Theatre & Dance

Theatre and dance are the oldest arts still practised in essentially their original form: people performing for other people in the same room. This category covers the stage vocabulary that turns up constantly and is rarely defined, the major traditions from Greek drama to kabuki to classical ballet, and the conventions performers and audiences observe without discussing. It also covers the superstitions, which are more interesting than they first appear. The explanations give the origin of each term, and a striking number of them turn out to be practical rather than artistic.