Folk dance
Folk dance is a term used to describe a large number of dances, mostly of European origin, that tend to share the following attributes:
* They were originally danced in about the 19th century or earlier (or are, in any case, not currently
copyrighted);
* Their performance is dominated by an inherited tradition rather than by innovation;
* They were danced by common people and not exclusively by
aristocracy;
* They have been developed spontaneously and there is no governing body that has final say over what "the dance" is or who is authorized to teach it. This also means that no one has the final say over the definition of folk dance or the minimum age for such dances.
Folk dances are traditionally performed during
social events by people with little or no professional training. New dancers often learn informally by observing others and/or receiving help from others. Folk dancing is viewed as more of a social activity rather than
competitive, although there are professional and semi-professional folk dance groups, and occasional folk dance competitions.
The term "folk dance" is sometimes applied to dances of historical European culture, typically originated before 20th century. For other cultures the terms
ethnic dance or
traditional dance are sometimes used, although the latter terms may encompass
ceremonial dances.
There are a number of modern dances such as
hip hop that evolve spontaneously, but the term "folk dances" is generally not applied to them, and the terms "
street dance" or "
vernacular dance" are used instead. The term "folk dances" is reserved for dances which are to a significant degree bound by European tradition and originated in the times when the distinction existed between the dances of "common folk" and the dances of the "high society".
A number of modern
ballroom dances originated from folk ones.
The terms
ethnic and
traditional are used when it is required to emphasize the cultural roots of the dance. It this sense, nearly all folk dances are ethnic ones. If some dances, such as
polka, cross ethnic boundaries (and even cross the boundary between
Folk and
Ballroom dance), ethnic differences are often considerable enough to speak of, e.g., "Czech Polka" vs. "German Polka".
However, not all ethnic dances are folk ones. The simplest example of these are
ritual dances or dances of ritual origin.
Types of folk dance include
contradance,
English country dance,
international folk dance,
Irish dance,
Maypole dance,
Morris dance,
Scottish country dance,
Ball de bastons,
square dance, and
sword dance. Some
choreographed dances such as
Israeli folk dance are called folk dances, though this is not true in the strictest sense.
Country dance overlaps with contemporary folk dance and ballroom dance. Most country dances and ballroom dances originated from folk dances, with gradual refinement over the years.
Folk dances are part of the overall culture of the country, and often have common features. People familiar with folk dancing can often determine what country a dance is from even if they have not seen that particular dance before. Some countries' dances have features that are unique to that country, although neighboring countries sometimes have similar features. For example, the
German and
Austrian schuhplattling dance consists of slapping the body and shoes in a fixed pattern, a feature that few other countries' dances have. Folk dances sometimes evolved long before current political boundaries, so that certain dances are shared by several countries. For example, some Serbian, Bulgarian, and Croatian dances share the same or similar dances, and sometimes even use the same name and music for those dances.
Although folk dancing was historically done by the common people of the local culture,
international folk dance has received some popularity on college campuses and community centers within the
United States and other countries.
Richard Thompson wrote a song folk dancers titled
Don't Sit On My Jimmy Shands, a reference to Scottish musician
Jimmy Shand that produced
bagpipe music. In the 1960's this movement was supported by record labels such as
Folk Dancer by Michael and Maryann Herman, and the
Folkways Records label by
Moses Asch which is currently under the
Smithsonian Institute.
*
List of folk dances sorted by origin, a sorted list of specific ethnic, folk, traditional, and regional dances
*
Dance basic topics, a list of general dance topics
*
International folk dance*
Austrian folk dance*
Indian folk dances*
Igor Moiseyev*
Contra dance*
Bulgarian folk dancing*
Israeli folk dancing*
Square dancing*
Country and Western dance*
China National Ethnic Song and Dance*
Ukrainian dance*
Additional folk dance information*
Folk Dance Association*
International folk dance articles*
Center for Traditional Music and Dance
