Stairmaster

RORY: You just wanna hold a grudge.
LORELAI: Yes, it burns more calories.
RORY: That’s not true.
LORELAI: Yes it is, how do you think your grandma got those legs of hers? She’s not exactly a StairMaster gal.

StairMaster is an American company which makes exercise equipment, founded in 1983. Their first piece of equipment was a stair climbing machine.

Kelly Bishop, who plays Emily, got “those legs” of hers training in ballet, and working as a chorus line dancer for many years. We learn in the next season that Emily does in fact follow an exercise regimen to stay in shape.

Dances

LORELAI (after putting hairspray in Rory’s hair): OK, that will be good for six slow dances, four medium ones, one lambada, but if you plan on doing any moshing I suggest another coat.

A lambada is a sensual dance from Brazil which became popularised in the 1980s and ’90s, sometimes called “the forbidden dance” because of its sexy nature.

Moshing or slamdancing is an energetic, aggressive hardcore punk dance where you push or slam into the other dancers. The place near the stage where moshing is performed is called the moshpit.

Skanking

LORELAI: Not here, skanking to Rancid?

Skanking, as ably demonstrated by Lane in this scene, is a ska and ska punk dance style. It originated in the Jamaican dance halls of the 1950s, and was revived (and sped up considerably) in the 1970s during the punk movement.

Flashdance

Flashdance is a 1983 romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne, about a working class teenage girl (Jennifer Beals) who dreams of being a professional dancer. Flashdance was panned by critics, but a commercial success and the #3 movie of 1983.

The “Flashdance phase” is another time Lorelai believes she was wrong. In the movie, Jennifer Beals wears 1980s dancewear, such as a leotard and leg warmers topped with an oversized sweatshirt falling off her shoulders; her other iconic outfit is jeans with ripped knees and a white singlet top falling off her shoulders. These were popular fashion choices in 1983 (when Lorelai was 15) because of the film. For a while there, nobody could keep clothes on their shoulders or knees.

Tutu

LORELAI: OK, I need more tulle here. I need the feeling of a major tutu, OK?

A tutu is a traditional ballet dress, often made from tulle, which is a fabric made from lightweight fine netting.

Amy Sherman-Palladino herself was a ballet dancer, and had the chance to turn professional. She became a writer instead, but there are numerous references to ballet in Gilmore Girls, and her show Bunheads was based around the world of ballet.