Dancing is a fantastic way to express yourself, have fun, and stay active. All around the world, people enjoy moving to the rhythm of music, and as a result, there are hundreds of dance styles out there. Here’s a quick look at 50 popular dance styles that could inspire you to start dancing!
1. Ballet: Originating during the Italian Renaissance, this classical dance form requires grace, precision, and discipline.
2. Hip Hop: Born on the streets of New York, hip-hop includes moves like breakdancing and body popping.
3. Jazz: A lively dance style that originates from African-American vernacular dance, jazz is full of energy and fast-paced moves.
4. Tap: Think of it as drumming with your feet! Tap dancing involves tapping shoes with metal plates to create rhythmic sounds.
5. Salsa: With its roots in Cuban and other Latin American cultures, salsa is a lively and passionate partner dance.
6. Tango: Originating from Argentina, this dance is all about connection and involves close, intricate movements with a partner.
7. Contemporary: A style that combines elements of several dance genres, including modern, jazz, lyrical, and classical ballet.
8. Flamenco: From Spain, flamenco is a powerful solo dance known for its emotional intensity and expressive arm movements.
9. Swing: An upbeat dance that evolved from jazz music in the 1920s-1940s, swing includes styles like Lindy Hop and Charleston.
10. Ballroom: This includes several elegant dances such as waltz, foxtrot, and quickstep, typically performed in pairs.
11. Belly Dance: With Middle Eastern origins, belly dance is characterized by complex movements of the torso.
12. Bhangra: A high-energy folk dance originating from the Punjab region in India, it’s often performed to celebrate the harvest.
13. Hula: From Hawaii, hula is a gentle, storytelling dance where hands express the narratives.
14. Reggaeton: A Latin American dance style set to reggaeton music, it mixes hip-hop, Latin, and Caribbean influences.
15. Breakdancing: Often performed in battles, this acrobatic hip-hop style includes moves like spins and freezes.
16. Bollywood: Combining Indian classical, folk, and western influences, Bollywood dance is featured in Indian films.
17. Irish Dance: Fast-paced and quick-footed, this includes styles like the jig and reel.
18. Square Dance: A traditional American folk dance that involves four couples forming a square set.
19. Clogging: An American folk dance where the dancer’s footwear is used percussively by striking the heel, the toe, or both.
20. Krumping: A street dance popularized in Los Angeles characterized by free, expressive, exaggerated, and highly energetic movement.
21. Line Dance: Choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in lines or rows.
22. Folk Dance: Traditional dances that reflect the life of the people of a certain country or region.
23. Zumba: A fitness program that combines Latin and international music with dance moves.
24. Lyrical: Combines elements of ballet, modern, and jazz dance techniques and is performed to music with lyrics to inspire movements that express strong emotions.
25. Capoeira: An Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music.
26. Polka: A lively Central and Eastern European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar from its fast pace and short, bouncy steps.
27. Popping: A dance style that involves the rapid contraction and relaxation of muscles to the beat of the music, creating a jerking effect.
28. Locking: A funk-style dance characterized by freezing from a fast movement and “locking” in a certain position.
29. Shuffle: Originating from the Melbourne rave scene, this dance involves quick heel-and-toe action.
30. Waacking: A form of dance that involves moving the arms to the music beat, typically in a movement from the shoulders.
31. Paso Doble: A dramatic French-Spanish dance that mimics a bullfight.
32. Samba: A Brazilian dance with African influences that is lively and rhythmical.
33. Rumba: Of Cuban origin, this dance is romantic and involves intricate steps and hip movements.
34. Cha-cha: A lively dance of Cuban origin with a syncopated rhythm.
35. Jive: A dance style that originated in the United States from African Americans in the early 1930s.
36. Mambo: A dance from Cuba that involves a lot of hip-swaying and footwork.
37. Merengue: This dance from the Dominican Republic is a fun, fast-paced dance that often involves marching steps.
38. Boogaloo: A fusion of salsa music and the R&B/funk dance style, originating in New York in the late ’60s.
39. Kizomba: A genre of dance and a musical genre originating in Angola in the 1980s.
40. Vogue: A stylized dance form from the New York City gay scene that involves model-like poses integrated with angular, linear, and rigid movements.
41. House: A style of electronic dance music that has its origins in Chicago and involves fast footwork with flowing movements.
42. Lyrical Hip Hop: A more fluid and interpretive version of new style hip-hop most often danced to downtempo rap music or R&B.
43. West Coast Swing: A dance style that is danced in a slot to blues, pop, and country tunes.
44. Hustle: A catchall name for several disco dances that were extremely popular in the 1970s.
45. Lambada: An Afro-Brazilian dance with a flowing, wave-like movement pattern.
46. East Coast Swing: An energetic dance style done to rock and roll music, swing, or blues.
47. Macarena: A dance craze that involves a sequence of hand and arm movements, popularized in the mid-1990s.
48. Jerkin’: A street dance from Los Angeles characterized by loose-limbed movements, including the “reject” and “dip”.
49. Dougie: Popularized by the hip-hop song “Teach Me How to Dougie” by Cali Swag District, it involves casual shoulder leans and elbow twists.
50. Turfing: Acronym for “Taking Up Room on the Floor,” Turfing is a form of street dance that originated in Oakland, California, characterized by intricate footwork and mime-like movements.
There are plenty of dance styles to explore, whether you prefer to dance alone or with a partner. Each dance has its own unique set of moves, culture, and music. So, lace up your dancing shoes and give one or more styles a try. Remember, the most important part of dancing is to have fun and enjoy the music!
