Dancing bans are legal or religious prohibitions against dancing, which have been applied at various times in various jurisdictions around the world. This article deals with general bans on recreational and artistic dancing, as opposed to bans on erotic forms of dancing such as lap dancing and topless dancing, which have been more common.

Legal bans

''Tanzverbot'' is the German term for "dancing ban". In Germany and Switzerland, dancing on some holidays is banned by most

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

or canton governments. These occasions are certain Christian and secular holidays aimed at mourning or contemplation, such as Good Friday,

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kn ...

(from its association with

All Souls' Day All Souls' Day, also called ''The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed'', is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by certain Christian denominations on 2 November. Through prayer, intercessions, alms and ...

practices) or memorial days like

Volkstrauertag ' (German for "people's day of mourning") is a commemoration day in Germany two Sundays before the first day of Advent. It commemorates members of the armed forces of all nations and civilians who died in armed conflicts, to include victims of v ...

. The German and Swiss dancing bans prohibit public parties, but not dancing in one's private residence. Until 1999, an ordinance in

Pound, Virginia Pound is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was recorded as 1,037 in the 2010 United States Census. History The Pound area was explored in 1751 by Christopher Gist, and it is traditionally said to be the oldest sett ...

required that dance hall permits not be granted "to anyone who is not a proper person, nor to a person who is not a person of good moral character". After community opposition to granting him a permit, a lawsuit by William Elam, owner of the Golden Pine restaurant, resulted in the ordinance being struck down as unconstitutionally vague and infringing on free expression protected by the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the ...

. A replacement ordinance drafted more narrowly prompted a 2001 lawsuit from Elam, though the restaurant later went out of business after revocation of its alcohol license. Since 1926, the New York City Cabaret Law prohibited dancing in all spaces open to the public that sold food and/or drink with the exception of those who obtain a cabaret license. This law was still enforced until it was repealed in 2017. Between 1985 and 2002, a

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

law called the

Teen Dance Ordinance The Teen Dance Ordinance was a controversial Seattle law which severely curtailed the ability of concert and club promoters to hold events for underaged patrons. The organization Parents in Arms advocated for its creation. During its existence fr ...

enacted strict legal requirements for those wishing to have dancing by youth under the age of 21, effectively banning events that would feature young people dancing.

Historic bans

From the 1830s to 1950s, play parties became popular as a means to circumvent restrictions on dancing. The events of the 1984 film ''Footloose'' were inspired by a dancing ban in the heavily Southern Baptist town of

Elmore City, Oklahoma Elmore City is a town in Garvin County, Oklahoma, United States. This town is fifty-eight miles south of Oklahoma City. The population was 697 at the 2010 census. It was named after J. O. Elmore. There are two main highways running through Elmor ...

, which lasted until 1980.

COVID-19 public health measures

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of jurisdictions specifically prohibited dancing as part of a suite of public health measures designed to prevent close contact between potential spreaders of the virus.

Religious bans

Christianity

Various Christian groups believe that dancing is either inherently sinful or that certain forms of dancing could lead to sinful thoughts or activities, and thus proscribe it either in general or during religious services, particularly in the Anabaptist (chiefly

Conservative Anabaptist Conservative Anabaptism includes theologically conservative Anabaptist denominations, both in doctrine and practice. Conservative Anabaptists, along with Old Order Anabaptists and mainline Anabaptists, are a subset of the Anabaptist branch of Chri ...

and Old Order Anabaptist denominations) and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

(chiefly denominations belonging to the conservative holiness movement) traditions. The

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelicalism, evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, Lenexa within Johnson Cou ...

, a Methodist denomination originating in the Holiness Movement, recommends against "All forms of dancing that detract from spiritual growth and break down proper moral inhibitions and reserve." A 19th-century Catholic theologian similarly teaches: Many Christian churches determine doctrine locally and may be non-denominational, and these vary on their stances on social dancing. In contrast, some strains of

Charismatic Christianity Charismatic Christianity (also known as Spirit-filled Christianity by its supporters) is a form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, and modern-day miracles as an everyday part of a believer's life. Pract ...

practice rituals in which the Holy Spirit is believed to cause spontaneous dancing, among other behaviors. It is a common misconception that

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

has banned dancing, when in fact it has advocated dance and participated in recreational dancing since it was organized in 1830. Founder

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

was a skillful dancer and enjoyed hosting dances in his home. Dancing continues as an integral part of youth and adult activities in the Church.

Islam

In Islam, extreme

Salafists The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...

and

Wahhabis Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, and ...

consider dancing in general to be ''

haram ''Haram'' (; ar, حَرَام, , ) is an Arabic term meaning 'Forbidden'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowle ...

'' (forbidden). Conservative Islamic and

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

traditions prohibit contact between men and women in public (especially those not married to each other), and thus in these societies men and women either dance separately or not at all. In contrast, Sufism encourages dancing, for example Sufi whirling and dancing to celebrate

Mela Chiraghan Mela Chiraghan or Mela Shalimar ( pa, ; "Festival of Lights") is a three-day annual festival to mark the urs (death anniversary) of the Punjabi poet and Sufi saint Shah Hussain (1538-1599) who lived in Lahore in the 16th century. It takes place ...

. This has resulted in conflict in areas influenced by the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

.{{cite news, url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/07/pakistani-festival-dancer_n_183960.html, accessdate=2012-11-17, date=2009-05-08, title=Pakistani Festival Dancers Banned By Religious Group, author=Stuart Whatley, work=Huffington Post

References

Legal history Ban Religious controversies