Saltatiovocabulum antiquissimum est. Quamquam sensu latissimo omnia genera corporum ad musicam movendorum continet, praecipuo dicitur corpus brevibus modo saltibus movendi genus, quod antiquitas tantum solebat, non aliter quam hodie Italianesaltarello et TheodisceSpringtanz vel nuperrime jumpstyle dicuntur.
Ballatio deducitur a verboballare, quod per mutuationem verbi Graeci βαλλίζειν 'saltare' verbo βάλλειν 'iacere' adiuvante in linguam Latinam pervenit. Ballatio maxime significat corporis motum, solum lautii? causa sine multo saltatu, vel mulierisvirique paribus, saliendo aut non.[5] E ballatione et ballando, verba Francogalliceballet et Hispanicebaile veniunt. Chorea, quae e nomine Graeco χορεία venit, maxime dicitur agilitas ballatioque saepe in circulis instructa vel cantata.[5] Notandum est, quod haec genera se invicem non excludunt: agilitas quaedam simul et saltatio et ballatio et chorea potest esse.
Inter ballationes Occidentales, quae inter mulierem et virum aguntur, sunt:[6]
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, editum a Stanley Sadie et John Tyrrell, Grove’s Dictionaries of Music Urbs Novum Eboracum, Novum Eboracum, 1986; Commentarium "Carole", Britannica Online, excerptum 29 Septembris 2007.
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Bonacker, Kathrin, et Sonja Windmüller, eds. 2007. Tanz! Rhythmus und Leidenschaft. Hessische Blätter für Volks- und Kulturforschung, 42. Marburgi: Jonas. ISBN 978-3-89445-389-3.
Charman, S., R. Kraus, G. Chapman, et B. Dixon-Stowall. 1990. History of the Dance in Art and Education. Pearson Education. ISBN 0-13-389362-6.
Cohen, S, J. 1992. Dance As a Theatre Art: Source Readings in Dance History from 1581 to the Present. Princeton Book Co. ISBN 0-87127-173-7.
Dils, A. 2001. Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0-8195-6413-3.
Daly, A. 2002. Critical Gestures: Writings on Dance and Culture. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0-8195-6566-0.
Karina, Lilian, et Marion Kant. 1999. Tanz unterm Hakenkreuz. Berolini: Henschel. ISBN 3-89487-244-6.
Miller, James, L. 1986. Measures of Wisdom: The Cosmic Dance in Classical and Christian Antiquity. Toronti: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-2553-6.