Vernacular dances are dances which have developed 'naturally' as a part of 'everyday' culture within a particular community. In contrast to the elite and official culture, vernacular dances are usually learned naturally without formal instruction.Andriy Nahachewski, "Ukrainian Dance: A Cross-Cultural Approach",
p. 34
/ref> along with other concepts of

vernacular culture Vernacular culture is the cultural forms made and organised by ordinary, often indigenous people, as distinct from the high culture of an elite. One feature of vernacular culture is that it is informal. Such culture is generally engaged in on a ...

. The word 'vernacular' is used here in much the same as it is in reference to

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

language, defined in contrast to literary or cultured language. Vernacular dances in urban context are commonly referred to as

street dance Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, Locking (dance), locking, house dance, waacking, voguing, etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created o ...

s. Some folklorists suggest the term as a more universal replacement of the term "

folk dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...

", while others use it to better delineate the concept of folk dance. Richard M. Dorson, "Folklore and Folklife: An Introduction"
pp.385-387
/ref> The term is attributed to Marshall and Jean Stearns (1968), Marshall Winslow Stearns, Jean Stearns, ''Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance'', Da Capo Press, 1968, who used this term to characterize

jazz dance Jazz Dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the early 20th century. Jazz Dance may allude to vernacular Jazz, Broadway or dramatic Jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of dance that ...

(in its "street" form, in contrast to the show biz form).

References

{{reflist Dances

See also

References