Many states of the United States have adopted official dances as one of their state symbols. The practice has extended to U.S. territories and Washington, D.C. [1]
Starting in the 1970s, many states adopted square dance as their state dance, the result of a campaign by square dancers to make it the national dance. [2]
State, district, or territory | Dance | Year adopted | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Square dance | 1981 | [3] | |||
Arkansas | Square dance | 1991 | [4] | |||
California | West Coast Swing | 1988 | [5] [6] | |||
Square dance (Official folk dance) | ||||||
Colorado | Square dance | 1992 | [7] | |||
Connecticut | Square dance | 1995 | [8] | |||
Delaware | None (Maypole 2016–2017) | [9] [10] | ||||
District of Columbia | Hand dancing | 1999 | [11] | |||
Georgia | Square dance | 1996 | [12] | |||
Hawaii | Hula | 1999 | [13] | |||
Idaho | Square dance | 1989 | [14] | |||
Illinois | Square dance | 1990 | [15] | |||
Kentucky | Clogging | 2006 | [16] | |||
Louisiana | Square dance | 1999 | [17] | |||
Maryland | Square dance | 1994 | [18] | |||
Massachusetts | Square dance | 1990 | [19] [20] | |||
Minnesota | None (Square dance was proposed in 1992 and 1994) | [21] | ||||
Mississippi | Square dance | 1995 | [22] | |||
Missouri | Square dance | 1995 | [23] | |||
Nebraska | Square dance | 1997 | [24] | |||
New Jersey | Square dance (Official folk dance) | 1983 | [25] | |||
North Carolina | Clogging (Official folk dance) | 2005 | [26] | |||
Carolina shag (Official popular dance) | ||||||
North Dakota | Square dance | 1995 | [27] | |||
Oklahoma | Square dance | 1988 | [28] | |||
Oregon | Square dance | 1977 | [29] | |||
Pennsylvania | Polka | 1942 | South Carolina | The Shag | 1984 | [30] |
Square dance (State American Folk Dance) | 1994 | [31] | ||||
Richardson waltz (State waltz) | 2000 | [32] | ||||
Tennessee | Square dance | 1980 | [33] | |||
Texas | Square dance | 1994 | [34] | |||
Utah | Square dance | 1994 | [35] | |||
Virginia | Square dance | 2011 | [36] | |||
Washington | Square dance | 1979 | [37] | |||
Wisconsin | Polka | 1993 | [38] | |||