Descriptionary

bamba a Mexican dance in which a sash is thrown on the floor and is tied together by the feet of a danc­ing couple.

bambuca the national ballroom dance of Colombia.

barn dance any dance social held in a barn or town hall, with various forms of square dancing.

beguine a variation of the rumba, originating in Cuba and Martinique.

belly dance a Middle Eastern dance performed by a solo female, characterized by stomach undulations.

big apple a swing dance with a caller, originating in South Carolina in the 1930s.

black bottom a solo or couples dance succeeding the Charleston in the 1920s, and characterized by a combination of shuffling, stomping, and swaying knees.

bolero a lively Spanish dance in 3?4 time performed with castanets and punctuated with sharp turns and sudden stops.

boogie-woogie an African-American, hip-swaying jazz dance.

booty dancing see freak dancing.

bossa nova a lively, sambalike Brazilian dance for couples.

Boston jive a variation of the lindy hop with kicks.

break dance American dance originating in the 1980s, characterized by spins and acrobatic moves performed solo—often in a prostrate position—on the floor.

bump 1970s American disco dance characterized by dancers bumping hips.

bunny hop congalike dance of the 1950s featuring three hops instead of a kick.

cancan originating in Paris in 1890, a dance per­formed by women and characterized by high kicking and skirt lifting.

cha-cha a variation of the mambo, characterized by a triplet beat, a quickstep, and a shuffle.

Charleston a lively American dance of the 1920s, made famous by many vaudeville acts.

chipaneca Mexican dance in % time in which the dancers ask the audience to clap hands with them.

choreographer one who designs a series of dance steps and moves, especially for a show.

choreography a planned progression of steps and movements, as designed by a choreographer for a show.

clogging dance of the Blue Ridge Mountains, fea­turing double time stomping and tap steps in wooden- soled shoes.

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.