COUNTRYCountry and western dance includes several dance forms, usually danced to country-western music. If you've ever been to a country and western club or tavern, you've probably seen a few cowboy boot-wearing dancers twirling around the dance floor with big smiles on their faces.'Country dancing' is a loose term for a number of dance forms such as Clogging, Contradance, Cumbia, Galop, Mazurka, Minuet, Polka, Polonaise, Quadrille, Redowa, Schottische, and Two step.Country dance overlaps with contemporary folk dance and ballroom dance. The term "country dance" first appeared in the 16th century, before any of the above-mentioned dances paragraph came into existence.The main forms of country dancing are: circle dancing, longways set, square set and couple dancing. The most famous couple dances are also the names of time-signatures: waltz and polkaShawms and sackbuts or the bagpipe were popular instruments for outdoor dancing because of their loudness. TERMS:Active Couple - for long-ways sets with more than one couple dancing, the active couple is the couple doing the more complicated movement during any given portion of the dance.Arm right (or left) - couples link arms and move forward, returning to their starting positions.Back to back - facing another person, move forward passing right shoulders and fall back to place passing left. May also start by passing left and falling back right. Balance back - a single backward.Both hands - two dancers face each other and give hands right to left and left to right.Cast off - turn outward and dance outside the set.Cast up (or down) - turn outward and dance up (or down) outside the set.Changes (starting right or left) - like the circular hey, but dancers give hands as they pass (handing hey). The number of changes is given first (e.g. two changes, three changes, etc).Chassé - slipping step to right or left as directed.Circular hey - dancers face partners or along the line and pass right and left alternating a stated number of changes. Usually done without hands, the circular hey may also be done by more than two couples facing alternately and moving in opposite directions - usually to their original places. Clockwise - in a ring, move to one's left. In a turn single turn to the right.Contrary - your contrary is not your partner. In Playford's original notation, this term meant the same thing that Corner (or sometimes Opposite) means today.Corner - in a two-couple set, the dancer diagonally opposite, i.e., the first man and the second woman, first woman and second man.Counter-clockwise - the opposite of clockwise - in a ring, move right. In a turn single, turn to the left.Cross hands - face and give left to left and right to right.Cross over - cross with another dancer passing right.Cross over one couple - cross as above and go outside below one couple ending improper.Double - four steps forward or back, closing the feet on the 4th step (see "Single" below).Fall (back) - dance backwards.Figure of 8- a weaving figure in which dancers pass between two standing people and move around them in a figure 8 pattern. Forward - lead or move in the direction you are facing.Gip or Gypsy - two dancers move around each other in a circular path facing outward or towards the center as directed (4 bars).Hands across - right or left hands are given to corners, and dancers move in the direction they face.Hands three, four etc. - the designated number of dancers form a ring and move around in the direction indicated, usually first to the left and back to the right.Hey - a weaving figure in which two groups of dancers move in single file and in opposite directions (see circular hey and straight hey).Honour - couples step forward and right, close, shift weight, and curtsey or bow, then repeat to their left. In the time of Playford's original manual, a woman's curtsey was similar to the modern one, but a man's honour (or reverence) kept the upper body upright and involved sliding the left leg forward while bending the right knee.Lead - couples join inside hands and walk up or down the set.Mad Robin - a back to back with your neighbor while maintaining eye-contact with your partner across the set. Men take one step forward and then slide to the right passing in front of their neighbour, then step backwards and slide left behind their neighbour. Conversely women take one step backwards and then slide to the left passing behind of their neighbour, then step forwards and slide right in front of their neighbour. Neighbour - the person you are standing beside, but not your partner.Opposite - the person you are facing.Pass - change places with another dancer moving forward and passing by the right shoulder, unless otherwise directed.Pousette - two dancers face, give both hands and change places as a couple with two adjacent dancers. One pair moves a double toward one wall, the other toward the other wall. Right & left - like the circular hey, but dancers give hands as they pass (handing hey).Sides - Two dancers, partners by default if not otherwise specified, go forward in four counts to meet side by side, then back in four counts to where they started the figure. Single - two steps in any direction closing feet on the second stepStraight hey for four - dancers face alternately, the two in the middle facing out. Dancers pass right shoulders on either end and weave to the end opposite. Straight hey for three - the first dancer faces the other two and passes right shoulders with the second dancer, left shoulder with the third - the other dancers moving and passing the indicated shoulder.Each dancer describes a figure of eight pattern.Swing - a turn with two hands, but moving faster and making more than one revolution.Three hands across or Three hands star - two dancers join right or left hands. Third dancer places right or left hand on top. Dancers move in the direction they face.Turn - face, give both hands, and make a complete circular, clockwise turn to place.Turn by right or left - dancers join right (or left) hands and turn around, separate, and fall to places.Turn single - dancers turn around in four steps. 'Turn single right shoulder' is a clockwise turn; 'turn single left shoulder' is a counterclockwise turn.
FOLK
Folk dance refers to a variety of dances developed by groups or communities, as opposed to being made up by a choreographer. There are several types of folk dance including clogging, English country dance, international folk dance, Irish dance, Maypole dance, Morris dance, Nordic polska dance, square dance, and many more. Folk dances are often performed at social events. Dances of the Balkan countries (countries located on the Balkan peninsula, including Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Bosnia, the northern part of Greece, Bulagaria, etc.) share specific characteristics, though there are many local variations. They tend to be done in short lines, open circles, or closed circles. Traditionally men and women often danced in separate lines, or in separate parts of a long line (i.e. men at the front, women at the end of the line). Recreational folk dance groups tend to have everyone dancing together in mixed groups, though you still see separate lines in some dances. Music is at the heart of the fascination dancers find in Balkan dances. In addition to the familiar 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 rhythms, the Balkan countries also use many complex rhythms which are fun and challenging to dance to, such as 7/8, 7/16, 9/16, or even combinations of two different rhythms in the same dance.
BALLETBallet serves as a backbone for many other styles of dance, as many other dance genres are based on ballet. Ballet is based on techniques that have been developed over centuries. Ballet uses music and dance to tell stories. Ballet dancers have the ability to transport an audience to another world.Ballet is an elite form of dancing that requires much foot muscle movement, and suspension on the toes. There is no singing done in a typical ballet; dance is performed purely to an orchestral accompaniment. Story and plot are conveyed through a dancer’s actions and facial expressions, along with orchestral coloring.Ballet first appeared in Rome during the Roman Pantomime. Classical ballet:Classical ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles; it adheres to traditional ballet technique.Neoclassical ballet:Neoclassical ballet is a ballet style that uses traditional ballet vocabulary but is less rigid than the classical ballet.Although organization in neoclassical ballet is more varied, the focus on structure is a defining characteristic of neoclassical ballet.Balanchine used flexed hands (and occasionally feet), turned-in legs, off-centered positions and non-classical costumes (such as leotards and tunics instead of tutus) to distance himself from the classical and romantic ballet traditions. What is left is the dance itself, sophisticated but sleekly modern, retaining the pointe shoe aesthetic, but eschewing the well-upholstered drama and mime of the full length story ballet.Contemporary ballet:Contemporary ballet is a form of dance influenced by both classical ballet and modern dance. It takes its technique and use of pointe work from classical ballet, although it permits a greater range of movement that may not adhere to the strict body lines set forth by schools of ballet technique. 
BELLY DANCE
Belly dance is a unique form of dance characterized by sharp, rolling movements of the hips and abdomen. The true origins of belly dancing are debated among enthusiasts. Belly dancing was originally from Ancient Babylon in southern Iraq. Adnanite Arabs introduced belly dancing and drumming.
Today there are two forms of Oriental belly dance; the first is called raqs baladi, a social dance performed for fun and celebration by men and women of all ages, usually during festive occasions.
The second form, the more theatrical and the more popular in the West today, is called raqs sharqi. Like raqs baladi, raqs sharqi is performed by both male and female dancers.
Most of the basic steps and techniques used in belly dancing involve circular motions isolated to a certain part of the body. For example, a circular movement "drawn" parallel to the floor by the hips is known as a "hip circle", or by the rib-cage known as a "chest circle". Accents such as "hip lifts" or "drops" are use to draw the eye to hip movement such as "shimmies or hip circles", while shoulder or arm movements are to accent chest or belly undulations. Dancers often dance while balancing various props like baskets, swords or canes(canes in particular for folkloric dances.)as well as using silk or chiffon veils and wings for dramatic dance pieces.
FLAMENCO
LATIN
Latin dance is a fast-paced, often sensual, partner dance characterized by sexy hip movements. However, hip movements are not intentional in any of the Latin dances. The hip motion is a natural consequence of changing weight from one foot to the other. Latin dance typically includes dances originating in Latin America and the Caribbean islands such as cha cha cha, rumba, samba, salsa, mambo, danza, merengue, tumba, bachata, cumbia, and bolero. Some dance instructors also include tango and Argentine tango in this list, although these differ from the rest in their style. To describe a category of International style ballroom dances, also called Latin American dances or International Latin. It consists of the following five dances: rumba, samba, paso doble, cha-cha-cha, jive.
TAP
*~~~~~~~~~*
