ring dance

4.5

A group of people who form a circle and dance together, often holding hands

noun

: danza en círculo

The children performed a traditional ring dance during the village festival.

Examples

The group learned the steps to a Scottish ring dance at the workshop.
In many cultures, a ring dance is used to celebrate the arrival of spring.
The children performed a lively ring dance during the festival.
Have you ever seen a ring dance at a wedding?
During the celebration, the guests formed a circle to participate in a traditional ring dance.
At the community gathering, everyone joined hands to perform a joyful ring dance around the bonfire.
The instructor taught the participants a new ring dance that was popular in their region.

Synonyms

round dance

vsring dance

3.3

People move together in a circle following set steps, often with partners

is a folk circle dance with coordinated steps and often joined hands

How Social

ring dance

4.5

ritual dancing

5.8

dance

463 1.0

to two-step

2 5.9

to solo

3 4.2

Surface Forms

ring dance singular

ring dances plural

Morphology

ring + dance

The meaning 'a dance performed in a circle' is directly and compositionally derived from 'ring' (a circular formation) + 'dance' (to move rhythmically), so a learner who knows both words can infer the phrase. This construction is semantically regular and cross‑linguistically common, making it readily comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Ring dance comes from a simple image: people join hands in a ring, a circle, and step together in a dance. That's why it means 'a folk dance where people form a circle and move together', often to 'celebrate' or show 'community'.