Dictionary

dance out en · VERB

Meanings

1. To reveal (a mystery) through dance; to express (something) by dancing; to act out in dance.
   • But this much all men know, that most people say of those who reveal the mysteries, that they "dance them out." 1893, Andrew Lang, Custom and Myth, London: Longmans, Green and Co., page 42:
   • Hence arose the expression - whose meaning has been much discussed by the learned - "to dance out (ἐζορκείσθαι) a mystery." Lucian, in a much-quoted passage, observes: "You cannot find a single ancient mystery in which there is not dancing...and this much all men know, that most people say of the revealers of the mysteries that they 'dance them out.'" Andrew Lang, commenting on this passage, continues: "Clement of Alexandria uses the same term when speaking of his own 'appalling revelations.' So closely connected are mysteries with dancing among savages that when Mr. Orpen asked Qing, the Bushman hunter, about some doctrines in which Qing was not initiated, he said: 'Only the initiated men of that dance know these things.' To 'dance' this or that means to be acquainted with this or that myth, which is represented in a dance or ballet d'action. 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 169:
   • Now ask them to dance out different emotions. 2009, Heather Clark, Dance As the Spirit Moves: A Practical to Worship and Dance, Destiny Image Publishers:
   • The child explores as many ways to dance out each item as they can. 2005, Frances Reed, Dance and Drama Bites for Seniors: Enriching the Everyday Curriculum with Dance, London: Essential Resources, page 45:
   • People were to dance for a better understanding on decisions. They were supposed to dance out any ruptures or quarrels. It was another way of being together, of expressing the tribe and each other. 2011, Marge Piercy, Dance the Eagle to Sleep: A Novel, PM Press:

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