MTLE Dance Practice Test

Unofficial practice for both subtests of Minnesota's MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) test, codes 213 and 214.

Subtest

Subtest 1 (213): forms and styles, artistic processes, production and analysis. Subtest 2 (214): anatomy and safety, history and culture, integration and careers.

A social dance unit opens with a ballroom and folk dance in triple time, three beats to the measure, done mostly in closed position. Which dance is it?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Exam mode: 25 questions, 30 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board or Pearson. Bank checked October 15, 2026.

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Subtest 1: all 25 questions

Forms and styles of dance 8

  • A jazz combination for a musical theatre unit calls for turned-in knees, rolled shoulders, sideways shuffling and jazz hands. Whose choreographic style is the class studying? Wikipedia, Bob Fosse. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0001
  • A modern dance class works on a cycle in which the torso contracts and then releases, a stylized picture of breathing, with movement that starts in the torso and not the feet. Which technique is built on this cycle? Wikipedia, Graham technique. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0001
  • A social dance unit opens with a ballroom and folk dance in triple time, three beats to the measure, done mostly in closed position. Which dance is it? Wikipedia, Waltz. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0002
Show all 25 questions (22 more)

Forms and styles of dance, continued

  • At the barre a teacher cues a smooth, continuous bending of the knees outward with the upper body held upright, then a return to straight legs. Which ballet movement is the class doing? Wikipedia, Glossary of ballet. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0001
  • In breaking, which term names the string of steps done from a standing position, usually the opening display of style before the dancer drops to the floor? Wikipedia, Breakdancing. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0002
  • Tap dance has two major versions. Which one focuses on musicality, with dancers who count themselves part of the jazz tradition? Wikipedia, Tap dance. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0001
  • Which dance form of the Native Hawaiians dramatizes or portrays in movement the words of a song, called the mele? Wikipedia, Hula. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0002
  • Which partner dance was born in the African-American communities of Harlem in 1928 and has the swingout as its defining move? Wikipedia, Lindy Hop. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0002

Artistic processes of dance 9

  • A choreographer takes a sixteen-count phrase and has the dancers perform its moves in reverse order, last to first. Which choreographic device is this? Wikipedia, Choreography. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0004
  • A choreographer tosses coins to settle the order of eight movement phrases shortly before a show. With which choreographer, who worked with the composer John Cage, are such chance procedures most associated? Wikipedia, Merce Cunningham. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0004
  • A creative dance lesson sorts movement into two kinds: movement that travels through space and movement that occurs in one spot. What is the second kind called? The Elements of Dance (Perpich Center for Arts Education), Action. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0003
  • A phrase puts its accents where the stress would not normally fall, so the steps land off the expected pulse. What is this rhythmic device called? Wikipedia, Syncopation. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0003
  • The elements of dance are often taught with the acronym BASTE: body, action, space, time and energy. A dancer changes the direction, level, size and pathway of a phrase. Which element is she varying? The Elements of Dance (Perpich Center for Arts Education), Space. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0003
  • In a duet, how does shadowing differ from mirroring? Wikipedia, Choreography. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0004
  • In Laban movement analysis, which term names the area the body is moving within, defined physically as the distance the body can reach without taking a step? Wikipedia, Laban movement analysis. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0003
  • Laban movement analysis describes Effort with four factors. Three are space, weight and time. Which is the fourth, the one responsible for the continuousness of a motion? Wikipedia, Laban movement analysis. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0003
  • Which improvised dance practice, begun in the United States in 1972, explores movement through shared weight, touch and physical awareness? Wikipedia, Contact improvisation. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0004

Production and analysis 8

  • A choreographer leaves a written score of a dance: symbols on a vertical staff, read from bottom to top, with the length of each symbol giving the duration of the movement. Which system is this? Wikipedia, Labanotation. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0006
  • A lighting cue sheet for a dance concert reads: cyc to deep blue. What is the cyc? Wikipedia, Cyclorama (theater). Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0005
  • A reviewer describes a new work as a narrative ballet. What does that term tell the reader about the work? Wikipedia, Narrative ballet. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0006
  • A teacher wants a structured way for students to respond to classmates' dances in progress. Which four-step method, invented by the choreographer Liz Lerman, is meant for giving and receiving helpful feedback? Wikipedia, Liz Lerman. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0006
  • Before a performance, a touring company rolls sheets of vinyl over the theater's sprung floor. By what name is this vinyl dance surface commonly known? Wikipedia, Performance surface. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0005
  • The costume plot for a ballet calls for Romantic tutus, not Classical ones. What should the costume shop build? Wikipedia, Tutu (clothing). Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0005
  • Dancers wait in the wings, hidden from the audience by tall, narrow drapes hung parallel to the proscenium at the sides of the stage. What are these drapes called? Wikipedia, Theater drapes and stage curtains. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0005
  • To evaluate final dance studies, a teacher hands out a table of evaluative criteria, quality definitions for each level of achievement and a scoring strategy. What is this tool called? Wikipedia, Rubric (academic). Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0006

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Subtest 1 (test code 213) of the Minnesota Teacher Licensure Examinations field Dance (Grades K–12) in the test framework on the MTLE website (https://www.mtle.nesinc.com/Content/Worksheets/MN213_FrameworkWorksheet.html; test page https://www.mtle.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/MN213_TestPage.html, read 2026-10-15): 50 multiple-choice questions in 1 hour, passing score 230; Forms and Styles of Dance (objectives 0001 and 0002, 16 questions, 33%), Artistic Processes of Dance (0003 and 0004, 18 questions, 34%) and Production and Analysis of Dance Performance (0005 and 0006, 16 questions, 33%). This set holds 25: 8, 9 and 8. Every fact was read on the public page named under its question: the named Wikipedia articles and The Elements of Dance (elementsofdance.org). Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

Subtest 2: all 25 questions

Anatomy, health and safety 8

  • A dancer rises from flat feet onto the balls of the feet in relevé. Which movement at the ankle, the one used in standing on tiptoes, is this? Wikipedia, Anatomical terms of motion. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0007
  • A studio floor is rated for shock absorption, one of the properties that makes a floor good for dancers' bodies and joints. What does shock absorption measure? Wikipedia, Performance surface. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0008
  • The Alexander technique and the Feldenkrais method, used in many dance programs, rest on the dancer's internal sensation of the body as perceived from within. To which field do they belong? Wikipedia, Somatics. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0008
Show all 25 questions (22 more)

Anatomy, health and safety, continued

  • As a dancer lowers slowly from relevé, the calf muscle fibers lengthen while they are still contracting against the load. What is this kind of contraction called? Wikipedia, Muscle contraction. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0007
  • Ballet's turnout makes the feet and knees face outward, away from the front of the body. At which joint does the rotation of the leg take place? Wikipedia, Turnout (ballet). Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0007
  • In a series of chaîné turns, dancers keep the head and eyes on one point as long as they can, then whip the head around. Besides helping with balance and direction, what does this spotting do? Wikipedia, Spotting (dance technique). Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0008
  • Which kind of stretch involves bouncing or swinging back and forth at high speed, using momentum to take a muscle beyond its typical range of motion? Wikipedia, Stretching. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0008
  • Which large muscle group on the front of the thigh is the sole extensor of the knee, straightening the legs as a dancer rises from a plié? Wikipedia, Quadriceps. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0007

Dance history and culture 9

  • The Académie Royale de Danse, founded in March 1661 and called the first dance institution established in the Western world, was begun on the initiative of which monarch? Wikipedia, Académie Royale de Danse. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0010
  • Alvin Ailey's best-known work, premiered in an extended version in 1960, is set to spirituals, gospel and blues music. What is it called? Wikipedia, Revelations (Alvin Ailey). Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0010
  • An itinerant ballet company begun in Paris performed across Europe and the Americas between 1909 and 1929, yet never performed in the country its name points to. Which company was it? Wikipedia, Ballets Russes. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0010
  • The jingle dress, hung with rows of metal cones that sound as the dancer moves, came in a dream in the origin stories told at Mille Lacs and Whitefish Bay. Because of those stories, how did some women adopt the dress? Wikipedia, Jingle dress. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0009
  • La Sylphide (1832) is called the first ballet in which dancing en pointe had an aesthetic rationale and was not merely an acrobatic stunt. For which ballerina did her father create it? Wikipedia, Marie Taglioni. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0010
  • Which Afro-Brazilian practice is both a martial art and a game, with elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality? Wikipedia, Capoeira. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0009
  • Which ceremonial dances of Māori culture, often performed by a group with vigorous movements, stamping feet and rhythmically shouted accompaniment, are used to welcome distinguished guests or to mark great achievements and funerals? Wikipedia, Haka. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0009
  • Which choreographer is most noted for La Bayadère (1877), The Sleeping Beauty (1890) and Raymonda (1898)? Wikipedia, Marius Petipa. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0010
  • Which Indian classical dance form comes from Tamil Nadu and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas? Wikipedia, Bharatanatyam. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0009

Integration and careers 8

  • A dance company applies for a grant from the independent federal agency that Congress created in 1965 to support and fund projects of artistic excellence. Which agency is it? Wikipedia, National Endowment for the Arts. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0012
  • A dancer turning with the arms out draws them in close to the axis of rotation and turns faster. Which principle of physics explains the change? Wikipedia, Angular momentum. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0011
  • A public high school in Minnesota is planning its arts courses, and dance is one of the five arts areas in the state's required academic standards. What is the least the school must do? Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.021, subdivision 1. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0012
  • A unit pairing dance with visual art turns to a French artist so identified with the subject of dance that more than half of his works depict dancers. Who is he? Wikipedia, Edgar Degas. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0011
  • Dancers count a phrase 1 through 8, one count to each quarter-note beat, to music in 4/4 time. How many measures of music does the phrase fill? Wikipedia, Time signature. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0011
  • In a ballet company today, who is generally charged with teaching the daily company class and rehearsing the dancers in new and established ballets? Wikipedia, Ballet master. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0012
  • The Nutcracker can tie a dance unit to literature: its plot adapts an 1844 story by Alexandre Dumas, itself a retelling of an 1816 short story by which author? Wikipedia, The Nutcracker. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0011
  • Which career uses movement and dance psychotherapeutically, to support the intellectual, emotional and motor functions of the body? Wikipedia, Dance therapy. Written to the MTLE Dance (Grades K–12) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0012

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Subtest 2 (test code 214) of the Minnesota Teacher Licensure Examinations field Dance (Grades K–12) in the test framework on the MTLE website (https://www.mtle.nesinc.com/Content/Worksheets/MN213_FrameworkWorksheet.html; test page https://www.mtle.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/MN213_TestPage.html, read 2026-10-15): 50 multiple-choice questions in 1 hour, passing score 231; Human Anatomy, Health, and Safety (objectives 0007 and 0008, 16 questions, 33%), Dance History and Culture (0009 and 0010, 18 questions, 34%) and Dance Integration and Careers (0011 and 0012, 16 questions, 33%). This set holds 25: 8, 9 and 8. Every fact was read on the public page named under its question: the named Wikipedia articles and Minnesota Statutes section 120B.021. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

Fifty unofficial MTLE Dance practice questions in two sets, one for each subtest of the Grades K–12 test. Nothing here comes from the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board or Pearson, and the page has no tie to either.

Read the full guide

What MTLE Dance Subtests 1 and 2 weigh

The MTLE framework, read October 15, 2026, gives Subtest 1 (code 213) to Forms and Styles of Dance, 33%, Artistic Processes of Dance, 34%, and Production and Analysis of Dance Performance, 33%. Subtest 2 (code 214) covers Human Anatomy, Health and Safety, 33%, Dance History and Culture, 34%, and Dance Integration and Careers, 33%. Each set of 25 here is cut 8, 9 and 8 to match.

Minnesota in the dance questions

Two questions rest on The Elements of Dance, a project of the Perpich Center for Arts Education with the University of Minnesota's dance program, and its body, action, space, time and energy. Others ask about the jingle dress of the Ojibwe and the five arts areas named in Minnesota Statutes 120B.021.

  • A third of Subtest 2 is the body: joint actions, muscle groups, floors and stretching.

Questions and answers

Is this MTLE Dance practice test free?

Yes, and no account is needed. The 50 questions were written for this page from the objectives of the published framework, and each explanation names the public page its answer rests on. None was taken from the real test or official practice material.

How many questions are on the MTLE Dance test?

Each of the two subtests has 50 multiple-choice questions and one hour of testing time, after 15 minutes for the tutorial and nondisclosure agreement. One appointment can hold a single subtest or both.

What is the passing score for MTLE Dance?

The test page, read October 15, 2026, lists 230 for Subtest 1 and 231 for Subtest 2, and both subtests must be passed. A count of right answers here cannot be turned into those scores.

What does MTLE Dance Subtest 2 cover?

Six objectives: anatomy and physiology in dance, health and safety practices, dance and culture, the history of dance around the world, dance and other disciplines, and the economics of dance with its career and recreational opportunities.

Which Minnesota license is the MTLE Dance test for?

Minnesota Rules 8710.4300 sets one K–12 license, teacher of dance and theatre arts, earned with a dance specialization or a theatre specialization. The MTLE test page says both Dance subtests must be passed to qualify in this field.

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