DANCE TERMS FOR BEGINNER DANCER
A lot of dance terminology is used that cannot be explained clearly or directly, but you can understand what they mean.
I'm sure that this will help me to understand better the meaning of the dance.
8-Count
This is how we count music and break down.
Most dances are choreographed to 8 counts at a time, or two 4 - count measures back to back.
Ball Change
A two steps move in where the weight from one foot to the other foot is
As the name suggests, the kickball change when you kick your foot or splash it before you change the ball.
Bass
the lowest of the traditional four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano), or in a musical arrangement, the lowest melodic line promoting harmony.
A bass sound (drums, guitar) may be created by various instruments. Dancers also use the onomatopoeia "boom" to describe a bass drum sound.
Cypher
A cypher is where a circle of dancers turn and dance in the middle.
It can also be a freestyle circle.
The cypher, chip or circle has a deep, prolonged cultural history in hip hop culture, in African tradition and even in religion.
Dynamics
Specific styles of movement execution.
How much and how easily the energy is distributed depends on the dynamics.
Dynamic similarities make a piece more "dynamic."
Focus
Where you look while dancing.
The popular ones are: the diagonals between those sides are: right, left, up, down.
Freestyle
Improvisational dancing which allows a dancer to express their own style.
It is the process of spontaneously creating a movement which was not choreographed in advance.
Fundamentals
The fundamentals of hip hop apply to the four foundations of the hip hop movement.
Fundamental trends are based on different Hip Hop dance forms, street and funk trends, such as dancing, spinning, locksmithing, lounge, punking / waacking, vogueing and much more.
Full Out
Dance with 100% of your energy and efficiency.
Groups
This is where the class is split into smaller groups, and as other students observe, each group performs the piece.
Groups will get bullying! However, it is also an integral part of your development. Just force yourself out of your comfort zone and go for it!
Hi-Hat
A sound that comes from a hi-hat cymbal.
Often dancers call this sound "tss tss."
Holds
If you keep a move and don't move during a count.
Isolation
When you remove one part without transferring other parts of the body.
Levels
Low levels allow you to bend your knees or "plit." High levels can involve standing on your toes at "releve" stage. Compare levels in the mirror with the choreographer or other dancers to make sure you're as low/high as anyone else.
Mark
Dancing a choreography piece with less energy, typically for musicality, pacing, and other resources to practice.
This enables you to be more mindful of the sound, pacing and the positioning of your body.
Percentages may be used by the choreographer to show how much time you can put into your marking.
Milking
When you spread the motion in a piece or a part of the music.
Musicality
The action suits rhythm, sounds and music's mood in dance.
Depending on the style of the dancer, the song and countless other elements, the dance musicality is seen in different ways.
Lyrics
The words of which the singer sings, often combined with the melody. The lyrics are probably easiest to distinguish, most robust to count/dance to because vocals do not always fit the strict 8 - counts structure.
Often choreographers make lyric - gestures, such as a imitate behaviour and the use of other body elements, including wordplay.
Plié
A smooth and continuous bending of the knees to the outside of the upper body.
Pictures
Think of pictures as actual images.
If someone takes a picture of you in the count that you hit an image, the clearer the picture turns out to be the "cleaner," the more you run the model.
Rhythm
The repeated patterns in the song.
This is how we "count" and calculate our movements ("8-count").
Select Group
Students selected by the choreographer show the performance to the rest of the class. Only the choreographer has the criteria for the chosen dancers.
There are so many reasons you can't choose for the group, so don't overthink it.
Snare
The sharp, staccato drum that you hear, the sound that you make when you clap your hands.
Dancers often describe snare as "ka!"
Strings
For more instrumental/acoustic songs, the musical section formed by stringed instruments such as guitars, violins. Guitar strums and vocal melodies are also useful.
Switching lines
If a class rotates from front to back and vice versa, it gives everyone the option of being in front.
If the choreographer is saying "change lines," then step back (and backward) if you are at the front of the house.
This means that everyone has an equal opportunity to get a clear view of the choreographer across the entire class. It would be a little egotistic to sit all the time in the front, right?
Synth
The sound from the synthesizer is produced by electrical signals which are converted to sound using amps and loudspeakers.
The standard reference to "synth" is a synth piano that can sound like an extended slow bass like "wobba wobba"
Tempo
It's the speed of the music.
As you learn a piece, the choreographer will teach at a slow pace, then speed it up to medium, and finally "tempo"– the speed of the song in real-time.
Transitions
These are the movements used for linking two separate parts in a performance set.
The music will shift, and there will be dancers who will "transition" on and off the stage or move on the scene.
Urban Dance / Urban Dance Choreography
Urban Dance is a music, culture, and lifestyle that focuses on choreographed pieces and performances by a dancer or performing groups.
The choreography is inspired by various dance forms but is primarily focused on the understanding of music by the choreographer.
Most of Urban Dance's popular culture was born from college dance teams and competitions.
Textures
Using the right dance textures is the secret to matching music movements.
Textures also allow you to express the right purpose and make your work come alive.
References:
- YouTube. 2017. Jeffrey Caluag | Use Your Focus. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm0PwwCkk0c&feature=emb_logo> [Accessed 17 March 2020
- YouTube. 2018. What Is An 8-Count? | Dance Basics For Beginners | STEEZY.CO. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=100&v=5zX7mOYjooM&feature=emb_logo> [Accessed 17 March 2020].
- STEEZY. 2020. Dance Tips To Improve Your Skills At Any Level. [online] Available at: <https://blog.steezy.co/> [Accessed 17 March 2020].
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