-dance danced in pairs.
matachin	a masked sword-dancer; the sword-dance itself. Pl. MATACHINI.
matachina	a female MATACHIN, sword-dancer.
maxixe	a Brazilian ballroom dance resembling the two-step.
mazourka mazurka	a Polish folk dance in moderate triple measure. [Polish mazurka, woman of the province Mazovia].
merengue	a Caribbean ballroom dance in which feet are frequently dragged.
minuet	a slow and stately Baroque dance in 3/4 time.
morris morrice	an English folk dance in which story is enacted by costumed dancers; MORRIS can be used as a verb: to dance the morris.
mosh	a style of energetic sinuous dancing; (verb) to dance in this way.
mosher	one who MOSHES.
moshing	a style of energetic sinuous dancing > MOSHINGS.
nach nautch nauch	an entertainment in India consisting chiefly of dancing by professional dancing girls.
nondance	something that is not a dance.
nondancer	one who does not dance.
outdance	to surpass in dancing.
pantalon pantalone	a movement in a quadrille.
pasodoble	a fast modern dance.
paspy passepied	a Breton dance resembling a quick minuet.
passacaglia	an old slow Italian or Spanish dance; variations on a theme over a continuously repeated ground bass.
passamezzo	an old dance, a PAVAN in quick time.
pericon	an Argentinan folk-dance performed by couples dancing in a ring > PERICONES.
petronella	a Scottish country dance.
pigeonwing	a caper or leap in dancing, jumping and clapping feet together.
polk	to dance a polka.
polka	a Bohemian dance or the tune for it; (verb) to dance this. [Perhaps Czech pulka half-step; or from Polish polka a Polish woman].
polonaise	a stately Polish dance of moderate tempo.
polonie	a child's polonaise, a stately Polish dance of moderate tempo.
pyrrhic	an ancient Greek war-dance; also a Greek poetic measure.
quadrille	a square dance for four couples; (verb) to dance the quadrille. A QUADRILLE has movements including a PANTALON or PANTALONE and a TRENISE.
quickstep	a fast march-like dance.
redowa	a Bohemian dance. [Czech rejdov´k, f. rejdovat turn or whirl round].
reel	a lively dance of the Scottish Highlands.
rhumba rumba	a kind of dance; (verb) to dance the rhumba.
rigadoon rigaudon	a lively Baroque period dance.
romaika	a modern Greek dance. [Mod. Gr. Rhomaikos, Roman].
ronggeng	a Malaysian dancing-girl; a kind of Malysian dancing, often with singing.
roundel roundle	a ring-dance.
rueda	a Cuban street dance, performed in a circle, featuring many turns and changes of partner.
salsa	a rhythmic Latin-American big-band dance music; a dance performed to this; (verb) to do such a dance. [Sp. salsa, sauce].
saltarello	a lively Italian dance > SALTARELLOS or SALTARELLI.
samba	a Brazilian dance; (verb) to dance the samba.
saraband sarabande	a stately court dance of the 17th and 18th centuries, resembling the minuet. [Sp. zarabanda].
sardana	a Catalan dance in a ring formation.
schottische	an old polka-like round dance.
seguidilla	a Spanish folk dance.
shimmy	a jazz dance featuring rapid shaking of the body; (verb) to dance the shimmy.
siciliana siciliano	a Sicilian dance, resembling the pastorale, set to a rather slow and graceful melody in 12-8 or 6-8 measure; also, the music to the dance. Pl. of SICILIANA is SICILIANE; of SICILIANO is SICILIANOS.
skank	to dance to reggae music, lifting the knees in a rapid jerky movement.
skanker	one who SKANKS, dances to reggae music.
slamdance	to dance aggressively, bumping into other people.
stepdancer	one who does a step dance.
stepdancing	dancing involving an effective display of steps by an individual dancer. N.B. there is no STEPDANCE* (it is two words), but there is STEPDANCER.
stomp	a jazz dance featuring heavy stamping of the feet.
strathspey	a reel-like Scottish dance of moderate tempo.
tango	a kind of dance; (verb) to dance the tango.
tangolike	like a TANGO.
tarantella	a lively, whirling S. Italian dance once thought to be caused by tarantism.
tordion turdion	a Renaissance dance similar to but slower than a GALLIARD.
trenise	the fourth movement of a QUADRILLE.
tripudium	an ancient Roman religious dance in triple time > TRIPUDIA or TRIPUDIUMS.
valeta veleta	a kind of dance. [Sp. veleta, weather-cock].
valse	a waltz; (verb) to waltz.
varsovienne	a polka-like Polish dance.
villanella	an old rustic dance, accompanied with singing. Pl. VILLANELLE (which a a verse form is also a singular in its own right, with pl. VILLANELLES).
vogue	to perform to pop music a stylized dance > VOGUING/VOGUEING.
volta	same as LAVOLTA, but cannot be used as verb.
waltz	a ballroom dance in triple time in which couples spin around as they progress round the room; (verb) to dance this.
waltzlike	like a WALTZ.
zapateado	a Latin-American dance with rhythmic tapping of the feet > ZAPATEADOS.
zapateo	a Spanish dance > ZAPATEOS.
ziganka	a Russian country dance.

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