Vocabulary

1. Vocabulary Abstract • adj. not concrete; theoretical • n. a summary; non representational schools of contemporary art • V. to summarize; to write an abstract • We can talk about dance in abstract terms, but it’s more interesting to talk about specific dances and dancers. • Adj. something untrue or unreasonable as to be ridiculous. • Older people think that the dances of younger people are absurd. Absurd

2. Vocabulary Controversial • adj. causing argument; debatable • In the 1980s, breakdancing was controversial. The dance was considered crude and unsophisticated. • Adj. distorted; bizarre; absurd • N. a hideous or fantastic thing or quality • _____________, which ……, is very grotesque to me. Grotesque

3. Vocabulary Mere • Adj. nothing more or other than; only • To some people the difference in dance styles doesn’t seem to be a mere question of taste. The issue isn’t that simple to them. • adj. out-of-date; no longer used • No one likes to feel that his or her way of doing things has become old-fashioned or obsolete. Obsolete

4. Vocabulary Defiant • Adj. openly and boldly resisting • Each generation feels a little defiant when it hears its styles of dance criticized. • N. a way of using skills to achieve a task; a technical skill; a way of doing something • One good technique for avoiding conflict is to ask parents whether they ever had this discussion with their parents. technique

5. Vocabulary Inferior • Adj. low in importance, rank, order, or status • One generation’s dances are neither inferior to nor better than another’s. They are just different. • Adj. happening at the end of, or as a result of, a series of events; ultimate, final • The eventual result of time passing is that whatever dance style is “in” will soon become outdated. Eventual