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Glite Dictionary
💃 Suggestive solo dance 👯 Graceful group dance
fan dance

fan dance

1 8.6
A solo dance using large feather fans to hide and show the body in a sexy way
  • noun
  • /fæn dæns/
  • NSFW
translation icon : danza con abanicos
  • As part of the show, she performed a stunning fan dance that cleverly simulated nudity with her decorative fans.

Examples

  • Is this the one that was doing the fan dance?

    After the Thin Man (1936)

  • The dancer captivated the audience with her graceful fan dance, elegantly revealing and concealing her silhouette.

  • During the performance, the elaborate fan dance showcased the artistry of manipulating feathered props.

Surface Forms

fan dance singular
fan dances plural

Morphology

fanned + dance

The meaning is directly compositional: combining 'fan' (a handheld prop or something arranged in a fan shape) with 'dance' yields a dance using fans. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common noun + noun composition, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Fan dance may come from old stage shows where a solo performer used big feather fans to hide and then 'reveal' parts of their body, creating a teasing, almost naked look. That's why the phrase means a solo, often suggestive dance using fans.