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Graham, Martha

(Encyclopedia)Graham, Martha, 1894–1991, American dancer, choreographer, and teacher, b. Pittsburgh. Her family moved from Allegheny, Pa., to Santa Barbara, Calif., when she was 14. After 1916, Graham attended th...

ice dancing

(Encyclopedia)ice dancing, ice-skating competition in which couples are required to perform dance routines to music. The sport gained popularity in the 1930s and the first world championships were held in 1950. Ice...

Ghost Dance

(Encyclopedia)Ghost Dance, central ritual of the messianic religion instituted in the late 19th cent. by a Paiute named Wovoka. The religion prophesied the peaceful end of the westward expansion of whites and a ret...

gavotte

(Encyclopedia)gavotte gəvŏtˈ [key], originally a peasant dance of the Gavots in upper Dauphiné, France. A type of circle dance characterized by lively, skipping steps, it was introduced at the court of Louis XI...

hornpipe

(Encyclopedia)hornpipe, English folk dance known since the 16th cent., when it obtained its name from the wind instrument that accompanied it. The hornpipes of the 17th and 18th cent. have moderate 3–2 time and 4...

tap dance

(Encyclopedia)tap dance, theatrical dance form in which the dancer, wearing shoes with metal heel and toe taps, beats out complex, syncopated rhythms on the floor. After a slump in popularity in the 1960s, tap ...

Nikolais, Alwin

(Encyclopedia)Nikolais, Alwin nĭkˌəlīˈ [key], 1910–93, American dancer and choreographer, b. Southington, Conn. Nikolais became director of his own dance company in New York City in 1949. He made ingenious u...

de Mille, Agnes

(Encyclopedia)de Mille, Agnes (Agnes George de Mille) də mĭl [key], 1905–93, American choreographer and dancer, b. New York City; granddaughter of Henry George, daughter of playwright director W. C. de Mille, a...

Sihamoni, Norodom

(Encyclopedia)Sihamoni, Norodom, 1953–, king of Cambodia (2004–). A son of King Norodom Sihanouk and his fifth wife, Norodom Sihamoni was trained as a dancer and taught dance (1981–2000) in Paris, choreograph...
 

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