Explore dance styles around the world
Discover the history, music and movement behind each dance.
25 dances
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Argentine tango is an improvised partner dance from Argentina and Uruguay, known for expressive walking and a close connection. Dancers combine steps, pivots, turns, and pauses, responding to the music while moving in a close or open embrace.
Bachata is a social partner dance from the Dominican Republic, known for rhythmic steps, taps, and hip movement. Danced to guitar-led music, its styles range from playful footwork and turns to flowing body movement and a closer partner connection.
Brazilian Zouk is a partner dance from Brazil, known for its flowing body movement. Dancers combine turns with waves through the torso, while more advanced movements can include sweeping head movements and tilted turns.
Cariñosa is a Philippine courtship dance shaped by Spanish influence, known for its gentle steps and playful partner exchanges. Dancers use a fan and handkerchief to hide, reveal, and flirt as they move to a lilting three-beat rhythm.
Cha Cha Cha is a playful partner dance from Cuba, recognized by its quick three-step “cha-cha-cha” pattern. Dancers combine small steps, turns, and rhythmic hip movement, with styles ranging from relaxed social dancing to sharply defined ballroom routines.
Chholiya is a traditional sword dance from Kumaon in northern India, closely associated with wedding processions. Dancers carry swords and shields, performing coordinated jumps, turns, and mock combat to the sound of drums and, in some groups, bagpipes.
Cumbia is a Colombian music and dance tradition with Indigenous, African, and Spanish roots, now enjoyed across Latin America. Its dance forms range from traditional folk performances to social partner dancing with a circular pattern, turns, and relaxed body movement.
Irish dance includes solo and group traditions from Ireland, known for lively footwork set to jigs, reels, and hornpipes. Step dancers often keep the upper body still, using light jumps in soft shoes or crisp, rhythmic beats in hard shoes.
Itik-Itik is a Philippine folk dance inspired by the movements of ducks, combining quick steps with playful gestures. Dancers imitate flapping wings, pecking, and wading to light music, often performing in groups at schools, festivals, and cultural celebrations.
Joropo is a lively partner dance and music tradition from Venezuela and Colombia, with several regional styles. In the plains style, couples combine low, sliding steps with rhythmic stamping and brushing footwork, responding to changes in the music.
Kizomba is a social partner dance from Angola, known for close connection, compact walking steps, and subtle hip movement. Partners move smoothly together, using small changes of weight, direction, and timing to respond to the music.
Maglalatik is an energetic Philippine folk dance from Biñan, Laguna, featuring coconut shells attached to the dancers’ bodies. Performers strike the shells in rhythmic patterns while moving through lively steps and group formations that tell a story of conflict and reconciliation.
Mambo is a lively partner dance with Cuban roots that became popular in New York’s ballrooms. Dancers combine quick footwork, turns, and rhythmic body movement to energetic Latin music, and many mambo steps remain part of salsa dancing today.
Marinera is a Peruvian courtship dance known for expressive handkerchief gestures and playful exchanges between partners. Couples combine turns and intricate footwork, with regional styles ranging from lively Marinera Norteña to the slower, more upright Marinera Limeña.
Merengue is a social partner dance from the Dominican Republic, built around a steady step on every beat. Its marching or side-to-side basic creates a natural hip movement, while dancers add turns, changes of position, and playful partner exchanges.
Modern dance is a performance tradition that developed in the United States and Germany as dancers explored alternatives to ballet. Its varied techniques use breath, body weight, floorwork, and expressive movements, from strong torso contractions to flowing falls and recoveries.
Pachanga is a playful Cuban dance known for a relaxed bounce created by bending and straightening the knees. Dancers add slides, twists, and quick changes of weight, often using these steps in solo salsa footwork or choreographed performances.
Pandanggo sa Ilaw is a Philippine dance from Mindoro known for balancing lights while performing graceful waltz steps and turns. Traditionally, a woman carries three small oil lamps, one on her head and one on the back of each hand.
Pangalay is a dance of the Tausug people in the southern Philippines, recognized by flowing arm and hand movements. Dancers shape slow, wave-like gestures through their wrists and fingers, often extending the effect with long metal fingernails called janggay.
Punta is a dance of the Garifuna people practiced along Central America’s Caribbean coast, known for rapid hip movements and playful improvisation. Dancers often face each other without holding hands, responding to drums, singing, and clapping from the surrounding circle.
Salsa is a lively social partner dance with Cuban and Puerto Rican roots, shaped further in New York and other dance communities. Dancers combine rhythmic steps, turns, and solo footwork, with styles that vary in timing, movement, and partner patterns.
Singkil is a Maranao dance from the southern Philippines, known for precise steps between clacking bamboo poles. Dancers weave through the moving poles with controlled footwork, using graceful fan gestures and elaborate costumes in performances accompanied by gong music.
Son Cubano is a Cuban music and partner dance tradition that helped shape salsa, known for smooth steps and elegant movement. Dancers use circular patterns, subtle weight shifts, and relaxed turns, emphasizing partner connection and the music’s rhythmic flow.
Subli is a devotional dance and song tradition from Batangas in the Philippines, performed in honor of the Holy Cross. Its ceremonial steps, bows, and rhythmic gestures are accompanied by sung responses, drumming, and wooden clappers at community celebrations.
Tinikling is a Philippine folk dance inspired by the quick movements of the tikling bird, using two bamboo poles. Dancers step and hop between the poles as they are tapped and closed in rhythm, combining nimble footwork with careful timing.
Explore the major salsa styles, their timing, movement patterns, and the dance communities that shaped them.
Dancepedia is Salsa Vida’s growing encyclopedia of dance. Learn about different dance styles from around the world, compare related styles, and get your frequently asked dance questions answered.
