▲

Dance is one of the most dynamic and creative of art forms. Traditionally a means of expressing social and cultural identity, dances are performed around the world in all their colorful and animated splendor. Click through the gallery and take part in some wonderful dances from different countries.

▲

Also known as the Hopack, this dance form originated in Ukraine in the 1600s. Performed by men and women, it's known for its energetic, highly acrobatic style, and exuberant presentation.

▲The quintessential music and dance form associated with Rio's famous Carnaval, Samba's flirty and flamboyant rhythm is music for the masses. Indeed, it's a happy and exhilarating interpretation of life.

▲The whirling white skirt (called a tenure) worn by a dervish as he revolves at speed right to left is a visual spectacle that dates back over 700 years to the Sufism and the Mevlevi Order.

▲As early as the 17th century, waltzes were taking place in the ballrooms of the Hapsburg court. Its name comes from walzen—"to turn" in German— and it's danced during the annual Vienna Opera Ball, one of the highlights of Austria's social calendar.

▲

Noted for its strength of rhythm and grace in delivery, step dancing is rooted in ancient Celtic tradition. The dance remains enormously popular in the Emerald Isle and in Irish communities around the world.

▲One of the most celebrated and influential dances in the world, this highly complex art form originated in the steamy 18th-century barrios of Buenos Aires. It's danced with overwhelming passion and a deep connection to the music.

▲Dragons have been dancing in China since the distant Han Dynasty (180–230 AD). The dance banishes evil spirits and the bad luck associated with them, and is especially relevant during Chinese New Year celebrations.

▲The word Flemenco applies to the song, the dance, and the guitar. Evoking passion, temperament, and energy, the art form originated in Andalusia but acknowledges Arabic, Roma, Christian, and Jewish musical expressions for its combustible style.

▲

A classical Japanese dance-drama, Kabuki is a 400-year-old theatrical art form rich in showmanship. It blends music, dance, and mime in a highly stylized manner. It's also known for the elaborate makeup worn by its performers.

▲

Blend African drum with Spanish guitar, add a little brass, plenty of percussion, and you've one of the most irresistible Afro-Latino dance rhythms in the land. Cuba's distinctive Casino style of dancing is an expression of popular social culture.

▲This extraordinary and pre-eminent Indian classical dance form was initiated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu. The dance serves the expression of Hindu religious themes and expressions, with performers attired in bright, shimmering costumes.

▲

Tall, wide-eyed, with gleaming white teeth... no, not the women. The Yaake dance sees young Wodaabe men dressed up in their finery replete with makeup during the Gerewol festival, where male beauty is overly emphasized to attract marriageable women.

▲Developed by slaves who wished to hide from their masters the fact that they were learning and practicing martial arts, the deadly ballet that is Capoeira is said to have originated in Africa, arriving in South America in the early 16th century.

▲Danced around the world, classical ballet has its origins in the Italian Renaissance Courts of the 15th century. The art form was further developed in France, England, and Russia.

▲"Moryssh daunsers" first appeared in the mid-15th century, dancing in the cobblestoned streets of London. The dance eventually migrated to the countryside, where the odd spectacle of English gentlemen skipping to an accordion accompaniment while wielding sticks and handkerchiefs is now part of summertime lore.

▲One of the oldest and most popular of the country's dances, Tinikling translates as "Bamboo Dance" in English for the dance that imitates the movement of a bird as it walks through grass stems, or over broken tree branches.

▲Another one of India's main genres of ancient classical dance, Kathak originates in the north and is traditionally associated with the traveling tales imparted by the roaming bards known as Kathakers, or storytellers.

▲

Known in Portuguese as dança dos paus, this age-old ceremony takes place in Miranda do Douro, in the country's far northeast Trás-os-Montes region. Groups of men, the pauliteiros, use sticks as part of the noisy and wonderfully visual routine.

▲Appearing graceful and serene, these women are performing a court dance in a tradition that dates back centuries. Members of the royal family, court officials, and foreign envoys would have been entertained this way.

▲Music and dance play an important role in Tuareg culture. A nomadic people inhabiting vast areas of North Africa, Tuareg perform several dances including the male-only Ewegh.

▲With the ceremony rooted in Germanic pagan fertility rituals, dancing around the maypole is a centuries-old celebration of the arrival of summer. The dance is prevalent in England, Germany, and Sweden.

▲

As with a whirling dervisher, a tanoura dancer wears a skirt, though this one is multicolored to represent each Sufi order. The spinning kaleidoscope of color is quite hypnotic.

▲The traditional art form most often associated with Zulu culture and the war dances of warriors, Indlamu is a powerful expression of male Zulu identity and is performed in full regimental attire.

▲Held in great esteem across the country, Apsara is known for its elongated and beautifully elegant choreography, and ornately designed costumes.

▲

With women attired in radiant and flamboyantly styled china poblana dresses, and men wearing slick charro suits, this is simply the most colorful and patriotic of all Mexico's traditional dances.

▲The traditional Maasai "jumping dance" involves male villagers taking turns to leap into the air in a show of strength and stamina. The higher the jump, the louder the singing.

▲Essentially a courtship dance, the art form dates back to the mid-19th century and is the most characteristic of all Bavarian forms of expression. Munich's annual Oktoberfest is one of the best places to witness the Schuhplattler.

▲

As its name implies, this ancient ritual is played out by performers beating waist drums as they run and leap in formation. The dance originated in northwest China over 1000 years ago.

▲

Fans of the All Blacks rugby union team will be familiar with this traditional Maori war dance, played out on the pitch before games to intimidate opponents.