🇨🇦 The dances of Canada
23 dances from Canada, best known first, across 6 cities and regions.
Cities and regions of Canada
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBreakdancing
A street dance with acrobatics, floorwork and freezes, born in 1970s New York CityStreet or club dance · Solo · Group
🇺🇸 United States and 1 morePowwow
A gathering of Indigenous communities with dance, song, and ceremonyFolk dance · Circle · Group
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCan-can
A high-energy French dance featuring vigorous kicks and skirt manipulation.Social dance · Couple · Group
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreBallroom dance
Partner dances performed socially and in competition, with roots in EuropeSocial dance · Couple · Group
🇺🇸 United States and 4 morePole dance
A vertical acrobatic dance combining strength and artistry on a chrome or steel column.Social dance · Solo
🇮🇪 Ireland and 3 moreIrish dance
Solo and group dances from Ireland, known for fast footwork and lively formationsFolk dance · Solo · Group
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJigport
A lively folk dance in compound time, central to Irish and Scottish traditionFolk dance · Solo · Group
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreContra dance
A social line dance for pairs, led by a caller and set to live folk tunesFolk dance · Couple · Line or chain
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreMorris dance
A group folk dance from England, with bells, sticks or handkerchiefsFolk dance · Group · Procession
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreGiddhaਗਿੱਧਾ
A Punjabi women's folk dance in a singing, clapping circleFolk dance · Circle
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreSquare dance
A group dance for four couples in a square, led by a caller or set routineFolk dance · Set or square · Group
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreCéilidh
A social dance gathering with live music from Scotland and IrelandFolk dance · Couple · Set or square
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreContact Improvisation
A partner dance built on touch and shared weight, created in the United States during the early 1970s.Social dance · Couple
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreReel
A lively folk dance from Scotland and Ireland, done to quick, even-paced musicFolk dance · Solo · Group
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreScottish highland dancedannsa Gàidhealach
A solo step dance with raised arms, performed at Highland games and competitionsFolk dance · Solo · Group
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreScottish country dance
A social dance for sets of couples, using Scottish steps and figuresFolk dance · Set or square · Line or chain
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreNative American Hoop Dance
A solo dance using multiple hoops to form shapes of animals and the cycle of life.Folk dance · Solo
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreTraditional square dance
A group dance in fours, led by a caller to live fiddle tunes across North America.Folk dance · Group
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreSean-nós dancedamhsa ar an sean nós
A casual solo Irish dance with improvised footwork and free arm movement.Folk dance · Solo
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreRed River Jig
A traditional jig and fiddle tune of the Canadian Métis people, danced with technical footwork.Folk dance · Solo · Group
🇯🇵 Japan and 5 morePara Paraパラパラ
A Japanese club dance with upper-body choreography set to EurobeatSocial dance · Group
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreKolomyikaколомийка
A fast Ukrainian folk dance and song form from the Carpathian region.Folk dance · Group
🇭🇹 Haiti and 5 moreCompaskonpa dirèk
A Haitian partner dance to a steady, pulsating rhythm created in the 1950s.Social dance · Couple
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Compas: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Can-can: Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de, Public domain, source
- Scottish country dance: © James F. Perry, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jig: Michael A. Zapletal Public domain Public domain false false This work, Public domain, source
- Contact Improvisation: Romain Bigé, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Giddha: University of the Fraser Valley, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ballroom dance: Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952, photographer., Public domain, source
- Irish dance: U.S. Army, Public domain, source
- Square dance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Morris dance: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pole dance: Raul Lanus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hooping: AbsconditumEtIncognitum, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Powwow: Smithsonian Institution, No restrictions, source
- Reel: Skubik at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Contra dance: Sdkb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Breakdancing: Jose Fernando tenorio rivero, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scottish highland dance: Lucas Kendall, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Céilidh: Smithsonian Institution, No restrictions, source
- Traditional square dance: Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kolomyika: Teodor Axentowicz, Public domain, source