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double bass

(Encyclopedia)double bass, bowed stringed musical instrument, the contrabass of the modern orchestral string section. It originated as a double-bass viol, an instrument described as early as 1566. A true double-bas...

Levertov, Denise

(Encyclopedia)Levertov, Denise lĕvˈərtôfˌ [key], 1923–97, Anglo-American poet, b. Ilford, England. Educated in England, she came to the United States in 1948. Her spare, emotional poems hint at an intuitive ...

Davis, Chuck

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Chuck (Charles Rudolph Davis), 1937–2017), American dancer, choreographer, and proponent of African dance, b. Raleigh, N.C. After serving in the navy, Davis studied with Martha Graham, Alvin ...

Moiseyev, Igor Alexsandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Moiseyev, Igor Alexsandrovich ēˈgər əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch moisāˈyĕv [key], 1906–2007, Russian dancer and choreographer. He studied at the Bolshoi Ballet School and was later a soloist with th...

ballet

(Encyclopedia)CE5 The five classical positions in ballet ballet bălˈā, bălāˈ [key] [Ital. ballare=to dance], classic, formalized solo or ensemble dancing of a highly controlled, dramatic nature performed ...

cancan

(Encyclopedia)cancan kănˈkăn [key], a lively French dance marked chiefly by high kicking. It was developed in Paris in the 1830s and became a popular social dance there. By the mid-19th cent. it was incorporated...

Balanchine, George

(Encyclopedia)Balanchine, George bălˈənshēnˌ [key], 1904–83, American choreographer and ballet dancer, b. St. Petersburg, Russia, as Georgi Balanchivadze. The son of a Georgian composer and a Russian mother,...

American Ballet Theatre

(Encyclopedia)American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the foremost international dance companies of the 20th and 21st cents. It was founded in 1937 as the Mordkin Ballet and reorganized as the Ballet Theatre in 1940 ...

Jamison, Judith

(Encyclopedia)Jamison, Judith jāˈməsən [key], 1944–, American dancer and choreographer, b. Philadelphia. She studied ballet, tap, jazz, and modern dance, and made her debut with the American Ballet Theatre in...

jig

(Encyclopedia)jig, dance of English origin that is performed also in Ireland and Scotland. It is usually a lively dance, performed by one or more persons, with quick and irregular steps. When the jig was introduced...