Folk dances are the indigenous dances of any specific “folk” or the common people.

They
are traditional customary or recreational dance forms of a given country that have evolved
naturally and were handed down across generations.
Folk dances are related to everything of importance in our daily lives, such as customs,
rituals, and occupations of a specific group of people. Most of these dances are related
in origin to religious belief, stemming from emotions, superstitions, festivals, ceremonies
of birth, courtship, marriage, death, war, and countless themes common to all people
around the world. According to Duggan, Schlottmann, and Rutledge (1948), “folk dance
became the overt expression of emotions and ideas which were peculiarly significant or
the re-enactment of customs and events constituting an important part of their history and
patterns of daily living”.
Lopez (2006) defined Philippine folk dance as a “traditional model” of expression that
employs bodily movements of redundant patterns linked to definite features of rhythmic
beats of music. She further stated that Philippine folk dance, to be called such, should
have the following characteristics: 1. It is traditional. 2. It has expressive behavior. 3.
Simple, basic rhythm dominates the folk dance and establishes the pattern of movement.
4. It is created by an unknown choreographer or by communal efforts. 5. It performs a
function in the life of the folk people.

Modern dance, a term to describe contemporary dance, is a style of dancing where

dancers are free to express their feelings through movements without adhering to any
rules in dance particularly that of ballet. Unlike ballet, dancers of modern dance use their
interpretations instead of structure steps. Modern dancer makes use of the floor as part
of the movements, it also includes several areas of dance movement, namely, technique,
improvisation, and choreography.

Social (ballroom) dances and dance mixers are dances intended primarily to get to know
other people in attendance to a certain social function. Social dances are usually
performed by pairs (male & female) but may also be performed by groups. Social dances
are classified into two namely: Latin American Dances and the Modern Standard Dances.
Latin American Dances include the salsa, mambo, meringue, swing, cha-cha-cha, rumba,
samba, jive, boogie, and pasa doble. They are called Latin American dances because
most of them are from Latin-American countries. While the modern Standard Dances
include the slow waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, foxtrot, and quickstep.

Dance is an integral part of human existence. Just like a song, dance is also composed
of different genre Some of the most popular kinds of dance include ballet, modern and
contemporary dance, hip-hop, and various types of social and ballroom dance. The dance
consists of several elements such as space, time, energies, and bodily shape. It has a
beginning, middle, and end, and is composed of several phrases. It also has a motif or a
theme. Dance can be considered good if it has unity, continuity, variety, clear transitions,
repetitions, and climax. Evaluating dance depends highly on the role of choreographer,
dancer, and audience. There are three stages in assessing dance, namely, description,
interpretation, and evaluation. To give dance a good critique, certain guidelines should
be followed.