Glossary of Terms for Dance Educators:
Compiled by:
Benita Brown, Ed.D.
Vice President – VAHPERD’S Dance Division
Assistant Professor
Virginia State University

AB - A two part tempo, movement or style with an A theme and a B theme.

ABA - A three-part tempo, movement, or style in which the second theme is different from the first theme, and the third theme is a restatement of the first A theme.

Abstract - To create a new sequence or dance similar to but not identical to an original.

Accent - Emphasis or stress on a movement or part of a movement.

Active learning time - The physical participation time of a mover in a class pursuing an assigned learning task.

Aesthetic - taking in and enjoying through the sense the principles of dance.

Aesthetics - The study or philosophy of art and beauty.

Aesthetic criteria - Standards on which to make judgments about the artistic merit of a work of art.

Aesthetic unity - choice and arrangement of material for a single effect.

Alignment - the angle between the body and the ground. The relationship of the skeleton to the line of gravity and the base of support.

Anacrusis The “&” count before the down beat in a musical phrase.

Animation - State of liveliness or vivacity.

Antiphonal - Sung or chanted in responsive, alternating parts; call and response.


Artistic decisions - Choices made in the process of creating a dance which are based on one’s acquired knowledge over time of the specific skills relating to dance.

Artistic product/production - The final result of an artistic process for the purpose of public presentation.

Asymmetrical - an unbalanced proportion in the design.

Attention - close or careful observation of, or concentration on an event or object.

Aural - Pertaining to or received by the ear.

Authenticity of style - The ability to create an original dance piece reflecting the individual style of the choreographer.

Axial movement - Non-locomotor movement occurring above a stationary base involving the spine. Any movement organized
around the axis of the body. Any movement that is anchored to one spot by a body part using only the available space in any direction without losing the initial body contact. Movement is organized around the axis of the body rather than designed for travel from one location to another.

Balance - The equal distribution of weight. Harmonious arrangement of parts.

Ballistic - Bouncy or explosive rather than static.

Beat - Regularly spaced pulse.

Call and response - Music or dance in which a soloist/group performs then a second soloist/group enters “in response” to the first. Most often associated with African music and dance.

Canon - A form that is characterized by the overlapping of the theme, as in a round. Dance in which individuals and groups perform the same movement/phrase beginning at different times.

Chance - A choreographic process in which elements are specifically chosen and refined but randomly structured to create a dance or movement.

Choreographer - Refers to the person who creates the dance.

Choreographic - A dance sequence. Describes a dance sequence that has been created with specific intent.

Choreographic principles - The fundamentally accepted ideas for creating dances. Method of formation, operation, or procedure; guide to the realization of the desired product.

Choreographic processes - The fundamentally accepted methods for creating dances.

Choreographic structure - The specific compositional forms of a dance. The specific compositional forms in which movement is structured to create a dance.

Choreography - The art of planning and arranging dance movements into a meaningful whole; the process of building a composition, a finished dance piece. The movement contained in a dance. The art and craft of inventing and composing dances.

Compositional techniques - The methods used to construct movement for the purpose of creating a dance.

Contemporary forms - Refers to any compositional technique of the present.

Contrast - The comparison of movement by showing differences. Relative variance of two or more choreographic factors.

Copying - Movement based on the pattern of another.

Cueing - Ready, set, go signal; preparation to begin.

Dimension - Size of movement or space.

Direction - Forward, backward, sideways, circular, diagonal, serpentine.

Dislocations - Movement which changes planes; use of upper and lower body in different planes during a singular movement sequence.

Duple meter - The alternation of one strong and one weak beat.

Duration - Length of the movement in relation to space.

Dynamics - Shadings in the amount of energy, intensity, or power, subtle variations in the treatment of movement contrasts. The interrelationships that make movement expressive. See also movement quality. Also, the expressive content of human movement, sometimes called qualities or efforts. Dynamics manifest the interrelationships among the elements of space, time, and force/energy.

Elevation - A movement that lifts the body or any of its parts into the air. The body’s distance from the floor in a leap, hop, or jump. The body’s propulsion into the air away from the floor, such as in a leap, hop or jump.

Energy - The force of power needed to produce and/or manipulate a movement.

Expressiveness - the ability to effectively communicate thoughts and ideas through movement.

Extension - An elongation or lengthening of the body or any of its parts.

Fall and recovery - Yielding to gravity followed by a subsequent resistance to gravity. The process in movement of yielding to and resisting gravity.

Feedback - The return of information about the results of an action or process.

Flexion - a bending movement, the opposite of extension.

Focus - Conscious attention toward a certain point; with eyes, body parts, or the direction in which the whole body faces. A
direction/place upon which a dancer fixes his/her attention.

Folk dance - Dances that are usually created and performed by a specific group within a culture such as country dancing outside the cities.

Following - Going after someone; repeating movements of a leader.

Force/energy - See Dynamics and Movement quality.

Form - Overall plan for the arrangement of movement/dance.

Improvisation - Spontaneous movement created in immediate response to a stimulus or a direction. Movement that is created
spontaneously, ranging from free-form to highly structured environments, but always with an element of chance. Provides the dancer with the opportunity to bring together elements quickly, and requires focus and concentration. Improvisation is instant and simultaneous choreography and performance.
Also, spontaneous dance that can be completely free-form or highly structured, but always with an element of chance. Improvisation combines choreography and performance that is neither rehearsed or pre-planned.

Initiation - Point at which a movement is said to originate. This particularly refers to specific body parts and is generally said to be either distal (from the limbs or head) or central (from the torso).

Interactive - providing opportunities for actions with and between groups.

Interdisciplinary - Including more than one discipline in the creation of an artistic product.

Kinesphere - Laban’s term for self space; 360 degrees surrounding the body, outer edges determined by how far you can reach.

Kinetics - Study of movement.

Kinesthetic - Movements in the muscles, tendons, and joints that are necessary to dance. Refers to the ability of the body‘s seven
sensory organs in the muscles, tendons, and joints to respond to stimuli while dancing or viewing a dance.

Kinesthetic Sense - Body movement and awareness, muscle memory.

Leading - Acting as a guide for a movement.

Level/s - The altitude of a movement in relation to its distance from the floor. The height of the dancer in relation to the floor.

Locomotor movement - Movement that travels from one place to another. Movement from place to place, usually identified by weight transference on the feet. Basic locomotor steps are the walk, run, leap, hop and jump and the irregular rhythmic combinations of the skip (walk and hop), slide (walk and leap) and gallop (walk and leap).

Media technology - See Technology.

Meter - The grouping of beats by measure.

Mirroring - Movement which reflects or imitates a movement.

Modality - Intervention technique.

Movement quality - The identifying attributes created by the release, follow-through, and termination of energy, which are key to making movement become dance. Typical terms denoting qualities include sustained, swing, percussive, collapse, and vibratory and effort combinations such as float, dab, punch, and glide.

Movement phrase - A brief sequence of related movements that has a sense of rhythmic completion and contains a beginning, middle, and end.

Movement problem - A proposition to be worked out through movement.

Movement quality - The identifying attributes created by the release, follow-through, and termination of energy, which are key to making movement become dance. Typical terms denoting qualities include sustained, swing, percussive, collapse, and vibratory and effort combinations such as float, dab, punch and glide.

Movement sequence - A series of movements.

Movement study - A theme conveyed through movement. A series of movement phrases which convey a simple thought or idea.

Movement style - See Style.

Movement theme - A complete idea in movement that is manipulated and developed within a dance.

Movement vocabulary - Terms and their meanings as particularly used to describe the movement of a specific choreographer or style of dance.

Musicality - The musical elements of a dance performance. Attention and sensitivity to the musical elements of dance while creating or performing.

Narrative - A story line. Choreographic structure that follows a specific story line and intends to convey specific information through that story.

Non-locomotor movement - Stationary movement around an axis. See “axial movement.”

Off-task behavior - Behavior unrelated to the task at hand.

Palindrome - A dance that has the same movements, first forward and then backward. A choreographic structure used with a phrase or longer sequence of movement which proceeds from movement 1 to movement 2, etc.; when the last movement of the phrase is completed, the phrase is retrograded from the last movement to the first movement.

Pathway - The floor pattern of movements.

Pattern - a prescribed form.

Percussive - Sharp, explosive movement (or sound) in which the impetus is quickly checked.

Pedestrian - Movements which occur in everyday life (e.g., walking, skipping, etc.).

Perception - Insight, intuition or knowledge gained through any of the senses.

Performance presence - A confident presentation of one’s body and energy to communicate movement and meaning to an audience; performance quality.

Personal space - The area around your body. The “space bubble” or the kinesphere that one occupies; it includes all levels, places, and directions both near and far from the body’s center.

Phrase - The development of a motif into a longer statement that comes to a temporary or permanent finish. A unit which, combined with others of similar or related nature, can form a section or a complete composition. This process demands high levels of concentration in performance to deal effectively with free-association and surprise structures that appear spontaneously.

Placement - A balanced alignment of the body, hips, torso, limbs, head, knees, rib cage.

Polyrhythms - Several rhythms, performed simultaneously.

Presentation - To show, display, offer ideas and skills with courage and confidence.

Problem solving - Resolving uncertainties or difficult questions and situations.

Production - The overall performance and all the technical skills required for staging.

Production elements - The components that comprise an artistic production (e.g., lighting, scenery, properties, costumes, sound, etc.)

Production plan - The outline for the completion of a productions, including schedules, deadlines, budgets, etc.

Projection - See Performance presence.

Reordering - A choreographic process in which known and defined elements (specific movements, movement phrases, etc.) are separated from their original relationship and restructured in a different pattern.

Repetition - That which repeats in order.

Rhythmic acuity - The ability to hear and move to different time elements. The physical, auditory recognition of various complex time elements.

Rhythmic pattern - A particular succession of accents.

Rhapsodic - Free, irregular form suggesting improvisation.

Rhythm - Symmetrical groupings formed by the regular recurrence of heavy and light accents.

Rondo - A form that is characterized by three or more themes with an alternating return to the main theme. A technique of composing movement in which the principal movement then is often repeated.

Round - A fixed movement ending where the movement began.

Sensory input - Receiving material to be learned through sensory organs of the body such as eyes, skin, ears, etc.

Sensorimotor skills - Skills performed automatically such as walking, running, etc.

Seven Senses of African/African American Dance
1. Polyrhythm
2. Polycentricism
3. Curvilinear
4. Dimensionality
5. Epic Memory
6. Holistic
7. Repetition