Folk dance classics and popular songs
When you think of folk dancing, many schools probably include it as one of the events at their sports days or athletic festivals, right?
I’m sure many of you actually danced folk dances during your school days.
Folk dance, to begin with, refers to dances set to traditional songs from various countries, and there are a lot of pieces used for folk dancing.
In this article, we’ll introduce a wide range of folk dance songs from around the world—from standard classics to lesser-known, niche tracks.
If you’re a school teacher, a member of a PE committee, or anyone looking to choose music for a folk dance, please use this as a reference.
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Folk Dance Classics and Popular Songs (31–40)
The railroad tracks go on forever.American folk song
The original song is said to have its roots as a work song sung by Irish laborers involved in the construction of the transcontinental railroad.
Although it spread as an American folk song, in Japan the version translated into Japanese by Mr.
Saki Satoshi became widely known.
Airscuo Coro
This piece is a folk dance tune from the Republic of Serbia.
The basic form of the dance is a chain dance (kolo) where everyone links hands like a chain, moving clockwise or counterclockwise.
The tempo includes both fast and slow sections, but overall it’s simple and fun to dance to.
Watching it makes me want to join in.
Golden Slippers
“Golden Slippers” is an American popular song also known as a folk dance tune, and in Japan it is sometimes titled as the folk dance piece “Ano Machi Kono Machi.” It is a folk dance performed to a lively, country-style rhythm, in which male-female couples dance while continually changing partners.
Ten Little IndiansSeptimus Winner
The original lyrics were gruesome: ten boys gradually disappeared due to accidents and other mishaps, and even the last one took his own life.
The version that survives today as a nursery rhyme has been extensively rewritten, and it is even sung in children’s English classes.
Bo'itiy el-HagalilYair Rozenblum
An Israeli dance with a Hebrew title.
It means “Come to Galilee.” Galilee is a tourist destination famous for its beautiful lake.
When moving forward with four running steps starting with the right foot, the key point is to lean your upper body forward firmly.
Folk Dance Masterpieces and Popular Songs (41–50)
All-American Promenade
Even if you don’t know it as a folk dance tune, many of you have probably heard this song somewhere.
You move forward, then backward, change partners—nothing too complicated, but the large, continuous movements set to a lively rhythm make it a dance that instantly lifts your spirits.
Rosalia of the Mountain
The original song is called Aleksandrovski and there is a theory that the name honors Emperor Alexander II.
In Japan, Japanese lyrics were added and it was covered by groups such as The Three Graces and Dark Ducks.
In Russia, there is a “ballroom-style” folk dance that imitates court dances, and one of these is said to be Aleksandrovski.