Ways of dancing
Dance is more than steps. These are 48 gatherings, formats and systems: where people dance, how a night is run, how a form is taught and how it is judged.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for dancers, travellers and the curious.
Weddings and family occasions
The dances a family does together when two people marry.
๐บ๐ธ ๐ฌ๐ง ๐ซ๐ท ๐ต๐ฑThe first danceThe moment at a wedding party when the newly married couple dance alone and so open the floor for everyone else.๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ง ๐บ๐ธThe sangeetThe song and dance evening before a North Indian wedding, when both families perform for each other and then dance together.
๐ฑ๐ง ๐ธ๐พ ๐ต๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ดThe dabke line at a weddingA line of guests, hands or shoulders linked, stamping in step behind a leader at weddings across the Levant.
๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ท๐ด ๐ฒ๐ฉ ๐บ๐ธThe hora at a celebrationA fast ring dance for the whole room at Jewish weddings, and an older, slower village circle in Romania and Moldova.Festivals and seasons
Times of year when a whole town, community or city turns out to dance or to watch.
๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ฌ๐ง ๐บ๐ธ ๐จ๐ฆGarba night at NavratriNine nights of circle dancing in honour of the goddess, held each autumn in Gujarat and wherever Gujaratis live.
๐บ๐ธ ๐จ๐ฆThe powwowA gathering of Native American and First Nations people to dance, sing, honour one another and compete, often open to the public.
๐ง๐ทThe samba school and its carnival paradeA neighbourhood association in Brazil that spends all year preparing one huge sung and danced parade, judged at carnival.
๐ฏ๐ต ๐บ๐ธ ๐ง๐ทBon odoriThe summer dances of Japan's Obon season, when neighbours circle a wooden tower to welcome the spirits of their ancestors.
๐จ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐พ ๐ธ๐ฌThe lion dance troupe at New YearTeams of two under a lion costume, driven by drum and cymbals, who visit homes and shops at Lunar New Year to bring good fortune.
๐ฎ๐ณThe Margazhi season in ChennaiA month of back-to-back classical music and dance recitals in Chennai each December and January, run by the city's arts societies.Sacred and ceremonial dance
Dance done as worship, welcome, healing or the keeping of law and memory.
๐น๐ทThe sema ceremony of the MevleviA Sufi ceremony of prayer, music and turning, practised by the followers of the poet Rumi as a way of remembering God.
๐ฎ๐ณTemple dance and the devadasi historyThe story of the women who danced in South and East Indian temples, how their world was dismantled, and what the stage inherited.
๐ณ๐ฟThe haka as challenge and welcomeThe Mฤori posture dance with chanted words, performed by a group to welcome, to challenge, to mourn and to celebrate.
๐ง๐น ๐ฎ๐ณ ๐จ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ตMasked dance festivals: cham and the tshechuSacred dances by masked monks and laymen in the courtyards of Himalayan Buddhist monasteries, watched as a blessing.๐ฆ๐บThe corroboreeAn English word for the ceremonies of song, dance and body painting through which Aboriginal Australians keep law, story and country.๐น๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ช ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒThe ngoma gatheringAcross much of eastern, central and southern Africa, one word means the drum, the dance and the event that brings people together.Circles, battles and contests
Dance done face to face or in front of judges, where someone is tested.
๐ง๐ทThe capoeira rodaThe ring of players and musicians inside which two people at a time play capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian art of fight, dance and game.
๐บ๐ธ ๐ซ๐ท ๐ฐ๐ท ๐ฏ๐ตThe cypher and the breaking battleThe circle where hip-hop dancers take turns in the middle, and the judged contest in which breakers answer each other round for round.
๐บ๐ธ ๐ซ๐ท ๐ง๐ทThe vogue ballA competition of dance, walking and style created by Black and Latino LGBTQ people in New York, contested by chosen families called houses.
๐ฌ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ช ๐ฎ๐น ๐ท๐บThe ballroom competitionCouples in numbered pairs dance set ballroom and Latin dances at the same time while judges around the floor rank them.
๐ฎ๐ช ๐ฌ๐ง ๐บ๐ธ ๐จ๐ฆThe Irish feisA competition day for Irish step dancers, who perform solo reels, jigs and hornpipes for a judge and climb through graded levels.
๐ฌ๐ง ๐จ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ธ ๐ฆ๐บHighland dancing at the gamesSolo Scottish dances performed to a lone piper on a small outdoor platform, judged at Highland games in Scotland and abroad.
๐บ๐ธThe dance marathonAn endurance contest of 1920s and 1930s America in which couples danced, or at least stayed upright, for days and weeks to win a prize.Schools and ways of learning
How a dance passes from teacher to student, and how a dancer is declared ready.
๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ต ๐ง๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ฐThe gurukul and the guru-shishya systemThe Indian way of handing on dance from one teacher to one student over many years, by living, watching and repeating.๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐พThe arangetramA Bharatanatyam student's first full solo recital, given after years of training to show that she or he is ready for the stage.๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ฉThe kathak gharanasThe schools of style in kathak, each named after the North Indian city or court where one line of teachers shaped it.
๐ซ๐ท ๐ท๐บ ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฌ๐งThe ballet class: barre and centreThe daily lesson every ballet dancer takes, from student to star, in an order of exercises that hardly changes anywhere in the world.๐บ๐ธThe hula hฤlauA Hawaiian school of hula, in which a master teacher passes on dances, chants, language and protocol to a close group of students.Stages and companies
The venues, troupes and long nights built for people who come to watch.
๐ซ๐ท ๐ท๐บ ๐ฌ๐ง ๐บ๐ธThe ballet company and its ranksHow a ballet company is ordered, from the newest member of the ensemble up to the few principals who dance the leading roles.
๐ฎ๐ณThe all-night Kathakali performanceA dance-drama of Kerala played from nightfall until dawn in a temple yard, by actors in towering costume and painted faces.๐ช๐ธFlamenco: the tablao and the juergaThe two homes of flamenco: the small paid venue with a wooden stage, and the private gathering where it happens among friends.๐ท๐บ ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ต๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ณThe folkloric ensemble and the state folk balletProfessional companies that turn the village dances of a country into polished stage shows and tour them as a national calling card.
๐ฎ๐ณThe all-night Kathakali performanceA dance-drama of Kerala played from nightfall until dawn in a temple yard, by actors in towering costume and painted faces.๐ช๐ธFlamenco: the tablao and the juergaThe two homes of flamenco: the small paid venue with a wooden stage, and the private gathering where it happens among friends.๐ท๐บ ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ต๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ณThe folkloric ensemble and the state folk balletProfessional companies that turn the village dances of a country into polished stage shows and tour them as a national calling card.Ideas and systems
The theories, scripts and lists people have made to explain, record and protect dance.
๐ซ๐ท ๐ฉ๐ช ๐ฌ๐ง ๐บ๐ธDance notationSystems of symbols for writing movement down on paper, so that a dance can be kept, studied and staged again without its maker.
๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฉThe Natya Shastra and rasa theoryAn ancient Sanskrit manual of theatre, dance and music, and its central idea: that a performance exists to produce a shared, savoured emotion.๐ธ๐ณ ๐ฌ๐ณ ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ณCall and response between dancer and drummerIn many traditions the dance is a live conversation: the drummer plays the dancer's moves, and the dancer answers the drum.๐ซ๐ท ๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ท ๐ช๐ธUNESCO heritage listing for dancesThe international lists on which countries register living traditions, including many dances, to recognise and help safeguard them.Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Haka: Merrett, Joseph Jenner, 1816-1854., Public domain, source
- Hora: Chajeshukarie ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Dabke: Sarah Canbel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kathakali: Paul Varuni, CC BY 2.0, source
- Square dance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tandava: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Salsa: Edil Villa, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Powwow: Smithsonian Institution, No restrictions, source
- Sabar: AbaDiop, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lion dance: Alfresco24, CC BY 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
- Cรฉilidh: Smithsonian Institution, No restrictions, source
- Garba: anurag agnihotri, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bal Folk: Unuaiga, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fest Noz: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Tea Dance: Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer, Public domain, source
- Juke Joint: Marion Post Wolcott, Public domain, source
- Rave And Club: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
- First Dance: Wilhelm Gause, Public domain, source
- Samba School Parade: Fernando Frazรฃo/Agรชncia Brasil, CC BY 3.0 br, source
- Bon Odori: Batholith, Public domain, source
- Margazhi Season: Martin spaink, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mevlevi Sema: Georges Jansoone ( JoJan ), CC BY 3.0, source
- Temple Dance And Devadasi History: Fedor Jagor, Public domain, source
- Cham And Tshechu: Stephen Shephard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Capoeira Roda: Ricardo Andrรฉ Frantz ( User:Tetraktys ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vogue Ball: Shikeishu, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dancesport Competition: Nathaniel C. Sheetz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Irish Feis: Killian77, CC BY 2.0, source
- Dance Marathon: National Photo Company, Public domain, source
- Guru Shishya System: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ballet Class: Fanny Schertzer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dance Notation: The original uploader was Huster at French Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Social dance nights
Evenings where ordinary people come to dance with each other, each with its own floor rules.