Name that Dance Trivia Quiz

Answer: Galliard

The galliard, in my opinion, is a dance that one might not imagine being performed in a court such as Elizabeth's. Women's clothing of that time was fairly cumbersome, wide skirts with whale-bone hoops, high collars, many jewels and tight head-dresses, so the fact that the galliard contained jumps which were performed by both men and women seems amazing to us now. The men also lifted the women suddenly over their heads, and the women were required to land on one foot.

The rhythms were sometimes uneven, even syncopated, which again makes for quite a bit of complexity. However, if you have ever watched a period drama, either on TV or at the movies, and seen the Elizabethans dancing in this way, then you were watching a galliard. It was a very popular dance.

Answer: Hornpipe

I hope that my clue, two musical instruments joined together - horn and pipe - was helpful to you if you didn't already know the answer.

The hornpipe includes certain moves, such as putting the hand up to the eyes and scanning the horizon, obviously something one might do aboard a ship. Also, the hornpipe probably developed as a form of exercise during long voyages, but also it needs no partner, and can be accomplished in a very small space. I suppose we could say that it is a form of ocean-going line-dancing!

Answer: The twist

"C'mon baby let's do the twist". Chubby Checker first performed this song with his accompanying twist moves before a live audience at the Rainbow Club in Wildwood, New Jersey. One week later in August 1960 it became a national sensation. While the fad lasted, this dance was done almost exclusively by young people in clubs and dance-halls around the world.

Even the Beatles got in on the act with their hit number "Twist and Shout". What a great dance. What great exercise!

Answer: Waltz

The dance is the waltz, and the song which describes the rhythm of that dance is "The Christmas Waltz", written by Sammy Kahn and Julie Styne, who wrote it for Frank Sinatra in 1954.

The waltz seems to be the dance that is the first one taught to any aspiring ball-room dancer, or anyone who wants to dance at a wedding without making a fool of themselves. We all know that rhythm: one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three. That, fellow quizzers, is three-quarter time.

Answer: Paso Doble

"Paso doble" means double step. The dance originally was performed to the type of music played in bull-fight arenas, particularly the rhythmic marching music which would accompany the bull-fighters as they entered the ring. In the dance itself, the male often makes the type of sweeping movements that the matador would make with his cape to entice the bull, while the female loops and circles to avoid these enticements. While the dance is not based on romance, it can be very sensual in form.

The paso doble, in a more modern adaptive form, is still present in contemporary ballroom dancing contests, and in programs such as "Dancing with the Stars", or "So You Think You Can Dance".

Answer: Mambo

Mambo originated in Cuba in the 1930s, invented by Arsenio Rodriguez in Havana.

If you would like to see the mambo being performed, Rita Moreno, in "West Side Story" performs one of the most definitive interpretations of this passionate and sensual Latin dance. And for we amateurs, it isn't difficult, as long as we have what is known as "Cuban hips", which means loose and relaxed movements. Although Elvis was not a Cuban, he certainly had the Cuban hips!

Answer: Horah

The Horah may be performed to any number of Israeli/Jewish folk songs with the right tempo, but "Hava Nagila" is the one most widely associated with the dance.

This dance became popular because in the early days of Israel it would be performed in the kibbutz - probably in moments of joy and satisfaction for a job well-done. The dance is also performed at Jewish weddings, particularly those that take place in the U.S.A. and Canada. But remember, you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy the Horah!

Answer: Minuet

The reason why so many classical composers wrote minuets is that the music and the dance that goes with it are both named the same. It was a musical form which could be listened to in its own right, without necessarily being danced to.

The dance itself is given to great elegance, involving small steps and being without flamboyance or energetic movement. In French courts, women would be wearing wide full skirts and probably high hair and hair ornaments. Dancing in any exuberant way would not be possible. The men may also have been carrying canes, a foppish affectation, so again, any dance which could be done neatly and with the least amount of movement would have been desirable.

Answer: Pas de la porte

"Pas de la porte" means doorstep - obviously not a ballet term!

Since Classical Ballet was formalized in France, most of the dance steps and other conventions of the art form are in French.

"Pas de deux" means "step for two", which means a dance for two, usually danced by the man and the woman who are the central lovers of the ballet being performed.

"Arabesque" is a dance pose, usually performed by the ballerina, where she leans forward to touch the ground with one leg pointed into the air straight behind her.

The "barre" is the name given to the practice bar which you see in ballet schools where dancers tirelessly perform exercises and steps in front of a mirror or a dance coach.

Answer: False

The dance is called the Hopak (or Gopak to some), or sometimes the Cossack Dance. On the other hand, the polka is a dance performed by couples, usually energetically circling the ballroom, and often to Middle European accordion music.

Those of you who have seen performances either by Soviet dancers when the USSR still existed, or now by Ukrainian or Russian men, will recall the thrilling competitive moves these athletic males perform to outdo each other. Sometimes they are so low to the ground and moving so fast, it is hard to tell whether or not they are flying.