| Ankneelen | To kneel down. | ||||
| Aufstehen | To stand up. | ||||
| Aufstellung | Formation. Describes how the partners align to each other.
.....zu einander = toward each other. .....gegen einander = behind each other. |
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| Ausdrehen | To turn out. | ||||
| B | Beginnen=beginning. | ||||
| Bodenklopf | A hit on the floor (Boden) with one's open or closed hand, usually the right hand. | ||||
| Boarischer | A dance form done to many different melodies with a number of variations. Consists of four Wechselschritte followed by four Dreherschritten. One way is for the couple to take two Wechelschritte apart (auseinander), beginning on the outside foot; two Wechselschritte back towards each other starting on the inside foot (wieder 'zam), then dancing four Dreherschritte together. The Dreherschritte are done with "Schwung" (lively fashion) --the free leg is bent at the knee and raised slightly, but there is NO hop. (This dance form is also called a Rheinlander.) It can be a couples dance or danced as a foursome ("Kutschenboarischer"). | ||||
| Durch | Durch can mean an entire Plattler. See sequence for more. | ||||
| Dirndl and Bua | Boy and Girl, or Man and Woman; in dialect or slang. | ||||
| E | Ende=end. | ||||
| Eingang | The beginning turn-out. Man and woman, facing eachother and holding hands (woman's left hand grasping the man's right hand middle finger), ... Can also mean an "intro" part of a Plattler (most of the time it is half of the Durch section or a modification of it). |
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| Einholen | Man's pickup of the woman for the waltz. | ||||
| Figur | A form or a position in the dance. | ||||
| Fünferschlag | "5 hits" | ||||
| Vorn
1. Right hand/ left foot behind. 2. Right hand/ right thigh. 3. Left hand/ left thigh. 4. Right hand/ left foot foward. 5. Left hand/ left thigh. |
Hinter
6. Right hand/ right thigh. 7. Right hand/ right thigh. 8. Left hand//right thigh. 9. Right hand/ right foot behind. 10. Left hand/left thigh. |
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| Galoppschritt | Gallop or fast slide step. Can be done either sideways or forward. One foot moves forward, the other closes to the first. Pattern repeats with the same foot leading. Done in an uneven rhythm. It's a Nachstellschritt done very quickly. Often ends in a Schlussprung or endspring, where you land on both feet. | ||||
| Hochsprung
or Aufsprung
|
Literally "high spring". A movement such that the
man strikes his left foot, which is behind him, with his right hand, then
strikes his left thigh with his left hand, and finally, while springing
(or jumping) onto his left foot*, kicks his right foot high out in front
and touches the tip with his right hand. The man can land onto both feet
or swing the right foot back and kneel onto the right knee.
*It helps at this point to swing this left leg back a little to counter the force of the right foot kicking foward, and therefore maintaining neutral balance. |
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| Hupf | A stamp with both feet. | ||||
| Klatsch | A clap. | ||||
| Kehrtwendung | Step and turn 180 degrees at the same time. | ||||
| Klopf | A clap, but not refering to using both hands, just one, like when the floor is struck. | ||||
| Kreuzfassung | Crossover dance hold or skater's position. Partners stand side by side facing Tanzrichtung joining right hands and left hand. Right hands over left. | ||||
| Ländler | A flat-footed walking step done in 3/4 time, steps are of equal length, no step is emphasized. | ||||
| Mazurkaschritt | Mazurka step. Step forward on one foot, close other foot to first, transfer weight to second and then hop on second foot. The first foot is slightly bent at the knee and raised off the floor during the hop. The first step forward is done by the couple leaning into the step and bending the leading legs at the knee. (The step comes from Poland.) | ||||
| Offene Tanzfassung | Open dance hold. Girl and Boy hold inside hands, boy with left hand on hip, girl with right hand on hip or sometimes on the small of her back. | ||||
| Plattler | The Schuhplattler part of the dance. | ||||
| Rheinlander | See Boarischer. | ||||
| Rund | "Round", as in around. Usually part of the 9-10-11 hits, with the hand used on hit #9 travels up, over , and behind to make hit #11. Sort of like the movement a swimmer makes doing the backstroke. | ||||
| Rundtanz | "Round dance". Couples dancing a waltz or Ländler in between the figure elements of the dance. (In a Schuhplattler, this refers to the Trio or Ländler portion of the dance.) | ||||
| Schlussfigur | The ending movement to the dance, usually consisting of the man (while his right hand's middlefinger is being held behind the woman's back by the woman's left hand AND while his left hand's middlefinger is being held by the woman's right hand) turning the woman 3/4 CW (or 270 degrees to her right) AND himself turning 1/4 CCW (or 90 degrees to his left) and kneelingonto only his right knee. | ||||
| Sechserschlag | "6 hits" | ||||
| Vorn
1. Right hand/ right thigh.* 2. Left hand/ left thigh. 3. Right hand/ right thigh. 4. Left hand/ left thigh. 5. Right hand/ left foot foward. 6. Left hand/ left thigh. * OR Alternate 1: right hand/ left foot behind. |
Hinter
7. Right hand/ right thigh. 8. Left hand/ left thigh. 9. Right hand/ right thigh. 10. Left hand/ left thigh* 11. Right hand/ right foot behind** 12. Left hand/left thigh. * OR Alternate 1: left hand/right thigh. ** OR Alternate 2: right hand/ right foot in-front |
Sequences | Most public performances are "Durch/Durch" (DD), where the Durch is the entire Plattler. The "Eingang/Durch/Durch" (EDD) form is done for very formal occassions or dance competitions. The Eingang is an "intro" part (most of the time it is half of the Durch section or a modification of it). | ||
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| Stampf | A stamp with one foot. | ||||
| Über and unter | Over and under (...something). | ||||
| Viertelschlag | "4 hits" | ||||
| Vorn 1. Right hand/ left foot behind. 2. Left hand/ left thigh. 3. Right hand/ left foot foward. 4. Left hand/ left thigh. |
Hinter 5. Right hand/ right thigh. 6. Left hand/ left thigh. 7. Right hand/ right foot behind (or front). 8. Left hand/left thigh. |
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| Wechselschritt | Two-step or "changing step": Step forward on one foot, close other foot to it and step forward again on the first foot. Repeat beginning on the other foot. (Step left, close right, step left; step right, close left, step right.) | ||||
| SOURCES: Tanz rueber, tanz nueber: Eine Auswahl fraenkischer Taenze (published by the Bayerische Landesverin fuer Heimatpflege); Chiemgauer Taenze, (published by the Bayerishe Landesverein fuer Heimatpflege); the Tanzbeschreibungsheft from "Bairische Tanzweisen" by Sigi Ramstoetter; Handbuch des Deutschen Volkstanzes by Aenne Goldschmidt; and Karin Gottier's" A Small German-English Glossary of Folk Dance Terms," compiled for The North-American Federation of German Folk Dance Groups. | |||||