ctad 1010 final vocab

Académies

French institutions formalizing arts education, especially dance; e.g., Académie Royale de Danse.

Apollonian and Dionysian Tendencies

Apollonian: order and structure; Dionysian: emotion and chaos; philosophical duality.

Attitude

A ballet pose with one leg lifted and bent at the knee.

Ballet à entrées

A ballet made of multiple independent scenes or “entries.”

Ballets Burlesques

Satirical or comic ballets, often parodying other works.

Ballet Comique de la Reine

The first narrative ballet, performed in 1581 for the French court.

Ballet d’action

A form emphasizing narrative through expressive movement and mime.

Ballet de cour

Court ballet blending dance, music, and poetry, popular in the Renaissance and Baroque.

Baroque

Ornate 17th–18th

Borders

Scenic curtains or elements that frame the stage vertically.

Branle

A Renaissance circle or line dance, often social and communal.

Cachuca

Spanish solo dance with castanets, adapted into ballet repertoire.

Character Dancing

Stylized dance mimicking traditional folk or national styles.

Commedia dell’arte

Italian theatrical style with stock characters, influencing ballet mime.

Cosmic Dance

Metaphor for universal harmony through movement; often spiritual or symbolic.

Dance notation

Systems for recording choreography in symbols or writing.

Danse d’école

Codified classical ballet technique; the "school" of ballet.

Danse en l’air and Terre à Terre

Airborne (en l’air) vs. grounded (terre à terre) dance styles.

Danseur grotesque or comique

Performer of exaggerated or comic roles in ballet.

Danseuse and Danseur noble

Elegant performers portraying heroic or idealized roles.

Demi

caractère

En travesti

Performing a role of the opposite gender.

Entrée

A segment or scene in ballet, often introducing new characters.

Figured dancing

Group dances forming symbolic or geometric patterns.

Gigue

Lively Baroque dance, often the finale of a suite.

Groteschi

Comic performers known for exaggerated movement and humor.

Humanism

Renaissance philosophy emphasizing human potential and experience.

Intermedii

Short dance/music interludes performed between play acts.

Magnifique

Lavish spectacle combining dance, music, and elaborate visual design.

Maypole dance

Folk dance performed around a pole with ribbons, symbolizing spring.

Mime and Pantomime

Expressive movement to tell a story without words.

Mise en scène

Visual design and arrangement of stage elements.

Opéra

ballet

Pas and Pas d’action

“Step” in ballet; pas d’action includes mime and narrative elements.

Pastoral

Ballet with idealized rural or shepherd themes.

Proscenium arch

Stage opening that frames the action for the audience.

Raked floors

Sloped stages rising away from the audience to enhance visibility.

Renaissance

Cultural rebirth emphasizing art, learning, and humanism (14th–17th centuries).

Renaissance court theatres

Performance spaces for nobility; sites of early ballet.

Rococo

Decorative and ornate style popular in 18th

Romantic era

19th

Stock characters

Stereotyped roles like the lover, fool, or villain; used in ballet and theater.

Strike

To dismantle or remove scenery or props from the stage.

Tonnelet

Stiff decorative skirt worn by male dancers in early ballet.

Tragédie ballet

Ballet form blending dramatic storytelling with dance and music.

Trionfi

Italian Renaissance processional spectacles celebrating allegorical themes.

Wings

Sides of the stage used for entrances/exits and stage equipment concealment.