Lots of People Love Dancing

Dance has been a part of human culture since the very earliest communities and civilisations. Since then, different dances have changed. All over the world people love dancing. Today the most well-known dance genres are:

  • ballet
  • ballroom
  • contemporary
  • street-dancing
  • jazz
  • tap dance
  • folk dance
  • Irish dance
  • modern dance

Many people love dancing or watching dancing. Dancing is a very popular hobby. Millions of people in the world attend dance classes.

Dance Styles

Ballet is popular all over the world. There are many spins and jumps in ballet. It’s very difficult and you must do a lot of training to be good at it. It can take a long time to master ballet. Ballet usually tells stories and it is a graceful and beautiful dance.

Ballroom dance is a type of partner dance. Ballroom dances include the waltz, tango and foxtrot, pasodoble, bolero and samba.Ballroom is a popular form of dancesport. Competitions are held all over the world.

Contemporary dance is now one of the most popular and technical forms of dance studied and performed professionally.

Street-dancing has got many styles including breaking, hip-hop, popping, krumping. It’s popular with young people and you have to be very flexible.

Breaking or break dancing is an energetic form of dance. It is an athletic style of street dance. Breaking includes athletic moves such as back spins or head spins.

Hip-hop is a fun, inventive style done to popular music. Improvisation is huge for hip-hop dancers.  Hip-hop is a great way for  dancers to express themselves.

Popping is a dance that combines rigid robotic moves with loose flowing moves.

Krumping is a dance and style of music. Krumping dance is characterized by energy, sharp movements, expressive character and agressive presentation. Some people think that it is a dance of hatred, but it is a peaceful dance with deep philosophy. The face is as important as the body.

Freestyle dancing or free-styling is street-dancing. It is a unique type of dance that is based on improvisation.

Jazz is known for its improvisational and dramatic body movements. Swing and the Charleston are popular kinds of jazz dances. Swing is a variation of jazz dance and it is a lively style of dance.

Jive refers to several different dance styles of swing dancing. The Jive is lively and fast-paced dance that is typically danced to up-beat swing or contemporary music.

Ceroc is a simple version of swing, salsa and jive. You can do ceroc to fast and slow music. It is very popular with middle-aged people.

Salsa is from Cuba, it is a Latin dance. The word ‘salsa’ is Spanish for hot and spicy sauce. Salsa dancers have got a lot of passion and energy. Salsa is an amalgamation of Cuban dances such mambo, pachanga, and rumba as well as American dances such as swing and tap. People usually dance salsa to fast and fun music.

Tap is rhythmic, energetic, and loud. Tap dancing characterises a range of dances including flamenco, rhythm, classical, broadway and postmodern tap. Tap is a great form of exercise for dancers who can enjoy the self-expression.

Flamenco dance is a highly-expressive, Spanish dance. The flamenco is a solo dance characterized by hand clapping, percussive footwork, and intricate hand, arm, and body movements. The dance is usually accompanied by a guitar player.

Folk dancing is popular worldwide with people of different cultures. Folk dance shows emotions, stories, historical events or even aspects of daily life. Folk dance is accompanied by traditional music.

Irish dance originated in Ireland. This form of traditional dance has been popular for hundreds of years.  Irish dancing is  known for its fabulous display of footwork.

Modern dance is considered as being a broad genre of dance. Modern dance is very emotional and requires a high level of performance to convey the message of the dance.

Zumba is a dance based fitness program, based on South American rhythms and has fitness moves. It is an aerobics fitness program.

Why Do People Love Dancing?

There are many reasons why people love dancing.

People dance because they want to show how strong, attractive, flexible and skilful they are.

Dancing is a good way:

  • to keep fit
  • to express yourself
  • to make friends
  • to perform
  • to understand music and feel the emotion
  • to build your confidence

Through dance people increase their knowledge, skill and understanding of the world.

Dancing is:

  • uplifting
  • creative
  • liberating
  • hypnotic
  • beautiful
  • great fun

Do you love dancing? Why? Why not?

Vocabulary Guide

  • attractive – привабливий
  • flexible – гнучкий
  • skilful – майстерний, вмілий
  • spicy – гострий, пряний; жвавий, енергійний
  • spin – крутити(ся), кружляння
  • version – версія
  • middle-aged – середнього віку
  • keep fit – підтримувати форму, бути здоровим
  • reason – причина
  • style – стиль
  • improvisation – імпровізація
  • passion – пристрасть
  • passionate – пристрасний
  • creative – креативний, творчий
  • thrilling – захоплюючий
  • liberating – визвольний
  • uplifting – піднесення, підняття настрою
  • hypnotic – гіпнотичний