bunhead

n. a ballet dancer. Subjects: English, Arts & Literature, Slang

Editorial Note: Often derogatory.

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Citations: 1988 Hedy Weiss Chicago Sun-Times (Mar. 6) “Carole Shelley plumbs the heart of a Jewish mother” p. 3: I began my career as a ballet dancer, a little “bun-head,” as we were called. 1997 Jeffrey E. Salzberg Usenet: alt.arts.ballet (Oct. 24) “Re: Narrative v. non-narrative…”: On a higher level, the argument is between “ballet” and “modern” (I know a modern dancer who refers to ballet dancers as “bunheads”. I asked her how she thought ballet dancers referred to modern dancers. She said, “Probably ‘fatties’.”) 2006 Katharine Noel Halfway House (Feb.) p. 132: She called the dancers ’rinas when she was feeling charitable, bunheads when she wasn’t. 2006 Tom Strini Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) (Nov. 15) “Johnson, her company will be dancing ‘In From the Chill’”: “I only have one “bunhead’ in the company,” Johnson said. “The rest are moderns. These girls are so great. They’ll try anything. They’re willing to talk, willing to sing, willing to be fools. They not only had to learn the ‘Sugar Plum,’ they had to make versions of their own.” “Bunhead” is modern-dance pejorative for “ballet dancer.”

Posted 1 Dec 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend