A dance contest is a simple way to celebrate a folk dance. Try to find as many teams as you can to participate. Make sure the teams have the correct number of people for the dance they are performing. Gather everybody and play the music associated with the dance. You can use either a CD recording or a live band. Participants try to dance longer than any other team. Teams can bow out at any time. Schedule regular five to 10 minute breaks to make sure nobody gets physically hurt. Award the top three teams with appropriate awards. For example, if you are performing a Turkish folk dance, you may give the first place team a collection of traditional Turkish garb, the second place a team a full Turkish meal and the third place a traditional Turkish dessert.
Another folk dance game is accuracy. Instead of focusing on performing the dance for long periods of time, this game focuses on the accuracy of the dance moves and the traditional garb. All teams should try to dress as close to the traditional garb of the culture as they possibly can. The team that wins the garb contest wins a bonus five points before performing a dance move. The teams then attempt to perform their dance as accurately as possible. Teams dance one at a time for a panel of judges. The judges should be chosen for their knowledge of the dance, including their own ability to perform the dance. They rate the dancers on a one to 10 scale similar to the Olympics. Adding all the scores gives the team their score. The top three performing teams should receive prizes similar to the dance contest winners.
Travel is a folk dance game that focuses on a wide variety of folk dances. These dances can be picked from one culture or picked from multiple cultures. Participants should receive the names of the these dances as well as descriptions of the dances at least two weeks before the game occurs. This gives them time to practice the different dances. On the day of the dance, place different door mats throughout the rooms. These mats should have the name of a folk dance printed on top. Teams start at the same mat. Once the dance begins, they perform the folk dance to a different mat. The mats should be hit in a specific order. The teams must perform their dance as well as they can but speed matters in this game. They are racing to get to the final mat. Referees will watch the teams and judge if they are performing the dance well enough. If not, they are penalized by being sent to the last mat they touched. Award the top three winners.