Editing Folk dance (section)

==Background==
{{Unsourced section|date=April 2025}}[[File:Traditional dancers and performance during the Pulljay festivities in Tarabuco.ogv|thumb|right|Traditional dancers and performance during the Pulljay festivities in Tarabuco.]]
Folk dances share some or all of the following attributes:{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

*Dances are usually held at folk dance gatherings or social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music.
*Dances not generally designed for public performance or the stage, though they may later be arranged and set for stage performances.
*Execution dominated by an inherited tradition from various international cultures rather than innovation (though folk traditions change over time).
*New dancers often learn informally by observing others or receiving help from others.
More controversially, some people define folk dancing as dancing for which there is no governing body or dancing for which there are no [[Competition|competitive]] or professional institutions. The term "folk dance" is sometimes applied to dances of historical importance in European culture and history; typically originating before the 20th century. For other cultures the terms "ethnic dance" or "traditional dance" are sometimes used, although the latter terms may encompass [[ceremonial dance]]s.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

There are a number of modern dances, such as hip hop dance, that evolve spontaneously, but the term "folk dance" is generally not applied to them, and the terms "street dance" or "vernacular dance" are used instead.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} The term "folk dance" is reserved for dances which are to a significant degree bound by tradition and originated in the times when the distinction existed between the dances of "common folk" and the dances of the modern ballroom dances originated from folk ones.