Modern dance vocabulary terms

Front

Curving of the torso into a concave shape.

Back

contraction

Front

To sway or rock, responding to the pull of gravity.

Back

swing

Front

Movement quality that creates the illusion of effortless movement or defying gravity

Back

suspend

Front

Movement that is short and/or in sporadic burst.

Back

vibratory

Front

Movement that gives into gravity, folds down or gives into the floor.

Back

collapse

Front

Pertaining to a sense of the beautiful, the look of a dance is pleasing to the eye.

Back

aesthetic

Front

Occurs front to back, side to side, in an upper or lower arc, in a circular path, and as an initiative to a fall, spiral or turn.

Back

body swings

Front

The energy of movement expressed in varying intensity, accent, and quality.

Back

dynamics

Front

Stationary or turning body position supported by one leg with the free leg bent at a 90 degree angle at the knee, leg turned out at the hip

Back

attitude

Front

The cutting edge of an artistic movement.

Back

avant-garde