72 Dancing Trivia Questions (Ranked from Easiest to Hardest)

Dancing is a form of expression that has been an important part of human culture for thousands of years. From traditional folk dances to contemporary styles, dancing allows us to express ourselves through movement and rhythm. Trivia questions about dancing can provide a fun and engaging way to test your knowledge and deepen your appreciation for this dynamic and diverse art form.

Whether you're a seasoned dancer or just starting to explore the world of dance, dancing trivia questions offer a glimpse into the rich history and culture of this dynamic art form. From the basics of different styles and techniques to the cultural significance of different dances, these questions can challenge you on your knowledge of dance history, theory, and performance.

72 Dancing Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)

1. Let’s see how “sharp” you are: This five-letter word is a noun meaning a stated idea or opinion, a verb meaning to direct others' attention to something by using a finger, and an adjective describing a ballet dancer performing on their toes. (You’ll score one if you answer it correctly.)
   
   Answer: Point
   
   
2. Competition performance show fans who refer to the acronym "SYTYCD" are talking about the Fox series, formerly judged by Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, called "So You Think You Can" WHAT?
   
   Answer: Dance
   
   
3. According to a survey by Dance magazine, what Christmas-themed Tchaikovsky ballet accounts for nearly half the annual revenue of many dance companies?
   
   Answer: The Nutcracker
   
   
4. Forming in St. Louis in 1925, what precision dance company has performed in New York City’s Radio City Music Hall since 1932? Their name sounds like the feminine form of a boulder or genre of music.
   
   Answer: Rockettes
   
   
5. In what 1987 movie does Baby Houseman fall in love with her dance instructor? We're looking for a two-word answer here.
   
   Answer: Dirty Dancing
   
   
6. What is the United States national cultural center that opened in 1971 and is home to frequent performances of performance art including theater, dance, orchestras, jazz, and folk music?
   
   Answer: The Kennedy Center
   
   
7. What geometrically named dance is the official state dance of Illinois?
   
   Answer: Square Dance
   
   
8. Located on Sixth Avenue between 50th and 51st streets, what legendary NYC performance venue is the home of the Rockettes dance troupe?
   
   Answer: Radio City
   
   
9. What fitness program is said to have originated in the 1990s when Colombian aerobics teacher Alberto Perez subbed salsa and merengue for his normal workout-class music?
   
   Answer: Zumba
   
   
10. Don't blush: the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance is what arousing Paris theatre with a name that translates to "red mill"?
    
    Answer: Moulin Rouge
    
    
11. Which Korean pop song and its horseback-riding dance by PSY went viral worldwide in 2012?
    
    Answer: Gangnam Style
    
    
12. What 20th century African American dancer, choreographer, and director founded his famous American Dance Theater and School in 1958? A major figure in New York art, he debuted his dance epic “Revelations” in 1960.
    
    Answer: Alvin Ailey
    
    
13. The movie includes a titular track from Kenny Loggins, Kevin Bacon performs much of his character's dancing, and John Lithgow leads the charge to ban dancing. All of this occurs in what 1984 film?
    
    Answer: Footloose
    
    
14. Focusing on Big Apple ball culture, the 1990 doc "Paris Is Burning" popularized what pose-striking dance that shares a name with a magazine?
    
    Answer: Vogue
    
    
15. What ‘80s classic starring Kevin Bust-a-Move Bacon was based on a real town in the state of OK that said N-O to dancing?
    
    Answer: Footloose
    
    
16. What 1993 dance craze was brought into the world by Spanish group Los del Rio?
    
    Answer: The Macarena
    
    
17. "Burma" can be rearranged to form "Rumba", but since the country changed its name to Myanmar there is only one country that anagrams to a famous dance style. Name either the country (whose capital is Nuku'alofa) or the dance (which appears in the NATO phonetic alphabet).
    
    Answer: Tonga / Tango
    
    
18. Led by their prima ballerina, Mlle. Upanova, a flock of ostriches puts on ballet shoes and dances to the music of Amilcare Ponchielli's "La Gioconda" in what 1940 Disney movie?
    
    Answer: Fantasia
    
    
19. Partnered with pro hoofer Cheryl Burke, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak famously did "the worm" during a performance on Season 8 of what reality TV series?
    
    Answer: Dancing With the Stars
    
    
20. What Konami game from September 1998 was initially released to the European arcade audience under the name "Dancing Stage?"
    
    Answer: Dance Dance Revolution
    
    
21. Breaking, or breakdancing for us less hip folks, was thefirst dancesport discipline contested at a Summer Olympics when the festivities opened in what European city?
    
    Answer: Paris
    
    
22. With Michael Sembello's song "Maniac" on the soundtrack, what 1983 film stars Jennifer Beals as an exotic dancer whose dream is to become a ballerina?
    
    Answer: Flashdance
    
    
23. "All the old paintings on the tombs, they do the sand dance, don't ya know?" according to what 1986 hit song by The Bangles?
    
    Answer: Walk Like an Egyptian
    
    
24. The main ballroom of what Portland building famously features a "floating" dance floor that absorbs shocks from physical activity and was long-considered the only one of these floorings remaining on the West Coast?
    
    Answer: Crystal Ballroom
    
    
25. In 2021, which teen TikTok dancing queen got her own reality show on Hulu that follows her family (including her sister Dixie)?
    
    Answer: Charli D’Amelio
    
    
26. In a 1977 referendum to choose the national anthem, "Advance Australia Fair" won with 3 million votes, but what "dancing" tune came in second with 1.9 million votes?
    
    Answer: Waltzing Matilda
    
    
27. Often known as "Woz" for short, what electronics engineer co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs, and also competed on Season 8 of "Dancing With the Stars?"
    
    Answer: Steve Wozniak
    
    
28. The songs "Hey Mama" by the Black-Eyed Peas, "Technologic" by Daft Punk, and "Vertigo" by U2 appear in a series of commercials featuring black silhouettes dancing in front of brightly colored backgrounds. What product, released in 2001, were these commercials created to advertise?
    
    Answer: iPod
    
    
29. One of the letters in the NATO phonetic alphabet is represented by a type of dance. What is this dance?
    
    Answer: Tango
    
    
30. During the peak of the craze for Los Del Rio's "Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)," the Democratic National Convention was treated to what incumbent vice president giving his version of the dance by standing completely still?
    
    Answer: Al Gore
    
    
31. Pat and Tiffany launch into a dance routine as the Eagles beat the Cowboys in the climax of what 2012 Bradley Cooper-Jennifer Lawrence rom-dramedy?
    
    Answer: Silver Linings Playbook
    
    
32. At the end of the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie, what song does Baby Groot dance to? This song was the first nationally released single by a well-known family group.
    
    Answer: I Want You Back by the Jackson Five
    
    
33. In 1973, the city of Richmond unveiled a statue commemorating the life of Jackson Ward native and legendary African American tap dancer Bill Robinson, who was better known by what notable nine-letter nickname?
    
    Answer: “Bojangles”
    
    
34. Best known for a piece of its music that is used to accompany can-can dancing, an 1858 opera by Jacques Offenbach concerns what Greek mythological character's journey to the underworld?
    
    Answer: Orpheus
    
    
35. Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Carrie Bickmore were the two hosts of an English-language international version of "So You Think You Can Dance" that was filmed and produced in Sydney. What country's version of the show was this?
    
    Answer: Australia
    
    
36. In 2010, UNESCO declared what Spanish art form as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity? The form itself is based on various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain in the autonomous communities of Andalusia and Murcia. More broadly, the form is considered a clap-happy dance.
    
    Answer: Flamenco
    
    
37. "The Carlton" dance became famous because of its recurrence on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". The character of Carlton Banks was portrayed by Alfonso Ribeiro, who would dance comedically to what well known song by Tom Jones?
    
    Answer: It's Not Unusual
    
    
38. What alliterative chocolate bar is named after a well-known early-20th-century dance and partially shares its name with West Virginia’s capital city?
    
    Answer: Charleston Chew
    
    
39. After discovering the celesta, an instrument with bell-like sounds, Tchaikovsky included it in "The Nutcracker" as part of the "Dance of" what magical character?
    
    Answer: The Sugar Plum Fairy
    
    
40. Standing with legs slightly apart and knees slightly bent, the dancer then bends their left elbow to enable them to place their left hand behind their head. They then outstretch their right arm in line with their right shoulder, hand flat in a vertical position. The dancer then rotates around the waist in a 180-degree sweep, pulling back three times as you move your arm to the left, and then in one motion swing your right arm back to the right. Those are the kinda complicated instructions to what disco dance you can do right in your front yard?
    
    Answer: The Sprinkler
    
    
41. Viewers of Lifetime TV know that Abby Lee Miller’s studio is in Pittsburgh. Which reality show features the twirling tots she teaches (and their malcontent mamas)?
    
    Answer: Dance Moms
    
    
42. What 1996 dance song was voted as VH1’s greatest one-hit wonder of all time? The song associated with this song is still known today.
    
    Answer: Macarena
    
    
43. Richmond's Jackson Ward is home to a monument of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, whose birthday is a designated national day for what loud dance style?
    
    Answer: Tap
    
    
44. In 2014, viewers of Lifetime’s “Dance Moms” were no longer the only people to know Maddie Ziegler’s name. At just 11 years old, she literally took the leap to stardom after being featured in the music video for “Chandelier” by which Australian singer-songwriter?
    
    Answer: Sia
    
    
45. Grand Rapids, Minnesota has an annual festival dedicated to what hometown actress, singer, dancer, and vaudevillian?
    
    Answer: Judy Garland
    
    
46. One of the most celebrated American musicians of all time, what "CC" man grew up in Baltimore and later became a jazz singer, dancer, bandleader and actor? He mixed jazz and vaudeville during his career and led one of the U.S.'s most popular "big bands" from the early 1930s to the late 1940s.
    
    Answer: Cab Calloway
    
    
47. What popular Cuban ballroom dance style is name-checked in the titles of songs by Dean Martin and Lou Bega?
    
    Answer: Mambo
    
    
48. What French artist, born in 1834, was a founding member of the Impressionists known for his depictions of dancers such as “The Ballet Class”?
    
    Answer: Edgar Degas
    
    
49. What dessert, popular in both New Zealand and Australia and named for a famous Russian dancer, is made from crisp meringue, whipped cream, and fresh fruit?
    
    Answer: Pavlova
    
    
50. The 1935 film “The Little Colonel” is set in Kentucky and famously features a glorious tap dance sequence by Bill Robinson and which curly-haired child star?
    
    Answer: Shirley Temple
    
    
51. “Rumbacize” was the original name that Beto Perez gave his Latin dance-fitness program, which is today known by which Z-name that kind of rhymes with the style of dance it was inspired by?
    
    Answer: Zumba
    
    
52. Amazon Prime’s reality competition, “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” gives people a chance to become a backup dancer for what flute-playing sensation who might have to tell contestants Truth Hurts if they don’t make the cut?
    
    Answer: Lizzo
    
    
53. What Pittsburgh-born dance legend who choreographed works like Heretic and Appalachian Spring also founded a namesake dance studio that's the oldest in the U.S.?
    
    Answer: Martha Graham
    
    
54. "La cumparsita," meaning "little procession," is a work by Uruguayan musician Gerardo Matos Rodríguez that is one of the world's most famous in what genre of music and dance?
    
    Answer: Tango
    
    
55. 1994's Oktoberfest Zinzinnati set a record for the world's largest performance of what "bird-y" oom-pah dance, with over 48,000 participants?
    
    Answer: Chicken Dance
    
    
56. During Katy Perry's performance of "Swish Swish" on a 2017 episode of "Saturday Night Live," Russell "The Backpack Kid" Horning helped popularize what arm-swinging dance craze that also sounds like something you should use and do to practice good oral hygiene?
    
    Answer: The Floss
    
    
57. Literally meaning "go ahead," what A-word means a forward step in salsa dancing?
    
    Answer: Adelante
    
    
58. Referring to the first names of two 20th century, American performers, what nickname is sometimes used for the Nationale-Nederlanden building in Prague? An alternative nickname used for this building is “The Dancing House.”
    
    Answer: Fred and Ginger
    
    
59. What legendary star (whose last name is Ciccone) was awarded a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan before dropping out in 1978 to move to New York City?
    
    Answer: Madonna
    
    
60. Sometimes called a Gin Gin Mule, what cocktail described as a gin heavy mix between a Moscow Mule and a Mojito shares its name with the actress who danced with Fred Astaire and won an Oscar for “Kitty Foyle?”
    
    Answer: Ginger Rogers
    
    
61. What tap-dancing legend of "Singin' in the Rain," "Summer Stock," and "An American in Paris" was born in Pittsburgh in 1912?
    
    Answer: Gene Kelly
    
    
62. What famous Nebraskan got his start in show business dancing with his sister Adele? After working in vaudeville, they first performed on Broadway in 1917. He later had an extensive film career.
    
    Answer: Fred Astaire
    
    
63. In 2015, what NYC dance company promoted Misty Copeland to principal dancer, making her the first African-American woman principal in the company's history?
    
    Answer: American Ballet Theatre
    
    
64. Cibi is the war dance performed before rugby matches by the members of what "flying" Pacific island nation's national team?
    
    Answer: Fiji
    
    
65. With songs like "One" and "What I Did for Love," what classic 1970s musical centers around Broadway dancers auditioning for eight spots in a stage show?
    
    Answer: A Chorus Line
    
    
66. For Lunar New Year and other Chinese festivals, it's tradition for performers to dance in pairs dressed as what feline animal that symbolizes power and wisdom?
    
    Answer: Lion
    
    
67. Set in Pittsburgh, which 1983 movie stars Jennifer Beals as Alex Owens, a steel mill welder with aspirations of becoming a ballerina?
    
    Answer: Flashdance
    
    
68. Which infamous Stravinsky ballet is said to have caused riots at its premiere in 1913? Telling the story of a young woman who dances herself to death, the seasonal work was highly experimental and described by many as "cacophonic."
    
    Answer: The Rite of Spring
    
    
69. Also the name of a lively dance, what three-letter term is used for a device that holds a piece of work and guides a tool operating on it?
    
    Answer: Jig
    
    
70. Before her original song “One Day” went viral on TikTok and her singles “You Broke Me First” and “greedy” became international hits, which Gen Z pop star was known for being the first Canadian to be a finalist on the reality show So You Think You Can Dance?
    
    Answer: Tate McRae
    
    
71. Even though the kiddos traveled all around the country to compete, and the show had a few spin-offs in other parts of the U.S., what state did the original “Dance Moms” cast hail from (i.e., the location of Abby Lee Miller’s studio)?
    
    Answer: Pennsylvania
    
    
72. Mario Lopez hosted the first seven seasons of what dance competition show from 2008 - 2012?
    
    Answer: America's Best Dance Crew
    
    
    

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