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mazurka

(Encyclopedia)mazurka məzûrˈkə, –zo͝orˈ– [key], Polish national dance that spread to England and the United States at the beginning of the 19th cent. Danced by four or eight couples and characterized by s...

mumming play

(Encyclopedia)mumming play, form of drama developed in England in the early 17th cent., based on the legend of St. George and the dragon. The central theme of the play is the death and resurrection of the hero. The...

Fleming, Peggy

(Encyclopedia)Fleming, Peggy, 1948–, American ice skater, b. San Jose, Calif. She began skating at age 9, and after distinguished accomplishments as a juvenile and novice skater, she was U.S. Ladies Champion from...

Delaney, Shelagh

(Encyclopedia)Delaney, Shelagh shēˈlə [key], 1939–, English playwright, b. Salford, Lancashire. Her first play, written when she was only 17, was A Taste of Honey (1958), about a young working-class girl who r...

saraband

(Encyclopedia)saraband sârˈəbănd [key], dance of Asian origin that first appeared in Spain in the 16th cent. At that time it was characterized by alternate 3–4 and 3–8 meter and was accompanied by castanets...

Vitus, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Vitus, Saint vīˈtəs [key], 4th cent.?, Sicilian martyr. Vitus is invoked against diseases including epilipsy, nervous disorders, and St. Vitus' Dance (Sydenham's chorea). He is one of the Fourteen ...

castanets

(Encyclopedia)castanets kăsˌtənĕtsˈ [key], percussion instruments known to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, possibly of Middle Eastern origin, now used primarily in Spanish dance music or imitations of it. Th...

Mailer, Norman

(Encyclopedia)Mailer, Norman (Norman Kingsley Mailer), 1923–2007, American writer, b. Long Branch, N.J., grad. Harvard, 1943. He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., served in the army during World War II, and at the age o...

Lingelbach, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Lingelbach, Johannes yōhäˈnəs lĭngˈəlbäkhˌ [key], 1622–74, Dutch genre and landscape painter, b. Frankfurt am Main. He first went to Amsterdam in 1637 and settled there about 16 years later...

minuet

(Encyclopedia)minuet mĭnyo͞oĕtˈ [key], French dance, originally from Poitou, introduced at the court of Louis XIV in 1650. It became popular during the 17th and 18th cent. In 3–4 meter and moderate tempo, the...