Folk Dance Classes

Folk dancing is any dance that is nationally or culturally based. Most of the time, these represent the traditional and historical dances of a culture. These are dances that were done at village festivals and for the pure joy of doing them. They were never meant to be formally performed. Dancers that did the folk dances usually did not have any formal training, but learned the dances just as they learned their cultural heritage. They were learned by generational passing down. Most of the time they were learned by observation with very little teaching involved. They are not a precise art, but as time went on, that changed.

In an attempt to preserve dancing traditions, many nations and cultural dancers from around the world have standardized national dances and folk dancing so that will never be lost. Just like any other form of dancing, folk has become competitive. Some beg to differ stating that the definition of folk dance is the lack of competition or any governing body or standardized dances. Folk dance troupes from around the world disagree. These troupes specialize in learning the dance styles from around the world and perform them in formal fashion on a stage. That is about as far away as one can get from tradition without wholly abandoning it, but it is done in good faith.

Folk dancing is broken in to several categories: dances of Europe, dances of Asia, and dances of Latin America. Other dances that are a result of culture in more modern times such as hip hop is not thought of as a folk dance. Hip hop is really a form of street dance or vernacular dance along with other modern spontaneously evolving dances in many different cultures. European folk dance includes clogging, Irish dance, Maypole dance, Nordic dance, sword dance, and many others. Asian dance includes Israeli, Assyrian, Kurdish, Azerbaijani, Ghoomar, Kalbelia, Georgian, and Attan among others.

Latin America is home to many dances that are interesting to folk dancing. Baile Folklorico is the dance of Mexico and Central America. There are also dances enjoyed from South American countries such as Argentina, Chile, Brazil, etc. Every country has its dances. It seems to be a universal expression to dance. Each country is different and appreciated in its own way. The pull of folk dance is clear. The history and stylistic change up keeps it fresh and interesting.