Azerbaijan has a very ancient history of folk dances. Dance scenes reflected in Gobustan rock paintings prove it. As in most peoples of the world, the first dances in Azerbaijan were ritual and hunting dances.
From the early Middle Ages, various types of folk dances began to take shape, mainly from ceremonial dances.
Azerbaijani folk dances are colorful in terms of themes; they are divided into these types – labor, ceremonies, household, heroism, sports, choreography (for example, “Yalli”, “Halay”), etc. The wedding ceremony is the most important due to its duration, richness and variety of rituals.
Azerbaijani folk dance, as a rule, consists of 3 parts: the first part is fast, circle dance; the second part is lyrical; in the third part – again dancing in a circle, characterized by speed, solemnity and great emotional excitement. Women’s and men’s dances are very different. The development of women’s dance was conditioned by the costume: a long skirt defined the smooth movement of the legs, all the dancers’ attention was focused on the developed techniques of the hands and upper body (shoulders, head, facial expressions, etc.). The main feature of men’s dance is the technique of the legs. The dancer agilely stands on his toes, quickly descends to his knees, and so on.
The musical volume of Azerbaijani dances is 6/8 and 3/4. Dances are usually performed by a trio of trumpeters (2 trumpets and 1 drum), a trio of musicians (tar, kamancha, tambourine) and so on. is performed with accompaniment.
The most common national dances are:
- Abayi
- Alchagulu
- Asma Kasma
- Asta Garabaghi
- Avari
- Ay bari bakh
- Azerbaijan
- Banovsha
- Birilliant
- Chalpapag
- Chamish baga girdi
- Chattadi
- Cahribayim
- Cangi
- Ceyrani
- Chit tuman
- Darchini
- Dartma, yakham cirildi
- Dasmali
- Anzali
- Galin atlandi
- Galin gatirma
- Galin havasi
- Gulgəz (rəqs)
- Gulməyi
- Heyvagulu
- İki arvadli
- İnnabi
- Kechi mamasi
- Kandiri
- Kəsmə
- Koroglu
- Koroglunun qaytarmasi
- Lala
- Mirvari
- Mirzayi
- Misri
- Muchassima
- Naznazi
- Pahlavani
- Gaytagi
- Gazagi
- Gitgilda
- Rose
- Gizlar bulagı
- Goçəli
- Gofta
- Rangi
- Shahsevəni
- Shalaxo
- Samux
- Saribash
- Shaki
- Samani
- Tamara
- Tarakama
- Wedding dance
- Turaci
- Uch badam, bir goz
- Uzundara
- Vagzalı
- Velachola
- Xalabacı
- Xanchobani
- Yalli
- Local Dance
- Yuz bir
- Zogali