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A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances are usually called "religious dances" because of their purpose.

The terms "ethnic" and "traditional" are used when it is required to emphasize the cultural roots of the dance. In this sense, nearly all folk dances are ethnic ones. If some dances, such as polka, cross ethnic boundaries and even cross the boundary between "folk" and "ballroom dance", ethnic differences are often considerable enough to mention.^[1]

Background

Traditional dancers and performance during the Pulljay festivities in Tarabuco

Folk dances share some or all of the following attributes:

Dances are usually held at folk dance gatherings or social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music.
Dances not generally designed for public performance or the stage, though they may later be arranged and set for stage performances.
Execution dominated by an inherited tradition from various international cultures rather than innovation (though folk traditions change over time).
New dancers often learn informally by observing others or receiving help from others.

More controversially, some people define folk dancing as dancing for which there is no governing body or dancing for which there are no competitive or professional institutions. The term "folk dance" is sometimes applied to dances of historical importance in European culture and history; typically originating before the 20th century. For other cultures the terms "ethnic dance" or "traditional dance" are sometimes used, although the latter terms may encompass ceremonial dances.

There are a number of modern dances, such as hip hop dance, that evolve spontaneously, but the term "folk dance" is generally not applied to them, and the terms "street dance" or "vernacular dance" are used instead. The term "folk dance" is reserved for dances which are to a significant degree bound by tradition and originated in the times when the distinction existed between the dances of "common folk" and the dances of the modern ballroom dances originated from folk ones.

Europe

Varieties of European folk dances include:

Sword dances include long sword dances and rapper dancing. Some choreographed dances such as contra dance, Scottish highland dance, Scottish country dance, and modern western square dance, are called folk dances, though this is not true in the strictest sense. Country dance overlaps with contemporary folk dance and ballroom dance. Most country dances and ballroom dances originated from folk dances, with gradual refinement over the years.

People familiar with folk dancing can often determine what country a dance is from even if they have not seen that particular dance before. Some countries' dances have features that are unique to that country, although neighboring countries sometimes have similar features. For example, the German and Austrian schuhplattling dance consists of slapping the body and shoes in a fixed pattern, a feature that few other countries' dances have.

Folk dances sometimes evolved long before current political boundaries, so that certain dances are shared by several countries. For example, some Serbian, Bulgarian, and Croatian dances share the same or similar dances, and sometimes even use the same name and music for those dances.

International folk dance groups exist in cities and college campuses in many countries, in which dancers learn folk dances from many cultures for recreation.

Balfolk events are social dance events with live music in Western and Central Europe, originating in the folk revival of the 1970s and becoming more popular since about 2000, where popular European partner dances from the end of the 19th century such as the schottische, polka, mazurka and waltz are danced, with additionally other European folk dances, mainly from France, but also from Sweden, Spain and other countries.

Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia

Ardah
Armenian dance
Assyrian folk dance
Azerbaijani dances
Bihu, an Assamese dance celebrating the arrival of spring, traditionally the beginning of the Assamese New Year
Attan - The national dance of Afghanistan. Also a popular folk dance of Pashtuns tribes of Pakistan including the unique styles of Quetta and Waziristan in Pakistan.
Belly Dance
Bhangra, a Punjabi harvest dance in Pakistan and India, and a music style that has become popular worldwide.
Chitrali Dance - Chitral, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.
Circassian dance
Circle dance
Dabke, a folk dance of the Levant
Domkach, folk dance of Bihar and Jharkhand, India
Garba Circular Devotional dance from Gujarat danced the world over
Israeli folk dance
Kalbelia is one of the most sensuous dance forms of Rajasthan, performed by the kalbelia tribe
Khattak Dance - Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.
Khigga, a common folk dance among Assyrian people
Kurdish dance
Luri dances
Lewa (folk dance) - Baluch folk dance in Pakistan.
Mazanderani dances
Middle Eastern Dance
Chaap (traditional Baloch folk dance in Pakistan)

various dances such as tamang selo and many others

Thabal chongba
Kyushtdepdi - The national dance of Turkmenistan^[2]
Yowlah

India

East and Southeast Asia

China

Yangge

Cambodia

Romvong
Rom kbach
Robam Neary Chea Chuor^[3]
Peacock Dance
Chhayam
Cambodian Coconut Dance
Cambodian Fish Dance
Trot dance

Indonesia

Japan

Bon dance
Buyō, typical dance of the Japanese geishas or dance artists
Rimse (Ainu people)
Kachāshī (Okinawa)

Philippines

Members from the Philippine Cultural Dancers group perform *tinikling* during the 2007 Asian Pacific Heritage Month celebration at the Kadena Air Base, Japan

Taiwan

Bamboo dance (Amis people)

South America

Argentina

Brazil

Samba

Peru

Marinera

Venezuela

Gaita Zuliana

Africa

Angola

Kizomba

Cameroon

Ambasse bey

Ghana

Adowa
Agbadza
Agbekor (Atamga)

Niger

Bitti Harey

North America

United States

Modern Dance

Mexico

Baile Folklorico (Mexico and Central America)
Contradance
Square Dance

Dominican Republic

Merengue

Oceania

Hula (Hawaii)
Haka (New Zealand)

Notable people

Gallery

Körtánc - Hungarian (csango) folk dance
Kyushtdepdi
Assyrians dancing khigga.
Mtiuluri
A Ball de bastons stick dance from Catalonia
Cyprus folk dance with glasses in Paphos
Macedonian female folk dance, Tresenica, performed by Tanec
Podhale Gorals dancing
Traditional Russian squat dancing

References

^ "Folk dance | Definition, Music, History, Types, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
^ V@DIM. "Golden age". www.turkmenistan.gov.tm.
^ Lytle 2023.
^ "Tarian Zapin – Yayasan Warisan Johor". Archived from the original on 2018-09-16. Retrieved 2017-05-25.

Sources

Lytle, Tiffany (2023-04-13). "Is My Body My Own?". Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies. 42 (0). doi:10.3998/conversations.3657. ISSN 2834-6823.