Participation dance
Encyclopedia
Participation dance, also known as group-participation dance or audience participation dance, is a major category or classification of dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 forms or dance styles based on purpose. The purpose of this type of dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 is to actively encourage dancing (participation) in a group. The dancing that is encouraged might be among those who would otherwise be passive dance viewers, or it might be among dancers who are encouraged to dance in a new way, or with new partners.

This compares to other major dance categories based on purpose:
Ceremonial dance
Ceremonial dance
Ceremonial dance is a major category or classification of dance forms or dance styles, where the purpose is ceremonial or ritualistic.This compares to other major dance categories based on purpose:* Celebration dance** Festival dance...

 - Competitive dance
Competitive dance
Competitive dance is a popular, widespread activity in which competitors perform dances in any of several permitted dance styles—such as acro, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, modern, and tap—before a common group of judges...

 - Erotic dance - Performance dance - Social dance
Social dance
Social dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing...



Participation dance is also the common name for social game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...

s based on dancing. These can be seen, for example, at weddings, festivals, and other large social gatherings.
  1. Some of these dances consist of a few simple steps which are learned during participation, either from simple instructions given by a dance leader or from watching others who are already experienced at the routine. Examples are Electric Slide
    Electric Slide
    The Electric aka The Electric Slide is a four wall line dance set to the Marcia Griffiths' song Electric Boogie. Choreographer Ric Silver created the dance in 1976.- Controversy :...

    , Macarena
    Macarena (song)
    "Macarena" is a Spanish dance song by Los del Río about a woman of the same name. Appearing on the 1994 album A mí me gusta, it was an international hit between 1995 and 1996, and continues to have a cult following. It was ranked the "#1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of all Time" by VH1 in 2002.The song...

    , YMCA
    YMCA (song)
    "Y.M.C.A." is a song recorded by American disco group Village People. It was released in 1978 as the only single from the album Cruisin. The song reached No. 2 on the U.S. charts in early 1979 and reached No.1 in the UK around the same time, becoming the group's biggest hit...

    , and the Chicken Dance
    Chicken Dance
    The "Chicken Dance" is an oom-pah song and its associated fad dance is now a contemporary American folk dance. The song was composed by accordion player Werner Thomas from Davos, Switzerland, in the 1950s....

    .
  2. Other participation dances have an easily learned song that is sung to the music and which may act as a reminder of the steps. Examples are the Hokey-cokey, and the similar Hokey Pokey
    Hokey Pokey
    The hokey cokey or hokey pokey , also known as the okey cokey, hokey tokey, or cokey cokey, is a participation dance with a distinctive accompanying tune and lyric structure. It is well known in English-speaking countries...

    . Cuing by a danceleader is not uncommon in this type of participation dance.
  3. Others incorporate some kind of game.

Elimination

Elimination rules disqualify a dancer or dancers. This can be include of lack of endurance, entering a particular part of the floor, a specific age, and so on.

Follow the leader

A designated leader makes some motions, usually repeating several times, and the rest repeat the motions. In some cases the dancers form a chain or a file. Examples of the latter case are Conga line
Conga Line
The conga line is a Cuban carnival march that was first developed in Cuba and became popular in the United States in the 1930s and 1950s. The dancers form a long, processing line. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat...

, Bunny Hop
Bunny hop
Bunny hop can refer to:*Bunny hop , a novelty dance from the 1950s*Bunny hopping, in video games, a technique used to increase movement speed and control...

 and Finnish dance Letkajenkka
Letkajenkka
Letkajenkka, also known as Letkajenka in English and many other languages, and Letkis is a Finnish dance, a music genre, and both Letkajenkka and Letkis are also proper names, or titles, of songs....

. The "Letkajenkka", also known as Letkajenka, Letkiss and Letka-Enka, was a dance craze in Europe during the 1960s. It is an adaptation of Madison
Madison (dance)
The Madison is a novelty dance that was popular in the late 1950s to mid 1960s. The Madison was created and first danced in Columbus, Ohio, in 1957. The local popularity of the dance and record in Baltimore, Maryland, came to the attention of the producers of The Buddy Deane Show in 1960...

, Conga
Conga Line
The conga line is a Cuban carnival march that was first developed in Cuba and became popular in the United States in the 1930s and 1950s. The dancers form a long, processing line. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat...

 and Bunny Hop
Bunny hop
Bunny hop can refer to:*Bunny hop , a novelty dance from the 1950s*Bunny hopping, in video games, a technique used to increase movement speed and control...

 dances, played to a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 traditional folk dance
Folk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....

 song.

Mixer dance

A mixer dance or dance mixer is a kind of participation game for dancers that have some skills in social dancing
Social dance
Social dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing...

. During a song or several songs of a dance or dances well-known to participants (Waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...

, Foxtrot
Foxtrot (Dance)
The foxtrot is a smooth progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band music, and the feeling is one of elegance and sophistication...

, West Coast Swing
West Coast Swing
West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in Lindy Hop. It is characterized by a distinctive elastic look that results from its basic extension-compression technique of partner connection, and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor...

, etc.), at certain moments pairs change partners. The rules of "mixing" vary. Some mixers have traditional names.

See also

  • List of basic dance topics
  • List of dance style categories
  • List of dances
  • List of novelty and fad dances
    Novelty and fad dances
    Fad dances are dances which are characterized by a short burst of popularity, while novelty dances typically have a longer-lasting popularity based on their being characteristically humorous or humor-invoking, as well as the sense of uniqueness which they have.-Fad dances:These are also called...

  • Jamming (dance)
    Jamming (dance)
    Jamming in dance culture is a kind of informal show-off during a social dance party. Dancers clear a circle and dancers or dance couples take turns showing their best tricks while the remaining dancers cheer the jammers on...

  • Jack and Jill (dance)
    Jack and Jill (dance)
    Jack and Jill or Dance with a Stranger is a format of competition in partner dancing, where the competing couples are the result of random matching of leaders and followers...

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