Dance Vocabulary List – Te Reo Māori
Movement |
Kori te tinana (body movement) / Kori (to move, wriggle, play) |
Performance |
Haka / Purei (play, perform) / Mahi (work) |
Perform (to do a dance) |
Mahia te kanikani |
Choreography |
Nekenekehanga/ Tito nekehanga |
Choreograph (to make a dance) |
Mahia te nekehanga |
Assessment (exam/test) |
Aromatawai |
Costume (special clothes to dance in) |
Kahu/Kākahu |
Stage |
Atamira |
Dance motif |
Waitohu kanikani |
Facial expression |
Tā te kanohi |
Focus (where your eyes look when you dance) |
Arotahi |
Audience (people watching you dance) |
Kaimātakitaki |
Production technologies (music, stage, costume, lighting) |
Hangarau whakaaturanga |
Music |
Puoro |
Sound / sound accompaniment |
Oro (sound) / Oro tautoko (sound accompaniment) |
Stage set |
Āhuatanga atamira |
Backdrop |
Tuarongo |
Stage lighting |
Rama atamira |
Choreographic intention |
Kaupapa nekehanga |
Stimulus /stimuli |
Whakaoho |
Inspiration |
Whakamanawa (to inspire), Ngākaunui (inspiring) |
Theme |
Kaupapa |
Body base (the part of your body that is on the floor eg elbows, knees, feet) |
Tumu ā-tinana |
Levels |
Kōeke |
Projection |
Ihi (power) / Wana (excite, thrill) |