BSEH Secondary Dance flashcards

34 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Nritta

In Indian classical dance theory, nritta is pure, abstract rhythmic movement without narrative or emotional intent. It emphasizes footwork, geometric body lines, and precise synchronization with the tala cycle.

Navarasa

The nine aesthetic sentiments of Indian performance theory: shringara, hasya, karuna, raudra, veera, bhayanaka, bibhatsa, adbhuta, and shanta. Each rasa is evoked in the spectator through the dancer's expressive abhinaya.

Abhinaya

The fourfold expressive system of Indian classical dance: angika (body), vachika (speech or song), aharya (costume and makeup), and sattvika (inner emotional state). Together they communicate narrative meaning to the audience.

Labannotation

A movement notation system recording body, space, and effort. Its effort factors are weight, space, time, and flow, allowing a choreographer to document dynamic quality as well as shape and position.

Aramandi

The half-seated, deeply turned-out stance fundamental to Bharatanatyam. Knees bend outward over the toes and the spine stays lifted, giving the form its characteristic grounded, symmetrical silhouette.

Varnam

The central and longest item of a Bharatanatyam recital. It alternates pure rhythmic passages with expressive sahitya lines, giving the dancer scope for both nritta and elaborate abhinaya.

Tribhangi

The signature three-bend posture of Odissi, in which the head, torso, and hips deflect in opposite directions. It creates the form's sinuous, sculptural line seen in temple carvings.

Chowk

A square, symmetrical stance in Odissi with knees turned out and weight evenly placed, associated with Shiva. It contrasts with the curved tribhangi posture within the same repertoire.

Tarangam

A Kuchipudi item in which the dancer performs rhythmic sequences while balanced on the rim of a brass plate. It demonstrates control, balance, and precise footwork.

Sattriya

A classical dance form of Assam that developed in Vaishnava satras founded by Srimanta Sankardeva. It uses the khol drum and cymbals and was historically performed by monks.

Giddha

A women's folk dance of Punjab performed in a circle with rhythmic clapping and sung boliyan couplets. It is the female counterpart to the men's Bhangra harvest dance.

Garba

A Gujarati devotional circle dance performed during Navratri around a central lamp or image. Dancers move in concentric circles with claps and graceful turns.

Chhau

A masked or semi-masked martial folk dance with three regional styles: Seraikella in Jharkhand, Purulia in West Bengal, and Mayurbhanj in Odisha. It combines vigorous movement with acrobatic elements.

Lavani

A fast, rhythmic folk dance of Maharashtra performed to dholki accompaniment. It features sharp footwork and expressive abhinaya and appears within the broader Tamasha folk-theatre tradition.

Yakshagana

A night-long dance-drama tradition of coastal Karnataka with elaborate headgear, painted faces, and chande drum accompaniment. Performers combine dance, song, and improvised dialogue.

Turnout

External rotation of the legs originating at the hip joint, roughly 45 to 60 degrees per hip in trained dancers. Forcing turnout from the knees or feet stresses the medial knee.

Female athlete triad

A syndrome of low energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density. In dancers it is a serious red flag requiring medical referral rather than training adjustments alone.

Dynamic stretching

Controlled movement through a joint's active range, performed before technique work. It raises muscle temperature and primes neuromuscular coordination, and belongs before static stretching in a warm-up.

Proprioceptive retraining

Balance and joint-position exercises used after an ankle sprain to restore the nervous system's sense of joint position. Single-leg balance work is a standard component of return-to-dance rehabilitation.

Teentaal

A sixteen-beat Hindustani tala in four vibhags of four beats. Sam falls on beat one, tali on beats one, five, and thirteen, and khali on beat nine.

Tihai

A rhythmic phrase repeated three times so that its final note lands exactly on sam. It is used to conclude compositions and to create a sense of resolution on the first beat.

Layakari

The deliberate subdivision or multiplication of the underlying tempo in Hindustani rhythm. A dancer may move at double or quadruple speed while the tala cycle continues unchanged.

Padhant

The spoken recitation of rhythmic bols in Kathak. The dancer recites the syllables aloud and then reproduces them in footwork, linking vocal and physical rhythm.

Sollukattu

Rhythmic syllables recited in Bharatanatyam that mirror the mridangam's drum patterns. The nattuvanar sets the tala with cymbals while the dancer's footwork matches the syllables.

Canon

A group choreographic device in which the same movement phrase is performed by different dancers offset in time. It creates overlapping texture from a single movement idea.

Retrograde

A choreographic transformation in which a movement phrase is performed in reverse order. It is a standard motif-development tool alongside inversion, augmentation, and diminution.

Motif development

The process of taking a short movement idea and transforming it through changes of size, speed, direction, level, or body part to build a longer choreographic phrase.

Choreographic canon

The set of formal devices used to build a dance: repetition, inversion, retrograde, augmentation, diminution, canon, and unison. These are tools for developing a motif into a full work.

Shadowing

A teaching position in which the instructor faces away from students and performs the movement. Left and right are preserved for learners, making it standard for spatial accuracy.

Layered task

A mixed-ability teaching strategy giving the same phrase in a simplified base version and an extended version. All students work on one idea while difficulty is adjusted individually.

Criterion-referenced rubric

An assessment tool scoring students against stated criteria rather than against each other. In dance it typically names observable components such as alignment, rhythm, and expression at defined levels.

Cue sheet

A production document listing every light, sound, and fly cue in performance order with its trigger word or count. The stage manager calls cues from it during the show.

Gobo

A patterned template placed in a lighting fixture to project a design onto the stage or backdrop. It is used to suggest texture, location, or atmosphere in dance production.

Stage right

The area of the stage to the performer's right when facing the audience. It is the opposite of the audience's right, so all blocking directions are given from the performer's perspective.