Line and chain dances of the world
Dancers side by side, or in a chain led from one end.
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 1 moreFolk dance
Traditional group dances rooted in local life and passed down through generationsFolk dance 路 Group 路 Circle
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaPaika akhada
A martial dance with swords and shields from Odisha, rooted in warrior trainingWar or martial dance 路 Group 路 Line or chain
馃嚙馃嚪 BrazilSamba-reggae
A Carnival street dance from Bahia, led by drummers and rooted in Afro-Brazilian prideFolk dance 路 Group 路 Procession
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceGavotte
A French dance with skipping steps, once danced in lines or circles at court and in villagesFolk dance 路 Line or chain 路 Circle
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 1 moreAllemande
A Baroque instrumental dance and a later Swiss triple-time social dance.Social dance 路 Line or chain 路 Couple
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreSirtaki蟽蠀蟻蟿维魏喂
A line dance that starts slow and speeds up, created for the film Zorba the Greek.Folk dance 路 Line or chain 路 Circle
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceBourr茅e
A lively French dance in double or triple time, once found in both villages and courtsFolk dance 路 Couple 路 Circle
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesCharleston
A fast-paced dance with kicks and twists, first popular in 1920s AmericaSocial dance 路 Solo 路 Couple
馃嚨馃嚫 Palestine and 5 moreDabke丿亘賰丞
A line and circle dance for celebrations across the LevantFolk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚪馃嚫 Serbia and 2 moreKolo袣芯谢芯
A South Slavic circle dance for groups at weddings and celebrationsFolk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 3 moreIrish dance
Solo and group dances from Ireland, known for fast footwork and lively formationsFolk dance 路 Solo 路 Group
馃嚪馃嚧 Romania and 6 moreHora
A group circle dance found across Southeast Europe and in Jewish communitiesFolk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚢馃嚪 South Korea and 1 moreGanggangsullae臧曣皶靾犽灅
A Korean circle dance sung and danced by women under the full moonFolk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 5 moreCircle dance
A group dance in a circle or curved line, joined by hand and led around the floorFolk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreLine dance
A group choreography where dancers face the same direction in rows without touching.Social dance 路 Line or chain
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreContra dance
A social line dance for pairs, led by a caller and set to live folk tunesFolk dance 路 Couple 路 Line or chain
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreHip-hop dance
Improvised street dance styles shaped by hip-hop music and cultureStreet or club dance 路 Solo 路 Group
馃嚬馃嚧 TongaLakalaka
A standing group dance of Tonga where rows of performers gesture with outstretched arms while singing.Folk dance 路 Line or chain
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 3 moreBranle
A French chain dance of linked couples moving side to side, popular from the 1500s.Folk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaDandiya Raas
A stick dance from Gujarat, performed in pairs during NavaratriFolk dance 路 Couple 路 Line or chain
馃嚫馃嚘 Saudi ArabiaArdah丕賱毓乇囟丞
A group sword or cane dance in two lines, performed by men in Saudi ArabiaFolk dance 路 Line or chain 路 Group
馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey and 4 moreHalay
A group dance in lines or circles, led by music or singing at weddings and celebrationsFolk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚥馃嚘 MoroccoAhidus獯扳祪獾⑩捶獾撯禉 (a岣dous)
A Berber circle dance from Morocco, performed by tribes for celebration and unity.Folk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 1 moreSchuhplattler
A stomping, slapping folk dance from the Eastern Alps, danced in lederhosen and dirndlsFolk dance 路 Couple 路 Circle
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaNati啶ㄠぞ啶熰
A group folk dance from Himachal Pradesh, danced in circles at festivals and celebrationsFolk dance 路 Circle 路 Group
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 1 moreKurdish dance
Traditional circle and line dances of the Kurdish people, often led by handkerchief twirlersFolk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚡馃嚨 Japan and 1 moreEisa銈ㄣ偆銈点兗
A drumming and dance procession for Obon, led by Okinawan youth in lines or circlesFolk dance 路 Line or chain 路 Circle
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 5 moreCountry dance
A group social dance with set figures, danced in lines, squares or circlesSocial dance 路 Couple 路 Set or square
馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceTsamiko韦蟽维渭喂魏慰蟼
A Greek folk dance in a line or circle, marked by slow steps and acrobatic leapsFolk dance 路 Line or chain 路 Circle
馃嚚馃嚦 ChinaYangge绉ф瓕
A lively folk dance in lines or circles, often with ribbons, drums, and fansFolk dance 路 Line or chain 路 Circle
InternationalFaroese chain danceF酶royskur dansur
A circle dance from the Faroe Islands, sung to ballads and danced hand in handFolk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚘馃嚜 United Arab Emirates and 2 moreYowlah
A group stick and weapon dance performed at celebrations in the UAE and OmanFolk dance 路 Group 路 Line or chain
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 5 moreScottish country dance
A social dance for sets of couples, using Scottish steps and figuresFolk dance 路 Set or square 路 Line or chain
馃嚬馃嚪 TurkeyHoron蠂慰蟻蠈谓
A fast line dance from Turkey's Black Sea coast, known for its shoulder shimmy and sudden squats.Folk dance 路 Line or chain 路 Group
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceAn dro
A Breton circle dance with linked pinkies and swaying armsFolk dance 路 Line or chain 路 Circle
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreSyrtos
A hand-linked Greek line and circle dance led by a solo improviserFolk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaLezim
A group dance from Maharashtra using jingling hand instruments and energetic stepsFolk dance 路 Group 路 Circle
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesHustle
A fast-paced partner dance from 1970s New York nightclubs, set to disco musicSocial dance 路 Couple 路 Line or chain
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreBarn dance
A social dance event with simple steps, often guided by a callerSocial dance 路 Group 路 Circle
馃嚚馃嚭 Cuba and 1 moreConga line
A single-file procession dance with a four-step rhythm, originating in Cuba.Folk dance 路 Line or chain 路 Circle
馃嚚馃嚧 Colombia and 3 moreMapal茅
A fast, energetic Afro-Colombian dance echoing the movements of fish and the seaFolk dance 路 Couple 路 Group
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaOyilattam
A line dance from Tamil Nadu, done at village festivals after the harvestFolk dance 路 Line or chain
馃嚳馃嚰 ZimbabweMbende Jerusarema
A polyrhythmic group dance of the Zezuru, marked by acrobatic hip and waist movementsFolk dance 路 Group 路 Line or chain
馃嚙馃嚪 BrazilXaxado
A sliding dance from the Brazilian Sert茫o, originally performed by cangaceiros to celebrate victories.Folk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesUprock
A competitive street dance of hand gestures and footwork from New York City.Street or club dance 路 Couple 路 Line or chain
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 1 moreConcheros
A ceremonial group dance blending indigenous and Catholic traditions in MexicoFolk dance 路 Group 路 Circle
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 2 moreSequence dance
A group dance style following preset movement patterns to specific musical sequences.Social dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
馃嚜馃嚫 SpainMui帽eira
A lively Galician circle dance played on bagpipes and drums in 6/8 time.Folk dance 路 Circle 路 Line or chain
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ganggangsullae: originally by photoren, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mbende Jerusarema: Fidelis Manyange aka manfidza, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sirtaki: Simon Bonaventure, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bourr茅e: Pierre Andr茅 Leclercq, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hora: Chajeshukarie ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Dabke: Sarah Canbel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scottish country dance: 漏 James F. Perry, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Farandole: Hans Thoma, Public domain, source
- Mui帽eira: Adri谩n Est茅vez ( Estevoaei ), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Horon: Macukali, Public domain, source
- Line dance: Sebastiaan ter Burg, CC BY 2.0, source
- Irish dance: U.S. Army, Public domain, source
- Allemande: User:Hyacinth, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Schuhplattler: Harald Bischoff, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- An dro: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Kurdish dance: Kaiwan Moradi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Faroese chain dance: Eileen Sand谩, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Xaxado: Minist茅rio da Defesa, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kolo: Sasa.mazinjanin, Public domain, source
- Gavotte: Randolph Caldecott, Public domain, source
- Eisa: HaeB, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Contra dance: Sdkb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Concheros: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Syrtos: Muriel P茅castaing-Boissi猫re pour C茅dric Boissi猫re, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ardah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lezim: Runabhattacharjee, CC0, source
- Oyilattam: Ram2909, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dandiya Raas: User:psubhashish, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yowlah: Sharon Harper, CC BY 2.0, source
- Folk dance: Francisco Pajares, Jr., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Barn dance: Melissa Hanhirova, CC BY 4.0, source
- Charleston: Walery , Polish-British, 1863-1929, Public domain, source
- Mapal茅: P R, CC BY 2.0, source
- Halay: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source
- Hip-hop dance: E. Ba艧ak, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hustle: Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yangge: 01Raina, Public domain, source
- Country dance: Engraving by William Hogarth, CC BY 4.0, source
- Nati: Ramesh Lalwani, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ahidus: Fotograaf / photographer: Drs. F.M. (Frits) Cowan (1931 - 2010), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Branle: Claudine Bouzonnet-Stella, Public domain, source
- Conga line: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Derek J. Hu, Public domain, source
- Sequence dance: Johnscotaus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source