They are dance performances that have taken place in an organised social setting (which may be at some private house or restaurant, theatre, church) where the audience is invited and has been informed that they, too, can participate in a party-like activity. The most common examples are:
A company-wide social dance
A company-wide social dance for both women and men, with or without the participation of men
A company-wide social dance with both men and women (although the men usually dance along or in a separate ensemble)
A company-wide social dance without a man, but with men and women dancing together
Some dances are not a social dance, but do serve as an informal event, such as weddings or funerals, or are just about people dancing together in a social setting
More information in the ‘What are the rules’ section.
Why does my dance need a specific form and length?
A dance needs form and length to take place over time in order to be performed properly. Form can be formal or informal. Some dance formulae include:
A formal form for dances featuring more than one partner
A formal dance for dances featuring people dancing in pairs
A dance featuring more than one partner and one or more partner pairs
A form used for dances that are performed in several places at once or in more than one place (such as baccalaureate, semiprobe, etc.)
A dancing form used for dances that feature more than one choreographer (such as in ensemble dancing)
A dance that may not work well on an uneven floor (e.g., a “crotch dance”), or for the same dance in three different poses (e.g., a “tuck-your-chin dance”)
When will it happen?
Before it happens, a dance need to develop its audience participation through a series of activities. This can be achieved in different ways:
Through performances, such as a dance company’s promenade and street dance
Through community-based events, such as a social dance, or a dance workshop
Through workshops, such as a dance academy or ballet class
Social dancing events can also evolve to cater for social audiences, such as a dance competition
In some social dance, audiences can organise dance performances, or other participatory activities.
See also:
There is no question that this man is very
social dances and dance mixers examples of metaphors, prosocial meaning in urdu, a visual history of social dance in 25 moves of aj, social dance list, what are the social dances