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 proposed in 2016–2017 legislative session) | [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] |
South Carolina | Square dance (State American Folk Dance) | 1994 | [30] |
The Shag | 1984 | [31] | |
Tennessee | Square dance | 1980 | [32] |
Texas | Square dance | 1994 | [33] |
Utah | Square dance | 1994 | [34] |
Virginia | Square dance | 2011 | [35] |
Washington | Square dance | 1979 | [36] |
Wisconsin | Polka | 1993 | [37] |