Quiz: How much dancer slang do you know?
July 30, 2008
How much dancer slang do you know?
1. If a friend tells you that you are always fierce, you know that
a. your movement is sharp and clear while you’re busting out quadruple
pirouettes like it’s nothing and kicking your legs right into your face.
b. everybody knows that they had better watch out when you are dancing,
and not get in to your space.
c. your dancing is fiercely awful. You’d better go back to the studio and
work on your technique.
d. you sort of look like a lion when you dance–scary!
2. You’re dancing and a friend shouts, “Get it!” You
a. start poppin’ and lockin’. You’ve got to get your groove on, and fast!
b. try and figure out what you need to get. All you see is the hair tie that
just flew out of your friend’s hair, so you slide to the floor and passionately
pick it up mid-combination – never missing a step, of course.
c. realize that everybody knows that you are totally lost in the combination.
You’d better watch the next group closely and figure out what you’ve been
missing so you can get the combination down pat.
d. grin and keep going. You know you’re looking good!
3. If a teacher tells you that your movement is very organic, you know that he or she means that your movement is
a. reminiscent of the organic vegetables that our moms always try to force
us to eat. They just sit there on the plate, immobile. Make your movement
bigger and move through the space!
b. grossly misshaped, kind of the way we imagine an organ would look.
And trust us, nobody wants to see that.
c. natural and human, wholesome to watch, without affectation,
stemming from within you and just beautiful overall.
d. better-suited to outdoor movements-such as running and hiking
than dance.
4. Biscuits are
a. when a dancer’s feet just won’t point nicely.
b. your favorite post-performance snack made by your best friend’s mom.
c. when a dancer’s hands are closed too tightly, making fists. Release
and relax that finger tension!
d. dead pointe shoes – time to throw that old pair away and start breaking
in some new ones.
5. If you are giving face, you are
a. putting a whole lot of emotion into your face while you dance.
Too much, maybe.
b. a great turner, whipping your head around at the speed of light.
c. making it clear that you have an attitude problem – and we don’t
mean the position.
d. putting on WAY too much make-up. It’s time to tone down that
purple eye shadow.
6. When you are dancing a challenging combination in class, another student yells out, “Work!” You know that you
a. had better focus and try harder – the rest of the class doesn’t think
you are working hard enough!
b. are lookin’ good, workin’ hard, and dancin’ full out. Keep up the
good work!
c. must be doing something wrong, because apparently they think you
need to get a job other than dancing.
d. had better spend some time practicing the combination so that it doesn’t
look like you are working so hard when you dance it.
7. You overhear someone say that a girl in your class is snatched. You:
a. laugh because you know it’s true. She gets so high off the floor
when she jumps that it looks like somebody snatched her from the floor.
b. get nervous! Who is running around, snatching dancers up and
kidnapping them?
c. sigh. It sure would be nice to have a body as toned as the girl
in your class.
d. wish you could be snatched up and hired to dance for a company too!
Answers
1-a
2-d
3-c
4-a
5-a
6-b
7-c
