Ballet gets most of its terminology from France and Italy. Use these ballet terms to impress your friends while watching the Moscow Festival Ballet’s production of “Sleeping Beauty” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, in C.Y. Stephens Auditorium.

Tickets for “Sleeping Beauty” are priced by section: $59, $50, $45, $35, $25; for Youth & ISU Students: $59, $25.

Tickets can be purchased at the Iowa State Center Ticket Office in the north entrance of Stephens Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; at all Ticketmaster centers; by phone: 1-800-745-3000 or online via Ticketmaster. 

Before the show begins, Beth Clarke, owner of Beth Clarke Studio of Dance in Ames, will present a short preview and insights into “Sleeping Beauty.” She will speak before the show at 7 p.m. in the Celebrity Café, located on the ground level of Stephens.

Some terms used to describe the ballet include:

Mime: /maɪm/

action without spoken word and an important foundation of ballet.

Pas d’action: /pah dak-syawn/

dance sequence used to further the plot, shows action.

Divertissement: /dee-ver-tees-mahn/

dances used to show the skill of a dancer without adding to the plot.

Adagio: /uh–dah-zhee-oh/

means slowly, or “at ease.”

In “Sleeping Beauty,” Aurora has three adagios that focus on her girlhood, falling in love, and her marriage.

Pas de deux: /pahduh dœ/

a dance partnering, usually for the principal two dancers.

In this ballet, the princess and her prince have an adagio that is part of a pas de deux.

For more information, visit the Iowa State Center website at www.center.iastate.edu.