A folk dance, in its most general definition, is a traditional dance developed by individuals that reflect the culture of a specific region or country. However, not all folk dances are folk dancing. For instance, ballroom dances such as the samba macho, which are characterized by high leg gestures and leaps, are not folk dancing. On the other hand, certain folk dances developed in Brazil, such as the samba and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, are folk dancing forms. But even though some dancers do not consider their dances to be folk dancing, there are many who consider samba and jiu-jitsu to be forms of folk dancing because of the way they are performed. That is because the dancers use dance steps that are similar to traditional Brazilian dances but are performed with a modern flair.
If we look at the history of Brazil, we can see that there are many folk dances that have been developed and refined over the centuries. Thus, today we see dancers who have been trained on many different styles of folk dancing. Some of these are: the meringue, the samba, the cha-cha, the capoeira, the rumba, the capoeira rebar, the pirarotida, and the soixada. In addition, there are many folk dancers who take on these tasks because of the opportunity that it gives them to travel around the world and show off their unique talents.
Today, many children from underdeveloped countries who have no knowledge about how to dance are being introduced to folk dancing lessons in Brazil. As a result, many more people are becoming interested in learning how to dance. This is because the skills taught in these classes are highly appealing to the majority of people who attend them, and it is very easy for people of all ages to learn them. Also, because of the low cost of the classes and the simple process of learning the dances, the students typically stay with their families for longer periods of time instead of moving back home where they would have to be homeschooled.