VPA midterm

Jazz

American music marked by lively rhythms with unusual accents and often by melodies made up by musicians as they play. Jazz dance grew out of the music and remains interconnected

Classic

Fashionable year after year. Classical dance is a dance that has been developed over time into highly stylized structures and forms within a culture

Irish step dance

Form of percussive dance originating in Ireland with complex footwork producing rhythm with shoes

Weightlessness

Having little weight; lacking apparent gravitational pull

Innovation

A new idea, method, or device

Culture

A particular stage, form, or kind of civilization

Tap

A percussive dance form, producing sound by means of shoes to which taps have been added

Choreographer

A person who creates dances

Expression

A process of conveying ideas, feelings, and meaning through the selective use of the communicative possibilities of dance

blues

A uniquely American form of music, usually 12 bars long, which is a primary influence on the jazz tradition

Waltz

A ballroom dance in 3/4 time with strong accent on the first beat

Ballet

A classic form of dance growing out of the French nobility

Time

A dance element, includes duration, tempo, and beat

Style

A distinct manner of moving or dancing

Rhythms

A flow of sound or movement having regular accented beats; a movement or activity in which some action repeats regularly

Modern dance

A form of dance developed by dancer interested in breaking from ballet traditions and expressing a more liberating form of movement. It expresses complex emotions and abstract ideas

Clogging

A freestyle dance originating in the blue ridge mountains characterized by double time stomping and tap steps resembling a tap dance with the upper body held straight and upright

Powwows

An American Indian ceremony or conference, usually incorporating dance competitions

Ritual

An established form for a ceremony

Elements of dance

Basic ingredients making up movement and dance- time,space,force; tools used in choreography

Social dance

Dances done in recreation, or social context, often partner dances

Force

Degree of muscular tension and use of energy while moving

Contrast

Difference between related things (as in a dance movement)

Dynamics

How a movement is done; movement quality

Isolations

Movement of one part of the body independently of the rest

Improvisation

Movement that is created spontaneously

Non-locomotor

Movement that is performed around the axis of the body rather than designed for travel from place to place.

Locomotor movements

Movements that travel from one location to another

Ragtime

Music played with strong March-style rhythm and a lively melody with accented notes falling on beats that are not usually accented

Pathway

Patterns made as a dancer throughout the air or on the floor

Salsa

Popular music of Latin America origin with elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock

Craze

Something that is very popular for a short time

Space

The area of space occupied by the dancers body; includes direction, size, pathways, levels, and shapes

Dance

The art of human movement

Shape

The form created by the body's position in space

Tradition

The handing down of information, beliefs, or customs from one generation to another.

Duration

The length of time a movement lasts

Tempo

The speed with which a movement is performed

Studio

The working place of an artist

Beat

Underlying rythmic pulse

Reel

a lively dance originally of the Scottish highlands