Social dancing refers to all those forms of dance that are recreational and public. It is not a professional form of dance, except for exhibition dancing or teaching, nor a form of theatrical dancing, like ballet, modern dance, tap dancing, or flamenco, although such forms of art and entertainment incorporate steps and gestures from social dance. In American society almost everyone has some sort of relationship to social dancing. Many people participate with great intensity in social dance activities for a period of their lives. In pre-industrial societies and working-class communities, social dancing has often been a group activity, but by the end of the twentieth century in many parts of the world, social dancing was primarily a form of couples dancing.

Folk dancing is the earliest form of social dancing. Most folk dancing is a group activity, and often includes only a single sex. A...