Outline of dance

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to dance:

Dance – human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. Choreography is the art of making dances, and the person who does this is called a choreographer. Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic, artistic and moral constraints and range from functional movement (such as Folk dance) to codified, virtuoso techniques such as ballet. A great many dances and dance styles are performed to dance music.

What type of thing is dance?

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Dance (also called "dancing") can fit the following categories:

  • an activity or behavior
    • one of the arts – a creative endeavor or discipline.
    • Hobby – regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.
    • Exercise – bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness.
    • Sport—bodily activity that displays physical exertion
    • Recreation – leisure time activity
    • Ritual

Some other things can be named "dance" metaphorically; see dance (disambiguation)

Types of dance

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Type of dance – a particular dance or dance style. There are many varieties of dance. Dance categories are not mutually exclusive. For example, tango is traditionally a partner dance. While it is mostly social dance, its ballroom form may be competitive dance, as in DanceSport. At the same time it is enjoyed as performance dance, whereby it may well be a solo dance.

Dance genres

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Dance styles by number of interacting dancers

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  • Solo dance – a dance danced by an individual dancing alone.
  • Partner dance – dance with just 2 dancers, dancing together. In most partner dances, one, typically a man, is the leader; the other, typically a woman, is the follower. As a rule, they maintain connection with each other. In some dances the connection is loose and called dance handhold. In other dances the connection involves body contact.
  • Group dance – dance danced by a group of people simultaneously. Group dances are generally, but not always, coordinated or standardized in such a way that all the individuals in the group are dancing the same steps at the same time. Alternatively, various groups within the larger group may be dancing different, but complementary, parts of the larger dance.

Dance styles by main purpose

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Geography of dance (by region)

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Africa
West Africa
BeninBurkina FasoCape VerdeCôte d'IvoireGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauLiberiaMaliMauritaniaNigerNigeriaSenegalSierra LeoneTogo
North Africa
AlgeriaEgypt (Ancient Egypt) • LibyaMauritaniaMoroccoSudanSouth SudanTunisiaWestern Sahara
Central Africa
AngolaBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicChadThe Democratic Republic of the CongoEquatorial GuineaGabonRepublic of the CongoRwandaSão Tomé and Príncipe
East Africa
BurundiComorosDjiboutiEritreaEthiopiaKenyaMadagascarMalawiMauritiusMozambiqueRwandaSeychellesSomaliaTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabwe
Southern Africa
BotswanaEswatiniLesothoNamibiaSouth Africa
Dependencies
Mayotte (France)St. Helena (UK)PuntlandSomalilandSahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Antarctica
None
Asia
Central Asia
KazakhstanKyrgyzstanTajikistanTurkmenistanUzbekistan
East Asia
China
Tibet
Hong KongMacau
JapanNorth KoreaSouth KoreaMongoliaTaiwan
North Asia
Russia
Southeast Asia
BruneiBurma (Myanmar)CambodiaEast Timor (Timor-Leste)IndonesiaLaosMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeThailandVietnam
South Asia
AfghanistanBangladeshBhutanIranMaldivesNepalPakistanSri Lanka
India
West Asia
ArmeniaAzerbaijanBahrainCyprus (including disputed Northern Cyprus) • GeorgiaIraqIsraelJordanKuwaitLebanonOmanPalestinian territories QatarSaudi ArabiaSyriaTurkeyUnited Arab EmiratesYemen
Caucasus (a region considered to be in both Asia and Europe, or between them)
North Caucasus
Parts of Russia (Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Adyghea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachai-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai)
South Caucasus
Georgia (including disputed Abkhazia, South Ossetia) • ArmeniaAzerbaijan (including disputed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic)
Europe
Akrotiri and DhekeliaÅlandAlbaniaAndorraArmeniaAustriaAzerbaijanBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkEstoniaFaroe IslandsFinlandFranceGeorgiaGermanyGibraltarGreeceGuernseyHungaryIcelandIrelandIsle of ManItalyJerseyKazakhstanKosovoLatviaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacedoniaMaltaMoldova (including disputed Transnistria) • MonacoMontenegroNetherlandsPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSlovakiaSlovenia
Norway
Svalbard
Spain
Autonomous communities of Spain: Catalonia
SwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUkraine
United Kingdom
EnglandNorthern IrelandScotlandWales
Vatican City
European Union
North America
Canada
Provinces of Canada:AlbertaBritish ColumbiaManitobaNew BrunswickNewfoundland and LabradorNova ScotiaOntario (Toronto) • Prince Edward IslandQuebecSaskatchewan
Territories of Canada: Northwest TerritoriesNunavutYukon
GreenlandSaint Pierre and Miquelon
United States
Mexico
Central America
BelizeCosta RicaEl SalvadorGuatemala • Honduras • NicaraguaPanama
Caribbean
AnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArubaBahamasBarbadosBermudaBritish Virgin IslandsCayman IslandsCubaDominicaDominican RepublicGrenadaHaitiJamaicaMontserratNetherlands AntillesPuerto RicoSaint BarthélemySaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesTrinidad and TobagoTurks and Caicos IslandsUnited States Virgin Islands
Oceania (includes the continent of Australia)
Australasia
Australia
Dependencies/Territories of Australia
Christmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsNorfolk Island
New Zealand
Melanesia
FijiIndonesia (Oceanian part only) • New Caledonia (France) • Papua New GuineaRotumaSolomon IslandsVanuatu
Micronesia
Federated States of MicronesiaGuam (United States) • KiribatiMarshall IslandsNauruNorthern Mariana Islands (United States) • PalauWake Island (United States)
Polynesia
American Samoa (United States) • Chatham Islands (NZ) • Cook Islands (NZ) • Easter Island (Chile) • French Polynesia (France) • Hawaii (United States) • Loyalty Islands (France) • Niue (NZ) • Pitcairn Islands (UK) • AdamstownSamoaTokelau (NZ) • TongaTuvaluWallis and Futuna (France)
South America
ArgentinaBoliviaBrazilChileColombiaEcuadorFalkland IslandsGuyanaParaguayPeruSurinameUruguayVenezuela
South Atlantic
Ascension IslandSaint HelenaTristan da Cunha

History of dance

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History of dance

Dance technique

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Dance culture

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Dance science

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Dance science

Dance organizations

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Books about dance

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Dancers

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See also

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