Two types of dance were generally practiced by primitive cultures. Social dances were done to commemorate deaths, celebrate births and mark other special events. Religious and spiritual dances were often done to ask the gods to end famine, bring rain or cure the sick. Medicine men often choreographed dances, as it was believed that they had the power to invoke the assistance of the gods.
Rhythmic sounds made by primitive instruments and drums sometimes accompanied dancers, but dances were often performed without music as well. Although it is hard to know exactly when, melody was added to these dances later on, and eventually vocal sounds and singing became part of these social and religious dances.
Movements were often taken from everyday life, with dances often depicting people planting seeds before a harvest or rubbing their stomachs in dances intended to fight famine. People who wanted to show respect for a visiting guest or elder would often include bows in their dances.
Ballet originated in 16th-century French courts and was further developed by Russian, English and Italian culture. Ballet is a highly technical, formal style of dance, usually accompanied by classical music. Ballets are always choreographed and often include acting to enhance the plot of the ballet.
Among noblemen and women of the 17th century, ballroom dancing was a very popular activity. After political upheavals of the 18th century, ballroom dancing became an accessible activity for the ordinary people as well. By the mid-19th century, many dances once only performed by the aristocracy, such as polkas, minuets, and waltzes were danced by people from different social classes.
The waltz has become one of the most popular and lasting styles of formal dance. Invented for the Austrian court in the 17th century, it soon became all the rage throughout the entire German population. The waltz was banned by the German church in 1760 because it was believed to be undignified in its movements. Still, it remained quite popular in major metropolitan cities outside of Germany, including Paris and London.
At the end of the 19th century, a major change in dance occurred with the invention of the two-step. The two-step is a simple dance that does not require any formal training to do. Soon after the two-step came the even simpler one-step dance, which was performed to popular American ragtime music. Latin rhythms and dances soon became very popular just before WWI, and the tango became the new craze among dancers. Shortly after WWI, the Charleston, Fox Trot and Lindy Hop became popular among young people and were often danced in nightclubs and school dances.
Street dance is an umbrella term used to describe dances that evolved outside of dance studios, namely in nightclubs and neighborhood dances. Hip hop and funk dance styles like break dancing and house dancing started to emerge in the 1970s along with these new types of music. There are many different variations of street dances, and they are often regional, or associated with a particular subgenre of music like gangster rap. Many of these dances share characteristics of traditional dance and jazz dance, blending them together to form something entirely different.