Humans love to bust a move, and if you’re curious about the dance move names that have gone down in history, we have the perfect list for you. So, warm up your joints because it’s time to jump right into the dance movements that every professional dancer knows as well as the back of their hand.
Dance Moves (Organized by Name)
Whether you’re brushing back up on the basics or you’re new to the art of dance, we’re breaking down some of the fundamental dance moves you’ll need to know.
Ballet Dance Moves
As a renowned and historic dance style, ballet is chock full of unique dance moves. Many ballet moves also serve as the foundation for other dance styles, so it’s good to understand the basic moves.
Aplomb - a stationary position
Arabesque - one leg supports while the other is extended up and behind the body
Attitude turn - while turning on relevé, one leg is bent backward behind the body, leading the turn outward
Ballerino - Italian term for male ballet dancer
Barre - a horizontal single or double barre used for ballet warm-ups and balance during instruction of new steps
Chaine turn - a basic turn used in ballet and jazz dance, as well as other styles
Derriere - French for "directly behind the body;" referenced often in ballet
Développé - leg is brought up so the knee is bent at waist length, and then the leg is extended straight outward
Double turn - two full rotations of any dance turn (piqué, attitude, pencil, etc.)
En pointe - to execute ballet steps on the tips of the toes, wearing special ballet slippers known as pointe shoes
Fifth position - one of five ballet positions; both feet are turned out in different directions — toe to heel, heel to toe. Both arms are rounded above the head
First position - one of five ballet positions; heels touch and toes pointed outward, forming a line with the feet, with rounded arms.
Fourth position - one of five ballet positions; the right foot is turned out in front of the left at a distance, and the left arm is rounded over the head; the right arm is rounded in front, just as in first position
Glissade - a small leap to the side, almost a gliding motion across the floor
Grand battement - working leg is kicked upward to hip level and brought down again
Grand jeté - a large leap that literally forms the splits in the air
Jeté - a leap from one foot to the other
Pas de bourrée - a connecting step used in dance combinations, it involves the transfer of weight from one foot to the other, usually to "prep" for a turn or leap
Pas de deux - a two-person dance, usually a male/female duet
Piqué turn - dancer steps out on one foot, and a complete turn is made on relevé while the opposing foot's toes are brought up to the inside knee
Pirouette - a complete rotation done in place in the "piqué" position
Plié - a bend of the knees in any of the five ballet positions
Port de bras - the movement of the arms into different positions
Relevé - to balance on your toes, either stationary or in movement
Retiré - much like a passé, only the raised foot literally "rests" against the front or back of the supporting knee
Reverence - a bow or curtsy in dance
Rond de jambe - half circles traced with one foot
Second position - one of five ballet positions; feet are separated about shoulders' width, with toes turned outward; arms are outstretched with slight rounding
Sissonne - a jump from both feet onto one
Split Leap - legs "switch" back and forth in midair during the leap
Splits - one leg stretched straight in front of the body and one stretching directly behind
Tendu - French for "to stretch," in which a foot reaches out from the body and extends outward, with toes remaining on the floor
Third position - one of five ballet positions; the left foot stays forward while the right heel meets the arch of the left foot, with the right toes turned outward; the right arm is outstretched to the side, left is rounded above the head
Tour jeté - a jump in which one foot steps out to the side, and the other foot kicks around in a leap to meet the other foot; dancer lands on the kicking foot; arms are outstretched over the head during the leap and then brought down again
Working leg - the leg that is currently being used in a dance step
Many dance movements share the same steps/combination but have different names depending on the style that you're training under.
Jazz Dance Moves
Jazz as a dance is a saucy style that borrows from a variety of sources as well as creates its own moves. Here are just a handful of the jazz moves you may encounter.
Axel turn – a dancer jumps into the air, spins, and lands a single foot
Ball change - shifting weight from one foot to the other, and back again
Barrel turn – with knees slightly bent, a dancer swings their body weight over their shoulder using the opposing foot to kick off the ground, while landing on the other foot
Chassé – one leg sweeps out to the side
Fan Kick - a kick that rotates 180° in the air
Hitch kick – a dancer kicks one leg into the air (raising their arms as well) while the other leg remains in place
Jazz hands – extend and shimmy your hands and fingers out with palms facing the audience
Jazz walk – a unique walking pattern (typically used to cross a stage) where a dancer takes a step to the left or right and crosses the leg with their opposing leg, always landing on the balls of the feet
Lindy hop – a hopping move that shifts from side to side using a ball change
Passé- the toes of one foot are brought up to the knee of the opposing leg
Ballroom Dance Moves
Ballroom is a dance style that encompasses so many specific dances. From the waltz to the foxtrot to the tango, there’s a little bit of everything in ballroom dance. Take a look at these basic ballroom moves to get a taste for what you might encounter on the dance floor.
Box step – the basic four-step “box” pattern that lays the foundation for a waltz; involves stepping forward, to the right, back, and to the left
Feather step - in partner dancing, the man takes four steps toward the woman, with the third step going around the outside of her body
Grapevine - a dancer steps out to the side, crosses the other foot in front, steps out to the side again, and crosses the other foot behind
Heel pull - found in ballroom dancing, a half turn is completed on each heel
Rock step – take a step back with the left foot while keeping the right foot in place
Triple step – a dancer takes three steps within two beats of music
Tap Dance Moves
Much like ballet, tap dance is loaded with dance moves — each one with a cooler name than the last. Hop headfirst into the sonic dance style with these basic tap dance move definitions.
Backward brush – kick the ball of the foot behind you, brushing the tap against the ground
Catch –the toe/heel of one foot strikes the toe/heel of the other foot
Cramp rolls – Step combination that involves tapping the right ball, left ball, right heel, and left heel in that order
Flap heel – Brush the foot forward, drop the heel, and step back on the ball of the foot
Forward brush - kick the ball of the foot forward, brushing the tap against the ground
Kick ball change - one foot kicks either forward, to the side, or to the back, and then is brought behind for a ball change step
Riff – kick out one foot, tapping the ground with the ball and then the heel
Riffle – complete a riff while adding a backward brush
Shuffle ball change - one foot kicks either forward, to the side, or to the back, brushing the floor, and then is brought behind for a ball change step
Folk Dance Moves
Folk dance is by far the broadest category in our glossary thanks to being a catchall for native and traditional dance styles from around the world. Given that each of these styles has its own canon of dance moves, we’ve added just a few here.
Aú – Capoeira move in which a dancer performs a cartwheel to the side, with the head and shoulders staying aligned
Box the gnat – two dancers trade places, with one dancer moving under the other arm
Circle left – eight dancers join hands forming a circle and walk to the left
Dosados - two people rotate completely around each other without touching, their backs to one another
Down the center and back – dancers move down the center line and back
Gypsy – two dancers circle each other without touching while making holding eye contact
Quadrille - a succession of steps in ballroom dancing in which the man dances in turn with the woman
Popular Dance Moves
Don’t let these glossaries of technical dance moves mislead you; everyone can dance! From retro 60s moves to massively popular line dances from the 00s, these are some of the dances we’ve all boogied down to.
Bye Bye Bye – dance popularized by the boy band NSYNC to go along with their song titled Bye Bye Bye
Cha Cha Slide – long-lasting line dance set to DJ Casper’s song Cha-Cha Slide
Cupid Shuffle – late 2000s line dance popularized in conjunction with the eponymous song
Hand Jive – popular 1950s/1960s dance that involved a series of complicated hand motions such as tapping your fists together and throwing your thumbs over your shoulder
Jerkin’ – late-2000s dance that looked like you were skipping backward
Macarena – unique line dance involving repeating hand gestures that was popular in the 1990s
Soulja Boy – late-2000s dance combo created for Soulja Boy’s song Crank That (Soulja Boy)
The Dougie – hip-hop dance inspired by rapper Doug E. Fresh’s signature moves that was popularized in the late 2000s
The Hustle – popular line dance from the 1970s that involves a series of circular step work completed to Van McCoy’s The Hustle
The Twist – popular dance from the 1960s that involved shimmying the hips and knees in syncopation
The Wobble – complex line dance that involves a lot of shoulder movement popularized in the late 2000s
The Wop – late-2000s dance combination created for J. Dash’s song WOP
Thriller – zombie-inspired line dance created for Michael Jackson’s hit song Thriller
Shake Your Groove Thing
Whether you’re training for that next big performance or you’re just curious how the sausage is made, these dance move glossaries will sate your curiosity. Before too long, you’ll be shaking your groove thing like you were born to do it.
