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Dance has the power to express beauty and love in ways that words cannot.
In this collection of dance poems, we explore the many facets of this art form, from the funny and lighthearted to the deeply emotional and profound.
Whether you’re a seasoned dancer or simply an admirer of the art, these poems will inspire and move you.
From famous works to short and sweet verses, there are dance poems for every occasion.
So let us celebrate the joy and beauty of dance, and allow these poems on dance to transport us to a world of movement, grace, and passion.
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Funny Dance Poems
These interesting poems about dance have secured a good place for them and continue to inspire and move us with their beauty, grace, and funny language.
1. Wrinkles and Twinkles
by Richard Lamoureux
Wrinkles and Twinkles
Old guys
don’t look cool in jeans
with frayed fabric
and faded seams
So I’ve developed
my own unique style
with colourful clothing
accessorized with a smile
For this old guy
a stylish cap is my choice
I have a twinkle in my eye
and a kind gentle voice
It’s true I don’t wear
a younger man’s clothes
It would make me look silly
and I’m not one to pose
So no fashion from Paris
Italy or France
But if you play me some music
I’ll ask you to dance
So even though Old Guys
don’t look cool in jeans
We’re cool in our own way
still living our dreams
Wrinkles and twinkles
A smile and a wink
Colourful clothes with a cap
happy to join you for a drink.
2. Pole Dancing – For Dale
by Jan Allison
An acrobat whose name is Dale
Went pole dancing with his wife Gail
When he did the starfish
He looked such a dish
But suddenly Gail’s face turned pale
As he performed his sexy pole dance
He’d got no undies under his pants
Poor Dale was distraught
When his todger got caught
It cut short a night of romance
3. Don’t Bug Me
by Jan Allison
Tom went to the ugly bug ball
Strange insects invaded the hall
Folks dressed up as fleas,
Cockroaches and bees
The smile on his face said it all
Tom hoped for a little romance
Asked a cute centipede to dance
She whacked him on the nose
When he trod on her toes
He went home in an ambulance!
4. While Close Dancing
by Jack Clark
On the dance-floor they did a zigzag
But he was an ol’ scallywag:
“If you feel something hard
Pay no regard …
It’s just my colostomy-bag”
5. Pole Dancer
by Richard Lamoureux
I just love the way she dances.
The way around the pole she twirls.
With such confidence she prances.
I just love the way she dances!
She is not afraid to take chances.
Around the May pole with other girls.
I just love the way she dances.
The way around the pole she twirls!
6. You Can Never Dance a Tango with A Mango
by Barry Stebbings
You can never dance a Tango with a Mango
And the Damson is a drama in the Jive.
And the Grapefruit you can bet
Has not done the Rhumba yet
And that a Kumquat does the Foxtrot
Is entirely false.
The Samba when in season can be entirely pleasin’
But the Mango cannot Tango or dance the Waltz.
7. Witch’s Titties
by Jessica Amanda
Oh, my name is Witch’s Titties
I’m the leader of the band
Tho’ only two in numbers
they sag down where life is grand
They swing like gaucho’s bolos
to excite your fancy balls
Can toss ’em o’er my shoulders
to go dancing up the walls
8. April Midnight
by Arthur Symons
Side by side through the streets at midnight,
Roaming together,
Through the tumultuous night of London,
In the miraculous April weather.
Roaming together under the gaslight,
Day’s work over,
How the Spring calls to us, here in the city,
Calls to the heart from the heart of a lover!
Cool to the wind blows, fresh in our faces,
Cleansing, entrancing,
After the heat and the fumes and the footlights,
Where you dance and I watch your dancing.
Good it is to be here together,
Good to be roaming,
Even in London, even at midnight,
Lover-like in a lover’s gloaming.
You the dancer and I the dreamer,
Children together,
Wandering lost in the night of London,In the miraculous April weather.
Famous Dance Poems
Dance is a universal language that speaks to the heart and soul, and these famous poems about dance capture the essence of this art form in all its glory.
1. The Minuet
Grandma told me all about it,
Told me so I could not doubt it,
How she danced, my grandma danced, long ago!
How she held her pretty head,
How her dainty skirts she spread,
How she turned her little toes,
Smiling little human rose!
Grandma’s hair was bright and shining,
Dimpled cheeks, too! ah! how funny!
Bless me, now she wears a cap,
My grandma does, and takes a nap every single day;
Yet she danced the minuet long ago;
Now she sits there rocking, rocking,
Always knitting grandpa’s stocking—
Every girl was taught to knit long ago—
But her figure is so neat,
And her ways so staid and sweet,
I can almost see her now,
Bending to her partner’s bow, long ago.
Grandma says our modern jumping,
Rushing, whirling, dashing, bumping,
Would have shocked the gentle people long ago.
No, they moved with stately grace,
Everything in proper place,
Gliding slowly forward, then
Slowly courtesying back again.
Modern ways are quite alarming, grandma says,
But boys were charming—
Girls and boys I mean, of course—long ago,
Sweetly modest, bravely shy!
What if all of us should try just to feel
Like those who met in the stately minuet, long ago.
With the minuet in fashion,
Who could fly into a passion?
All would wear the calm they wore long ago,
And if in years to come, perchance,
I tell my grandchild of our dance,
I should really like to say,
We did it in some such way, long ago.
2. I Cannot Dance Upon My Toes
by Emily Dickinson
I cannot dance upon my Toes—
No Man instructed me—
But oftentimes, among my mind,
A Glee possesseth me,
That had I Ballet knowledge—
Would put itself abroad
In Pirouette to blanch a Troupe—
Or lay a Prima, mad,
And though I had no Gown of Gauze—
No Ringlet, to my Hair,
Nor hopped to Audiences—like Birds,
One Claw upon the Air,
Nor tossed my shape in Eider Balls,
Nor rolled on wheels of snow
Till I was out of sight, in sound,
The House encore me so—
Nor any know I know the Art
I mention—easy—Here—
Nor any Placard boast me—
It’s full as Opera—
3. Feel the Heat of the Beat
by Anonymous
It’s crazy how the soundtrack of our day
Influences what emotions tend to stay.
I love nothing more than rocking out to hard rock,
But I also enjoy a good sock hop!!
I enjoy sad music and the way it blankets you
With its soothing tune,
But most of all, I love a good groove!
Anything that makes me want to move.
I swear I can dance to any song that ensues.
I love the opportunity to express myself through dance,
But having this confidence wasn’t by chance.
I put myself out there and hope for the best,
But I swear enjoying the flow is the real quest!
4. Silent Roses
by Sea Opal Karina Dove
From a garden of yellow roses
wrapped in starlight and mist
i wander the path down to the sea
roaring waves spread foamy potions
and seashells across the salty sand
I see unicorns in the cloud labyrinths
galloping on the wharf of dreams
floating stars in the moon’s streams
next to you and the ebbing ocean
Amid roses I dance on dewy grass
wrapped in starlight and mist
aroma and scent soft on my face
the touch of wind a velvet petal kiss
fairytale under the opal moon
iridescent in the blue dawn light
two silhouettes in silent repose
find the blushing soul of the rose
singing an aria of Love tonight
5. Just Dance!
by Anonymous
It doesn’t take much,
to simply begin.
And let all of it go,
that’s building within.
It’s just like a switch,
that sweet sounding tune.
Never too late,
and never too soon.
Shoulders and hips,
instantly sway.
Bringing forth,
a beautiful day.
With the right partner,
or mutually alone.
Moves arrive randomly,
the next is unknown.
To enjoy fully,
don’t seek a reason.
As long as there’s music,
there’s always a season.
Don’t look around,
or shyly glance.
Whenever you feel it,
remember – Just Dance!
6. The Dance
by Anonymous
Let the music play!
I would dance alway—
Dance till the dawn of the bright young day!
Wild notes are sounding—swift lights are glancing,
And I—I am mad with the rapture of dancing—
Mad with a breathless delight.
With thine arm to enfold me,
Thy strong hand to hold me,
I could dance through an endless night.
Doth the music play?
Or is it—oh, say—
But the sound of thy voice that I hear for alway?
Is it thy smile or the sweet lights glancing?
Is it thy presence or only the dancing
Makes the whole world so glad?
Love I—ah me!—
Or the dance, or thee?
Am I mad? Am I mad? Am I mad?
Bid the music play!
Let us dance alway—
Through all life—through all time—dance forever and aye!
Such wild notes are sounding! Such bright lights are glancing!
And I—I am mad with the madness of dancing—
Of dancing?—or dancing with thee?
Let thy heart’s love enfold me!
Thy heart’s strength uphold me!
Let us dance till earth ceases to be!
7. Silent Cocoon
by Sea Opal Karina Dove
Louie goddess a silent cocoon
unwrapped under a silver moon
Aphrodite in Paris town
danced with fairyfeet unbound
gypsy arias in the street
while pleiades sisters gazed down
Dancing dancing on stages of night
butterfly wings spread in colors of light
silk satin limbs spin and twirl
ballerina movement arabesque swirl
fabric unfolding shaping with hands
like a genie dervish in golden sands
winding a serpentine trail
Trembling flower against the misty blue
petals unveiled in morning dew
cotton clouds billowed in iridescent hues
maiden in nebulous costumes and gowns
choreographed her life without a sound
debuts in swirling folds of sheets
dancing dancing on magical feet
8. The Ballet School
by Russell Hughes
O, what a ballet-school!
The master is the boisterous springtime wind.
Under his rough instruction, slim grass blades
Curve and bend and learn their porte de bras.
The dandelions pirouette in skirts
Of yellow tarlatan. They are younger, yet
Are premier ballerinas striving to
Become as excellent in technique as
The pink peach-blossom, caught from off her bough
And flung (by a designing maitre-ballet)
Across the floor among the corps-ballet.
Three robins and a cello-throated dove
Make fitting music for pliez and turns,
And arabesques,
O, what a ballet-school!
9. Dancer
by Carl Sandburg
The lady in red, she in the chile con carne red,
Brilliant as the shine of a pepper crimson in the summer sun,
She behind a false-face, the much sought-after dancer,
the most sought-after dancer of all in this masquerade,
The lady in red sox and red hat, ankles of willow,
crimson arrow amidst the Spanish clashes of music,
I sit in a corner
watching her dance first with one man
and then another.
Beautiful Dance Poems
Beauty is at the heart of dance, and these beautiful poems about dance capture the essence of this art form with their evocative imagery, rich language, and emotional depth.
1. Dance
by Mary Carolyn Davies
God’s in me when I dance.
God, making Spring
Out of his thoughts
And building worlds
By wishing.
God
Laughing at his own
Queer fancies,
Standing awed,
And sobbing;
Musing,
Dreaming,
Throbbing;
Commanding;
Creating-
God’s in me
When I dance.
2. The Belle of the Ball
by Jan Allison
I smile at him, then I coyly avert my eyes
I find him so handsome; that I cannot disguise
He reaches tenderly for my awaiting hand
We move to the dance floor; oh it is so grand
His arm wrapped around my tiny waist
We dance to the music, there is no haste
So full of excitement at the hope of romance
I float round the room at my very first dance
3. When I Dance
by Akachukwu Chukwuemeka
I dance for me,
Silent vibrations from within
Rhythm of the unseen,
I dance for me.
My steps follow their direction,
My heart-beat echoes their sound.
Some say I dance weird: they call me possessed.
If I dance raw, if I dance pure,
If I dance whirlwind, if I dance the spirits within,
No matter what they say,
I know I dance me.
I dance for me.
4. I Praise the Dance
by Saint Augustine
I praise the dance,
for it frees people from the heaviness of matter
and binds the isolated to community.
I praise the dance, which demands everything:
health and a clear spirit and a buoyant soul.
Dance is a transformation of space, of time, of people,
who are in constant danger of becoming all brain,
will, or feeling.
Dancing demands a whole person,
one who is firmly anchored in the center of his life,
who is not obsessed by lust for people and things
and the demon of isolation in his own ego
Dancing demands a freed person,
one who vibrates with the equipoise of all his powers.
I praise the dance.
O man, learn to dance,
or else the angels in heaven will not know
what to do with you.
5. Sweet Dancer
by William Butler Yeats
The girl goes dancing there
On the leaf-sown, new-mown, smooth
Grass plot of the garden;
Escaped from bitter youth,
Escaped out of her crowd,
Or out of her black cloud.
Ah, dancer, ah, sweet dancer!
If strange men come from the house
To lead her away, do not say
That she is happy being crazy;
Lead them gently astray;
Let her finish her dance,
Let her finish her dance.
Ah, dancer, ah, sweet dancer!
6. Dancing with Someone
by David Thomas
Just a little song
for the one I love
in my heart forever
while laughing with
someone else.
She seems somewhat excited
and sure does talk a lot
her toes are kind of squiggling
a sign I’ve learned to watch.
If I was a woman (I certainly am not)
I would not wear sandals
to any dancing spot.
Please arrive here shortly
the band is now inside
everyone is bantering
where do I go to hide?
Her eyes are quickly flashing
we had a dance or two
her name is…
not remembering
it’s loud I can’t hear too.
Such a lovely person
full of verve and fun
now she’s hanging
on my arm
perfect
here you come.
Smiling an adventure
you! Do drive me wild
confident! A handy whip
and toes that hide awhile.
7. They Who Dance
by Marjorie Allen Seiffert
The feet of dancers
Shine with mirth,
Their hearts are vibrant as bells:
The air flows by them
Divided like water
Cut by a gleaming ship.
Triumphantly their bodies sing,
Their eyes are blind
With music.
They move through threatening ghosts
Feeling them cool as mist
On their brows.
They who dance
Find infinite golden floors
Beneath their feet.
8. Juke Box Love Song
by Langston Hughes
I could take the Harlem night
and wrap around you,
Take the neon lights and make a crown,
Take the Lenox Avenue busses,
Taxis, subways,
And for your love song tone their rumble down.
Take Harlem’s heartbeat,
Make a drumbeat,
Put it on a record, let it whirl,
And while we listen to it play,
Dance with you till day–
Dance with you, my sweet brown Harlem girl.
Short Dance Poems
Sometimes a few simple words are all that’s needed to capture the magic and joy of dance, and these short poetries about dance do just that, offering concise yet powerful reflections on the beauty of movement.
1. Come Dance, Come Dance with Me
by C.J. Krieger
Don’t tell me where the angels fly
Just tell me where they dance
And I’ll put on my dancing shoes
And of course my dancing pants
2. The Dance
by Neal Bowers
On that dim-lit periphery
where time is always out
we had our own eternity
to get it right and found
in our two tuneless hearts
a common beat
3. Dance of Dances
by Nick Tragger
Dance in the moonlight with all the stars in sight
Dance with all of this power and might
Dance with danger every night
Dance up and down twirling around
Dance with sweat dripping down the neck
Then dance with fire every dark hour
Dance with thrust if you must
But dance on the hour every hour
That’s when to explain in steps the dance of dances
4. Slow Dance
by David L. Weatherford
When the day is done,
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
5. Ballet
by Alan Lukawenko
Ballet is beauty in the making…
Line of sight…do you know what it means?
What do you think of Sylvie Guillem?
Pointe shoes,..yes I know it’s painful for some,
but must surely make you feel like an angel…on a cloud.
Angels must dream of ballerinas…don’t you think?
6. The Dancer
by Christine Ann Martine
I met an artist
now my days
are painted in lavender
every hour a different hue.
Dance in blurred tones
with each stroke I glide
moved by inspiration.
I am his vision, his dancer,
his impression of beauty
This canvas my stage
as I perform for you.
7. Dance Freely
by Nina Heyen
Move to your own drum,
create your own rhythm
Step left it you want to, even if it’s not right
Follow the hidden song only you can hear,
begging you to dance – each move
weaving together the lines of your life,
the love of your heart, and
the light of your soul.
Long Dance Poems
For those who want to immerse themselves in the world of dance, these long poetries about dance offer rich and detailed explorations of this art form, delving deep into its history, meaning, and emotional impact.
1. Changing Colors
by Ben Heart
I: The Chameleon
Loie loved to watch
the laundry swaying on the line
proud banners of suburban empires,
where the silly old king
poured himself a scotch every night,
and the fair and kind queen,
tried to convince Loie’s little sister
there was no such thing as vampires,
she loved being as an ocean,
the immovable object
blooming into motion,
no not even photographs, pixel or paper,
could capture the emotion,
of the dandelions dancing with the wind
changing colors on the quick
reclaiming parking lots for nature,
La Loie De Fuller
a piece of incarnate Illinois
brought to European theaters bleak
where the human chameleon
made the critics forget their critiques
and maybe making Frenchmen weep is nothing unique,
it’s still something
it got their hearts pumping,
and that’s all she ever needed.
II: The Birds
We’ll be the birds
born from a blue womb,
hatchlings from robin’s egg,
God was cruel enough to give us wings
only to create contrast at twilight
for human eyes chasing imagination
but at least there is one difference, mind,
between us and them
you will never hear us beg
for regurgitated sick from their fat necks
or take their breadcrumb charity for kind.
III: The Nightmare
I once had a dream
of brick hedges casting shadows
over a garden of stone,
but when spring awoke
in this concrete Winterland
I was no longer alone,
and there were dancers
masters of the frigid stages,
waltzing through different states of decay
on their self-harm razorblade skates,
but as spring came too close
in hopes of rhythms meeting,
she undid the freezing
and the dancers sank below,
in her horror she leapt back
and so they all froze,
and when I woke up
in a pool of glacial runoff
I found in the demonic mobile
that shadow has dancing above my bed
the eyes of those dancers
and the cold sweat that their melting bled.
2. My Last Dance
by Julia Ward Howe
The shell of objects inwardly consumed
Will stand, till some convulsive wind awakes;
Such sense hath Fire to waste the heart of things,
Nature, such love to hold the form she makes.
Thus, wasted joys will show their early bloom,
Yet crumble at the breath of a caress;
The golden fruitage hides the scathèd bough,
Snatch it, thou scatterest wide its emptiness.
For pleasure bidden, I went forth last night
To where, thick hung, the festal torches gleamed;
Here were the flowers, the music, as of old,
Almost the very olden time it seemed.
For one with cheek unfaded, (though he brings
My buried brothers to me, in his look,)
Said, `Will you dance? ‘ At the accustomed words
I gave my hand, the old position took.
Sound, gladsome measure! at whose bidding once
I felt the flush of pleasure to my brow,
While my soul shook the burthen of the flesh,
And in its young pride said, ‘Lie lightly thou!’
Then, like a gallant swimmer, flinging high
My breast against the golden waves of sound,
I rode the madd’ning tumult of the dance,
Mocking fatigue, that never could be found.
Chide not,— it was not vanity, nor sense,
(The brutish scorn such vaporous delight,)
But Nature, cadencing her joy of strength
To the harmonious limits of her right.
She gave her impulse to the dancing Hours,
To winds that sweep, to stars that noiseless turn;
She marked the measure rapid hearts must keep
Devised each pace that glancing feet should learn.
And sure, that prodigal o’erflow of life,
Unvow’d as yet to family or state,
Sweet sounds, white garments, flowery coronals
Make holy, in the pageant of our fate.
Sound, measure! but to stir my heart no more—
For, as I moved to join the dizzy race,
My youth fell from me; all its blooms were gone,
And others showed them, smiling, in my face.
Faintly I met the shock of circling forms
Linked each to other, Fashion’s galley-slaves,
Dream-wondering, like an unaccustomed ghost
That starts, surprised, to stumble over graves.
For graves were ‘neath my feet, whose placid masks
Smiled out upon my folly mournfully,
While all the host of the departed said,
`Tread lightly— thou art ashes, even as we.’
3. The Lobster Quadrille
by Lewis Carroll
“Will you walk a little faster?” said a whiting to a snail,
“There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my
tail.
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle-will you come and join the
dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the
dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the
dance?
“You can really have no notion how delightful it will be
When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out
to sea!”
But the snail replied, “Too far, too far!” and gave a look
askance-
Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join
the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join
the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join
the dance.
“What matters it how far we go?” his scaly friend replied.
“There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.
The further off from England the nearer is to France-
Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the
dance.
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the
dance?
Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, won’t you join the
dance?”
4. Dancing with Shadows: Finding Light in the Darkness
by Sooz Protegé
In the garden of my childhood,
I learned to dance with shadows.
The sun set early, leaving behind
a world shrouded in darkness.
But I didn’t mind, for I had fireflies
to light my way, their flickering glow
guiding me through the maze of my mind.
There were nights when the stars
would fall from the sky like rain,
leaving me drenched in their light,
feeling alive and reborn.
But there were other times when
the darkness felt suffocating, like a weight
pressed down upon my chest, crushing
the breath from my lungs.
In those moments, I would seek refuge
in the arms of the garden, the soft soil
embracing me, holding me close.
The earth was my mother, my protector,
and I knew that no matter how dark
the night, I would always find my way back
to the light.
As I grew older, the garden changed,
becoming a wild, tangled jungle of thorns
and weeds. But even in the midst of chaos,
I found beauty, for within the darkness
there was always a glimmer of hope,
a spark of life waiting to be kindled.
And so I dance on, through the shadows
and the light, knowing that no matter
how deep the darkness, there is always
a way back to the sun, a way to find
my way home.
5. Dancing is for Dreams
by Reuben
she sat in the back, shyly adopting chameleon ways
illusively perceptive as he approached
unperturbed by her sequestration
he stammered introductions
while her eyes fidgeted beneath heavy lashes
her heart a euphoric yes
when he stumbled on the question
his hand was warm
as he pulled her up onto indolent legs
and led her through the throng of bodies
to stake their own little square of dancefloor
his movements both lithe and dextrous
contradicting her incipient execution
generated from clumsy joints on an unbalanced body
but as the dance deepened
awkwardness slipped away like a heavy garment
and she began to glide felicitously
seemingly propelled by air rather than muscle
toes pointed, elbow bent
the rush of the crowd evaporated
till she and him merged into one isolated entity
their spins, twirls and lunges a blur of fluidity
just the rhythm of pumping blood
the bunching of strained muscles beneath thin coverings
and the wild elation of freedom
she would have lived in that moment forever
had the vision not slowly faded
tendrils of it curling between her grasp like smoke
then dissipating, along with her flush of warm emotion
a fugitive tear escaped her waking eye, unperceived
forced out under the crushing weight of reality
that dancing was for dreams
not for her unresponsive body
6. The Children Dancing
by Robert Laurence Binyon
Away, sad thoughts, and teasing
Perplexities, away!
Let other blood go freezing,
We will be wise and gay.
For here is all heart-easing,
An ecstasy at play.
The children dancing, dancing,
Light upon happy feet,
Both eye and heart entrancing
Mingle, escape, and meet;
Come joyous-eyed and advancing
Or floatingly retreat.
Now slow, now swifter treading
Their paces timed and true,
An instant poised, then threading
A maze of printless clue,
Their motions smoothly wedding
To melody anew,
They sway in chime, and scatter
In looping circles; they
Are Music’s airy matter,
And their feet move, the way
The raindrops shine and patter
On tossing flowers in May.
As if those flowers were singing
For joy of the clean air,
As if you saw them springing
To dance the breeze, so fair
The lissom bodies swinging,
So light the flung-back hair.
And through the mind enchanted
A happy river goes
By its own young carol haunted
And bringing where it flows
What all in the world has wanted
And who in this world knows?
7. Dance-The Hidden Language of the Soul
by Dr.Ram Mehta
Dance, dance as child dances before he walks.
Dance in the moon light with stars in sight
Dance to the smiles, in the shadows of love
Dance, dance as child dances before he walks.
Dance is a short cut to happiness and ecstasy
Dance-a folk dance is the only universal language
Dance is a relatively safe form of intoxication.
Dance, dance as child dances before he walks.
Dance, dance as a grown-up takes to classic
Dance with impersonal and graceful arabesques
Is nothing but a sort of gymnastic drills
Dance, dance as a grown-up takes to classic
Dance, dance as a grown-up takes to classic
But if one considers concentrating their minds
Leading the body in the rhythm of desired emotions
That which expressing the feelings of experiences.
Dance, dance as a grown-up takes to classic
Those converting the body into fluidity are
To surrender it to the inspiration of the soul
Dance, dance as a grown-up takes to classic
A performing dancer is endowed with essential gifts
A body beautiful, grace of line, spirit gracious
Joy in the art, ability to please, unswerving
Integrity, relentless ambition for abstract perfection
Not mere translation from life, but it is life itself.
It’s a communication between body and soul
To express what is too deep to find for words
It’s a poem of which each movement is a word.
Dance Poems That Rhyme
Rhyme can add an extra layer of beauty and playfulness to dance poems, and these poems about dance with rhyming words showcase the power of rhyming words to enhance the rhythm and flow of a piece.
1. The Belle of the Ball
by William Mackworth Praed
I saw her at a county ball;
There when the sound of flute and fiddle
Gave signal sweet in that old hall,
Of hands across and down the middle,
Hers was the subtlest spell by far
Of all that sets young hearts romancing;
She was the queen, our rose, our star;
And when she danced-Oh, heaven, her dancing!
2. While the Fates Sleep
by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Come, let us to the sunways of the west,
Hasten, while crystal dews the rose-cups fill,
Let us dream dreams again in our blithe quest
O’er whispering wold and hill.
Castles of air yon wimpling valleys keep
Where milk-white mist steals from the purpling sea,
They shall be ours in the moon’s wizardry,
While the fates, wearied, sleep.
The viewless spirit of the wind will sing
In the soft starshine by the reedy mere,
The elfin harps of hemlock boughs will ring
Fitfully far and near;
The fields will yield their trove of spice and musk,
And balsam from the glens of pine will fall,
Till twilight weaves its tangled shadows all
In one dim web of dusk.
Let us put tears and memories away,
While the fates sleep time stops for revelry;
Let us look, speak, and kiss as if no day
Has been or yet will be;
Let us make friends with laughter ‘neath the moon,
With music on the immemorial shore,
Yea, let us dance as lovers danced of yore-
The fates will waken soon!
3. Best Friend Tango
by Rodney Moore
take my hand, let us dance under the light,
shaking our hips, moving our lips, well into the night.
go left, go right, go up, go down,
no room for a silly little frown.
nearing the end, the final bend,
she looks up, i look down, just danced with my best friend.
to the tango dance that ignites the crowd,
a standing ovation, they make us proud.
4. Imogen
by Sir Henry Newbolt
Ladies, where were your bright eyes glancing,
Where were they glancing yester-night?
Saw ye Imogen dancing, dancing,
Imogen dancing all in white?
Laughed she not with a pure delight,
Laughed she not with a joy serene,
Stepped she not with a grace entrancing,
Slenderly girt in silken sheen?
All through the night from dusk to daytime
Under her feet the hours were swift,
Under her feet the hours of play-time
Rose and fell with a rhythmic lift:
Music set her adrift, adrift,
Music eddying towards the day
Swept her along as brooks in May-time
Carry the freshly falling May.
Ladies, life is a changing measure,
Youth is a lilt that endeth soon;
Pluck ye never so fast at pleasure
Twilight follows the longest noon.
Nay, but here is a lasting boon,
Life for hearts that are old and chill,
Youth undying for hearts that treasure
Imogen dancing, dancing still.
5. Dinosaur Dance
by Geoffrey Brewer
Dinosaurs just loved to take the floor and dance
On tippy toes the size of garden sheds
And when they did they’d sashay strut and prance
Harmonic beats would shake Jurassic beds
They tripped the light fantastic verging heavy
Their favourite moves were known as the galumphs
You’d find them all way down upon the levee
In tutus and industrial grade pumps
Brontosauri would impress with pirouettes
Making small tornados interspersed with gales
But the T Rex topped it all doing entrechats
Causing seismic action gauged on Richter scale
Their performances gave them renowned distinction
Although some say that it led to their extinction
6. Dance
by Paul Featus
We dance in the blue sea
When there’s a calm or storm.
You are right next to me,
And I don’t feel alone.
We dance in the hot sand,
It stings and bites our heels.
I hold you by the hand,
You know how good it feels.
We dance in the green grass
Among insects and birds.
You are my beloved lass,
Veracious are these words.
We dance in the fresh rain,
The wind is in our hair.
My days are not the same,
They differ when you’re here.
We dance in the cold snow,
It thaws in our warm hands.
When I’m with you I know
That I want nothing else.
We dance and we feel free,
We dance all nights and days,
We dance — just you and me,
We dance all grief away.
7. Gratiana Dancing and Singing
by Richard Lovelace
See! with what constant motion,
Even, and glorious as the sun,
Gratia a steers that noble frame,
Soft as her breast, sweet as her voice,
That gave each winding law and poise,
And swifter than the wings of Fame.
She beat the happy pavement–
By such a star made firmament,
Which now no more the roof envies!
But swells up high, with Atlas even,
Bearing the brighter, nobler heaven,
And, in her, all the deities.
Each step trod out a lover’s thought,
And the ambitious hopes he brought
Chained to her brave feet with such arts,
Such sweet command and gentle awe,
As, when she ceased, we sighing saw
The floor lay paved with broken hearts.
So did she move, so did she sing,
Like the harmonious spheres that bring
Unto their rounds their music’s aid;
Which she performed such a way
As all the enamoured world will say,
‘The Graces danced, and Apollo played!’
Dance Poems for Kids
Dance is a fun and exciting way for kids to express themselves, and these children’s poems about dance capture the playful spirit and boundless energy of young dancers.
1. The Hippo Hop Dance
by Artie Knapp
A child stumbles upon a party with dancing hippos!
The sun was blazing that day
As my friends and I walked along.
Then we heard the sound,
Oh that beat, to a great, great song.
It was the day of the Hippo Hop Dance,
That we learned comes once a year.
And no matter who they were,
They just knew, that they had to be there.
Hippos were everywhere; they were jumping,
They were moving their feet.
They threw their hands, up in the air,
Just grooving to the beat!
That safari turned out to be,
Much more than we could hope.
It’s not often, that one sees,
Hippos dancing and jumping rope.
People ask, where’s the photos?
For a tradition so long and proud.
And I am quick, to let them know,
That no cameras were allowed.
2. The Baby’s Dance
by Ann Taylor
Dance little baby, dance up high,
Never mind baby, mother is by;
Crow and caper, caper and crow,
There little baby, there you go;
Up to the ceiling, down to the ground,
Backwards and forwards, round and round;
Dance little baby, and mother shall sing,
With the merry coral, ding, ding, ding.
3. Dance
by Anonymous
I dance while I’m standing.
I jive while I walk.
I do the hokey-pokey
when I want to talk.
I kick my soccer ball
to a jazzy salsa beat.
I macaroni-mamba every
time I need to eat.
I wiggle-giggle-shuffle as
I put away my clothes.
I shimmy, dip and slide when
I have to blow my nose.
My mom calls me a wiggler.
I always need to leap.
I even dream of jigs
while I’m in my bed asleep!
4. Dream Variations
by Langston Hughes
To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me-
That is my dream!
To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance! Whirl! Whirl!
Till the quick day is done.
Rest at pale evening . . .
A tall, slim tree . . .
Night coming tenderly
Black like me.
5. Shake
by Anonymous
Let’s put on a smile,
and show how we shake.
Our sleepy body,
will suddenly wake.
But first we must choose,
a super cool song.
Jumping around,
will make our legs strong.
It’s really easy,
to learn how to groove.
Just think of your next,
funny sweet move.
Ask all your friends,
to join in the fun.
Never stop shaking,
until the music is done.
6. The Cat and The Moon
by W. B. Yeats
The cat went here and there
And the moon spun round like a top,
And the nearest kin of the moon,
The creeping cat, looked up.
Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon,
For, wander and wail as he would,
The pure cold light in the sky
Troubled his animal blood.
Minnaloushe runs in the grass
Lifting his delicate feet.
Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance?
When two close kindred meet,
What better than call a dance?
Maybe the moon may learn,
Tired of that courtly fashion,
A new dance turn.
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
From moonlit place to place,
The sacred moon overhead
Has taken a new phase.
Does Minnaloushe know that his pupils
Will pass from change to change,
And that from round to crescent,
From crescent to round they range?
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
Alone, important and wise,
And lifts to the changing moon
His changing eyes.
Dance Poems about Life
Dance is often a reflection of life itself, and these poems about dance and life explore the connections between movement, emotion, and the human experience, offering insight and inspiration to dancers and non-dancers alike.
1. Life’s a Dance
by Roger Turner
Life is all around you
Live each day like your last
Don’t sit there on the sidelines
Life goes by so fast
Listen to the music
Sing songs that you don’t know
Don’t sit there all in silence
Turn up the radio
Life’s a dance, get on the floor
Life’s a dance,
Life’s a dance, get on the floor
Life’s a dance
Don’t matter who you came with
Dance with who is near
Wave one hand high above you
With the other, hold a beer
Live each day so loudly
so loud that nothing drowns you out
Make up words while singing
And dance, and scream and shout
Life’s a dance, get on the floor
Life’s a dance,
Life’s a dance, get on the floor
Life’s a dance
Come on and get dancing
Feel the rhythm of the saints
Just feel and then go do it
And ignore all noise complaints
Sitting doing nothing
Living, silent in a trance
Get up, and start to party
Come on…welcome to the dance
Life’s a dance, get on the floor
Life’s a dance,
Life’s a dance, get on the floor
Life’s a dance
2. A Dancer’s Life
by Donald Justice
The lights in the theater fail. The long racks
Of costumes abandoned by the other dancers
Trouble Celeste. The conductor asks
If she is sad because autumn is coming on,
But when autumn comes she is merely pregnant and bored.
On her way back from the holidays, a man
Who appears to have no face rattles the door
To her compartment. How disgusting, she thinks;
How disgusting it always must be to grow old.
Dusk falls, and a few drops of rain.
On the train window trembles the blurred
Reflection of her own transparent beauty,
And through this, beautiful ruined cities passing,
Dark forests, and people everywhere
Pacing on lighted platforms, some
Beating their children, some apparently dancing.
The costumes of the dancers sway in the chill darkness.
Now sinking into sleep is like sinking again
Into the lake of her youth. Her parents
Lean from the rail of a ferryboat waving, waving,
As the boat glides farther out across the waves.
No one, it seems, is meeting her at the station.
The city is frozen. She warms herself
In the pink and scented twilight of a bar.
The waiter who serves her is young. She nods assent.
The conversation dies in bed. Later,
She hurries off to rehearsal. In the lobby,
Dizzy still with the weight of her own body,
She waits, surrounded by huge stills of herself
And bright posters announcing events to come.
Her life—she feels it closing about her now
Like a small theater, empty, without lights.
3. Dance Is Like Life
by Michelle Lyon
Learning to dance is like life.
You take baby steps, tiny leaps and jumps,
Someone’s always there when you cry.
Things are starting to come together,
Your once new shoes are feeling softer and worn
Each delicate pointe is becoming more like an arch.
Leaps and kicks become stronger each time,
Soon you realize your every jump and kick is right,
The steps are fluid pouring out of a jar,
Everyday you’re twirling into a new adventure,
Every dance you dance makes you a star.
4. Dance of Life
by Raj Arumugam
we bring you life today
sway right and left
and forward and back
and gyrate
and turn and twist;
and life is fruit and flesh
and it is pleasure and joy too
and we bring in our bodies
in our bodies, in our nakedness
we bring you mystery
and the passion of gods –
O, sink your teeth into us
for
we bring you life today
sway right and left
and forward and back
and gyrate
and turn and twist
as everyday
and life is ecstasy and wow!
and moans and groans, and twists and turns
and life is pain, and death and danger
and allurement and traps
take it all on a tray, take it all from us
life and death and pleasure and danger all
for today as everyday
we bring you life today
sway right and left
and forward and back
and gyrate
and turn and twist
and life is fruit and flesh
5. Life Is a Dance
by Kayla Harmon
Life is a dance, Step by step day by day nothing can stand in my way.
Life is a dance, I’m making my moves like the pieces to a boardgame of chess, I must confess this isn’t a race I’m in no Contest. I’m in it to win it just like all the rest.
Life is a dance, Take your time choose your path make memories that will last, create a past your going to be proud of when you go looking back.
Life is a dance, Love yourself live in good health, don’t be afraid to ever ask for help be cautious of the cards you have been delt.
Life is a dance, Fall in love at first glance never give up on your idea of romance, You’ll never know if you don’t take a chance.
Life is a dance, It’s promised somewhere along the lines of wrong and right things get tough some people just give in and give up and say it’s just too much. You have to push and keep rising up and always remember no matter what you are enough.
Life is a dance, Never lose sight always have the will to fight, never allow yourself or others to dim your light.
Life is a dance, Be open to correction and when lost open to new guidance and direction.
Life is a dance, Remember there is no such thing as perfection each and every one of us on this earth have there own pace when it comes to the trials and tribulations we have to face.
6. Dance
by Paul Hayward
Open your heart to happiness.
Let every pore absorb light.
Swim in the joy of the here and now,
And cast off the darkness of night.
Walk in the summer of sunshine.
Fly in the blueness of sky.
Know possibilities are boundless.
Understand that nothing can die.
Step from the shadows of torment.
Sing ’til your throat gets too sore.
Smile for as long as the day is,
And laugh just a little bit more.
Breathe slowly and deeply and listen.
Give all your ideas a chance.
Let the sun beat down on your goodness,
And kick off your shoes and dance.
7. Dance of Life
by David Harris
Sometimes we do the rumba,
a foxtrot or a jive,
as we dance through our life,
each and every day.
We dance and we dance,
each day through.
Everyday to a different tune,
just to get us through.
In all our loving moments,
we waltz through life,
and in those complicated moments,
we will twist the whole night through.
For everything we do,
there is a dance to get us through.
For every day,
we dance our life away.
8. The Dance of Life
by Lisa Bolin
Body, weary, lacking
spark, glint, catalyst.
Mind, ever weaving stories,
images, an endless film reel.
Spirit, sagging, fragile, caught,
‘tween lagging body, inspired mind.
To reconcile? I ponder…
What steps?
A tango, p’raps? A jive?
What rhythm? What notes?
Do I shuffle in silence?
An inner song, a little flat,
building slowly to harmony
as I release the worry, doubt?
Do I traverse the room
to loud rock tunes?
A drum and bass beat
following heart, blood pumping.
No ballet for me, no elegant
pointed steps, no pirouette.
A whole body, Amazonian,
warrior-woman frenzy-dance.
Of life, love, pain, choices.
All sticky emotions, shouty
feelings, the thick of it.
Body-mind symmetry,
spirit, so ephemeral, grounded,
feet to earth, bare toes
embracing cool grass, warm sand,
stabby rocks, sharp thistles,
never smooth, this dance.
Inner passion drives me,
on and on, a whirling dance,
joining the elements,
mind-body-soul,
water-wind-earth-fire.
A dance, a journey,
Life.
Dance Poems for Funerals
Even in times of sorrow, dance can be a source of comfort and healing, and these dance poems for funerals pay tribute to loved ones who have passed away while celebrating the beauty and joy of dance.
1. I Imagine You Dancing
by Tanya Lord
I imagine you dancing
Skipping among the clouds
Happily singing with the angels
Looking down upon the crowds.
I imagine you laughing
Your heart lovingly set free
You understand my grief
In ways I cannot see.
I imagine you greeting
The others that I love
That sadly left this earth
For a home with you above.
I imagine you watching
The many things I do
Proudly standing beside me
As I remember and honour you.
All these visions give me hope
That death is not the end
That an eternity awaits us
That together we will spend.
2. Moonlit Dance
by Dermott Hayes
Dancing in the moonlight,
the moon, her partner
and stars, her twinkling audience.
She spins and twirls
to the sound of winds,
heart racing,
to freedom’s adventure.
Yes, tonight she dances,
beyond the grasp of captors
and far beyond the sight
of those who dare not dream.
Tonight she dances free,
to walk in fields
of favourite flowers,
free to chase the fireflies
and fly in highest skies,
for her soul’s unbound
and free from earthly restraint.
3. Dancing with The Waves
by Christy Ann Martine
Dance with the waves
Move with the sea
Let the rhythm of the water
Set your soul free.
4. Dance My Soul
by Trinity Chasara
Dance my soul
Though your day is dark
And night is long-cold
Take heart for the tide will soon turn
And pain fades away
It has been a winding tedious journey
But the dawn is near
And glad tidings will soon unfurl
Fear not the shadow and the uncertainty it brings
Hope is the light and faith the fire
Let faith burn and hope shine
The place of thorns where you stand
Is but a steppingstone into blossomed garden
And you shall fragranced find
The song and dance
Of your resurrected greatness.
5. I Will Dance with You Again
by Mike Miller
Come gather here,
Be at your ease,
To say this last goodbye.
Not to this shell before you,
But to a life passed by.
I lie wrapped in a tapestry,
Stitched with every memory,
That we have shared together,
Through calm and stormy weather,
By each other’s side.
I do not ask you for your tears,
For I am free, my suffering past.
Remember all the times we laughed,
And when you find that happy place,
Let a smile light up your face.
We forged our bond with love, not tears,
Linking arms, we walked as one,
Now is my turn to rest a while,
I have reached the final stile,
But you must carry on.
Goodbye, to you, with whom I’ve shared,
This wondrous gift of life.
Enjoy the dance, life’s sweet refrain,
For love is timeless as the stars,
And I will dance with you again.
6. Dancing in The Sky
by Elizabeth and Danielle Hyde
Tell me, what does it look like in heaven?
Is it peaceful? Is it free like they say?
Does the sunshine bright forever?
Have your fears and your pain gone away?
Cause here on earth it feels like
Everything good is missing since you left
And here on earth everything’s different
There’s an emptiness.
So tell me, what do you do up in heaven?
Are your days filled with love and light?
Is there music? Is there art and adventure?
Tell me are you happy? Are you more alive?
Cause here on earth it feels like
Everything good is missing since you left
And here on earth everything’s different
There’s an emptiness.
I hope you’re dancing in the sky
And I hope you’re singing in the angel’s choir
And I hope the angels know what they have
I’ll bet it’s so nice up in heaven since you arrived
I hope you are dancing in the sky.
7. The Tea Dance
by Beryl Edmonds
Couples are twirling across the dance floor
And I wonder why I am here at all
Seems a long time since you and I were here
Yet it was only this same time last year.
A year feeling so lonely and blue
Since the unspeakable day I lost you
I’m here because friends said I must try
Letting go and waving the tears goodbye.
Remember how we made our special date
Same day of the week and at the same place
Behaving like young teenagers we were
Tho’ we’d been married many a year.
I would be wearing a favourite dress
You as always looking your usual best
Feeling like Cinderella at the Ball
With the most handsome Prince Charming of all.
O my goodness, whatever do I see
Is that a man coming over to me
I feel a blush come from neck to my face
And my poor heart is beginning to race.
He’s asked me if I would care to dance
Can’t refuse, so I’ll take the chance
Trembling as he takes me into his arms
Gliding together as the music starts.
I hear you whisper softly in my ear
“Take a step forward, don’t worry dear
You have my blessing, your life to enhance
Keep dancing to music of the Tea Dance.”
Final Thoughts
Dance is a powerful and expressive art form that has the ability to capture the imagination, emotions, and hearts of people around the world.
From the graceful movements of ballet to the high-energy beats of hip-hop, dance has the power to transport us to new worlds, connect us with others, and express our deepest feelings and desires.
Through the medium of poetry, we can explore the many facets of dance and its impact on our lives, from its beauty and elegance to its ability to bring people together in joy and celebration.
These dance poems offer a window into the rich and diverse world of dance and remind us of the transformative power of movement and expression.
We hope that you enjoyed these poems about dance to the fullest!
