cancannoun [ C ]
uk/ˈkæn.kæn/us/ˈkæn.kæn/a fast dance, originally performed in France in the 19th century, in which a row of women on a stage kick their legs high and lift their skirts
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Dance & choreography
- arabesque
- ballerina
- ballet
- ballet shoe
- ballroom dancing
- ceilidh
- corps de ballet
- dance studio
- dancer
- fandango
- flamenco
- foxtrot
- pirouette
- pointes
- polka
- prima ballerina
- quickstep
- rumba
- strut your stuff idiom
- war dance
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Examples from literature
- But, says my friend, ready to surrender, yet taking a last chance, "you told me they were dancing the cancan!"
- In the midst of the uproar, several couples danced the cancan till the chandeliers shook with it.
- They formed up, in perfect silence, in two lines, facing each other between us and the fire, and then the dance—a sort of infernal and fiendish cancan—began.
- Yes, he said, "they're going to dance the cancan—she's going to lead it."