Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bax, Ernest Belfort

(Encyclopedia)Bax, Ernest Belfort, 1854–1926, English socialist philosopher. He studied music and philosophy in Germany. In England, influenced by Marxist and other radical thought, he became active in socialist ...

jig

(Encyclopedia)jig, dance of English origin that is performed also in Ireland and Scotland. It is usually a lively dance, performed by one or more persons, with quick and irregular steps. When the jig was introduced...

hornpipe

(Encyclopedia)hornpipe, English folk dance known since the 16th cent., when it obtained its name from the wind instrument that accompanied it. The hornpipes of the 17th and 18th cent. have moderate 3–2 time and 4...

Holland Land Company

(Encyclopedia)Holland Land Company, Dutch enterprise active in the settlement of much of W New York and some of NW Pennsylvania. Organized by Dutch bankers in 1796, it secured lands in New York (known as the Hollan...

Graham, Martha

(Encyclopedia)Graham, Martha, 1894–1991, American dancer, choreographer, and teacher, b. Pittsburgh. Her family moved from Allegheny, Pa., to Santa Barbara, Calif., when she was 14. After 1916, Graham attended th...

gavotte

(Encyclopedia)gavotte gəvŏtˈ [key], originally a peasant dance of the Gavots in upper Dauphiné, France. A type of circle dance characterized by lively, skipping steps, it was introduced at the court of Louis XI...

Nikolais, Alwin

(Encyclopedia)Nikolais, Alwin nĭkˌəlīˈ [key], 1910–93, American dancer and choreographer, b. Southington, Conn. Nikolais became director of his own dance company in New York City in 1949. He made ingenious u...

ice dancing

(Encyclopedia)ice dancing, ice-skating competition in which couples are required to perform dance routines to music. The sport gained popularity in the 1930s and the first world championships were held in 1950. Ice...

Sihamoni, Norodom

(Encyclopedia)Sihamoni, Norodom, 1953–, king of Cambodia (2004–). A son of King Norodom Sihanouk and his fifth wife, Norodom Sihamoni was trained as a dancer and taught dance (1981–2000) in Paris, choreograph...

Salomon, Haym

(Encyclopedia)Salomon, Haym hīm [key], 1740–85, American Revolutionary financier, b. Lissa (now Leszno), Poland. A Jewish emigrant from Poland, he was imprisoned (1778) by the British in New York City for aiding...