Understanding Folk Dance: 10 Styles of Folk Dance

Folk dance celebrates the cultural roots of a particular group of people. Folk dance is typically performed as a form of ritualistic entertainment at social gatherings. Some kinds of folk dance tell a culture’s foundational stories, while others may simply emphasize cultural pride. Today, you may see traditional folk dance performances—complete with traditional garb and music—at certain community and holiday events.

Although folk dancing varies greatly depending on the culture and traditions, there are several common attributes of folk dance, such as:

1. 1. Performed by nonprofessionals: Traditionally, most folk dances are performed by people without professional dance training or experience. The dances themselves are passed down through generations, learned through observation and mirroring rather than being formally taught.
2. 2. Performed to traditional music: Most folk dances are performed to the traditional folk music of the respective people. Many of these songs contain lyrical verses that tell a story, but some are strictly instrumental.
3. 3. Performed in traditional dress: Folk dancers may wear their culture’s traditional garb or attire for a performance. These clothes underscore the dancer’s cultural identity while providing a sense of uniformity with the rest of the folk dance group.
4. 4. Performed during holidays or other celebrations: Folk dances are often performed at festivals, cultural gatherings, or agricultural events.

There are thousands of different folk dances, some with multiple variations and evolutions. Here are a few examples of traditional folk dances:

1. 1. Fandango: Fandango is a traditional Spanish couples’ dance accompanied by clapping, castanets, or guitars. In the eighteenth century, the Fandango was popular amongst the aristocracy.
2. 2. Sirtaki: The Sirtaki is a traditional Greek line dance where the dancers perform with their hands over each others’ shoulders to form a long human chain. The dance starts out slow, and gets progressively faster.
3. 3. The Tarantella: The Tarantella is an Italian folk dance named for the town it originated in—Taranto, Italy. It is a light, upbeat dance characterized by quick steps, and performed in 6/8 time. It started as a couples’ dance, but can also be danced with multiple couples.
4. 4. The Tinikling: This national dance of the Philippines originated during the Spanish Colonial era, and is inspired by the movements of the tinikling bird. To perform the Tinikling, dancers pick up, rearrange, and maneuver between bamboo poles, much like this native bird does to obstacles in the wild.
5. 5. The Hora: The Hora is often recognized as the Jewish wedding dance, but it is also danced in Romania, Bulgaria, Israel, and other countries. The dancers join hands and move in a circle around the bride and groom, who are sometimes seated in chairs and hoisted up into the air as the patrons continue dancing around them.
6. 6. Kolo: South Slavic folk dancers from countries like Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia, do a dance called the ‘Kolo,’ where dancers hold hands and move in a circle as they do an intricate step dance.
7. 7. Ceili: The Ceili dance is a traditional Irish dance that involves fast, precise footwork, while the torso remains still. This dance originated in the 1500s, and is typically performed to traditional Irish music, often incorporating the fiddle.
8. 8. Polka dance: Originated in the Czech Republic, this popular folk dance form is performed all over the world. The Polka is a fast-paced routine usually danced by a couple, who rotate in a circle in the same direction, smoothing out any rough bounces in their quick steps.
9. 9. Square dance: Originating in England, this traditional American dance involves four pairs of dancers arranged in a square, and is typically accompanied by country music. Each couple stands on each side facing the square’s center, performing specific moves in a set order. Early forms of square dancing include the Cotillion, the French Quadrille, as well as a number of English country dances.
10. 10. Weapon dances: Sometimes referred to as sword dances, this genre of folk dance contains the use of a sword or weapon in the routine. Weapon dances often reenact battles or express particular cultural themes, and are a part of many folk dances around the world, in places including China, Vietnam, Scotland, and India.

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