Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A classical dance form characterized by grace and precision of movement and by elaborate formal gestures, steps, and poses.
- noun A theatrical presentation of group or solo dancing to a musical accompaniment, usually with costume and scenic effects, conveying a story or theme.
- noun A musical composition written or used for this dance form.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A little ball: in heraldry, a bearing in coats of arms, denominated, according to the color, bezants, plates, hurts, etc.
- To express by dancing or in a ballet.
- noun A spectacular dance, more or less elaborate in steps, poses, and costumes, in which a number of performers, chiefly females, take part.
- noun A complete pantomime or theatrical representation, in which a story is told, and actions, characters, and passions are represented, by gestures and grouping, accompanied by characteristic or illustrative music, dancing, and often rich scenery and decorations.
- noun The corps of dancers who perform ballets.
- An obsolete form of
ballad . - noun The music to which a ballet is danced.
- noun In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, especially in England, a light glee-like madrigal or part-song, often with a fa-la burden. See
fa-la . - noun In the eighteenth century, a series of instrumental dances properly in the same key and usually for stringed instruments; a suite (which see).
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An artistic dance performed as a theatrical entertainment, or an interlude, by a number of persons, usually women. Sometimes, a scene accompanied by pantomime and dancing.
- noun The company of persons who perform the ballet.
- noun (Mus.) A light part song, or madrigal, with a
fa la burden or chorus, -- most common with the Elizabethan madrigal composers; -- also spelledballett . - noun (Her.) A bearing in coats of arms, representing one or more balls, which are denominated bezants, plates, etc., according to color.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
classical form ofdance . - noun A
theatrical presentation of suchdancing , usually withmusic , sometimes in the form of astory . - noun The company of persons who perform this dance.
- noun music A light part song, or
madrigal , with a fa-laburden orchorus , most common with theElizabethan madrigalcomposers . - noun heraldry A
bearing incoats of arms representing one or moreballs , calledbezants ,plates , etc., according to colour.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun music written for a ballet
- noun a theatrical representation of a story that is performed to music by trained dancers
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
In O. Fr., according to Rousseau, _ballet_ signifies "to dance, to sing, to rejoice"; and thus it incorporates three distinct modern words, "ballet, ball and ballad."
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" Various
One can imagine a playhouse running on the basis of a big ballet, with a story, popular music, magnificent scenery, gorgeous costumes, huge _corps de ballet_, half-a-dozen principals and immense advertisement.
Our Stage and Its Critics By "E.F.S." of "The Westminster Gazette" Edward Fordham Spence 1896
(And for most Chicagoans, Mr. Emanuel's training in ballet is unlikely to count.)
Debra Levine: Return to Ballet World for Rahm Emanuel? Debra Levine 2010
The surreal depiction of the title ballet is the high point of this film's cinematic ambition, a
Alibi.com Blog 2010
Teeuwissen: During the '70s, what we refer to as the ballet boom, there was a significant amount of subsidy from the government for general operating and touring.
Truly American Dance 2007
This ballet is a tale of romance, courtship, and adulterous encounters amidst the glitz and glamour of the belle époque.
John demonstrates some easy steps and tells me to stand in what I know as ballet's first position.
News round-up 2009
John demonstrates some easy steps and tells me to stand in what I know as ballet's first position.
News round-up 2009
John demonstrates some easy steps and tells me to stand in what I know as ballet's first position.
News round-up 2009
John demonstrates some easy steps and tells me to stand in what I know as ballet's first position.
News round-up 2009
madmouth commented on the word ballet
'bally' is a British pronunciation of extreme quaintness
December 28, 2009