7 Famous Dances of the World and Where to See Them Live

Dance in the world takes thousands of forms, but a handful of traditions are worth planning a trip around: tango in Buenos Aires, flamenco in Andalusia, samba and capoeira in Brazil, rumba in Cuba, Bharatanatyam in Chennai, hula in Hawaii and kabuki in Tokyo. Several of them are listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, and each has a home city where you can watch it performed properly, and often take a class.

This guide is for travellers who want to see dance where it was born, not in a hotel dinner show. For each tradition you will find what it is, where and when to see it, how to tell a serious performance from a tourist one, and the etiquette that matters. Rules for entering each country depend on your passport; check our visa guides before you book.

World dance traditions at a glance

• Tango: UNESCO-listed 2009 (Argentina and Uruguay)
• Flamenco: UNESCO-listed 2010 (Spain)
• Capoeira circle: UNESCO-listed 2014 (Brazil)
• Rumba in Cuba: UNESCO-listed 2016
• Hula: Merrie Monarch Festival, Hilo, the week after Easter
• Bharatanatyam: Chennai's December–January Margazhi season

Where to see the world's great dance traditions

Each tradition below is tied to a city where it is still part of daily life. Go there, and you will see dancers performing for each other, not only for visitors.

Tango in Buenos Aires and Montevideo

Tango grew up in the port neighbourhoods of the Río de la Plata in the late nineteenth century, and Argentina and Uruguay jointly secured its UNESCO listing in 2009. The version on stage, with high kicks and acrobatic lifts, is only one side. The heart of tango is the milonga, a social dance evening where couples move counter-clockwise around the floor to recorded or live orchestras.

Visitors can do both. Dinner-and-show venues in Buenos Aires are polished but expensive and aimed at tourists. For the real thing, go to a milonga late in the evening; many start around 10pm or later and run past midnight. Watch first. Invitations to dance are made with eye contact and a nod (the cabeceo), and walking up to someone's table is considered poor form. Most milongas also hold a beginners' class early in the evening.

In short: Buenos Aires and Montevideo both hold milongas every night, late. Couples and night owls do well here, and the beginners' class before a milonga is the easiest way in.

Flamenco in Seville, Granada and Jerez

Flamenco is three arts together: cante (song), toque (guitar) and baile (dance), with handclaps (palmas) holding the rhythm. It comes from Andalusia in southern Spain and was added to UNESCO's list in 2010. Seville, Granada's Sacromonte caves and Jerez de la Frontera are the main centres.

The best way to see it is in a small tablao or a peña, a members' club that often opens its doors to the public for performances. A good show has live singers and guitarists, not a recorded track, and the dancer improvises against the musicians. Large tablaos with set dinner menus are easier to book but more staged. Do not clap along unless you know the compás (rhythm); off-beat clapping throws the performers.

Seville, Granada and Jerez stage evening shows all year. Music lovers should look for venues with live cante and guitar.

Samba and capoeira in Brazil

Samba is Brazil's best-known dance, and the Rio de Janeiro carnival parade at the Sambódromo is its biggest stage. Its roots run back to Bahia, where samba de roda, a circle dance with Afro-Brazilian origins, was proclaimed a UNESCO masterpiece in 2005. Outside carnival, Rio's samba schools hold rehearsals in the months before the parade, and many are open to visitors for a ticket fee.

Capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian practice that combines fight, dance and music, had its roda (circle) listed by UNESCO in 2014. Salvador da Bahia is its home. Players move inside a circle to the berimbau, a single-string bow instrument, while others sing and clap. Public rodas happen in Salvador's historic centre, and academies offer drop-in classes for beginners.

Plan around carnival in February or March, or the rehearsals in the months before it, in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Festival-goers get the spectacle, and active travellers can join a capoeira drop-in class.

Rumba and salsa in Havana

Cuban rumba is a family of dances and drum-based music born in the Afro-Cuban communities of Havana and Matanzas. UNESCO added rumba in Cuba to its list in 2016. It is different from the ballroom "rumba" taught in dance schools, and different again from salsa, which Cubans dance socially in clubs as casino.

Weekend rumba sessions in Havana draw locals and visitors alike, and casas de la música host salsa nights. Matanzas, a couple of hours east of Havana, is the place for a less touristy rumba scene. Check event times locally, as schedules change often.

Havana and Matanzas are the places, and weekends are when rumba happens. Music fans and social dancers can book casino (Cuban salsa) lessons between sessions.

Bharatanatyam during Chennai's Margazhi season

Bharatanatyam is a classical dance of Tamil Nadu, telling stories from Hindu mythology through precise footwork, hand gestures (mudras) and facial expression. The best time to see it is Chennai's Margazhi season, which runs from December into January. Dozens of sabhas (cultural organisations) host Carnatic music concerts and dance recitals every day, many of them low-cost or free.

Pick up a printed or app schedule at the start of the season and plan around morning and afternoon slots, which feature rising artists at lower prices. Evening slots with senior dancers sell out. Dress modestly, switch off your phone and arrive before the performance begins; walking in mid-piece is frowned upon.

The recitals take place in Chennai's Mylapore sabhas from December to January, and many daytime shows are free or cheap. For lovers of the classical arts, no other season compares.

Hula at the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hawaii

Hula is the storytelling dance of Hawaii, performed in an ancient form (kahiko), with chant and percussion, and a modern form (ʻauana), with ukulele and guitar. The Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island is its biggest event. It runs for a week from Easter Sunday and is named after King David Kalākaua, who revived hula in the nineteenth century.

Competition tickets are very hard to get and are allocated by mail well in advance. The free events, including the parade and craft fairs, are open to all, and the competition nights are broadcast live. Hilo's hotel rooms are booked out that week, so plan early or stay elsewhere on the island. You can travel via the US mainland; see our United States guide.

Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island hosts the festival the week after Easter, and competition tickets go by mail, early. It rewards travellers whose trip is built around culture.

Kabuki in Tokyo

Kabuki is a highly stylised Japanese theatre that combines dance, music and drama, with male actors playing female roles. It is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. Tokyo's Kabukiza theatre in Ginza is the main venue and stages performances most of the year.

A full programme lasts several hours. Kabukiza sells single-act tickets (hitomakumi) for one act, which suit first-timers and travellers with little time. English audio guides or subtitle devices help a great deal with the plot.

Kabukiza in Ginza, Tokyo, runs matinee and evening shows most months, with English guide devices available. Theatre fans should put it on the plan.

Comparing world dances for travellers

Watch, join or both

Read the table by how involved you want to be. Tango, samba and capoeira are the easiest to join: a beginners' class before a milonga, a samba school rehearsal or a drop-in capoeira session gets you moving on the first night. Flamenco, Bharatanatyam, hula and kabuki are traditions to watch on stage, although flamenco classes are easy to find. Timing matters more for some than others. Rio's carnival and Hilo's Merrie Monarch week fix the dates of the trip, while tango, flamenco and kabuki run most of the year. In Chennai, most sabhas hold free concerts in the morning and afternoon, and evening slots from about 4pm are usually ticketed. Season tickets at the Music Academy often sell out on the first day of sale in early December.

Etiquette tips for watching dance abroad

• Ask before filming. Many tablaos, theatres and recitals ban photography or flash. Rules are usually printed on the ticket.
• Applaud at the right time. Follow the locals. In flamenco shouts of encouragement are normal; in a classical recital, silence until the end.
• Tip street performers. Rodas, rumba sessions and street tango rely on contributions. Carry small notes.
• Book festival stays early. Carnival and Merrie Monarch week fill hotels months ahead. Compare rooms on our hotel search.

Audience calls follow rules of their own. In flamenco, the shouts and handclaps are called jaleo: calls such as "olé" or "así se baila" (that's the way to dance) are part of the performance, and on stage they come from jaleadores who know exactly where they fit, with palmas played either muffled (sordas) or sharp (altas) to the rhythm. If you are unsure, keep to applause at the end of a number. At kabuki, the cries of an actor's house name at the climactic pose (the mie) are called kakegoe. They are traditionally made by experienced regulars, some of them members of Tokyo's kakegoe guilds, so first-timers should listen and leave the calls to them.

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